So will the plough be out ?

[T Hectares]

Won’t be ploughing here, worse fields will go to two years of SB with some shallow autumn tillage and drilled into that in the spring
Last time any ploughing happened here it brought up loads of BG

 

[Northern territory]

Big stockless farms are the problem. Block cropping doesn’t help either. But that’s where successive governments have led us to.

 

[teslacoils]

Big stockless farms are the problem. Block cropping doesn’t help either. But that’s where successive governments have led us to.

I think the main problem is long-term, sh!t profitability combined with successive governments "patch it up" attitude to what should be a vital and long-term, vibrant business sector.

 

[yellow belly]

no not ploughing
Here a combination of
rotation;
crops
chemical
drill dates
all no till less grass weeds than when we ploughed or discordoned or burnt and scratched ( when bg developed ipu resistance or sterile brome on constant winter cropping )

 

[Flatlander]

I either spray round the edges, or have a grass margin I can top.

My farm used to be a haven for wild oats,couch and pretty much every other weed. pre seed burn off and even flushing have cleaned them no end. Best advice is not to have a sterile edge but as said grow a non invasive grass margin and keep it cut. weeds will invade bare soil as will other insects like ramblers lol

 

[teslacoils]

Nicely mown grass margins encourage trespassers. In 4*4,s. Chasing deer etc.

 

[yellow belly]

Nicely mown grass margins encourage trespassers. In 4*4,s. Chasing deer etc.

if they can get past the gates /blocks they drive round here any way they do not keep to the cut field edge

 

[ollie989898]

I think one of the contributors to blackgrass is the demise of OSR (certainly in the traditional form of £££'s of agchem before it even sees the right side of January) and increased marginalisation of the marginal crops. You've lost actives and also lost crops and money to even use the actives. Can't possibly help matters.

 

[teslacoils]

Osr was dirty for bg. Always looked good but had plenty lurking below the canopy. Always ploughed after osr.

 

[ajd132]

I think one of the contributors to blackgrass is the demise of OSR (certainly in the traditional form of £££'s of agchem before it even sees the right side of January) and increased marginalisation of the marginal crops. You've lost actives and also lost crops and money to even use the actives. Can't possibly help matters.

Agree and poor patchy crops of osr are one of the worst culprits for breeding blackgrass.

 

[yellow belly]

Agree and poor patchy crops of osr are one of the worst culprits for breeding blackgrass.

Lack of proper cold weather to help kerb
we used to be certain of 3 to 4 weeks frozen ground in Jan feb
deep cultivations do not help kerb

 

[Northern territory]

Potatoes and beet always help IMO. Obviously heavy land is a different proposition.

 

[Phil P]

Suppose the question is how are DD/ min-till growers controlling grass weeds? Attention to detail? Glyphosate? Spring cropping? Break crops?

DD farm walk I went on a a few years back, there was a fair bit of brome in the winter barley.

Our trouble is with it coming in from the field edges. Should I be sacrificing a nozzle of glyphosate around all field edges? Anyone else do similar. Combine just drags it in and rows it in the swath.

This has definitely helped reduce brome coming in from the edges. Just fits down a 2m strip.

As for ploughing, we plough about 75/80% of our land, just on with pricing a new one for the autumn

 

[ajd132]

This has definitely helped reduce brome coming in from the edges. Just fits down a 2m strip.
View attachment 1111695

View attachment 1111696

As for ploughing, we plough about 75/80% of our land, just on with pricing a new one for the autumn

Your land looks like it goes over nicely, so fairly play. When we plough ours it needs beating into submission for a month and doesn’t turnover properly. Can get really expensive.

 

[Steevo]

This has definitely helped reduce brome coming in from the edges. Just fits down a 2m strip.
View attachment 1111695

View attachment 1111696

As for ploughing, we plough about 75/80% of our land, just on with pricing a new one for the autumn

You do well to cover the acreage with a plough. Impressed!

Your crops do look a picture.

 

[Phil P]

Your land looks like it goes over nicely, so fairly play. When we plough ours it needs beating into submission for a month and doesn’t turnover properly. Can get really expensive.

What is this easy ground you speak of

 

[Grass And Grain]

Your land looks like it goes over nicely, so fairly play. When we plough ours it needs beating into submission for a month and doesn’t turnover properly. Can get really expensive.

I think this is a big factor in deciding to/not go down the min/no till route. Massive savings in time/fuel with heavy land, smaller savings with lighter land. Obviously not the only factor in the decision.

 

[Grass And Grain]

This has definitely helped reduce brome coming in from the edges. Just fits down a 2m strip.
View attachment 1111695

View attachment 1111696

As for ploughing, we plough about 75/80% of our land, just on with pricing a new one for the autumn

Well we've got a trusty old MF35 sat in the shed, so we're there quarters of the way there.

 

[Old apprentice]

Brome will keep poping a seed head up as often as you cut it right into the autumn with short stall and seed head.

 

[Phil P]

Brome will keep poping a seed head up as often as you cut it right into the autumn with short stall and seed head.

But short brome doesn’t fall over into the crop and then get picked up in the combine header and blown all over headland.