Grassland starts

[mike.l]

Hi i think i could find a few but as you know when you are plowing you dont take pictures
wife doesent go with me so no pictures but next year going to try to make a video of one or two of the matches

 

[Timo@hattonfarms]

While we're on the subject of alternative starts, (sort of) has anyone on here tried the method below and how successful was it?

 

[Ley253]

Thats the "old way", fell out of favour for some reason, but I cant remember why. I was one of the first in wilts/gloucester area to try the modern method, I was ploughing vintage then.

 

[Ley253]

Hi i think i could find a few but as you know when you are plowing you dont take pictures
wife doesent go with me so no pictures but next year going to try to make a video of one or two of the matches

I have been thinking of putting a dash cam in the truck, going on from there I think one could be mounted on an outrigger and set to film the plough in action. Is there one which has the capacity to record for the length of time required?

 

[Mydexta]

I have been thinking of putting a dash cam in the truck, going on from there I think one could be mounted on an outrigger and set to film the plough in action. Is there one which has the capacity to record for the length of time required?

Maybe not a dashcam, but one of those go-pro style cameras which people attach to various things would do the job

 

[Pennine Ploughing]

Maybe not a dashcam, but one of those go-pro style cameras which people attach to various things would do the job

I have a GoPro cam, and going to film the high cut that I am just about to start in, and will film the highs and lots of lows over the coming months

 

[Tonym]

Thats the "old way", fell out of favour for some reason, but I cant remember why. I was one of the first in wilts/gloucester area to try the modern method, I was ploughing vintage then.

Probably you could make a very good start with this method but today's judges would give you very few marks for the opening split as you have a step in it and no mould furrow which is the way they like to see it done today.

 

[Ley253]

Probably you could make a very good start with this method but today's judges would give you very few marks for the opening split as you have a step in it and no mould furrow which is the way they like to see it done today.

Indeed. That split fills all the requirements listed, its straight, cleanly cut and uniform, so should be around 17/18 points. But because judging is influenced so much by what the judges like to see, or worse still, what is done in their area,and not what the rule book requires,it would get nowhere nr that in a match today.

 

[mike.l]

Hi i am not so interested in the individual but watching the whole plowing match and getting a look at the best and the worst in that match good tool to improve my plowing i hope . got to get wife all fired up yet mike

 

[Ley253]

Going back to the op, I have remembered another method of opening in grass. You turned out two shallow furrows with the back body, but left a narrow strip strip unploughed between then so that you had the correct width to turn the start furrows back.

 

[Petetheploughman]

Hi i think i could find a few but as you know when you are plowing you dont take pictures
wife doesent go with me so no pictures but next year going to try to make a video of one or two of the matches

I have a wife that can come with me to a ploughing match and write down what I have to do! Much cheaper! Oh and you don't have to worry about her battery running down.

 

[Ley253]

I have a wife that can come with me to a ploughing match and write down what I have to do! Much cheaper! Oh and you don't have to worry about her battery running down.

How does the visual playback bit work?

 

[Pennine Ploughing]

How does the visual playback bit work?

probably away at the toilets and miss the good bits

 

[Petetheploughman]

How does the visual playback bit work?

probably away at the toilets and miss the good bits

Ask her I suppose. No to be honest your right a camera is the best.

Has anybody been to a match yet in the new year and tried out their new gadgets and modifications they have made. There used to be a Christmas match I used to go to at the start of the year but unfortunately the organiser is no longer with us.

 

[Pennine Ploughing]

Ask her I suppose. .

she says your preparation beforehand is a bit lax, good opening split, your uniformity and firmness is ok, ins and outs not bad, but you finish too soon, and don't like you winning, better if you come second,
sorry

 

[Petetheploughman]

.

she says your preparation beforehand is a bit lax, good opening split, your uniformity and firmness is ok, ins and outs not bad, but you finish too soon, and don't like you winning, better if you come second,
sorry

Coming second is better because you don't have to put the prize money on having the trophy engraved! I'm quite a selfish person!

 

[Pennine Ploughing]

your right the prize money don't cover the cost of engraving

 

[Ley253]

Time was when societies did the engraving, and in my view still should. After all its their history.

 

[Pennine Ploughing]

long time ago, a farm worker won a match, and used his winnings as a deposit on a 270 farm, the match was between Ransome and a plough manufacturer at Cockermouth

 

[arcobob]

How many societies actually make and retain a significant amount of money. Most of the surplus goes to charity and in many cases this is to satisfy the landowner who puts up with us. In other words we largely get back what we put in. I run a match, charge a £10 entry fee, pay insurance, hire in toilets and hope to scrape up some sponsorship for prizes. After taking out expenses for postage and judges gifts I give the rest to the farmer`s chosen charity. There are many hidden expenses but I am happy to do this this because I try to put something back for all the enjoyment I have derived.This does not always go according to plan. On occasions when the weather beats us we spend hours on the phone cancelling, rearranging dates and trying to make sure that people are not inconvenienced. To pay a few quid for engraving of a trophy is part of the honour of winning and those who don`t bother and dump it back in the hands of the organisers to pick up the tab should be ashamed of themselves.