Slow start to the year

Phil P

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
North West
Anyone else feel like crops are only moving slow this year? Done get me wrong stuff is growing but the soil temperature just doesn’t seem to be getting up and every day is overcast!
Been comparing temperatures to last year and it’s definitely been a cooler start to the year.
BFDEA0CC-BA75-4977-9423-AB4D3CC40659.jpeg


And the growing day’s back this up.
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And looking back at this point we had more growing days in 2019 than 2020. Is this the start of a pattern? I would think this will add up to a shorter growing season for winter crops! Reduce yield?
33355B67-AD7C-477F-880A-FA82ED016549.jpeg
 

Flat 10

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Fen Edge
Not as forward as some years, barley taking time to come up but I don’t think there’s anything exceptional about it at all. Stuff has moved a lot here in the last week. And to say something is a pattern based on one year is a bit previous.... in short it will be fine.
 

DrWazzock

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lincolnshire
My winter wheat is hardly moving stuck at 2 leaf. Very envious of these lush earlier drilled crops.
My best spring seedbeds are coming from early spring ploughing. Over wintered ploughing has slumped badly. Untouched stubbles weeks away from being dry enough. Stubbles cultivated shallow in the spring are dry on top but really too wet underneath. No surprises really.
Trying to formulate a robust plan. Looking like shallow stubble cultivation for autumn drilling. And maybe early spring ploughing for spring drilling. I will probably have changed my mind by lunchtime though.
 

robbie

Member
BASIS
Crops here are moving but very slowly, we've got a cold wind and very little sun.
Spring barley drilled 9th march isn't up yet.

I have noticed that my crops that had urea haven't got hold of the N like neighbours who used AN, all down to soil temp. Nothings gone yellow so it's getting hold of it.
 

teslacoils

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lincolnshire
In hind sight I should have put a cwt of AN on mid fed instead of the urea and then gone back a fortnight or so later and top it up with urea.

Yes. Although they always caught up, whenever we grew second cereals, I'd always opt for an simply as I'd have green crops when the owners agent came to see how stuff was going on. In reality, this cold clay would be happier with me just using an.
 

DairyGrazing

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
North West
My winter wheat is hardly moving stuck at 2 leaf. Very envious of these lush earlier drilled crops.
My best spring seedbeds are coming from early spring ploughing. Over wintered ploughing has slumped badly. Untouched stubbles weeks away from being dry enough. Stubbles cultivated shallow in the spring are dry on top but really too wet underneath. No surprises really.
Trying to formulate a robust plan. Looking like shallow stubble cultivation for autumn drilling. And maybe early spring ploughing for spring drilling. I will probably have changed my mind by lunchtime though.

Has there been any talk of banning over wintered ploughing because of the potential soil erosion?

Our old boy at the other farm used to plough all our stubbles over the winter but we stopped when we need more land to spread muck on in the spring.
 

DrWazzock

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lincolnshire
Has there been any talk of banning over wintered ploughing because of the potential soil erosion?

Our old boy at the other farm used to plough all our stubbles over the winter but we stopped when we need more land to spread muck on in the spring.
We have less water erosion on over wintered ploughing than on land left as undisturbed stubbles, though on either it’s pretty negligible, only being noticeable if you leave a rut or tramline running down to a gatehole. We don’t have major slopes just rolling hills.
From what I have seen, winter erosion only becomes a problem on finely cultivated over winter seedbeds on serious slopes. It’s another overhyped issue in my view.
 

DairyGrazing

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
North West
Sorry should have said half that farm is fairly sloped. It mostly drains down the ditch on the drive and every time it rains it resembles the colour of the tweed in full spey. Going to undersow the maize and cover crop the wheat this year so will be interesting to see what happens.
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

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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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