Is It Time To Ban Maize

[Bury the Trash]

@som farmer hit the nail on the head with one word.... slopes.

This, combined with autumn harvesting (as opposed to late summer for cereals) is the issue. Plus as maize tends to be grown in livestock areas, slurry.

but Unfortunately (possibly the majority ? )livestock are kept in sloping areas its not like the Netherlands here.

It would be a pity as Maize is such a good energy source (it's the Cob everyone grows it for ) if the choice wasnt there to grow it for feed .

And Tbf to Plant breeders for once they have done a lot towards earlier maturing since the seventies

 

[DRC]

@som farmer hit the nail on the head with one word.... slopes.

This, combined with autumn harvesting (as opposed to late summer for cereals) is the issue. Plus as maize tends to be grown in livestock areas, slurry.

Think it was as wet when harvesting barley this year than when doing the maize. It’s ok on a slope as long as you harvest it early and get wheat planted after it.
Its been a fantastic crop for us over the years. Uses the pig muck, them wheat , barley, stubble turnips and back to maize. What else is a good break on light land . I have a quarter of the farm down to it

 

[Clive]

i can see a day when access to land by machinery is banned november - march

 

[Bury the Trash]

Wheat goes well after it, a complimentary , productive cover sown promptly , good results have been seen regularly locally when carefully harvested , good maize ground has been drilled with a Claydon drill by Devon James,


everything needs luck with the weather at all times of course even cereal crops as weve seen in some extreme seasons.

 

[DRC]

i can see a day when access to land by machinery is banned november - march

We’ve already got NVZs which prevent anyone spreading muck in these periods .

 

[Bury the Trash]

i can see a day when access to land by machinery is banned november - march

Maybe For arable farmers.
With a derogation for livestock farmers on welfare grounds. Supljmentary feeding is absolutely necessary in wet like we are having atm .
Snow and prolonged hard frosts would bring the same necessity.

 

[ollie989898]

Maize is a good crop agronomically and serves as a useful break between grass leys or cereal crops.

Good early varieties with less stover to cob and you are good to go. Low environmental impact in some ways as less fertiliser and fungicides used. Virtually no insecticides now too.

 

[Lowland1]

Surely it's obvious that production of food and energy crops is detrimental to the UK environment and as such should be outsourced from other countries that do not care about such environmental issues. As such I'd be happy to help.

 

[Clive]

Maybe For arable farmers.
With a derogation for livestock farmers on welfare grounds. Supljmentary feeding is absolutely necessary in wet like we are having atm .
Snow and prolonged hard frosts would bring the same necessity.

maybe they even ban outdoor livestock ?

i’m not saying i would agree with such rules but i can see them coming potentially

as farmers we all think about the food production first, those that regulate us increasingly think about environment first and food after

they “maybe” have a point when you look at the pollution that its undeniable some winter farming practices are causing - maize / carrots etc being clear bad examples

if the same “polluter pays” fines applied to industry were enforced to agriculture i suspect maize and carrots would become instantly inviable as crops ... i think that’s coming

 

[Cvx1170]

Id ban opinions, imagine a world without opinions, just complete calm & peace

 

[jondear]

Has maize really the dairy industry any good .Has created to much milk over the years in turn leading to a price that's less than cost of production for some .
No doubt it's helped with badger populations helping to spread tb over the whole country
Some say it's detrimental to a cows health .
It's great in a drought but not last year.when it's been difficult to establish anything after harvest.

 

[DRC]

I’m getting to the point, and age, when I’m tempted to say blow it and put the lot into an environment scheme, sell off the machinery ( except the topper), and let them eat cake as they say.
Im sure I could get a nice part time job, maybe inspecting schemes

 

[nelly55]

Just to play devils advocate boys and girls,machinery is getting so big and heavy that it’s affecting not only the top soil structure but below cultivation depth.I’m not saying go back to the dark ages of horse and cart etc or you all rush out and buy a little grey fergie but there has to be more than just blaming a crop.Personally I think drainage is a serious issue for all farmland it is no good having good field drainage to cope with heavy water logging when basically the plug is still in the hole.Back on my soap box the damn rivers and whole drainage issue needs sorting.We have to grow root crops ,for animal feed and human feed.Don’t get me going on digesters.

 

[Bury the Trash]

Maize is a good crop agronomically and serves as a useful break between grass leys or cereal crops.

Good early varieties with less stover to cob and you are good to go. Low environmental impact in some ways as less fertiliser and fungicides used. Virtually no insecticides now too.

Boy does It take some fertility at up to 30t/ an acre dwarf varieties could help that, well would be better for ' grown for grain crops ' that dont exactly need a minimum amount of bulk to make a clamp for storage.
Also a Shorter plant would mature quicker possibly you would think....

 

[som farmer]

Why not just ban farming all together then it’ll keep the majority of people happy

unfortunantly, there is a lot of people who would like to do that, through ignorance, they simply no longer realise food and farming go together, think the country side should be a 'nature' park, and food comes from the s/mkt. It would be laughable, if it wasn't true. The downside of that, is gov will listen to them, before us, why ? They have a lot more votes than we do. Going back to maize, we farmers have caused problems, simply by growing it, in places where we shouldn't, clay, slopes etc, in any wet harvest, it causes a hell of a mess, we know that, the public see it, and they moan.
While we accept that happens, sometimes, the public think, all the time. We have to accept we are pi#s poor, at putting our side of the story across, the enviromentalists, rewilders, etc, are not, they run extremely good PR.
So, until that changes, we will always be on the back foot, how many years have we been told, about soil erosion, mud, etc, that is caused by growing maize on slopes, 10 /15 years, or longer ? and we still do it ? If banned, we will only have ourselves to blame, we have been warned, and chosen to ignore it.
Friend works for lely, he says there are some very efficient, high yielding herds, based on only grass silage.

 

[Bury the Trash]

Just to play devils advocate boys and girls,machinery is getting so big and heavy that it’s affecting not only the top soil structure but below cultivation depth.I’m not saying go back to the dark ages of horse and cart etc or you all rush out and buy a little grey fergie but there has to be more than just blaming a crop.Personally I think drainage is a serious issue for all farmland it is no good having good field drainage to cope with heavy water logging when basically the plug is still in the hole.Back on my soap box the damn rivers and whole drainage issue needs sorting.We have to grow root crops ,for animal feed and human feed.Don’t get me going on digesters.

Beleive it or not ,Many moons ago I've cut it with a knife and manually loaded it onto a small tractor and trailer and fed it out fresh to cows in another paddock,

but I'm Not sure today's staff would be keen on that idea, oh well with the possible exception of immigrant labour I guess

 

[Northeastfarmer]

i can see a day when access to land by machinery is banned november - march

Not sure my sheep would appreciate that...

 

[Steevo]

i can see a day when access to land by machinery is banned november - march

That day could come even quicker if drones hadn’t already been banned in UK from applying chemicals.

One rule to solve one thing then makes others worse.

 

[Wombat]

i can see a day when access to land by machinery is banned november - march

It normally is by the weather here anyway

 

[Clive]

It normally is by the weather here anyway

not for some ! - have you seen how they harvest carrots ?