How Do I Avoid the Wet Winter Slump?

adam_farming

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Suffolk
Drainage is absolutely crucial as we know. If it’s not working everything else is a waste of time and effort. It’s a time consuming job though.

Arguably so is endlessly smashing up soils with big tractor power to try and get a seedbed for a below potential crop, as some others out there seem to be enjoying, and paying out huge finance payments every month for the social media kudos of having the shiny gear
 

DrWazzock

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lincolnshire
Arguably so is endlessly smashing up soils with big tractor power to try and get a seedbed for a below potential crop, as some others out there seem to be enjoying, and paying out huge finance payments every month for the social media kudos of having the shiny gear
I fully agree with minimising power applied to the soil. It's ultimately counter productive and worsens the slumping, loss of organic matter and natural fissures. It wastes time and diesel.
But I do have some heavy pondy areas that seem to need some sort of help, in a subtle, careful, non damaging way if they aren't to revert to their completely natural state which is essentially to become the bottom of a lagoon or pond which is what they were before they were drained and farmed.
Some would say they should be left to go back to that state but they aren't a nice discrete block that I can hive off but a patchwork all over the farm between sand which direct drills with ease.
I think spot low disturbance subsoiling to the porous fill and light stubble cultivation is probably as good as it gets for me. Then spray off and drill with the moore which works well in that situation. There are cover crops and all that malarkey but I just don't seem to have the time.
 

adam_farming

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Suffolk
I fully agree with minimising power applied to the soil. It's ultimately counter productive and worsens the slumping, loss of organic matter and natural fissures. It wastes time and diesel.
But I do have some heavy pondy areas that seem to need some sort of help, in a subtle, careful, non damaging way if they aren't to revert to their completely natural state which is essentially to become the bottom of a lagoon or pond which is what they were before they were drained and farmed.
Some would say they should be left to go back to that state but they aren't a nice discrete block that I can hive off but a patchwork all over the farm between sand which direct drills with ease.
I think spot low disturbance subsoiling to the porous fill and light stubble cultivation is probably as good as it gets for me. Then spray off and drill with the moore which works well in that situation. There are cover crops and all that malarkey but I just don't seem to have the time.

I think you're right with the lighter approach, timing is as important as anything I guess. The only thing that excess power allows you to do is stretch the window in which it appears to able to do the work, when in fact it's just forcing it instead
 

DrWazzock

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lincolnshire
Has field been mole ploughed lately
It’s never been mole ploughed. The clay is in belts and islands in each field surrounded by sand. The sand won’t sustain a mole. The old Ransomes subsoiler going deep does kind of mole across the drains locally in the heavy areas cutting into the porous fill which helps. We also have a gas pipeline and an oil pipeline and they aren’t keen on moling. I. Some areas we have 2 foot of solid blue clay with running sand undwrneath and in other areas sand on top and solid clay underneath. It’s a fudging nightmare TBH and I wish we’d sold it and bought a wold farm years ago.😕
 

ih1455xl

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
northampton
It’s never been mole ploughed. The clay is in belts and islands in each field surrounded by sand. The sand won’t sustain a mole. The old Ransomes subsoiler going deep does kind of mole across the drains locally in the heavy areas cutting into the porous fill which helps. We also have a gas pipeline and an oil pipeline and they aren’t keen on moling. I. Some areas we have 2 foot of solid blue clay with running sand undwrneath and in other areas sand on top and solid clay underneath. It’s a fudging nightmare TBH and I wish we’d sold it and bought a wold farm years ago.😕
Paraplough sounds like the best bit of kit for the job or couple of new drains
 

ih1455xl

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
northampton
You need one of these
3CB5C1CF-B29C-487B-A961-1CA5CC0AA70C.jpeg
 

jonnieboy

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
North Yorkshire
The last 2 winters have really highlighted any drainage problems and I think a plough based system can mask the problem
I have fields with a ripple effect of establishment and it’s over historic drains where the crop is growing but the old drainage system cannot cope with the extreme rainfall we have had over the last 2 years
So do we plough and forget the problem or fix the problem ?
I know where I am on this hence the Barth trencher joining the fleet
 

Grass And Grain

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Yorks
@DrWazzock
Aurumn 19 we had a heavy wet clay field 9m above sea level, didn't get it ploughed or cultivated. The stubble sat saturated in water all winter (no working drains in that field).

When top dried out in spring we disced it 2" deep. Went back 24hrs later, disced again slightly deaper this time. 24hrs later combi-drilled it. Spring drought set in, but it was our best field of spring barley. Dropped the seed
through the tilth and onto the moist clay. Rolled a couple of days later.

However, it had been grass for 5 years, then first wheat. So although no drainage and water stood ober winter, soil structure was good, still benefiting from grass roots/sod.

I'd do it again. Suppose it relies on good dry ground conditions previous harvest. In a wet summer, could have water stood in combine wheelings, then I don't know what to suggest.
 

Wombat

Member
BASIS
Location
East yorks
I am going to try running the flat lift through the crops that will be spring crops next year straight after harvest and leave.

Disc and drill failed last year as we lost too much moisture, this year I direct tine drilled it and the slugs thinned the spring wheat a bit should have pelleted but didn’t think they would be that active in March and the spring barley had good establishment way better than last year with less rain but no rain for 7 weeks and then 80mm has really fecked up the barley.

If it continues like the last couple of years I am really not sure I can crop a big chunk of our small acreage
 

snarling bee

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Bedfordshire
We generally use Simba SLD with low disturbance legs, and follow with a press for winter cereals, or a Horsch Terrano (H duty spring tines) for spring crops. If the ground is pressed before a spring crop it does go hard, much better when left loose.
My neighbour who DDs has hardly got any crops this year. Too wet in the autumn too late in the spring.
 

Wombat

Member
BASIS
Location
East yorks
We generally use Simba SLD with low disturbance legs, and follow with a press for winter cereals, or a Horsch Terrano (H duty spring tines) for spring crops. If the ground is pressed before a spring crop it does go hard, much better when left loose.
My neighbour who DDs has hardly got any crops this year. Too wet in the autumn too late in the spring.

Just a question but how do u go on in a year like this with no rain for 7 weeks in terms of the terrano losing moisture in spring?
 

Farm X

Member
Trade
Location
Worldwide
The last 2 winters have really highlighted any drainage problems and I think a plough based system can mask the problem
I have fields with a ripple effect of establishment and it’s over historic drains where the crop is growing but the old drainage system cannot cope with the extreme rainfall we have had over the last 2 years
So do we plough and forget the problem or fix the problem ?
I know where I am on this hence the Barth trencher joining the fleet
Do you use a trencher yourself?
I'm curious if you've heard of the Soil-Max Tile (drainage pipe) Plough. Similar to a trencher but much faster and with better grade control. We've recently sent our first couple of tile ploughs to the UK and I always like to see if other farmers have heard of this product.
 

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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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