buffalo_soldier
Member
- Location
- cumbria
Left worried behind, now on the making do/running out of ideas phase.
Drying out, again!
- Thread starter jerseycowsman
- Start date
- Location
- Northern Ireland
Disagree about groundwater. We have spent the last ten years standing in groundwater, and it's not fun. Our land is now settling into the shape it should be in with the moderate rainfall we've had in the last 12 months, after years of deterioration. Also, grass roots are only in the top four inches here anyway. When it's conditioned to being top-fed, it suffers when the rain stops, regardless of groundwater (unless you're on a flat plain of some sort).
TBH, the dryish winter was perfect. And spring has been perfect too. Just need an inch in the next week to keep things going. Worst case scenario, dry summer, and weather breaking just before harvest........
Yep we are the same, I would far rather it too dry than too wet. Our ground has taken a real hammering in the wet years, its pretty soul destroying to be honest.
As dry as I have eve known it in May on this part of SE Cornwall. Streams are running very low and silage aftermaths are greening up but if no rain will just run to seed quick and give no quantity of second cut. A good steady inch of rain next week would be just perfect but I can’t see it on the forecast. Unusually the rain sweeping in from the Atlantic seems to be just north of us all the time.
Father always said a dry May was the most damaging month of the year (other than a washout August)
I was lucky and had a good first silage cut and shut up extra acres this year. I’m beginning to think that it will all be needed. Still have plenty of good barley straw in the shed which is rather reassuring at the moment
As dry as I have eve known it in May on this part of SE Cornwall. Streams are running very low and silage aftermaths are greening up but if no rain will just run to seed quick and give no quantity of second cut. A good steady inch of rain next week would be just perfect but I can’t see it on the forecast. Unusually the rain sweeping in from the Atlantic seems to be just north of us all the time.
Father always said a dry May was the most damaging month of the year (other than a washout August)
I was lucky and had a good first silage cut and shut up extra acres this year. I’m beginning to think that it will all be needed. Still have plenty of good barley straw in the shed which is rather reassuring at the moment
I said to someone a couple of weeks ago '....we haven't finished with last summer yet'
I'm well found right now, but only because I took fairly costly steps last fall, was lucky with extra mowing, and mostly, because we had a very kind winter.
But, as you say, springs right down, and the ground is bone hard.
It could be a very short harvest again, and we'll all have to find religion and pray for another easy winter.
Saving our bacon for the time being. This was zg early April. Be onto 2nd cut ground Monday. Milk for another few weeks and pull the plug?
You all thought JV and I where mad at the last meeting, could be a different tone in a few weeks.
- Location
- M6 Hard shoulder
Ahh the magic mechanical milk maker [emoji23] dragged by a real dairyman's tractor aswell I reckon ?
- Location
- Northern Ireland
I reckon now the high pressure is broken, it'll gradually break down, and lash until Christmas. And we'll be sorry we asked for rain.
- Location
- M6 Hard shoulder
[emoji23] [emoji23]
- Location
- South Wales UK
Like concrete here.
Odd shower for tommorrow then thats it ,just strong drying wind all week???
3 month heat wave due allegedly then???
Odd shower for tommorrow then thats it ,just strong drying wind all week???
3 month heat wave due allegedly then???
- Location
- Northern Ireland
There's plenty of time yet for it to turn out a bad summer.
- Location
- South Wales UK
When start hay usually?
You can manage too much rain, not enough is a real issue
You might be able to on sand but heavy clay is a totally different
You can still manage it, just house the cows. If nothing grows your f**ked. I've spent a spell in the out back, watching 000s of animals starving. Stocked at 1 cow per 19 acres.
My old gramps used to always say, only thing worse than too much rain is not enough. He was right.
That said, I agree that too much isnt much fun
- Location
- Northern Ireland
Both are a pain. But I've seen lots of acres of silage and barley lost because folks couldn't get in the gate to harvest it. Ones as bad as the other.
- Tags
- maize