Frost Drilling

Anyone had a go?
Guess I’d leave pulses as will be fairly boggy when thaws but maybe some oats?
Not sure it’s been hard enough in Cambridgeshire yet?
 

Boysground

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Wiltshire
Was pondering putting some beans in. On chalk so not waterlogged, ploughed lovely this week, needs some 0 24 24 which hopefully will happen tomorrow. Could easily get wet and not be able to touch it for a month.

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Wombat

Member
BASIS
Location
East yorks
Even in 2019 when i did some late, it just turned to a snotty mess and a chunk died so i personally wouldn;t bother with the ground as wet as it is. Plus the snow has stopped the ground freezing hard so its a bit like pudding underneath
 

jd6420s

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Yorkshire
I had a go a few years ago in December. It went in really well but when it thawed
it just went to complete sludge and the seed rotted away in the soil. I have however drilled very successfully in late January/ early February. The conditions afterwards although cold were also dry which helped a lot. Depends what you think the weather is going to do over the next couple of weeks.
 
I am keen think I’ll try one field
Ploughed and cultipressed twice
Lays wet as
Don’t think I’ll drill for a month if I don’t
Straight in with the Sabre tine
See what happens
Prob be froze out when it’s hard enough to travel
 

T Hectares

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Berkshire
I had a few times when it’s gone well as the frost is coming in at night, kept going twice all night until 10 next morning when the frost came out, around 3 - 5am is normally when the grounds at its hardest

The question is whether when the cold spell goes will the field be waterlogged ?? If it is the seed will rot, if not it seems to work here
 

Wombat

Member
BASIS
Location
East yorks
I had a few times when it’s gone well as the frost is coming in at night, kept going twice all night until 10 next morning when the frost came out, around 3 - 5am is normally when the grounds at its hardest

The question is whether when the cold spell goes will the field be waterlogged ?? If it is the seed will rot, if not it seems to work here

I think as you say it comes down to soil type and water table, we were putting in a new post Sunday and had water filling the hole 2 and a half foot down so i wouldn't even bother here most year.
 

Boysground

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Wiltshire
53C6D9D5-34D9-457A-A05F-6AFC2EF227A4.jpeg

I have dust today,

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whatnow

Member
Location
Wiltshire
I’ve always preferred drilling on a frost in Jan / Feb than mauling in with a tine drill / combi in Nov / Dec, yields in ‘13 backed this up by over 1 t/ha
Probably drilled 300 ha or more on frosts, maybe being over chalk is the key??
Do it reasonably regularly here, on the chalk. Maybe a year in three or four perhaps?
Considered it this week but if anything the frost is currently too hard here and couldn’t break the clods down enough
 

T Hectares

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Berkshire
Do it reasonably regularly here, on the chalk. Maybe a year in three or four perhaps?
Considered it this week but if anything the frost is currently too hard here and couldn’t break the clods down enough
It’s well in the ground this week !!
Thankfully nothing left to drill this year, did 50ha of Beans last Jan, we are cultivating Couch for an Organic farm at the moment, was too hard first thing this morning but it’s 0 at the moment and it’s going again
 

Boysground

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Wiltshire
I was surprised how well it was going, a few frozen lumps in one field the other was just powder. There is a footpath across some of it I hit that too fast with the press and broke a shear bolt. It was like concrete :ROFLMAO:

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Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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