I’ve never bothered with a contract (they don’t want to give you them if you fss). Never had issues selling at good money
Great crop grown with Irish agronomy this year and will repeat the same next year
Spring oats
- Thread starter Kevtherev
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I’ve never bothered with a contract (they don’t want to give you them if you fss). Never had issues selling at good money
Great crop grown with Irish agronomy this year and will repeat the same next year
They do love notill however the negative is that crops after them are a bit harder to establish no till (but quite possible with correct management)
Feldspar
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- Location
- Essex, Cambs and Suffolk
A lot more N, more PGR and bigger fungicide spend but it paid back this years for sure
Feldspar
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- Location
- Essex, Cambs and Suffolk
Is baling the straw very difficult? I'm not averse to taking straw off occasionally during the rotation. Evidence is that it doesn't make much difference. @static was talking about it being a challenge?
It’s easy to bale but is more like hay making in that you need a couple of sunny days between combine and baler
That wasn’t an option this year as those 2 days never happened so had to chop
Feldspar
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- Location
- Essex, Cambs and Suffolk
Would you have baled if you could? What crop have you followed with and any problems drilling? I guess you used the Horsch.
Yes I had sold it - it’s worth a fair bit more than wheat straw to the right customer
Although selling straw goes against my farming principles oats are a case where you are better off without it and spend the money on some compost etc to replace the om off take
Wheat after it all - looks good, definitely better with a tine drill in that situation
I’m your situation I would use your terrastar after it and don’t go Direct with a 750
First year of oats for us one field ended upon the deck and straw smashed up and then it rained and had to be turned twice to dry it, baler missed a lot that was too small to get off the deck, drilled wheat with the simtech with some a little 20.10.10 as couldnt get any dap at a realisitc price,looks ok so far even in the really wet bits, no sign of where the swaths were and only had 4 litres of crystal so far and no had to follow it up with anything for the BG,a few more volunteers coming up but will use atlantis in spring to complete the weed control so pretty cheap compared to normal wheat hebicide cost
Feldspar
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- Location
- Essex, Cambs and Suffolk
Think we would aim to bale the first year, or at least bale half as a comparison, to get the gist of it.
You couldnt give oat straw away in the swath this year. Its not something to have the baler straight behind the combine. I'm not saying that they are bad, just that spring barley is favoured as the straw is easy. Even dessicated, the straw may be layed and turned for a fortnight before the baler. I direct drilled OSR with a disc drill into chopped spring oat straw. - it has *only* just started to really get going and looks properly upset! We cut spring oats once mid August, and eventually got the straw a month later.
The land after spring oats is great, but if there is ever a time to plough after a crop it is then. Roots make it very friable. Light land maybe different, but on this clay I have learnt (and am learning) that I should really black it over after oats, winter or spring.
The land after spring oats is great, but if there is ever a time to plough after a crop it is then. Roots make it very friable. Light land maybe different, but on this clay I have learnt (and am learning) that I should really black it over after oats, winter or spring.
Feldspar
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- Location
- Essex, Cambs and Suffolk
Good news. We would probably use Avadex in the following wheat which should clean them up.
have you drilled some with both your drills or just the horsch, did you put any fert down the spout ?
I have used both drills for oats in the past, a tine is definitely better than a disc If oat straw is chopped, less of a difference if baled
Can’t comment on fert as I’m in a NVZ ;-) both my drills could apply a small amount of fert if it were allowed
Feldspar
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- Location
- Essex, Cambs and Suffolk
Presumably if roots condition ground well then that's good for direct drilling if the straw can be removed. Disc drilling OSR without any disturbance is sort of asking for trouble isn't it? Have the option of Claydon, Trio or plough if the situation post harvest looks unfriendly.
Feldspar
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- Location
- Essex, Cambs and Suffolk
Do you ever follow with linseed?
Luckily we arent but seeing how the wheat has suffered from chaf in the past I would argue that a bit of N is fully justified, perhaps now we are into year 6 of DD the soil is more active and less in need of it though should have left a bit without it I guess
Yeah, my DD OSR you can walk on and its covered with worms and has taken the rain etc. But the chopped straw on clay wont vanish with one or even two passes with the solo. Was it asking for trouble? Perhaps but soil conditons were ace when we drilled, although the month of rain that followed less ace.
Personally, its plough for me. I have tried the other methods. Yeah, the straw is ace for your own animals, or if you want to make conventionals, but otherwise I am going to bury it. This is not medium loam but nasty, nasty clay and if for a minute I dont think I will get it baled I wont hesitate to ted the swaths out and bury them.
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We normally go the other way: my spring linseed is followed by spring oats normally. In any case the main problems with spring oats are:
1) You will be cutting a week after your neighbours have cut and probably baled their barley.
2) The straw, while beautiful, will even after 2 weeks of dessication, need a week to 2 weeks drying properly for use as bedding. Unless you sell to horsey folk for £3 a bale. One option I havent tried is, as you can harvest oats even with about a foot of green straw, would be to round bale the straw at high moisture and chop at the same time and wrap for silage.
3) The volunteers just outcompete anything you plant.
Yes, they are better than barley on clay. But I think we have a good place for them to get our extended breaks for wheat (thats why we followed with OSR, I remember) but they do not fit in as easy in a wheat / rape etc rotation.