Drilling now

[Flintstone]

As I recall you don't do your own combining........just saying. I would be on my drilling marathon if I had the fudgeing seed.
Even so its impressive.

I honestly don’t think it’s that impressive, but thanks anyway! The kit is there to work, and a 6am to 9 pm day is no more than people who commute so, so it’s not exactly unique.

Yes, I farm the harvesting out, which is what I meant by Sept to Aug. If I had 2000 acres + I’d have a shiny Lexion. As it is, I want big Lexion output, and I can’t justify one, so I hire a complete service in.

If I had a combine, I’d also need to have staff, trailers, and more tractors. I really can’t see the point in more than one full time tractor per 1,000 acres, so that doesn’t work for me either.

 

[Hobbit]

@Hobbit I just want to keep my labour bill at zero. I’ve managed it for three years and can’t see why it should change.

With the kind of kit that can be bought these days, coupled with autosteer, I really can’t see why people run more than one person per 1,000 acres between Sept and the following August, but that will probably open up a can of very spicy worms....

The idea of 1000acres/man is something that keeps going around in my head as good labour is getting harder to come by and moving to direct drilling has changed the dynamics of our arable enterprise however the contacting part of the business demands extra labour.

 

[Shutesy]

I’m on another Flintstone marathon.

Started at 6am and have just clocked 100 acres today. It doesn’t half help when the old man runs seed out to me meaning 4 minutes downtime every 2 hours.

It’s going in a treat, and will be done (290 acres) by Tuesday night. Rolling Weds and pre-em Thursday.

Drill still 4.8 metres and depth issues resolved now.

Happy chap.

What sorted the depth issues with the extensions?
Are you just drilling into last harvests untouched stubbles?
Its great weather here but the tops just not dry enough to drill atm on our heavier soils.

 

[Flintstone]

Good labour is indeed hard to find. There are loads of lads who are dying to get in a shiny bit of kit, but they just won’t work the hours, or they feel they are being underpaid, or they want to run the business for you after a fortnight, or they plaster photos of your business over social media. And, they certainly make repair bills rocket.

You’re right about single pass drilling (I order to call it that) and the impact on a business in terms of workload.

My JD 6215 is three years old this March, and you’d never believe it’s only done 1815 hours. That’s doing all drilling, rolling, spraying, ferting, some grain carting and stubble raking.

It’s my only tractor.

 

[Flintstone]

What sorted the depth issues with the extensions?
Are you just drilling into last harvests untouched stubbles?
Its great weather here but the tops just not dry enough to drill atm on our heavier soils.

Jeff Claydon drove down last week and we made some small shims up to level up the wings. He’s an amazing guy to come out himself and sort it. That’s customer service for you.

Yep, into last year’s stubble.

The thing about strip drilling (I’ve decided) is to go when the forecast offers a day or two to dry out properly post-drilling. It then crumbles witht he rolls beautiful over the seed without smearing etc.

Good luck with the drilling and stay patient!

 

[Flintstone]

See above.

 

[Heathland]

Flailed off the over winter stubble's today,wasn't sure if I should have got the combine out, that would have got the neighbours talking ,sprayed my lowland this afternoon for bg for the second time,IF it doesn't rain,hopefully it will drill at the end of the week. Amazing how dry it is.

 

[Flat 10]

Flailed off the over winter stubble's today,wasn't sure if I should have got the combine out, that would have got the neighbours talking ,sprayed my lowland this afternoon for bg for the second time,IF it doesn't rain,hopefully it will drill at the end of the week. Amazing how dry it is.

You could have ploughed that in..........

 

[snarling bee]

Good labour is indeed hard to find. There are loads of lads who are dying to get in a shiny bit of kit, but they just won’t work the hours, or they feel they are being underpaid, or they want to run the business for you after a fortnight, or they plaster photos of your business over social media. And, they certainly make repair bills rocket.

You’re right about single pass drilling (I order to call it that) and the impact on a business in terms of workload.

My JD 6215 is three years old this March, and you’d never believe it’s only done 1815 hours. That’s doing all drilling, rolling, spraying, ferting, some grain carting and stubble raking.

It’s my only tractor.

The trouble is many ONLY want to drive shiny tractors. What about the rest of the year in the workshop, building repairs, livestock work, washing etc etc. not forgetting older kit that is all some of us can justify.

 

[AF Salers]

You could have drilled straight into it with a disc drill!!!

 

[Shutesy]

The thing about strip drilling (I’ve decided) is to go when the forecast offers a day or two to dry out properly post-drilling. It then crumbles witht he rolls beautiful over the seed without smearing etc.

Good luck with the drilling and stay patient!

Agree with that, rain straight after drilling is not ideal, thing is with our soil it takes a while to dry enough to be dry enough to drill otherwise you can end up with a right mess, Patience is key!

 

[Renaultman]

Hopefully get a start with spring oats about Wednesday, if the weather holds, would love to get some muck on but that might not happen, first pass with the Xpress worked a treat yesterday but now needs a day or 2 to nap over.

 

[DrWazzock]

If I take a handful of soil from 1" below the surface I can still roll it into a plasticine worm and it feels wet so not starting this week. Too early for beet anyway.
Feels cold out of the sun.

 

[Green oak]

Flailed off the over winter stubble's today,wasn't sure if I should have got the combine out, that would have got the neighbours talking ,sprayed my lowland this afternoon for bg for the second time,IF it doesn't rain,hopefully it will drill at the end of the week. Amazing how dry it is.

I like this idea. Maybe it will stop the hare coursing mob over the winter.

 

[Pilatus]

Yes it was but lets face it we've had very little rainfall this winter compared to normal, a dry spring maybe beckons, we seem to have had these high pressure systems all last year of some sort. Wasnt 75 similar as it led into 76?? I was only young then so dont remember in detail.

Just out of interest here are few brief notes I made back in 1975 and 1976.
1975. Wet winter and wet spring,started drilling March 18th didn't do any more till Weds 9th April finished April 25th.
Summer driest on record didn't have any real quantity of rain after middle of April till middle of September.
Haymaking very easy started June 8th Finished June 30th.
Harvest very easy started July22nd ,only had to stop for 4days finished August27.

1975/1976 Dry winter didn't have to work inside hardly at all. Planted 16acres of Golden Promise S.Barley 26/1/76 started to come through ground 26/2/76
Spring really early not much of a growing season.
Bought New Combine MF 525 ,New MF185 Tractor and new,weeks trailer
Summer .Driest ever known . Had to feed sheep hay in racks ,hell of job keeping sheep in as electric flexinet not working due to such dry ground. Cattle living on barley straw.
Barley crop tillered out well but very thin grain as know moisture to fill grain. Very bad year for Aphids on W.Wheat.

Started raining end of September, we then expereienced extremely wet October.

The above are only brief notes I wrote aged 25 /26 but hope they give a bit of snapshot of 1975/76 on very thin Cotswold Brash. I hope for the sake of your farming businesses that 2019 "IS NOT A REPEAT OF 1976", I also do not know how on earth the National Water supply companies will cope,as well as us end consumers of water.
But hey hoo things can change very quickly and we may end up with a wetter year than average, "Oh the joy of being in agriculture"

 

[JCfarmer]

That was very interesting MX7, I think there are quite a number of us on here that fear the same scenario as 75/76.

 

[Renaultman]

That was very interesting MX7, I think there are quite a number of us on here that fear the same scenario as 75/76.

And then, the post that struck real fear into my heart, the early spring of 2012 was very similar to this. I certainly don't want that again.

 

[Heathland]

I like this idea. Maybe it will stop the hare coursing mob over the winter.

They have been a complete pita this year,even driven over my unlifted sugar beet the other week, been in nearly every field on the heath and even on my lowland,bar stewards.

 

[Jobjobbed]

Anyone drilling spring oats yet?

 

[Flintstone]

Another 230 acres gone in nicely.