The Disappearance of the All Round Farmer

[Bruce Almighty]

Farms with no livestock are like industrial estates.

Everywhere is clean, but the soil will slowly be dying, unless they are bringing muck or sludge in.

An "interesting character" of a farmer 15 miles from here, says.
"What you need on you need on your farm is lots of arseholes"

 

[glasshouse]

Farms with no livestock are like industrial estates.

Everywhere is clean, but the soil will slowly be dying, unless they are bringing muck or sludge in.

An "interesting character" of a farmer 15 miles from here, says.
"What you need on you need on your farm is lots of arseholes"

spot on
2012 was a wake up call for those with no soil structure.

 

[le bon paysan]

Was talking to Mrs lbp tonight (shock horror) but today I attended a conference about... SOIL. You know the stuff, grass grows on it or in it.
Any way the main speaker was a chap called Albert Gassler and it got me thinking (this is dangerous because I've only got 2 brain cells) and I have always thought I was a fair farmer, but I came away thinking how bad a farmer I am!
For the last 5yrs I've not ploughed one hectare of ground for new crops or leys.
This is good , but it seems that a mono culture fresh grass every (well not quite as I mix clover in as well) is not the way forward.
My ground is now hard and compacted, but help is at hand..a meteil or as we know them cover crops.
Change the way you farm, not a huge step but little paces at a time so this afternoon I changed my original plan was oats and vetch(step in the right direction) to a mix of spelt, cereal rye, oats plus vetch and forage winter peas.
Now slowly over the next few yrs I'll change to multi species crops and see how we go,

and Mrs lbp said I was good farmer but I could become a better one!

 

[glasshouse]

Farms with no livestock are like industrial estates.

Everywhere is clean, but the soil will slowly be dying, unless they are bringing muck or sludge in.

An "interesting character" of a farmer 15 miles from here, says.
"What you need on you need on your farm is lots of arseholes"

"Farmer" i know was offered dung for his land, but didnt want to get his trailers dirty.

 

[Kiwi Pete]

"Farmer" i know was offered dung for his land, but didnt want to get his trailers dirty.

Are you serious?
Why, does he not want to get his loads of Red Tape dirty?
World's gone f**king mad

 

[Dead Rabbits]

From a wannabe farmer's perspective, getting started in farming and making a living (not a hobby) involves livestock of some form. Just doing row crop or "real farmin" is a non starter. I look around at all this underutilized land and see nothing but opportunity for someone decent with livestock, numbers and people. And an inability to hear all the negative " there ain't no money in farming" that all the old curmudgeon farmers want to go on about.

 

[neilo]

"Farmer" i know was offered dung for his land, but didnt want to get his trailers dirty.

I won't take dung in either, but only as I don't want to introduce blackgrass. Anyone that has muck to export round here (doesn't have their own arable ground) will be buying straw in from anywhere and everywhere.

 

[glasshouse]

I won't take dung in either, but only as I don't want to introduce blackgrass. Anyone that has muck to export round here (doesn't have their own arable ground) will be buying straw in from anywhere and everywhere.

No blackgrass up here

 

[neilo]

No blackgrass up here

Not much round here, yet, but straw dealers cart in from a long way out.