Farming going full circle

[Pheasant Surprise]

Oats for the ploughing horses. The original biofuel.

Pretty good morning fuel for humans too. Definitely better than the sugar laden crap that passes for breakfast cereal

 

[Brisel]

Recycling. Feed grain to the animals. Eat the animals. Use the manure for fertiliser to grow more grain. Feed the domestic leftovers to pigs. Eat the pigs. Have chickens to eat the parasitic worms, supplying eggs to the house. Holistic regenerative agriculture.

 

[wanton dwarf]

Not enough recycling of nutrients going down our streams and rivers to the sea IMHO.

Nutrient capture ponds in our small streams, composted and recycled. Could be used for fishing, ducks & geese, water cress & flowers .. maybe cottage industry from reeds.

Can those dykes be used in Lincolnshire & Norfolk ?

HMG happy to punish UK agriculture for PK & N but does little to stop human sewerage doing exactly the same.

Our deltas - which are barren due to over saturation of nutrients (as they are all over the world) - ought to be farmed and recycled. Seaweed farming ought to be researched to provide fish spawning and nutrient recycling.

Lots possible but needs the money wasted on fake environmental projects - like exporting UK plastic to China only to get it dumped in the oceans.

Time HMG were made accountable for some of the bad mistakes .. such as plastic beads in cosmetic products.

Polluter pays - so that's water companies polluting rivers with human waste and plastic.

 

[lazy farmer]

Yields and prices haven't done much since the mid 80's. OK, we've got a few more toys. Unless there's a dramatic change in government / supermarket policy, the next 20 years will be interesting. I wouldn't joke about not hand milking cows again.....

Really.......

 

[som farmer]

we were really glad to stop growing kale in the 60's, going along with a hook to get a clear line for the elec fence, washing mud off cows tits, trying to avoid road users, but the cows stayed out into dec, then in march out on rye, going along with a cabless tractor chucking hay of a trailor, getting drenched, frozen, the worst I remember was when someone talked my old man into growing some canford kale, for the younger members, this was 5 or 6 feet high stalks like tree trunks, we had to take elec fence down, run through with an old finger bar mower, then put the fence back up, some body came up with the idea of putting it on a trailor, then chucking it off by hand. until 67 we could only tie up half the cows, so 1/2 out by day, 1/2 out by night. but as the thread say's, things go in cycles, and we now grow a lot of kale/rape, but its all a nicer height, and when its wet only dry cows, and hiefers .we bought the farm in the 60's, and dad used to buy a lot of xxbred cows, some of those were evil, and rubbish. spent years getting to nice uniform hols -- now going back to xbred. the only thing that hasn't come around are pigs, and a good job too!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Bruce Almighty]

we were really glad to stop growing kale in the 60's, going along with a hook to get a clear line for the elec fence, washing mud off cows tits, trying to avoid road users, but the cows stayed out into dec, then in march out on rye, going along with a cabless tractor chucking hay of a trailor, getting drenched, frozen, the worst I remember was when someone talked my old man into growing some canford kale, for the younger members, this was 5 or 6 feet high stalks like tree trunks, we had to take elec fence down, run through with an old finger bar mower, then put the fence back up, some body came up with the idea of putting it on a trailor, then chucking it off by hand. until 67 we could only tie up half the cows, so 1/2 out by day, 1/2 out by night. but as the thread say's, things go in cycles, and we now grow a lot of kale/rape, but its all a nicer height, and when its wet only dry cows, and hiefers .we bought the farm in the 60's, and dad used to buy a lot of xxbred cows, some of those were evil, and rubbish. spent years getting to nice uniform hols -- now going back to xbred. the only thing that hasn't come around are pigs, and a good job too!!!!!!!!!!

Dad used to tell me about similar experiences growing kale in the 60s, washing mud off cows and the rye. They'd let a bit go to seed & combine it & it was terrible itchy stuff.
Barrowing it off the field in a wet year, to wet to let the cows on, they soon changed to silage in the early 70s. 1967 they changed from batch milking in tie up cowshed to a 6 abreast parlour, they had 40 Friesian cows

Nowadays it's grass/maize silage & straights in the Keenan & has been for over 15 years. At the moment I can't see it changing, much as I'd like to - we have 90 Holstein X Friesian & Danish red X Holstein cows & a 10/20 parlour. I'd love to retire from milking as I've had enough of 80 hour weeks but nothing else will pay the bills & mortgage and it fits in with the arable, sheep & diversification

We have a "neighbour" (2 farms away) who keeps 50 cows, out winters them on a Swift type kale & still milks in a tie up cowshed. He has some dry ground, we have wet ground. He's 70 next month & a batchelor - aha tenant living in a cold 21 room dilapidated house, never spent money on the place as it's the Landord's job ! Neither has he done himself any favours. He's always done as his Dad & Grandfather did, under sown leys etc, I tell him he's a trend setter, he reckons he's 30 years behind

 

[Brisel]

Or 30 years ahead!

 

[primmiemoo]

Dad was delighted with the hungry gap kale for his biggish herd of c30 milkers in the 70s. We'd use it for greens for ourselves it was that amazing as food! Well ahead of the hipster curve.

What makes us giggle is Herbal Leys. There's a recipe for seeds for a reseed of 20 acres which has easily more than 10 grasses and grazable legumes in it from the late 60s. We never got on with straight ryegrass, so this place is partly cutting edge by default.

Déjà vue all over again.

 

[betweenthelines]

Spring barley on the way back for controlling blackgrass
Did anyone grow fodder beet in the 70's, will we see renewed interest in mangolds?
Milking cows in the field, isn't a mobile parlour just a bail?
Cows just eating grass.

 

[Kiwi Pete]

Dad was delighted with the hungry gap kale for his biggish herd of c30 milkers in the 70s. We'd use it for greens for ourselves it was that amazing as food! Well ahead of the hipster curve.

What makes us giggle is Herbal Leys. There's a recipe for seeds for a reseed of 20 acres which has easily more than 10 grasses and grazable legumes in it from the late 60s. We never got on with straight ryegrass, so this place is partly cutting edge by default.

Déjà vue all over again.

Proper TMR, saves on concrete and punctures.

It'll never work

 

[primmiemoo]

Spring barley on the way back for controlling blackgrass
Did anyone grow fodder beet in the 70's, will we see renewed interest in mangolds?
Milking cows in the field, isn't a mobile parlour just a bail?
Cows just eating grass.

Grew mangolds and fodder beet in the 80s. Excellent feed for stock, but I never want to wield a root hook again
Machine harvested next time ...

 

[borderterribles]

If back in the early 70's, I walked to school instead of catching the bus, I used to go by an old lad who would be milking his maybe two dozen Friesians and Shorthorns, in a moveable tin hut in various fields. He farmed on the other side of the village and it was too far, and the roads too busy to take the cows home twice a day for milking. He took churns full of drinking water to the cows and emptied them into some old baths and took the milk home in the same churns afterwards. His power to drive the vacuum pump was the Fordson tractor that carried him, the churns and his two milking buckets to and from the field.
Pretty much the same as today's dairying innovators are doing, but on a smaller scale!

 

[Bury the Trash]

Grew mangolds and fodder beet in the 80s. Excellent feed for stock, but I never want to wield a root hook again
Machine harvested next time ...

There are a few around that will harvest them for you or perhaps graze them insitu as some people do.....not so much frost around as in the old days

 

[hendrebc]

I read something somewhere a while ago about mangolds. If I remember right it was being touted as a good solution as a break crop were someone didn't want another brassica to graze stock on. Can't be lifted with a machine because of such variations in size apparently but would be a much cheaper crop to grow than fodder beet if it was only going to be grazed. I think they struggled to find enough or any seed to be able to do it though.

 

[Cab-over Pete]

Dad used to tell me about similar experiences growing kale in the 60s, washing mud off cows and the rye. They'd let a bit go to seed & combine it & it was terrible itchy stuff.
Barrowing it off the field in a wet year, to wet to let the cows on, they soon changed to silage in the early 70s. 1967 they changed from batch milking in tie up cowshed to a 6 abreast parlour, they had 40 Friesian cows

Nowadays it's grass/maize silage & straights in the Keenan & has been for over 15 years. At the moment I can't see it changing, much as I'd like to - we have 90 Holstein X Friesian & Danish red X Holstein cows & a 10/20 parlour. I'd love to retire from milking as I've had enough of 80 hour weeks but nothing else will pay the bills & mortgage and it fits in with the arable, sheep & diversification

We have a "neighbour" (2 farms away) who keeps 50 cows, out winters them on a Swift type kale & still milks in a tie up cowshed. He has some dry ground, we have wet ground. He's 70 next month & a batchelor - aha tenant living in a cold 21 room dilapidated house, never spent money on the place as it's the Landord's job ! Neither has he done himself any favours. He's always done as his Dad & Grandfather did, under sown leys etc, I tell him he's a trend setter, he reckons he's 30 years behind

Whichever way you view him, he’s a great chap isn’t he?

 

[Scribus]

Dad was delighted with the hungry gap kale for his biggish herd of c30 milkers in the 70s. We'd use it for greens for ourselves it was that amazing as food! Well ahead of the hipster curve.

What makes us giggle is Herbal Leys. There's a recipe for seeds for a reseed of 20 acres which has easily more than 10 grasses and grazable legumes in it from the late 60s. We never got on with straight ryegrass, so this place is partly cutting edge by default.

Déjà vue all over again.

The first time I ate kale was coming home from school in the back of a neighbours old Series I Landie which was usually loaded with the stuff and we sat on top of it and helped ourselves. Just remembered those days, I've always had as soft spot for Land Rovers since, can't say the same about kale though.

 

[som farmer]

I read something somewhere a while ago about mangolds. If I remember right it was being touted as a good solution as a break crop were someone didn't want another brassica to graze stock on. Can't be lifted with a machine because of such variations in size apparently but would be a much cheaper crop to grow than fodder beet if it was only going to be grazed. I think they struggled to find enough or any seed to be able to do it though.

always told they where 90% water

 

[Kiwi Pete]

Even the word "mangold" makes me want to bawl.

Those were the "good old days" alright

 

[Bury the Trash]

I read something somewhere a while ago about mangolds. If I remember right it was being touted as a good solution as a break crop were someone didn't want another brassica to graze stock on. Can't be lifted with a machine because of such variations in size apparently but would be a much cheaper crop to grow than fodder beet if it was only going to be grazed. I think they struggled to find enough or any seed to be able to do it though.

I was referring to grazing fodder beet ...with the right variety of course lower dm etc
The reason the use of
Mangold died out is because had to be hand hoe d 'sideways' to thin out the plants to get the decent sized root ,as more than one came from each seed ...its called 'multigerm '

Dad and grandad wouldve spent hours hoeing mangel ...when they were at the right size .and also down the rows for weed as well years ago....
Fodder beet is like modern sugar beet 'monogerm' so only one plant comes the seed and Bob s yer beano .......

 

[neilo]

Spring barley on the way back for controlling blackgrass
Did anyone grow fodder beet in the 70's, will we see renewed interest in mangolds?
Milking cows in the field, isn't a mobile parlour just a bail?
Cows just eating grass.

One of my beet fields is a variety called Brigadier, which is basically a mangold, with 12%DM and roots almost entirely out of the ground. Strip grazing it from both sides though, with no intention of lifting by hand into a trailer!

I should add that i have ordered Geronimo beet seed for this year, as the DM yield from that has been far higher for the last 2 years, even if you discount the part of the root that can’t be grazed without dragging it up with a pig tail Harrow.