Dropping Nitrogen rates

[Clive]

K can make a big difference in dry conditions

 

[Clive]

Extra nitrogen = a little bit more yield (up to a point)

Mildew spray reduces the yield reduction mildew would do if you didnt spray, it does not increase the yield if mildew wasn't there.

I belive it's also fair to say that the more N you use the worse fungal diseases get, N is not all good news

 

[yellow belly]

The high yielding crops of more than 12t per ha often have higher rates of n or plenty of muck in the system
12t of wheat takes 200 to 250 kg of n in the grain off the field
Even on a 8 tonne crop some parts of the field will be on 12 tonne

 

[Brisel]

Can I like this post enough ! Seems you have had your lightbulb moment !

Shame to waste time on the strip till stage but baby steps I guess !

Not a lightbulb moment but certainly the gradual building up of a solution to the counterproductive use of steel/tungsten and fuel. It's something I've been looking at for years but thanks to TFF direct drillers like yourself I got there sooner.

Strip till drilling is due to trying to manage the transition without a yield drop. If the farm were mine I'd do it fully now but it belongs to someone else (non farmer) who doesn't want to see the profits dip. I have a lot to learn still plus a reasonable area of poorly structured sand & gravel soils that will need moving a bit until I can mobilise nature to help do that for me.

Back on topic & trying to look at the bigger picture, reducing variable costs will have a limited impact - N gives the best response to input cost. You can't let a weed problem establish because curing it costs many times what preventing it does. Would you let your crop succumb to disease when it is already 80% looking like it will be a good one?? Yield losses from lodging can be 50+% & PGR isn't expensive. I was at a benchmarking meeting on Tuesday looking at crop gross margins - nothing looks any better so why change. My only shift is away from oilseed rape and the winter barley I grow in front of it though that is thanks to a reduced cropped area easing harvest logistics.

Buy smarter. No serviced agronomists! Join TAG for independent agronomy data & possibly a buying group too. Sell smarter - know your rough cost of production and have a sales strategy. Consider outsourcing the grain marketing to pools, a co-op or broker if you really don't have time to watch the market. Benchmark your business against others to see where your strengths and weaknesses lie then analyse why you are different. Use TFF & discussion groups to swap ideas and experiences. You're never alone. I can't shed many of the overheads like rent & the owner's needs but machinery is an obvious target.