Ryegrass

My grandfather would have recommended a "barsteward fallow" by which he meant no crop for a year and just keep moving the ground

I’m not keen on moving the soil as your just mixing the seeds throughout the soil profile. Full inversion doesn’t work at 14 inches to bury it so how would light cultivation’s help?
If the seeds on the surface like it is now it stays there. Our issue is the chemistry doesn’t work.
I wonder if a crop burner would work?
 

nxy

Member
Mixed Farmer
I’m not keen on moving the soil as your just mixing the seeds throughout the soil profile. Full inversion doesn’t work at 14 inches to bury it so how would light cultivation’s help?
If the seeds on the surface like it is now it stays there. Our issue is the chemistry doesn’t work.
I wonder if a crop burner would work?

The idea back then was to get every seed to germinate and then destroy it with cultivation.
 

Clive

Staff Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lichfield
I don’t know, is it 🤷🏻‍♂️? Can’t see how it would be because we’ve never scrimped on herbicides because you can’t.

i would blame too many cereals in your rotation if anything ??? - crops like beans, osr, linseed etc may not provide exciting margins but they allow different chemical spectrums and diversity in drilling and harvest dates which all help reduce resistance buildup ??

is the problem any better or worse on your soils that have had potatoes in the rotation ?
 
i would blame too many cereals in your rotation if anything ??? - crops like beans, osr, linseed etc may not provide exciting margins but they allow different chemical spectrums and diversity in drilling and harvest dates which all help reduce resistance buildup ??

is the problem any better or worse on your soils that have had potatoes in the rotation ?

Crops grown in no particular order winter wheat, spring linseed, maize, pots, spring barley. Various cover crops such as mustard, phacelia and raddish.

If we plod on the worst field is due to come stubble turnips this august, then grazed by sheep before going into a spring wheat. It’s due sewage cake next spring as well. This field has never been grazed by sheep so I’m half wondering whether to carry on and see and then reevaluate June 22 as spring wheat harvest approaches.
 

sheepdogtrail

Member
Livestock Farmer
I suppose the seed could have been driven deeper underground many years ago and through time, the seed has worked its way closer to the proper germination zone of the soil profile. I have drilled grass seed to deep in the past and it took 2 to 3 years before I saw it on top.
 

yellowbelly

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
N.Lincs
Don't fight it, embrace it. Sow it down to a long term ley, fence it and get some stock on it. Builds lots of lovely organic matter.
Just been reading through this thread and imagining what the cost of all these multi spray applications (that don't appear to work) must be o_O

My planned reply was going to be, "Grass it down and buy some cows."
....but you beat me to it.:whistle:
 

yellowbelly

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
N.Lincs
All well and good grassing it down, would you fancy stock on a block of land 6 miles from home with no fences, no water and near a rough housing estate with all the fun that that entails.
Out here in the world of livestock farming, I'm afraid that's the risk that a lot of us have to take.
Far from ideal, I agree but not everybody is lucky enough to farm in a ring fence.
 

robs1

Member
The key is to stop seed return just the same as bg. We grow westerwold for haylage and have up until last year never had an issue with it in the following wheat, we took a late third cut last year and have it in some barley
 
The key is to stop seed return just the same as bg. We grow westerwold for haylage and have up until last year never had an issue with it in the following wheat, we took a late third cut last year and have it in some barley

But surely the timing and number of ‘cuts’ is irrelevant? It’s getting the cut before the seed shred from the heads? 🤷🏻‍♂️
 

B'o'B

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Rutland
But surely the timing and number of ‘cuts’ is irrelevant? It’s getting the cut before the seed shred from the heads? 🤷🏻‍♂️
Getting it cut before viable seed set would be my priority. You will always get some shed seeds or dropped heads from any system.
Cut at flowering would be as late as I’d want to leave it in your situation.
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 79 42.5%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 65 34.9%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 16.1%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 6 3.2%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

  • 1,287
  • 1
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/
Top