Field ploughing for flood prevention

[steveR]

theres none of what we farm that,that is not achievable on,any steeper than what weve got and i wouldnt arable it as in DW's post.
in doing so our ploughs tip the soil uphill by 600 mm and water will be caught by the top of the furrow.headlands are a problem in that respect yes.
beyond that broadcasting can be done across easily, no tramlines either.

you know as well is i do that a big problem is these days there are too many commentators without good long term relevant practical knowledge on an agricultural subject , or any subject for that matter, theres way too many 'politicians ' about the place

Regrettably, you are spot on. Every second man is an expert on farming and land management!

 

[steveR]

as mentioned above well designed Swales would help put in in the right places.,official bods when /if they seek advice will be advised that im sure, for instance its a basic requirement of planing on solar sites with any sort of slope.

Local Planners insisted on Swales here on the solar park, only issue is we are as flat as a pancake on the site... Total waste of time and money and made hedge cutting a nightmare. I have started filling a few in now, quiet like..

 

[Bury the Trash]

Local Planners insisted on Swales here on the solar park, only issue is we are as flat as a pancake on the site... Total waste of time and money and made hedge cutting a nightmare. I have started filling a few in now, quiet like..

oh yes that as well one or 2 are in completely the wrong place up hill from the water run ............and .

 

[bluebell]

its a fact that many thousands of acres of land that was never cropped before the war, was ploughed up and cropped for the war effort and has stayed cropped, as someone said arable farming is far easier, simpler than livestock farming ?

 

[jh.]

Ploughing across a hill hasn't really helped here . Ploughed 5 days and since had about 37mm and the furrows are already breached

 

[Bury the Trash]

Ploughing across a hill hasn't really helped here . Ploughed 5 days and since had about 37mm and the furrows are already breached

looks like ex maize ground that can be achallenge to deal with, basically instead of ploughing it now they would be better leaving it until spring.

look at the top of the furrow slice see how the aleady poor (before ploughing)structure shows itself ( unnatual splits and smoothness) .

but lets go back to the across the hill bit ,if you look up at the top of the photo it shows the run of the hill from letf and right into the center so in reality that part of the field isnt atually ploughed cross the side .


As already written in posts above look at geology and geography when first deciding field use.

but its no use trying to explain to those that cant even grasp the basics.

 

[jh.]

It is not ex maize ground. The farm was once a clay , quarry and brickwork , so it isn't the most forgiving of soils .

It's gets ploughed now simply for yield . Leaving it until the spring historically knocks about half a ton a acre off the yield regardless of how much diesel and metal gets flung at it . Tbh I wish it had been ploughed before Christmas but I was trying to get a few lower wet spots to dry . The majority of the angle was ploughed across the hill to try and help these wet spots but you are correct , that is a point between 2 changes in the terrain, which highlight how quick the water had found the weak spot to cut its channel after only 5 days .

 

[Matt]

Here’s one for you!

a customer has been written to, to demand he ploughs his field at 90 degrees to the slope (standard)......
The field in question is linseed stubble destined to be direct drilled when the weather permits......
He had been written too by the local flood prevention department of the county council!!! To slow the water from running off the hill and over welming the ditches...

There is also a footpath running straight up the hill that due to COVID walkers is now 15m wide and panned to hell that runs like a river down the slope, out the footpath gate and down the road flooding someone’s house.....

Doesn’t this kinda go against everything ag is trying to do at the moment.... should he do it and just bill them for the work?
Thoughts??? 36mm rain in 24hrs and 50mm in 24hrs don’t help!!

C B

With enough rain the field will be in the ditch and the ditch cant be over welming the ditch as it would be full.
there are some twonks allowed access to clipboards now a days.

there was a push in the times of catchment sensitive farming not to plough!

 

[Vader]

Amount of water at the moment coming down onto totally soaked ground means it runs off whatever.....

 

[steveR]

Amount of water at the moment coming down onto totally soaked ground means it runs off whatever.....

The main thing, is that the run off does not take the land with it...