Organic Fodder beet/maize any experince?

Slowcow

Member
When do you aim to til? I was a bit concerned about being able to lift it as we are on fairly clayey soil, but seems you can leave it in ground until conditions suit?

Was also considering trying to out winter some beef cattle on some? Maybe til a bit of steep so it doesn't get too wet! Just been shut down with tb so might end up carrying a bit more stock next winter.

Think the maize hoe we made might still be in the hedge some where! What do folks use for hoeing? Friend grows veg, he might be happy to do some think he has a laser guided hoe!
 

Scholsey

Member
Location
Herefordshire
That’s impressive. I can’t imagine growing organic beet without hoeing about 4-5 times and probably then surfing the tall ones out later
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We had quite a bit of fat hen in it late on but harvester managed it fine, chick weed was a issue which the hoe missed but again the beet seemed to grow passed it, big patch in the middle the wet May seemed to drown the seed, it never even chitted, redrilled it and it came back well and cleaner than the rest.

Got first prize in the ploughing match and beet tops were cleanest by a mile.

Spot where the camera hoe got lost and took out everything!
 
Interested in @robot Jerseys comment about not chopping the beet - anyone else care to share their experiences with feeding whole? We have bought some in this time and fed in the tmr but it hasn’t chopped well and there seemed a lot wasted. We have run some through our straw grinder but farm is looking at a chopping bucket long term.
 

MartinM

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Cornwall
We feed all our beet whole with no problems or wastage, I think the key is a softer grazing variety which they can bite into rather than a high DM type
 
This is the future guys. We are the area dealers for the FD20 so if you want to talk pm me.
Getting good results is still down to good preparation and plenty of muck!!
 

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The cost depends on what you buy, but the machine in the picture is roughly around 75k and comes with its own RTK base station.
There are other manufacturers out there but non that use the same tech. The best thing about the system is the ability to start hoeing as soon as seeding has finished. Normally you have to see lines of beet before hoeing, which can be a 3, 4 week wait.
 
All depends on field size and how many times you have to move fields. Over 24 hours it will cover between 6 to 12 acres. Nice Square fields will be good output. Ours will be covering 60-70 acres next year which will be a good test for it.
 

Slowcow

Member
Will it cope with much of a gradient? Not like I'm thinking of buying one, just like stuff like that!
At that sort of money its a contractors machine, how long a season would you expect?
Does it run just off the panels?
 
Appreciate the replies @Scholsey @MartinM - we don’t have troughs only open passage so we find the beet gets nuzzled out and rolls around the yard if whole or poorly chopped. Cows also pick up the pieces and drop it under their feet - we are on floodwash so the bits then get washed out and block the grids 🙈
Do we need to give them longer to acclimatise and the problems will ease?
fedder wagon is new Keenan tub with chopping plates so I’m surprised the chop hasn’t been better - I am not operating it now and rarely on site so can’t comment on whether it just needs longer or whether beet goes in first to give as much time as possible.
Thanks
 

Scholsey

Member
Location
Herefordshire
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We had quite a bit of fat hen in it late on but harvester managed it fine, chick weed was a issue which the hoe missed but again the beet seemed to grow passed it, big patch in the middle the wet May seemed to drown the seed, it never even chitted, redrilled it and it came back well and cleaner than the rest.

Got first prize in the ploughing match and beet tops were cleanest by a mile.

Spot where the camera hoe got lost and took out everything!

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Same field end of July so it’s not overly pretty but it ended up ok and winter wheat after it looks really well.
 
This is the future guys. We are the area dealers for the FD20 so if you want to talk pm me.
Getting good results is still down to good preparation and plenty of muck!!

I love the straight rows in all directions for hoeing. We need that tech but with a 50 hp tracked electric/hydrogen/methane powered tractor up front. Use it for wheat then & hoe with a light weight tool carrier.
 
It seems our whole farm is covered in fat hen from decades ok, its not a weed we've ever had issues with previously.
We have a lot of fat hen too, but weed spectrums do change over time.

1985 Dad bought a 30 acre block of light land that was full of charlock. Every 5 years we grew leaf brassica & made sure we killed every charlock, also in the cereals & potatoes. But after 20 years charlock became quite rare but it became infested with Shepherds Purse (small plants hiding in the brassica & potatoes. So with a change of herbicide that problem was solved but fat hen now more of an issue.

In the 70's Dad got Agronomist out to identify a new rare weed, that weed was cleavers brought in on straw used in our dairy herd at the time. He did not know cleavers because Granddad harrowing the cereals dragged every one out.

Blackgrass or Brome has replaced couch grass on arable farms
 

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