Really, 10 years of no till already?
I didn’t realise you’d been at it that long!
its more like 12 on some now and with Claydon / min till before that 25 years since some will have seen a plough
Also have some that is in year 1 though !
Really, 10 years of no till already?
I didn’t realise you’d been at it that long!
The problem is the proper rotation has just gone out the window. There are not enough break crop alternatives to losing OSr so I am forced to second cereals to lower break area to 33%
agreed. take it youre growing 50% first wheat with the other 50% made up of 5 or 6 breaks?there are plenty of break crops, what you are really saying is there are not enough beak crops with the big margins needed to cashflow a high fixed cost farming business
I grow no 2nd cereals, have 10% OSR area and have the lower gross output which is fine as fixed costs match
OSR is only not working because its been grown too much, grow in 1 year in 7 or less and it much less of a highly strung beast !
agreed. take it youre growing 50% first wheat with the other 50% made up of 5 or 6 breaks?
trouble is ive tried all the breaks and each throws out differing problems that steers me away from it
Beans/Peas - 1 in 6 yrs max
Linseed - Fleabeetle - harvesting
potatoes - no chance
sugar beet - soil damage
oats - overdone
clover ley - getting paid ?
maybe just need to try harder
with only 33% breaks, I could nearly get the same GM if it was all fallow!!
What mix are you using in the continuous wheat cover crop, i am doing the same with barley but tempted just to use mustard as CC.yes 50% first wheat, 10% OSR, the rest is winter beans and a diverse mix of spring breaks after over winter cover crops - Im running half the kit and staff I would if I was all autumn cropped so can afford a drop in gross output but still remain more profitable
I am experimenting with some no till continuous wheat though with a cover crop break - early days yet however
What mix are you using in the continuous wheat cover crop, i am doing the same with barley but tempted just to use mustard as CC.
I think Stephen Briggs is working on an inter-row mower to keep the under-storey of clover/trefoil down while the cereal crop shoots up. I tried to get Garford to demo their inter-row hoe at Groundswell and they said it wouldn't work in no-till...whether the guy had just got out of bed the wrong side I don't know, but looking at how hard our ground is now, I suspect he might be on to something. Mowing is pleasing idea...constant living roots in the soil
Stephen Briggs is a very interesting and knowledgeable chap. Im pretty sure he isn’t on here, as far as I can tell he is far to busy actually doing things to spend any time on here anyway! He gives talks up and down the country on a variety of ag subjects and it’s well worth going to one if you get the chance.@martian - I've re-read this thread during an idle moment and it's got me wondering about a few things. Is Stephen Briggs a TFF member? His name often comes up during slightly out-there discussions and it sounds like he does some interesting stuff.
@Clive have you thought any more about the inter-row mower idea? I've been reading up and watching videos etc. of Garford and of CTM Weed Surfers, and your idea sounds sort of like a cross between the two. Someone should get them to collaborate on a prototype. And if they do, can I have a go with it please?
Out of interest, has anyone on here much experience of the above equipment? Or Combcutters for that matter? I've searched TFF for all of these and they get mentioned here and there, but not often so just wondering if anyone has any more recent experience / thoughts on them.
@martian - I've re-read this thread during an idle moment and it's got me wondering about a few things. Is Stephen Briggs a TFF member? His name often comes up during slightly out-there discussions and it sounds like he does some interesting stuff.
@Clive have you thought any more about the inter-row mower idea? I've been reading up and watching videos etc. of Garford and of CTM Weed Surfers, and your idea sounds sort of like a cross between the two. Someone should get them to collaborate on a prototype. And if they do, can I have a go with it please?
Out of interest, has anyone on here much experience of the above equipment? Or Combcutters for that matter? I've searched TFF for all of these and they get mentioned here and there, but not often so just wondering if anyone has any more recent experience / thoughts on them.
@martian - I've re-read this thread during an idle moment and it's got me wondering about a few things. Is Stephen Briggs a TFF member? His name often comes up during slightly out-there discussions and it sounds like he does some interesting stuff.
@Clive have you thought any more about the inter-row mower idea? I've been reading up and watching videos etc. of Garford and of CTM Weed Surfers, and your idea sounds sort of like a cross between the two. Someone should get them to collaborate on a prototype. And if they do, can I have a go with it please?
Out of interest, has anyone on here much experience of the above equipment? Or Combcutters for that matter? I've searched TFF for all of these and they get mentioned here and there, but not often so just wondering if anyone has any more recent experience / thoughts on them.
And they are very unreliable I have a friend who put some 4 years ago and they wore out and a lot of money to replacehow though - from what I can see the way to make money from milk involves robots and cows never seeing a field ? its also huge investment for very low returns
Hi sorry for bringing back up this thread but I've been reading with interest as I am currently in conversion to organic with roughly one third the farm to cropping.
The idea of inter row mowing has been investigated a bit for organic maize in the US with the Underground Agriculture Company having made a strimmer for 60' (I think) row widths.
Might be something that could be modified for a narrower row spacing?
Hi, are you brave enough to do a video of yourself, preferably on your farm, talking about the pros and cons of no till. What you have found has worked and that some things don't one year but do another...? I may have introduced myself already - sorry if I have. Along with a small group of volunteers, I am putting a website together, 'Regenerative food & farming'. Knowing farmers learn best from other farmers want to get lots of farmers on video on there covering all regions and farm types. So I need lots. Also, there's load from the US and some from OZ but very few from here. What do you think? (-:its more like 12 on some now and with Claydon / min till before that 25 years since some will have seen a plough
Also have some that is in year 1 though !
Surely an opportunity to involve a youngster or diversify using an expert who is already established and kitted up?trouble is i'm just not interested in farming livestock for a living and it's not within my skill set - I can see the benefit of livestock but if I ever did anything it would have to be with a partner who knew that side of the job
I have noticed that ordinary commercial productive w clover can be allelopathic in the autumn. Great for suppressing blackgrass but none of the sown cover crop grew either! What does the panel think about grazing the clover (or other) before during or after planting instead of glyphosate?I like your idea, I think there may be an issue with establishing a cash crop though. For example, wheat drilled into living clover really struggles to get going initially. If you could put nutrition in the seed trench, this might help some and your strimming machine could be used just above ground level at drilling time to help I suppose.
Surely an opportunity to involve a youngster or diversify using an expert who is already established and kitted up?
Can't believe I read this. After all you have preached in the past.Interesting, the only seed treatments I've used this cropping year are for take all, was hoping not to use any in the future so that is encouraging