Roundup Challenge

[SilliamWhale]

How many years in annual cropping can you go without it.

I'm going to try and get to a 24 month break around the whole farm and on some fields extend it to 36. If I can do that I think that will make the no till system v sustainable.

How?

Kerb, PDM, Defy and being confident to use other contacts post drilling pre em.

Anyone else got any thoughts?

 

[BSH]

More strength to your arm! Look forward to hearing how you get on. I am fairly naive at this stage about chems and the options, so cant really comment, but I like the idea of what you are trying to do.

 

[Steevo]

Best of luck!

Came back from the Kindsey seminar wishing there was a way to have the whole farm growing a year round cover crop (a bit like a lawn/golfing green) which a disc drill then slots seeds into. The logic being that it's a year round habitat for the microbes, the cover may suppress weeds, conserve moisture etc.

Two problem I envisaged that scupper it:

1. Finding a dwarf crop that would grow no higher than 2-4" from the ground and thus not compete with the crop.
2. Not having the annual opportunity of a stale stubble with Roundup.

 

[TWF]

Best of luck!

Came back from the Kindsey seminar wishing there was a way to have the whole farm growing a year round cover crop (a bit like a lawn/golfing green) which a disc drill then slots seeds into. The logic being that it's a year round habitat for the microbes, the cover may suppress weeds, conserve moisture etc.

Two problem I envisaged that scupper it:

1. Finding a dwarf crop that would grow no higher than 2-4" from the ground and thus not compete with the crop.
2. Not having the annual opportunity of a stale stubble with Roundup.

What we need is a perennial wheat to be developed.

 

[Elmsted]

Use as much as possible alternatives. Such as contacts for BLW and use FOPS & DIMS here. Roundup about 1 every 18 months. Never less than 1.2 kg active hectare.

 

[rob1]

Will what are the reasons for avoiding roundup, and do you think some formulations are worse than others ?

 

[Will Blackburn]

Believe it or not, because GM crops tend to use Round Up every man and his dog is researching how glyphosate is poisoning the planet to discredit GM crops. Now I'm in the camp that believes glyphosate has unintended consequences on soil biology, but I remain to be convinced that this is any worse than what the alternatives do to soil biology. Meanwhile glyphosate is quite a useful chemical.