- Location
- Lincolnshire
What’s that leave us with? Grass and livestock. Where the herbal ley catalogue? 
Grain needs to be dearer
- Thread starter Gedd
- Start date
- Location
- East Sussex
Would that make you brave or stupid…….. think I’m in the latter category!What’s that leave us with? Grass and livestock. Where the herbal ley catalogue?
- Location
- Lincolnshire
To be honest the sheep are becoming less stressful than the arable. (Partly because I’m not in charge of them). The machinery needed for the arable is becoming prohibitively expensive and the weather is playing havoc with crops. Loss of active chemicals is making crop production a very high stakes gamble. On a small acreage it’s hardly worth all the fixed overheads like RT, NROSO, sprayer MOT, LOLER etc. I could rubbish farm up with various arable SFI options of just grass the lot down. Grassing the lot down is looking more and more sensible and with herbal leys paying £150 an acre I’m starting to wonder if the days of commercial commodity production are over on this small farm with very average soils.
- Location
- NSW, Newstralya
wheat did originate in the Middle East or Mediterranean somewhere didn’t it ?
A hot dry climate anyway . . .
- Location
- NSW, Newstralya
a lot of your “competitors” wouldn’t have the inputs & costs you do
if it cost me that much to grow wheat, I wouldn’t grow it - not at what it is worth / tonne
Devil's advocate
Member
- Location
- Posh side of Barnsley
You ought to get your Brother on here Doc.
I think mixed farming on farms that can is best, always something to sell.
Punch
Member
- Location
- Warwickshire
Feel the same.
I need someone to have the patience with sheep I’ve never mustered!
Tb still an issue or I’d be tempted back into cattle too!
The Herbal Ley option is putting a base in grazing rents I fear.
- Location
- Lincolnshire
The rough plan for next year is evolving to 25 acres of poor arable land going into SFI herbal leys. We can use this to run the sheep thinner in the ground over winter and increase sheep numbers slightly.
The 60 acre block of arable clay will be continuous wheat and the 50 acre block of arable sand will be continuous barley, either winter or spring. Then we’ve also 75 acres of existing various grass leys which will stay as they are, maybe reseeded as herbal leys as they come up for reseeding.
I think we will be plough based going forward to reduce disease carry over cropping cereals continuously chopping straw. With no decent break crops now I can’t see much other option. Grass might rotate onto the cereal land but it’s not fenced and the existing grass fields are best left permanent grass being fenced, smaller, odd shapes and full of poles.
Alright, it’s not a proper rotation, but it’s simple and stands more than chance of turning a profit than a lot of SFI and direct drilling acrobatics.
Heck, I’ve even ordered the fertiliser.
The 60 acre block of arable clay will be continuous wheat and the 50 acre block of arable sand will be continuous barley, either winter or spring. Then we’ve also 75 acres of existing various grass leys which will stay as they are, maybe reseeded as herbal leys as they come up for reseeding.
I think we will be plough based going forward to reduce disease carry over cropping cereals continuously chopping straw. With no decent break crops now I can’t see much other option. Grass might rotate onto the cereal land but it’s not fenced and the existing grass fields are best left permanent grass being fenced, smaller, odd shapes and full of poles.
Alright, it’s not a proper rotation, but it’s simple and stands more than chance of turning a profit than a lot of SFI and direct drilling acrobatics.
Heck, I’ve even ordered the fertiliser.
- Location
- South Devon
Do you pay for agronomy?
- Location
- South Devon
Sometimes the bill seems eye watering, but how much area will that treat? Take off the VAT and then divide by acres with perhaps bits left over and it might not look quite as bad
Nope
40 hectares/100acre so ÂŁ30 an acre
ollie989898
Member
I know that. I was jesting.
warksfarmer
Member
Serviced agronomy or independent?
Edit: serviced if you dont pay per acre charge.
So easy thing to do is sack the agronomist and move to an independent. Then set up 3 or 4 accounts with the chem suppliers and buy the cheapest on the day.
Jon 3085
Member
- Location
- Worcester, UK
Your Jaunt is ÂŁ5 cheaper than mine ,not everyone gets the same price AGROVISTA.
- Location
- Northumberland
Having been stung in the past, I tend towards mixing straights, but might have to be more open.
If my sums are correct, the priaxor in the OP is a good bit less than my prices for Imtrex + comet, even before any sharpening of those figures.
Imtrex ÂŁ28/l, Comet ÂŁ26. 1.2l + 0.75 to be equivalent = ÂŁ51 compared with ÂŁ42/l Priaxor.
If my sums are correct, the priaxor in the OP is a good bit less than my prices for Imtrex + comet, even before any sharpening of those figures.
Imtrex ÂŁ28/l, Comet ÂŁ26. 1.2l + 0.75 to be equivalent = ÂŁ51 compared with ÂŁ42/l Priaxor.
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You are correct, grain does need to be dearer but not for this reason. Given all of the above answers are you going to use an independent agronomist in the future?
Making enquires but not a big arabe area
Have you tried the AICC website https://aicc.org.uk/ ? Independent agronomy is not just for large farms.
woodylane
Member
- Location
- Lancashire
The Horus will be as much use on brome as the Biopower, and he’s put “grass weed control” is he new to the job?