Is harvest 2019 getting desperate in Scotland??

How much of your crops are going down

  • none

    Votes: 23 31.5%
  • 1/4 of fields

    Votes: 25 34.2%
  • 1/2 fields

    Votes: 10 13.7%
  • 3/4 of fields

    Votes: 6 8.2%
  • every field is going down

    Votes: 9 12.3%

  • Total voters
    73

Donkey Oaty

Member
Location
Aberdeenshire
This is from a field of 6 row WB in South Aberdeenshire tonight. Its soaking wet at the moment. It will be like needles when it's dry.
 

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Farmer Roy

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
NSW, Newstralya
Puts it into perspective a bit...
This is the sharp end of hoping somebody somewhere else in the World has a shitter of a harvest so that our prices might rise.

we did get an opportunity to plant some crop this winter on less than ideal moisture, but its not looking good & if the spring is hot & dry ( predicting no significant rainfall for the rest of the year ) then it wont be harvested. Next planting opportunity is this summer, but with no subsoil moisture ( rule of thumb - we generally aim for 1 metre of sub soil moisture before we plant a crop. Rely on stored soil moisture rather than rainfall to grow a crop, which is why zero - till & retaining maximum groundcover has been the default farming system here for over 20 years. No moisture - no crop ) to speak of, that is looking highly unlikely. Will need at least 200 mm to wet up these deep heavy soils before youd even think about putting a summer crop in the ground.

We will hold out for 6 months to see if we can get a summer crop planting opportunity. If that doesn't happen, then will have no choice but to put the farm up for sale as well.

Ive been here for 30 years, my family since 1911 & this is the hardest it has ever been.
Ive never missed a cropping season before ( largely thanks to zero-till, retained ground cover & conserving soil moisture ) but it is looking like I will miss 4 in a row now . . .
 

Farmer Roy

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
NSW, Newstralya

That was your family home @Farmer Roy ?:oops::(:oops::(

that's the one
its Plan B of a longer term strategy
there is also Plan C if it all ends in tears
always need to have an exit plan or a fall back . . .
 
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Farmer Roy

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
NSW, Newstralya
after reading farmer roys last few posts this thread needs locking and we all should ponder how lucky we are to have some wet wheat ?

don't worry, I fully understand how difficult a wet harvest can be
I've had my fair share of wet wheat ( we are a land of extremes ) in the past. Have seen roots growing out of heads of wheat on a number of occasions. Have also had two entire wheat harvests 100% wiped out by flooding in 98 & 2000 ( on an open floodplain, so water is slow moving & doesn't cause much washing, but wheat was underneath water / standing in water for nearly two weeks, straw rotted & heads fell into the mud
Have harvested grain sorghum & sunflowers standing in a foot of water
Believe me, I know all about wet harvests & how expensive they can be
I sympathise with you lot struggling with it now, I hope you get through it (y)
 
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David.

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
J11 M40
That is rather the point though, we shall get through, and It will only mean that most of us will pay a bit less tax. Doubt anyone will end up selling the roof over their heads.
It has long been said that in various ways, Aus has the ability to finish you, but without the insight of somebody with skin in the game, it is hard to comprehend.
 

Sonoftheheir

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
West Suffolk
that's the one
its Plan B of a longer term strategy
there is also Plan C if it all ends in tears
always need to have an exit plan or a fall back . . .

Very sorry to hear, that really is rough. You never said it was easy, but that really is an eye opener!

Coming down our farm track this time of year looking at the fields, it really is the land of milk and honey and has been for years. We are so lucky here....... ATM!
 

Hedge back

Member
a lot of my crops are now going down with the heavy rain and after a drive down to central Scotland at the weekend i was shocked and felt my crops werent as bad, some fields are completely flat out and about how will farmers lift them? with Nov wheat at 144 and a high chance of rejected malting barley this year that doesnt leave much for what we do lift, have things ever looked this bleak pre harvest???
Things are bad down here in borders. Harvest has hardly even started yet, laid crops everywhere, no straw bales, rape and wheat sprouting , ground bottomless, it’s not good.
 

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SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 79 42.5%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 65 34.9%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 16.1%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 6 3.2%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

  • 1,287
  • 1
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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