The unthinkable.

[davieh3350]

That's good to hear, genuinely hadn't a clue on it. I am still hoping for a bit of strip grazing this year but what with the weather and all and water being the way it is I've not yet given it a go (don't tell @Kiwi Pete ), but I'm hoping that the cattle will graze the rush down a bit here also. We have been wiping it out with a weed wiper year by year.

Someone will be along shortly to correct me I'm sure.

it's been a challenge getting water to them, even here. But one of the benefits of being on a rough part of country where most of it is on a slope with a burn or spring never too far away, is that you can stick a garden hose in to it and let gravity do the rest.

 

[Kiwi Pete]

i BEEN TELLING ALL WINTER WE AINT HAD ENOUGH WATER. something has changed in the soil structure and its not getting properly wet,
having said that, the fields have taken longer to properly burn

You must be doing something right then

I am not going to try to be smart and say "it does that all the time here" but it is starting to show what it can do, more frequently - water cycle effectiveness is becoming a real concern; storing more, deeper in the soil is all I can think to do?

Probably, like most of you up there, we consider ourselves "summer-safe" most years; but "one year in eighteen" has become "one year in five".
Our 'prevailing' weather direction simply reversed itself this summer gone: instead of nice cool damp sou'wester, we had 4 months of hot dry weather from the tropics/aussie and cyclones

But until it rains, all you can do is stay positive, enjoy summer like a townie does, and don't pretend it won't do it again.
If it gets you down, get away, off the place: "better to spend the day looking at other people's hardship than your own", as my Dad would say

Don't be worried if your livestock look like they are standing still for a while, they amazed me this year with how quickly they caught up after a few weeks of not quite enough tucker - we destocked by about 25% to get through, and got rid quick which was a good thing in hindsight as the price did dip.
Hopefully the tail will wag and your winter crops will make up for spring ones, after a good dry-out and some warmth.

It will come reet.



That's about all I can think to say .

 

[Dr. Alkathene]

I opened this thread expecting news of another large ford tractor collection going under the hammer. Two cuts in the clamp here, other clamp still has some of last years silage left. Third cut looks ok considering. God bless wet, heavy clay. Don’t say that often.

 

[KMA]

Just a wee heads up to those with white cattle like WBShorthorns and the like, watch out for them getting sunburn and heatstroke, make sure all stock have access to shade. Pigs are prone to sunburn too.

 

[brigadoon]

Not meaning to be funny but are the white ones not more reflective than the black? Our fellow has not been put off his stroke at all or so they tell me.

But fully agree with access to shade

 

[Kiwi Pete]

Just a wee heads up to those with white cattle like WBShorthorns and the like, watch out for them getting sunburn and heatstroke, make sure all stock have access to shade. Pigs are prone to sunburn too.

Good call zinc works really well on sunburn, my whiter bullcalves had fluorescent orange ears & rumps but it made them much happier - they looked daft though!

 

[joe soapy]

there is a weed that can make the white bits of cows susceptable to sunburn

 

[KMA]

historically it seems to have been white bulls that are prone to it, probably because of less pigmentation in the skin, (bit like humans).

Bog Asphodel, increases sensitivity to sunlight especially in sheep, I've seen some lose their ears to it, they go like cardboard then start splitting, then you're left with just a stump which isn't a lot of use with the clueless eejits in charge of the ID schemes. end up in a circular argument along the lines of

"the animal hasn't got any ears can I just put the tags on some twine round it's neck"
"nope, it has to be in the ear"
"but it hasn't got any ears"
"don't care it has to be ................"

 

[Happy]

May be the untinkable for not just us and possibly a blessing in disguise if this drought continues.
At the moment EU grain harvest predicted down 5m tonnes, Russian 7m tonnes & weather worries in a good few other parts of the world too.

Low yields at home and high grain prices worldwide might just make Gove & his policy advisors take another look at the wisdom of the idea that importing everything we need into the UK with no consideration of food production in any of their recent raft of farming/environment policy announcements.

 

[Chae1]

Just need Russia to impose another export ban.

 

[Yale]

there is a weed that can make the white bits of cows susceptable to sunburn

Hog weed?

@Kidds

 

[Kidds]

Hog weed?

@Kidds

Not my field really as I don't have livestock but have read on here St Johns Wort maybe?

 

[Kidds]

https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/skin-peeling-off-my-bullock.173284/

 

[Still Farming]

Water meters for all will slow em up a bit on wasting it !

 

[M-J-G]

Last May we had to move cows off a glen due to the stream that they drank from going bone dry, and the potato field next door couldn't be irrigated because there was no water source.

2 months later a lot of people were bitching about too much rain and continued to bitch pretty much solid until a couple of months ago, and now there is discontent because their prayers from over thw past 12 months have been answered.

Same with the snow, lots of moaning, now it's dry and hot, still moaning.

You can't relay on the weather, but you can relay on people to have a whinge.

 

[Cab-over Pete]

Everybody is in a better mood in a drought than a bog.

 

[Wombat]

We find out its better to wet than to dry

Errr no

 

[Bramble]

Not my field really as I don't have livestock but have read on here St Johns Wort maybe?

Definitely this, we had a heifer that ate it once and all the white bits were very photosensitive. Had to keep it out the sun or all the skin pealed off!

 

[Wombat]

So if it doesn't rain for a couple of months, the crops are what they are nothing we can do there.

Harvest will be easy, bit like the Spanish it will be completely chilled out as we now it will be 25 deg tomorrow and the day after etc so why rush it, freak out about breakdowns etc

I can get on and do all the jobs you cannot when it's wet and sh!t and cold. Drainage, hedges, fencing etc

Cows will be fine, even if we have to let them onto some margins etc as we are not that heavily stocked.

You can sit out on an evening and enjoy the weather, hopefully we can watch the concerts we are going to in July without being in a quagmire.

It will be cold wet and crap from Oct to April so make the most of it.

 

[Al R]

So if it doesn't rain for a couple of months, the crops are what they are nothing we can do there.

Harvest will be easy, bit like the Spanish it will be completely chilled out as we now it will be 25 deg tomorrow and the day after etc so why rush it, freak out about breakdowns etc

I can get on and do all the jobs you cannot when it's wet and sh!t and cold. Drainage, hedges, fencing etc

Cows will be fine, even if we have to let them onto some margins etc as we are not that heavily stocked.

You can sit out on an evening and enjoy the weather, hopefully we can watch the concerts we are going to in July without being in a quagmire.

It will be cold wet and crap from Oct to April so make the most of it.

Good luck fencing! I struggled to get poly stakes into the ground 5” last week!
Earth posts we poured 50litres of water by each earth post just to get them into the ground!