Heavy land crop rotations without OSR

[E_B]

One our heavier fields, I am working towards a grass, grass, winter beans, wheat, winter linseed or oats, wheat rotation.

All strip tilled, except for the grass which is drilled straight into wheat stubble with a tine drill.

The grass is for our own cattle and grows like hell on the heavy land through summer. The only negative of the grass is that I have to cart the bales 14 miles home each way.

All straw is baled. If it wasn't for having our own cattle, I would try and shift it to someone. Makes dealing with slugs much easier and hopefully the grass effect will restore the organic matter loss. I don't worry too much on heavy land anyway.

Haven't actually grown linseed yet but the idea is a break that sets up an easy strip till entry into wheat and reduces the slug burden, with the straw being baled. If by a fortnight into October the linseed is non existent then it can be sprayed off and go in with oats for a take all break, if weather permits. The tine drill would be good for this situation. One problem could be if the linseed receives an avadex pre-em then that would scupper the oats? I haven't actually talked to an agronomist about this yet.

Doomed for failure.

 

[teslacoils]

That's pretty similar to my plan, except I want the grass down three years, beans, wheat, so oats, winter barley. Although the plan changes a lot. The beans would be subsoiled into the grass.

 

[ajd132]

Yes you appear to be making it work well in your almost DD scenario (i think you said you do some cultivation before spring barley?) but I think this year may well find out some heavy land maxi till farmers who thought spring barley was ok for them. There's a reason that most heavyland pre BG was entirely winter cropped.

Yeh we have been cultivating shallow before spring barley. Do you mean it’s going to dry up and be crap?
Plenty of people have had spring barley disasters around here in recent years. We seem to be doing okay so far, I would rather not have to grow it though!

 

[DRC]

That's pretty similar to my plan, except I want the grass down three years, beans, wheat, so oats, winter barley. Although the plan changes a lot. The beans would be subsoiled into the grass.

Why wouldn’t you follow the grass with wheat and then the beans followed by another wheat

 

[E_B]

Why wouldn’t you follow the grass with wheat and then the beans followed by another wheat

In our case, the risk of frit fly, wireworm, leatherjackets after an extended ley (although only two years for us). Also no take all break. Also not the best seed to soil contact when strip tilling with cereal coulters into grass, the single shoot fairs much better. Also with beans you get a longer chance at a second dose of glyphosate to kill off grass regrowth before the beans emerge. So half of our reasons are specific to strip tilling, and would be also for no till.

 

[teslacoils]

More time to cut grass. Kerb on beans. O my want wheat once in the rotation.

 

[Wheatseeker]

does nobody know what the possibilities of breeding resistance to csfb are? they managed it with bydv with that new wheat variety.

High - in a GM situation. GM maize traits produce a protein in the plant that kills various insect pests. The technology is there to do it...

 

[ajd132]

High - in a GM situation. GM maize traits produce a protein in the plant that kills various insect pests. The technology is there to do it...

Nature always beats these things in the end. They have 3 or 4 traits bred into cotton now and are now back to insecticide aswell. All these ‘technologies’ do is just prolong completely unsustainable farming systems I’m afraid.

 

[Wheatseeker]

Nature always beats these things in the end. They have 3 or 4 traits bred into cotton now and are now back to insecticide aswell. All these ‘technologies’ do is just prolong completely unsustainable farming systems I’m afraid.

The same could be said of most agchem.

 

[ajd132]

The same could be said of most agchem.

I completely agree. There’s a good book called ‘chasing the red queen’ by a guy called Andy dyer that goes into treadmill of ag chem and gm. Thoroughly recommend it

 

[Wheatseeker]

I completely agree. There’s a good book called ‘chasing the red queen’ by a guy called Andy dyer that goes into treadmill of ag chem and gm. Thoroughly recommend it

Thanks, I’ll have a look for it.

 

[Brisel]

High - in a GM situation. GM maize traits produce a protein in the plant that kills various insect pests. The technology is there to do it...

The Bt gene? One of the first traits for GM maize IIRC. Roundup Ready was the next one to be introduced.

 

[willy]

Making spring barley work well here now on heavy land but it is difficult to hit nitrogen specs although I think we are getting better at managing N on it these days

What is your nitrogen management now?

 

[ajd132]

What is your nitrogen management now?

We put more on with the drill and less overall basically. I’ve tried a tramline of putting it all on with the drill. Should be interesting to see especially if it stays dry

 

[Brisel]

We put more on with the drill and less overall basically. I’ve tried a tramline of putting it all on with the drill. Should be interesting to see especially if it stays dry

I'd be interested to see if you've scorched the seedlings with the higher doses of N. Was it down the same spout as the seed? What form of N?

 

[Banana Bar]

We put more on with the drill and less overall basically. I’ve tried a tramline of putting it all on with the drill. Should be interesting to see especially if it stays dry

How did this go?

 

[ajd132]

How did this go?

No difference at all in yield and slightly lower N’s. I used the n tester through the season and the n was higher in the plant where it was all down spout. I don’t think last season was a very good one to make any big decision on

 

[Rob Holmes]

Has anyone suggested Lupins?
Easier to grow than soya, and protein quality is as good
They fix their own N and P
I fancy growing some

 

[teslacoils]

My lupins didn't see a combine. Looked pretty though, the ones that grew.

 

[ajd132]

Has anyone suggested Lupins?
Easier to grow than soya, and protein quality is as good
They fix their own N and P
I fancy growing some

I just cannot get excited about any of these niche crops.