I didn't know about the journals; I've only ever read the books, which were amazing, I thought. A different world. Very interesting to compare with "Lark Rise" from the same period, but being the memories of a child growing up in a poor farming hamlet in England.
Farmer Roy's Random Thoughts - I never said it was easy.
- Thread starter Farmer Roy
- Start date
- Location
- Cornwall
On a tangent, apparently the original writings of The Little House on the Prairies makes for real interesting reading!
- Location
- East meath/dublin
Thats really intresting, is there a heritage centre in the area to showcase such notable achivements in ag engineering. Youngest brother is marrying a fair lassie from Dumfries next summer so will probably be over in Scotland for the a few days so would try and visit a few ag related places.
- Location
- NSW, Newstralya
Yeah, I remember reading something like that a while ago. Was being promoted a bit by GRDC ( grains research & development corporation ) & others, who tend to prefer mechanical / industrial solutions . . . I'm not sure if the results were repeatable over the years though. Still not addressing the main problem of lack of OM & biology however.
Haven't heard anymore about ploughs for a long time. A 12 furrow plough may be very heavy & big, but it is still very narrow in a Western Australian context, considering the areas involved & the size of their planting machinery. Also, given how dry & fragile their soils are, I cant see it being a long term viable option.
As I said, people are now getting better results with biology & incorporating livestock & different rotations, than relying on mechanical methods
- Location
- NSW, Newstralya
You must be the only Aussie who doesn't care about winning then...…
I wouldn't know . . .
I am me, I march to my own drum & care little for following nationalistic stereotypes or others expectations
If you mean the Australian cricket team, yeah, fûckem, I have no time for them . . .
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glasshouse
Member
- Location
- lothians
James small invented it
In duns
Dunse historical society has it all.
He did it at blackadder mount, which was managed by my great great grandfather 100yrs later
- Location
- NSW, Newstralya
In many ways, our droughts ARE due to mismanagement & poor practices. People can work very hard at doing the wrong thing . . . I have commented here before about how some droughts are man made & have criticised those farmers who have a welfare or hand out mentality looking for drought aid. Personally, events ( mental illness, divorce etc ) & financial decisions I made 15 - 20 years are having an impact on how this current dry spell is affecting my business. Management decisions I made a year or 2 ago, resulting in some fields with no groundcover, have really come back to bite me this year. So, while we can do nothing about no rain & higher temps, how we deal or survive these events IS up to the decisions we make & our management. Now, 1, 2, 5, 10 or more years ago.
We are always in 1 of 3 stages of drought.
Preparing for drought
Experiencing drought
Recovering from drought
So yes, in many ways I agree, some of the pain being felt during this current period is made worse by poor management or financial decisions both now & historically. Can't blame the government or the townies or the environmentalists, the responsibility is ours.
We can blame humans & society in general, for us all being so removed from the natural world ( agriculture included ) & for climate change, but that's a whole different discussion
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- Location
- NSW, Newstralya
That is f**king brilliant
- Location
- Ardrossan Ayrshire
The Australian farmer bit wasn't aimed at you. From your posts on here you are obviously playing the long game and considering all the consequences of any decision.
I was pointing out that there is not one answer to the soil problem question. There is however arable ground near here that needs OM. Sandy soil, spring barley, glyphosate use and no winter cover is hammering the soil. No life in it. When ploughed it looks like strips of liver. This despite about half an inch of horse muck and dung on it every year.
- Location
- Quebec, Canada
I thought ‘Farmer Boy ‘ about Laura’s husband Almanzo Wilder’s childhood home just over the border from us in New York State was fascinating. What a prosperous farm it was- they sold butter and potatoes to N.Y.C , grew beef and lamb for market and bred horses. They barely spent a penny and then , along with everyone else , got into a fever to ‘go west’ and abandoned this excellent farmland. The father lost a fortune ( all earned from his NY farm) on a rice venture in the Dakotas.
Deerefarmer
Member
- Location
- USA
Read those as a child, they really did have the ball rolling . Almanzos dad was a go getter.
I reckon a rolling stone grows no moss,
And sitting hens hatch no chicks
Ps. @Crofter64 , how close to Niagara are you?
I’ve never heard of her journals being published. Would be interesting if they were!
- Location
- Quebec, Canada
We’re close to Malone in upper NY , on the edge of the Adirondak State park. Almanzo grew up in Burke and showed his giant pumpkins at the Malone fair. Niagara is about 5-6 hours away.Read those as a child, they really did have the ball rolling . Almanzos dad was a go getter.
I reckon a rolling stone grows no moss,
And sitting hens hatch no chicks
Ps. @Crofter64 , how close to Niagara are you?
Deerefarmer
Member
- Location
- USA
I see. Was at Niagara last winter, bout as far north as I've been
- Location
- Owaka, New Zealand
Found a dusty map of one of the bigger ranches in the district, The Wisp
One of the few that hasn't been subdivided into smaller farms - don't tell Bossfarmer their biggest paddock is 817ha
- Location
- NSW, Newstralya
Some caltrop http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/318563/Tribulus-caltrop-and-yellow-vine.pdf that germinated as thick as hairs on a cat after recent rain, now dying from lack of moisture. More mature ones that came up from earlier rain are now very established & starting to flower.
Very aggressive tap rooted plant that survives summers longer than anything else does
Unfortunately it also produces millions of caltrop, cats head, three corned jack, burrs. Actually, while they are green they can be valuable sheep food & many western NSW graziers have relied on caltrop / yellowvine, to get them through summer in the past
Very aggressive tap rooted plant that survives summers longer than anything else does
Unfortunately it also produces millions of caltrop, cats head, three corned jack, burrs. Actually, while they are green they can be valuable sheep food & many western NSW graziers have relied on caltrop / yellowvine, to get them through summer in the past
- Location
- southern riverina Australia
Shìtfull plant
- Location
- Cornwall
Bâstard stuff!!!
- Location
- Cornwall
Oooh, you win at Paddock Top Trumps! The biggest I’ve been in is 350ha!
- Location
- Owaka, New Zealand
You wouldn't want to be in most of their bigger paddocks either.
It could handle one grazing per year, and probably gets 3...
Will be interesting to see how long it stays afloat, under current management, I give it 5 years..... just thought it may give some perspective on the "but, how can we compete with....." excuse
You can't!!
Neither can I.... and that's good business