Efficient or underpowered? Changes over the years...

[glasshouse]

The estate across from us in England is 8000 acres it was farmed with two FW 30’s and about 15 8210’s and 7710’s growing about 1000 acres each of potatoes and beet. It is now farmed by James Dyson with a mix of Quadtracs and big Fendts all the fields on the fen are now about 2 foot lower in the centre than the outsides as the soil has just been squeezed. The FW’s ploughed with 10 furrows so do the Quadtracs. The big Fendt pull 6m drills but so did the 7710’s plus a 7710 on terra Tyres compacts less than a Fendt. However the Estate used to employ a village full of people with its own social club, cricket team etc Now some people from somewhere else pitch up work up the land and disappear. It’s all about labour the less you employ the less important farming is.

That should be taxed to make them divide it into 500 ac farms

 

[glasshouse]

You did yes, with two different histories.
Will the experience stop you using glyphosate?

It wont, but there was an effect on germination
I put roundup on docks with a syringe in my strawberry patch Once, but it killed all thesstrawberries too
How?

 

[Lowland1]

So why are seemingly coming up with every idea possible to reduce people on the land, in favour of robots?
Fortunately, through time and tweaking, after many years of every tractor we bought being bigger than the last, we've got to a point where we can consider going slowly smaller, yet without farmed area shrinking.
I've said for years that the country would be better off encouraging employment on farms, with more but smaller tractors being the way forward.
Super size is getting out of hand, we're not America.

I don’t know if people like the NFU were thinking correctly they would be doing everything they could to increase the number of farmers the more employed in farming the more power they would have. One man on a 1000 acres needs as much money to live as a man on 100 acres so there will always be downward pressure on prices as farm size increase it’s a treadmill and you have to think about who is benefiting from the one man on a thousand acres model but we all want more land and bigger nicer tractors. 40 years ago in my area there were lots of sub 100 acre farms growing a mix of crops living a comfortable life buying a new tractor every couple of years etc now you probably need five or six times the land to live like they did and if you stand still in ten years you will be a part time farmer.

 

[Lowland1]

That should be taxed to make them divide it into 500 ac farms

I actually posted something like that about two years ago and the vitriol I got stopped me posting anything for about six months. I actually have no problem with people like Mr Dyson owning land but why not encourage people like him to rent it out. However the truth is the Government don’t want a lot of farmers the fewer they have to deal with the better and that goes for our customers.

 

[Lowland1]

It wont, but there was an effect on germination
I put roundup on docks with a syringe in my strawberry patch Once, but it killed all thesstrawberries too
How?

I think the roots of the dying target weeds give off toxins that are taken up by the roots of the crop.

 

[glasshouse]

I think the roots of the dying target weeds give off toxins that are taken up by the roots of the crop.

There is the answer i suspected.

 

[Spud]

I think the roots of the dying target weeds give off toxins that are taken up by the roots of the crop.

I'd agree, particularly given the vigorous root mass of a dock, and the susceptible nature of strawberries

 

[glasshouse]

I'd agree, particularly given the vigorous root mass of a dock, and the susceptible nature of strawberries

The couch would have had a vigorous rootmass too

 

[Spud]

The couch would have had a vigorous rootmass too

Yes, that's true, but the wheat plants weren't there when the couch was sprayed

 

[Spud]

was easier to take out that 135 wheel mark though even if on the surface it was deeper.

Them 2000 series masseys where heavy lump. i did a fair bit of hedgtrimming on a 40 and then an 85back in the day ok for that job as they were very stable platform, but for field work like in the advert pics ....hmmm,
heavier tractor / outfit causes worse deeper compaction even if it doesnt on the surface inches. its been proven .

Does it though, really? That 2680 was three times the power of the 135, weighed at least twice as much, but had nearly three times the footprint.
In this case the situation was exacerbated by the 135 having decent tyres, and the 2680's being about shot, making the wheeling depth difference more pronounced.
In simple terms, a tyres footprint is about 50% more than it's length.
So a 12" tyre * 18" long = 216sq"
A 135 weighs 2t, so 2000/216= 9.25kg/sq"

Apply the same to the 2680:
20" tyre * 30" long = 600sq"
Weighs 5t, so 5000/600 = 8.33kg/sq"

I appreciate my figures are a bit seat of the pants, but you get my point.

I agree with you, when you get to loaded sp beet harvesters etc, weight is still weight, as it's almost impossible to get enough rubber under them to lower the ground pressure to that of a solo beet.

 

[holwellcourtfarm]

Does it though, really? That 2680 was three times the power of the 135, weighed at least twice as much, but had nearly three times the footprint.
In this case the situation was exacerbated by the 135 having decent tyres, and the 2680's being about shot, making the wheeling depth difference more pronounced.
In simple terms, a tyres footprint is about 50% more than it's length.
So a 12" tyre * 18" long = 216sq"
A 135 weighs 2t, so 2000/216= 9.25kg/sq"

Apply the same to the 2680:
20" tyre * 30" long = 600sq"
Weighs 5t, so 5000/600 = 8.33kg/sq"

I appreciate my figures are a bit seat of the pants, but you get my point.

I agree with you, when you get to loaded sp beet harvesters etc, weight is still weight, as it's almost impossible to get enough rubber under them to lower the ground pressure to that of a solo beet.

How much machine weight did each carry?

 

[fiat 9090]

just looking back at some changes made in my time contracting ,dung spreading went from a reardischarge spreader to a side spreader to a dual spreader to a rear discharge again,silage cutting went from a single chop to a double chop to a trailed precision chop to a spfh to a wagon which chops it like the double chop ,

 

[Spud]

How much machine weight did each carry?

The 2680 a 6f semi mounted plough, the 135 a 3t trailer with a ton or so of seed in it

 

[glasshouse]

The 2680 a 6f semi mounted plough, the 135 a 3t trailer with a ton or so of seed in it

Semi mounted ploughs are far better for keeping weight down, but modern new holland cross shafts are too weak for them

 

[glasshouse]

Yes, that's true, but the wheat plants weren't there when the couch was sprayed

They were there soon after

 

[holwellcourtfarm]

Should we also account for other machines with engines on them too?

The farm I quoted also had a Teleporter 2, 2 24m self propelled sprayers (1 home built and 1 on a Unimog), 2 NH TF44 combines and 5 old lorries for grain cart.

 

[Spud]

They were there soon after

How soon after?

 

[Spud]

Should we also account for other machines with engines on them too?

The farm I quoted also had a Teleporter 2, 2 24m self propelled spreaders (1 home built and 1 on a Unimog), 2 NH TF44 combines and 5 old lorries for grain cart.

I just included tractors, for simplicity really. The 5 lorries would make a big diffference to your 0.25hp/ac!

We have 3 telehandlers and a combine, which would add 0.66hp/ac to my total.

 

[holwellcourtfarm]

I just included tractorsw, for simplicity really. The 5 lorries would make a big diffference to your 0.25hp/ac!
We have 3 telehandlers and a combine, which would add 0.66hp/ac to my total.

3 were Bedford TK's and 2 AEC Marshall 24 tonnes so not that much.

 

[glasshouse]

How soon after?

3-4 weeks