Farmer Roy's Random Thoughts - I never said it was easy.

[Farmer Roy]

At least you feel able to plant something this time

full profile of moisture now
wouldn’t have the confidence to plant a cash crop without that moisture in the bank

 

[Kiwi Pete]

Have taken a couple of weeks off to plant my winter ( cool season ) crops.
Starting on the bread wheat, then the durum & will finish off with chickpeas
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Impressive groundcover there!

 

[Farmer Roy]

Thanks
A year ago it was bare, all my stubble / straw / ground cover had decomposed, oxidised, broken down or just blown away with the heat & dry, & no crops or opportunity to replace it.
So - this is the result of my plan to just let any “weeds” grow unchecked, in an effort to get ground cover again. Ground cover, & utilising ANY & EVERY mm of rain, was my focus & priority.
Rather than focusing on the negative aspects of “weeds” & untidy fallows, I was loving & embracing the positive benefits of living plants, ground cover & the knowledge that the soil biology was still ticking along down there. Also, I couldn’t afford to control the weeds, which made it easier to justify my position

 

[Henarar]

Thanks
A year ago it was bare, all my stubble / straw / ground cover had decomposed, oxidised, broken down or just blown away with the heat & dry, & no crops or opportunity to replace it.
So - this is the result of my plan to just let any “weeds” grow unchecked, in an effort to get ground cover again. Ground cover, & utilising ANY & EVERY mm of rain, was my focus & priority.
Rather than focusing on the negative aspects of “weeds” & untidy fallows, I was loving & embracing the positive benefits of living plants, ground cover & the knowledge that the soil biology was still ticking along down there. Also, I couldn’t afford to control the weeds, which made it easier to justify my position
View attachment 884481View attachment 884483

Is that sprayed off before planting ?

 

[Farmer Roy]

 

[Farmer Roy]

Moon rise

 

[hendrebc]

Thanks
A year ago it was bare, all my stubble / straw / ground cover had decomposed, oxidised, broken down or just blown away with the heat & dry, & no crops or opportunity to replace it.
So - this is the result of my plan to just let any “weeds” grow unchecked, in an effort to get ground cover again. Ground cover, & utilising ANY & EVERY mm of rain, was my focus & priority.
Rather than focusing on the negative aspects of “weeds” & untidy fallows, I was loving & embracing the positive benefits of living plants, ground cover & the knowledge that the soil biology was still ticking along down there. Also, I couldn’t afford to control the weeds, which made it easier to justify my position
View attachment 884481View attachment 884483

How does your soil compare to other people's who didn't let the weedy cover grow?

 

[Farmer Roy]

 

[Farmer Roy]

Facing the other way

 

[Kiwi Pete]

Thanks
A year ago it was bare, all my stubble / straw / ground cover had decomposed, oxidised, broken down or just blown away with the heat & dry, & no crops or opportunity to replace it.
So - this is the result of my plan to just let any “weeds” grow unchecked, in an effort to get ground cover again. Ground cover, & utilising ANY & EVERY mm of rain, was my focus & priority.
Rather than focusing on the negative aspects of “weeds” & untidy fallows, I was loving & embracing the positive benefits of living plants, ground cover & the knowledge that the soil biology was still ticking along down there. Also, I couldn’t afford to control the weeds, which made it easier to justify my position
View attachment 884481View attachment 884483

It works - you taught me that

"Trust in the process" you said, I remember it well.

I also remember a time when you were finding it really hard to trust in the process, "it takes immense pressure to make a diamond" so I'm having a cold one for you - I didn't have time for it on what would have been Dad's 80th birthday, so I'll drink it for your groundbreaking instead ?

Joys of living in the cold end of the country, that we don't really dry out often, but salut and cheers for teaching me how to handle it when it does

 

[Farmer Roy]

How does your soil compare to other people's who didn't let the weedy cover grow?

i haven’t really looked closely.
Apart from being bare & exposed all summer & I suppose any subsequent lack of active biology . . .
And they spent money I didn’t have, keeping those fields bare.
but, if it works for them, good luck to them . . .

 

[Steel]

I have a linkage bar with single disks like yours I have had a couple of years and never used. I bought it in Dubbo a couple of years ago and plan to make it folding so I can move it around. It is currently 8 m but my other gear is all 9 m so it will need some modification. Do you think making it folding will cause any problems?

 

[TelesnaAg]

Hope everyone is well, been away for a while do have some threads to trawl through.

Good to see moisture around for NSW and QLD, hope it keeps up. I think we are in for extra wet at Portland, i have irg and clover planted, went late for weed kill and so far so good.

Been working from home, thats a bit weird.

Should have a new farm signed up very shortly, not in Portland so i will be shifting.

I handed in my lease block and a dairy farmer come along and paid 200 an acre on a 3 year contract, craziness, they will mud the joint i suspect to save there own farm.

Ant...

 

[cows sh#t me to tears]

Wouldn't get to carried away......

Clouds build over winter rain outlook

There's been a substantial change in the outlook for rainfall across Australia this winter, with a reduction in the likelihood of above-average rain across much of the country. The latest update from the Bureau of Meteorology's seasonal forecast model, ACCESS-S, has dramatically pared back...

www.weatherzone.com.au

 

[Farmer Roy]

I have a linkage bar with single disks like yours I have had a couple of years and never used. I bought it in Dubbo a couple of years ago and plan to make it folding so I can move it around. It is currently 8 m but my other gear is all 9 m so it will need some modification. Do you think making it folding will cause any problems?

i suppose that depends on how it is engineered . . .
biggest problem I’ve seen with folding linkage bars ( apart from actual poor design ) is keeping enough down pressure on the wings, unless you lock them down rigid.
But Boss, Excel etc all make them & it certainly would make moving around easier.
This is my alternative - a trailer

 

[Kiwi Pete]

i suppose that depends on how it is engineered . . .
biggest problem I’ve seen with folding linkage bars ( apart from actual poor design ) is keeping enough down pressure on the wings, unless you lock them down rigid.
But Boss, Excel etc all make them & it certainly would make moving around easier.
This is my alternative - a trailer

View attachment 884713

I saw that on your FB post and thought, what a great idea. Does your tractor lift it that high or do you need ramps/a bank?

 

[Farmer Roy]

I saw that on your FB post and thought, what a great idea. Does your tractor lift it that high or do you need ramps/a bank?

if you look closely, you will see a hydraulic ram on the pull of the trailer. The wheels are on a walking beam behind the deck & are also raised & lowered hydraulically, so you just lower the deck to the ground.
Works great for moving between farms on public roads, as it’s narrower than the tractor on singles, but a real pain on farms that have narrow gateways or poorly designed gateways that you can’t screw the machine through
You can get an 8 m bar through a 6 m gateway, as long as the gates fold flat along the fence & you can get the tractor right up against it

 

[Farmer Roy]

Wouldn't get to carried away......

Clouds build over winter rain outlook

There's been a substantial change in the outlook for rainfall across Australia this winter, with a reduction in the likelihood of above-average rain across much of the country. The latest update from the Bureau of Meteorology's seasonal forecast model, ACCESS-S, has dramatically pared back...

www.weatherzone.com.au

yeah, I’m not . . .
Still very much in survival mode of thinking

 

[Kiwi Pete]

if you look closely, you will see a hydraulic ram on the pull of the trailer. The wheels are on a walking beam behind the deck & are also raised & lowered hydraulically, so you just lower the deck to the ground.
Works great for moving between farms on public roads, as it’s narrower than the tractor on singles, but a real pain on farms that have narrow gateways or poorly designed gateways that you can’t screw the machine through
You can get an 8 m bar through a 6 m gateway, as long as the gates fold flat along the fence & you can get the tractor right up against it

I see it now that you pointed it out ??

 

[Yale]

yeah, I’m not . . .
Still very much in survival mode of thinking

You know what they say,‘don’t give up your day job’.

I certainly would be hanging in at parks and gardens,seems like a bit of a day off/holiday job.

Edit,and thinking on working as part of a team with a bit of banter is good for mental health.Sometimes I miss actually working with other people,being part of a team.

Can be lonely place working on your own place with just family.