Grassland starts

[Ley253]

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.

Sorry Bob , but I have to disagree. Most societies run the match for their own enrichment, very little money ever goes to charity, unless its a charity match.Many have bank balances built up over many years, some have over a million in the bank. When I started ploughing, Engraving was the duty of the society, and trophies were handed back several months early to enable this to be done. This enabled two things, first all the engraving was the same, and second the society could have a reduced rate for a bulk order.One society I know of and compete at, has an entry fee of £15.00 and expects you to engrave their trophy this adds about £10 pounds to the cost of entry. They are probably the richest society in the country, two trophies alone have a value of £48 Thousand pounds! I have won there twice but the trophies stay there! And because of that my name is missing. Thats no matter, as I said its their history, not mine, and if their history is of no value to them why should it be of value to me?
Charity matches are a different matter, as are new ones starting up, or adding classes.I will go past a local established match if my attendance at another will enable a new class to be introduced.
To conclude, if you win, then they should be honouring you, not the other way around!

 

[Tonym]

Sorry Bob , but I have to disagree. Most societies run the match for their own enrichment, very little money ever goes to charity, unless its a charity match.Many have bank balances built up over many years, some have over a million in the bank. When I started ploughing, Engraving was the duty of the society, and trophies were handed back several months early to enable this to be done. This enabled two things, first all the engraving was the same, and second the society could have a reduced rate for a bulk order.One society I know of and compete at, has an entry fee of £15.00 and expects you to engrave their trophy this adds about £10 pounds to the cost of entry. They are probably the richest society in the country, two trophies alone have a value of £48 Thousand pounds! I have won there twice but the trophies stay there! And because of that my name is missing. Thats no matter, as I said its their history, not mine, and if their history is of no value to them why should it be of value to me?
Charity matches are a different matter, as are new ones starting up, or adding classes.I will go past a local established match if my attendance at another will enable a new class to be introduced.
To conclude, if you win, then they should be honouring you, not the other way around!

Maybe some of the matches are like this and I can only speak for the Morville Countryside Club match of which I am chairman. After expenses are paid all monies raised from our ploughing match and other events such as the Tractor Run and other events we hold throughout the year goes to charity. Our main charity is the Midlands Air Ambulance and in the 10 years we have been going we have raised over £ 40,000 for them plus smaller amounts for various other charities. We donate all of the money other than the cost of our insurance each year.

 

[Ley253]

Maybe some of the matches are like this and I can only speak for the Morville Countryside Club match of which I am chairman. After expenses are paid all monies raised from our ploughing match and other events such as the Tractor Run and other events we hold throughout the year goes to charity. Our main charity is the Midlands Air Ambulance and in the 10 years we have been going we have raised over £ 40,000 for them plus smaller amounts for various other charities. We donate all of the money other than the cost of our insurance each year.

You list yourselves as a charity match, and as I said charity matches are a different matter. With a few mins thought, I have identified sixteen, which I attend, which are not. Quite a large "Some" dont you think?

 

[Kenham]

One of our local matches {which by the way is one of the worst in the south east} last year put up the entry fee to £20, nothing goes to charity ,ten years ago they had over £60 thousand in bank. Another local one has over £60 thousand in the bank I think the last time I ploughed there the entry was £15 . These are societies that if they do donate £500 to a local cause they tell you how good they are. I worked it out six years ago an average on 15 matches a year costs me £150 a match ,mainly tvo, and diesel in the lorry. At my match I have to charge £10 an entry just to cover my costs but I don't have thousand of pounds coming in from the trade stands and the car park. Vintage ploughing is not a cheap hobby any more and I really think some of the bigger societies need to think about the ploughmen a bit more. The two mentioned are by far the worst for not being able to abide by their own rules let alone SOP rules they pretend they run by. Of course if I say anything I am told I am always moaning ,the simple answer is I don't attend them now. I also have driven past the gate of one of these matches to attend another match 50 miles further on Why? because I was invited, was made very welcome and they did not take the p\\\\ . One of the mentioned societies did provide a dinner but if you won your class you did not have time to eat it as you have to plough in the plough off. HaHa the other one was the onion apple cheese and cake in the same box fiasco , now you get no lunch there at all, doesn't matter as it was crap anyway. At the same time all the posh people were having there 3 course meal in the tent for free, not me as I am in the silly plough off burning another £25 worth of tvo.on top of the £20 entry fee. There I am,moaning again.

 

[Fergie Ploughman]

While we're on the subject of alternative starts, (sort of) has anyone on here tried the method below and how successful was it? View attachment 264700

This is the start used by the Ferguson class, as per Ferguson plough manual for opening in stubble.

 

[Howard150]

This is the start used by the Ferguson class, as per Ferguson plough manual for opening in stubble.

That picture is from Ransomes 'Good Ploughing'
The very same book that I took the grassland start from!

That picture is in the match ploughing section right at the very end of the book.

 

[Timo@hattonfarms]

That picture is from Ransomes 'Good Ploughing'
The very same book that I took the grassland start from!

That picture is in the match ploughing section right at the very end of the book.

I bought the book of a junk stall for £2.50 years ago, I see there making £40+ on eBay now [emoji6]

 

[Fergie Ploughman]

I bought the book of a junk stall for £2.50 years ago, I see there making £40+ on eBay now [emoji6]

It's an excellent book, I bought one when I was a student at Reasheath in Cheshire, I have lasting memory of it being used by people to roll joints on!!!!

 

[Tafe Tractorman]

i think i had my ransomes good ploughing book for christmas when i was twelve just a few years ago i have only tried a grassland opening twice the first time it was too narrow for the furrows to fold together the seccond time was last year at torksey match where it was too hard in early may too get a true assesment of what was happening but i have got a grass field near by which i hope to have another crack at it when weather permits A good idea of how it is supposed to be done is to click on you tube search world grassland ploughing and watch the guy with the ford 4000 he has a video camera fixed on the rear wing

 

[tomlad]

Is this a link ?

If I've got the one I meant it's a very good video of the earth turning
Done this on my phone

 

[Ley253]

Well thats surprised me! I think this, done at Sarn last year is better. The filmed split is not uniform, and the start is one sided in both depth and width. The second run has been finned to death, but it still show the first too be wrong(shallow)

 

[rick_vandal]

Is this a link ?

If I've got the one I meant it's a very good video of the earth turning
Done this on my phone

Did I just see an arable split on grass, dual wheels and extensions working horizontal manipulating the slice?

 

[rick_vandal]

Self explanatory from the last good ploughing!View attachment 260566

Rolling is permitted?

 

[Ley253]

It was when the book was printed, and still is if the plough is in the ground. Here is a pretty decent modern grass opening..

 

[rick_vandal]

The obsession with turning all the ground is not valid on grass. thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/grassland-starts.98762/page-4#post-7809571 shows an arable split on turf. If the site rules dictate against this behaviour, you should lose points.

 

[Ley253]

Look again. he furrow slice is being pushed far enough away to leave a grass strip between it and the open furrow. This is then turned into the centre of the opening with the rear body as the front completes the opening. It is far from an arable opening.

 

[Carrot cruncher]

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

Vale of Glamorgan do engrave the dragon trophies, but you don’t take them home the society hold them.

 

[rick_vandal]

Look again. he furrow slice is being pushed far enough away to leave a grass strip between it and the open furrow. This is then turned into the centre of the opening with the rear body as the front completes the opening. It is far from an arable opening.

Grass and corn are different.

 

[rick_vandal]

Is this a link ?

If I've got the one I meant it's a very good video of the earth turning
Done this on my phone

I see a 'modern' double split on grass then extensions set horizontal. What was the lunch like?

 

[Fergie Ploughman]

Just got my Ransome good ploughing book out again looking at grassland starts, as we seemed to be talking about them at a match the other day. The book doesn't explain it well, I think it leads you to do an 11 furrow start. I get doing a couple of chips each way (like the first pic in the Howards post). The first run via sighting poles, but where do you drive for the second? I plough 10", so in theory my rear runs smack in the middle of the tractor. What do I need between the two furrow walls of the chip (like that first pic) - I'm guessing 26 or maybe 28" to lay the two crown furrows? ...but to do this I'd end up running on the one I've just turned over wouldn't I?