Steevo
Member
- Location
- Gloucestershire
I think that's more a national issue than a no-till one. Protected species springs to mind....
Does No-Till solve all our problems?
- Thread starter Jim Bullock
- Start date
I think that's more a national issue than a no-till one. Protected species springs to mind....
Douglasmn
Member
Don't fully understand what you mean. Surely if there are massive yield losses then mice definitely are a problem. Also, how do hedge rows prevent mice? I've always found the opposite here; hedge rows being a haven for vermin. Rabbits, rats etc.i only can tell you that NT doesn't create more mice. The only thing is that the problems of mice are starting earlier, like 1 to 2 month. In the end we have regions where they suffer yield losses of up to 50% in wheat due to mice.
Broadcasting of mice bait is prohibited nowadays. Claydon are selling a "mice plow" kit over here.
So, what is the conclusion? keep a diverse landscape with diverse wildlife and not this wheat - rape mono-cultures for dozens of km / ml without a hedge of tree row in-between.
York-Th.
H.Jackson
Member
- Location
- West Sussex
Studies locally on els margins show a significant increase in the populations of owls etc
When we where for the 1st time at Cereals, when they had also the 1st CS EU meeting, all of the German guys where impressed by the amount of bird music we heard on each field we visited. It was obvious that you had more "wild life" around than we have.
it's about "balance" in a ecosystem. We hardly have in this regions big trees where owls can nest.
Also there are observations that the owl population are going down in regions where you have the wind energy towers. Hunters say we are finding quite a number of dead owls near the wind turbine towers. OK, the environmentalist say this isn't true but at the same time we find a good correlation with high mice numbers to wind energy parks. Not exclusively as other regions have also this challenges with mice without this wind energy parks.
York-Th.
SilliamWhale
Member
Sheep
simonk88
Member
- Location
- Lincolnshire Wolds
We are slowly working our way out of our soils. Previously a cultivation strategy of ploughing or deep tillage to 9/10 inches with non inversion kit, last year moved to only working 3/4 inches deep for winter wheat, strip drilled OSR, ploughed for winter barley, some spring barley and spring beans, rest of spring cropping was strip drilled. This year strip drilled wheat (straw raked OSR and bean stubble), strip OSR ( light surface scratch on combine wheelings) strip drilled w barley in s barley stubble and 3 inch working of soil and chopped straw before spring crops. Our soil is taking time to adjust to not being moved, never having structured itself without steel before, so we think it needs to be a gradual process. already seeing benefits in carrying capacity of the soil and its ability to hold water for longer. Spring crops will be strip tilled into the lightly worked land in the spring, we are trying some cover crops in certain areas of fields, land types and using different mixtures to see what we can learn from how to use them best before committing large areas.
Personally, on our soils down here I would never buy a No Till drill without having access to a min disturbance subsoiler, and a mole plough. Both would be used judiciously as drainage IS key.Whatever people say, your soil doesnt change that much in two or three seasons, esp on Windsor clays.
simonk88
Member
- Location
- Lincolnshire Wolds
Totally agree Andrew K, we are re-draining some land this year and will do more next, ditch cleaning is now on a 5 year rotation with drain jetting where needed. Mole ploughing and subsoiling are done when required. We think that strip till is a good compromise till we can get the soil into a good enough state to self structure (and reduce our field trafficking)
yellow belly
Member
- Location
- south west lincolnshire
on heavier land I have come to the conclusion that all cultivation achieves is to improve drainage for the early development of the crop
I dhave learnt this with notill by making sure mole draining is up to date in all drained fields every 4 year if needed if I am not sure then mole
and by not drilling when it is too wet or drilling too late in the autumn or too early in the spring
some soils in some areas may be too wet all the time
here I would have had that view a few years ago but I aim to reduce bg levels so that I can drill early enough
with out weed problems the highest yields are from mid September planted crops this can be either herbicide or rotation to solve the weed problem
I dhave learnt this with notill by making sure mole draining is up to date in all drained fields every 4 year if needed if I am not sure then mole
and by not drilling when it is too wet or drilling too late in the autumn or too early in the spring
some soils in some areas may be too wet all the time
here I would have had that view a few years ago but I aim to reduce bg levels so that I can drill early enough
with out weed problems the highest yields are from mid September planted crops this can be either herbicide or rotation to solve the weed problem
- Location
- Northumberlandia
Ive read allsorts about min till & no till and on this farm the only one that works in small dozes in MIN TILL
The other will never happen as theres simply just too much surface compaction from everything thats been on the land previously
Where on Medium/Heavy land & you have to be very careful with it as it can go two ways either very dry or very wet.
Plough is king on 75% of it here & it will stay that way. + Careful use of a Sub-soiler.
Plus the Agchem Bills are way cheaper ploughing the previous crop in for a start.
Winter Ploughing already done to sow Peas in late March early April 2016 which it will work n sow lovely by then.
Nature at its best !!
Dont know of any Mole draining up these parts....
Poss as there is too many stones i dunno ?
Field Drains are essential to keep working tho.
oh and i forgot ive no Black Grass Either....
Just to add whole farm was scanned n zone sampled via SOILQUEST and now since started to
apply vari rate P&Ks + Lime of which ive just done a fair bit in last month or so.
Ive also applied alot of Cattle Muck & a small amount of Chicken Muck aswell.
I have no Livestock of my own. so all cropping is just diff Cereals but no GRASS in Rotation.
Harvest 2015 ave 4.04t/ac of wheat DRIED. which is a record seeing its normally ave 3.45t/ac
The other will never happen as theres simply just too much surface compaction from everything thats been on the land previously
Where on Medium/Heavy land & you have to be very careful with it as it can go two ways either very dry or very wet.
Plough is king on 75% of it here & it will stay that way. + Careful use of a Sub-soiler.
Plus the Agchem Bills are way cheaper ploughing the previous crop in for a start.
Winter Ploughing already done to sow Peas in late March early April 2016 which it will work n sow lovely by then.
Nature at its best !!
Dont know of any Mole draining up these parts....
Poss as there is too many stones i dunno ?
Field Drains are essential to keep working tho.
oh and i forgot ive no Black Grass Either....
Just to add whole farm was scanned n zone sampled via SOILQUEST and now since started to
apply vari rate P&Ks + Lime of which ive just done a fair bit in last month or so.
Ive also applied alot of Cattle Muck & a small amount of Chicken Muck aswell.
I have no Livestock of my own. so all cropping is just diff Cereals but no GRASS in Rotation.
Harvest 2015 ave 4.04t/ac of wheat DRIED. which is a record seeing its normally ave 3.45t/ac
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If you dont try you will never know whether that is true or not
- Location
- Northumberlandia
I know but if its that good then why is there virtually none done in Northumberland ??
Answer me that ?
Worlds apart to 250m south of here...
Not being rude, but Northumberland is a very conservative place and new ideas perhaps don't catch on that fast. I worked on a farm near Wooler for a year, so that obviously makes me an expert...anyway the soils I came across up there would no-till beautifully, especially as they are in pretty good nick anyway as they were still being farmed under the Norfolk four course rotation. At least they were then. There's no ploughing in nature, you just have to observe what nature does and copy...
Louis Mc
Member
- Location
- Meath, Ireland
- Location
- Hertfordshire
Well said. I've just come back from a week up there (staying just down the road from Wooler) and saw some really excellent soils as I drove round. Also saw a fair few slopes being cultivated with associated thin soil on the steeper parts....
Plenty of livestock too so I can understand how @Farma Parma can source plenty of muck without having to keep animals.
I too got the impression it would suit no-till
- Location
- Boroughbridge, york
How would poultry manure fit in with no-till? basically it must be incorporated asap after spreading , both to keep on the write side of defra and two to presevre as much N as possible. Then there are the muckspreader wheelings to worry about.
Just over the border from Northumberland. Been no tilling where i can for a few years now. The only point I have failed consistently in is spring barley.
Osr is easy only 2012 (to a lesser extent 2008 ) beat me. WW in all situations is quite possible. Beans seem to need a bit of cultivation pre drilling to warm soil up.
Osr is easy only 2012 (to a lesser extent 2008 ) beat me. WW in all situations is quite possible. Beans seem to need a bit of cultivation pre drilling to warm soil up.
the wheeling won't matter
how do they define incorporation ? would the drill count ? best place for muck (like straw) is on the surface and let worms take it down