Sowing peas...!!

[texas pete]

I did get him to keep them reasonably small, I'd rather have more bales than bigger bales as they're just a daily dose with a grass silage top-up in the afternoons.

Heavy little sods though, had the back wheel off the ground a couple of times (with the rear boots 3/4 full of water...) but havent weighed any.
Picking around 830-850 kg based on "the shove test".
Don't think I'd do much differently next year, other than go a month earlier and have the paddock back before Christmas, as the store lambs come about then, and grow two paddocks not one.
Will attempt about 9.5 acres next spring hopefully it won't be as dry and I can get some better yields.

Looks good Pete

I assume they are for the beefies to eat during your soft Kiwi winter?

 

[holwellcourtfarm]

I'm actually pretty impressed with the Krone bale I have to say. Very solid, given the crop, we backed it off to bale up the hay as it wasn't what you'd call 'fit'...
Quite a good unit, camless pickup and several nice little touches like extended grease lines and easy net loading that make it quite user friendly, I baled my toppings with it as I couldn't resist making some bales while it's here.
Quietly raining now, which is very welcome, will go down nicely that's for sure.

Krone Comprima baler

I just need to find one in our (silly) price range that's not wrecked

Great to hear that the trial worked out so well Pete.

 

[multi power]

I said soft not small If small is what fits the system then small it has to be.

How can you tell the "look" soft? I can tell by kicking them, but not by looking

 

[Philip Watkins]

How can you tell the "look" soft? I can tell by kicking them, but not by looking

Don't these 2 look soft to you? The one closest to the wrapper is flat at the bottom as well.

 

[hendrebc]

Dont know about soft but those 2 look like stuff hasnt been fed into the baler quite as even as it could have been so theres more on one side than the other. Happens if you get a lump sometimes too.

 

[Kiwi Pete]

Don't these 2 look soft to you? The one closest to the wrapper is flat at the bottom as well.
View attachment 616496

Those Krone bales do almost end up a little soft to the corners compared to a fixed chamber bale.
Seem a lot harder and then just a wee bit fluffy on the outside few inches - good eyes or a 50 inch monitor Mr Watkins?






I think a belt baler still gets the best bale to roll out the back, I've made thousands of bales and I'd still get a Welger RP435 Master if I had the money.....
Was going to haul out the loadbars and a couple of pallets and weigh some, but IT RAINED
...so I put them away and washed my tractor instead

And threw some animals out to have a scoff of all the spare pods and bits that Rick missed - did a Sterling job of baling out of the rows, which were about exactly the width of his pickup thanks to my little toy mower which is only 2.4 wide

(Between the hats is about 1.6 or so )

Looking at the grass, virtually no clover that I can see, few yorkie fogs, not much Poa that I can see, mostly ryegrass, so I'm thinking maybe I will wipe the thistles and docks out and sprinkle my clover/chicory/plantain/pea/sunflower mix in here.
Get it back into grazing, and try my luck on a different lazy paddock for an autumn forage..?

My thinking is: I have a 4 acre paddock with horrible access and less productive grasses, I contour ripped it last autumn and it's horrible now
Topped it and baled "hay" off it

...but it could use some light cultivation and a damn good level-out.
@JD-Kid - how long do you wait between rotospikings, 3 weeks to kill the grass?
Thinking I might switch my leafy turnips/kale/triticale into this one, only 4 acres/1.5 ha in here.
Great stock access with 4 gateways, carting bales out means through paddocks with a trailer as the one onto the lane is too tight.

 

[Philip Watkins]

Those Krone bales do almost end up a little soft to the corners compared to a fixed chamber bale.
Seem a lot harder and then just a wee bit fluffy on the outside few inches - good eyes or a 50 inch monitor Mr Watkins?



...

17" laptop, eyesight is corrected for reading.

 

[Kiwi Pete]

Krone Comprima baler

I just need to find one in our (silly) price range that's not wrecked

Great to hear that the trial worked out so well Pete.

Cracking bit of kit.... guess what this one cost him?
It has all the boxes ticked but.... $225k or so, I think he said... he can tell a tallish tale though.
Fusion 3+ is around $170 though, a bit more buying power over here as they are more common over here.
I was shocked, a serious investment

$225k, I could buy 2 acres in the Waikato for that!
(If @FonterraFarmer was selling, of course)

 

[Kiwi Pete]

17" laptop, eyesight is corrected for reading.

Not much gets past you, I spent a bit of time on here and I do notice these things.
I'm always on a cellphone and wonder how you folks spot stuff - kinda forget there's computers when you avoid them as I do!

Strange, any time I'm on mine I think it's fantastic and I should do more, then next time I'm bored waiting for it to boot up and reach for my phone instead... a computer person I am not.

I still reckon I'd need a 32 inch screen to spot a thing before you do, however

 

[Philip Watkins]

Not much gets past you, I spent a bit of time on here and I do notice these things.
I'm always on a cellphone and wonder how you folks spot stuff - kinda forget there's computers when you avoid them as I do!

Strange, any time I'm on mine I think it's fantastic and I should do more, then next time I'm bored waiting for it to boot up and reach for my phone instead... a computer person I am not.

I still reckon I'd need a 32 inch screen to spot a thing before you do, however

I miss plenty. Other people comment on pics and I have to go back to check what they're on about.
Yeah, phone screens aren't the best when looking at pictures.

 

[Kiwi Pete]

I miss plenty. Other people comment on pics and I have to go back to check what they're on about.
Yeah, phone screens aren't the best when looking at pictures.

They are good for scanning, but you do tend to miss details on a fairly regular basis...


.....of course it could just be that I don't give a toss, too, I miss enough on my own farm!!
Quite happy today to see some raindrops though, 6mm overnight and today, and my "tame" paradise duck chicks are finally flying

They call this wee pond home, 6 chicks this year and 5 last year.
Something so soothing about raindrops on a pond, when it's been dry, I sat here for a long time

 

[Bury the Trash]

call me derr if ive missed something KP....... but the clear wrap? ...ive not seen that b4.

 

[Kiwi Pete]

call me derr if ive missed something KP....... but the clear wrap? ...ive not seen that b4.

You're not "derr" at all, neither had I until yesterday.
Crystal Wrap

You can get the other width film for the film-on-film bales too, but it gives me nightmares that does, I like my good old fashioned 3.5 layers of net.
The bonus is you can see any holes/mould in the bale before you open it, and thought it would be snazzy to watch it turn colour too good science demonstration for the boys
I don't know how UV resistance is compared to standard wraps but it will be all a memory in a few months, even though we put lots of this in

.....I wouldn't guarantee pea baleage lasting over a year. It should be stable enough though, with a bit of grass in it, but have seen pure clover bales turn to absolute the second year.
Bales look cool with rain beaded up and all the steam on the inside - very cool, like a dive mask does underwater
They were blowing up and squeaking by my second beer so I think it will help with regulating the fermentation, it cost feck all.
It all cost me very little, baling at mate's rates ($13), free seed, borrow the neighbour's tractor etc means these bales owe me £10 each $16.84 to be precise

 

[holwellcourtfarm]

View attachment 616800
You're not "derr" at all, neither had I until yesterday.
Crystal Wrap

You can get the other width film for the film-on-film bales too, but it gives me nightmares that does, I like my good old fashioned 3.5 layers of net.
The bonus is you can see any holes/mould in the bale before you open it, and thought it would be snazzy to watch it turn colour too good science demonstration for the boys
I don't know how UV resistance is compared to standard wraps but it will be all a memory in a few months, even though we put lots of this inView attachment 616802
.....I wouldn't guarantee pea baleage lasting over a year. It should be stable enough though, with a bit of grass in it, but have seen pure clover bales turn to absolute the second year.
Bales look cool with rain beaded up and all the steam on the inside - very cool, like a dive mask does underwater
They were blowing up and squeaking by my second beer so I think it will help with regulating the fermentation, it cost feck all.
It all cost me very little, baling at mate's rates ($13), free seed, borrow the neighbour's tractor etc means these bales owe me £10 each $16.84 to be precise

A good job BF doesn't look in here or you'd have him ranting about your "NZ advantage" again

 

[Kiwi Pete]

A good job BF doesn't look in here or you'd have him ranting about your "NZ advantage" again

Never mind the disadvantage that it only grew half as much cause it never rained, or that the RPA hasn't funded my own baleage kit.....



Quite happy to have the co-operation of neighbours and friends in the right places, to be honest.
Especially Ricky, getting him to drive 2 hours to bale my crop, and just sneak around to protect the turf, and skim 4 rolls of plastic off the pallet as a favour is pretty huge for a smallholder (he's a pretty huge guy though )

Owaka especially has a huge community spirit of bartering and loaning gear, it's a MASSIVE advantage to just grab a trailer or implement, bring it back cleaned and greased - and be thanked for it

That's what makes NZ great - we are all poor as each other and keen to help the next guy out (as opposed to having all the kit ourselves) plus all my spare time means I can pay a lot forward, I suppose.

I'd really be stuffed without their help, a few years before I can afford a rotospike and pretty much unjustified for a few acres per year

Anyway, Happy New year to you all, hope that 2018 is a good year for everyone

 

[hendrebc]

A good job BF doesn't look in here or you'd have him ranting about your "NZ advantage" again

I was going to dare younto tag him in but it would completly ruin a great thread if he turned up

 

[Kiwi Pete]

I was going to dare younto tag him in but it would completly ruin a great thread if he turned up

He'll have his eye on us
He'll be waiting to see if I'm going to buy more land

Apparently what we're doing isn't do-able - farming without inputs, finishing stock without concentrates, and not working all day and night
The downside is, when stuff goes wrong the poop goes right through the fan, stock losses really hurt, vet visits are hard to justify; but, on the flipside I guess it just means we adapt to examining costs and risks even more closely?
With that comes a huge appreciation and focus on the soil instead of fussing over the less important parts of the operation, breeds and seeds are minor details in the big picture of turning sunlight into money.

 

[holwellcourtfarm]

View attachment 616800
even though we put lots of this inView attachment 616802

I did wonder if you would use an innoculant

I used this on last year's grass silage and it seemed to work well:

 

[hendrebc]

Isnt it like 11.30pm on new years eve over there? Surely you should have a glass in your hand by now not a phone

 

[Kiwi Pete]

I did wonder if you would use an innoculant

I used this on last year's grass silage and it seemed to work well:

View attachment 616818

I think it is cheap insurance for all it costs.
Not crucial, but still worthwhile in many crops.