Is ploughing bad ?

Macsky

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Highland
Just started reading the following, if the half of what’s in it turns out to be true, then give me the plough!

1FEB56BC-129D-4D85-9A00-2AF8B6C7D7A4.jpeg
 

Farma Parma

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Northumberlandia
Hand on heart The plough still is & always will be by far the best start too the next cereal crop in the ground thats just my thoughts.
I do now however use some less invasive cultivation methods for different reasons to est some of the crops here on a yearly basis.
All those who think otherwise can please themselves. this is just my working life spent on the same area of land & working with the weather
season after season & seeing first hand what works best.
 

ajd132

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Suffolk
Main reason I don’t plough is because it’s expensive and rarely achieves a more profitable crop from our experience. The crops look better in the winter then no yield difference. It also creates the need for more cultivation the next year and creates a much higher fixed cost base. This is on our soil type anyway. Saying that I did get a contractor to plough 40ha this year (long story).
High prices now I should probably buy a plough for next year and burn up the carbon from years of direct drilling and get an absolute mega crop!
 

teslacoils

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lincolnshire
I get more yield and use fewer sprays when I plough. Ploughing takes more time and has higher costs. Ploughed land will soak the rain away more quickly - this has been shown even comparing adjacent fields one with 6 percent Om low input permanent (14 years) grass Vs 2 percent Om ploughed cereal land.

Ploughing is more likely to take heavy rain in October and still get drilled. Non plough is more likely to produce a finer seedbed in the end and is better for getting small seeds growing.

Ploughing is more likely to result in a "chocolate pudding" in spring and at harvest whereas non plough will be much firmer.
 

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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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