Today at work

Pan mixer

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Near Colchester
Penultimate cow calved, at last.

DSC_0001 (109).JPG
 

Gerbert

Member
Location
Dutch biblebelt
The crop lodged very bad, we tried to direct cut with a kemper header, which went well, for 1 meter. Looking at the weather we wanted to harvest that day (also there already was mold coming below) so we called a neighbour who has mowers without conditioners. I raked it, lots of stuff on the ground that I wanted in the pit but hey.
Try again, the stuff didn't want to go through the corncracker. Contractor went home again, corncracker out and it finally went well. But, at the peas are not cracked, they aren't all that hard so I hope that digest allright.
We'll see what the cows think but it has been quite a costly experience.
 

Cowmansam

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Shropshire
The crop lodged very bad, we tried to direct cut with a kemper header, which went well, for 1 meter. Looking at the weather we wanted to harvest that day (also there already was mold coming below) so we called a neighbour who has mowers without conditioners. I raked it, lots of stuff on the ground that I wanted in the pit but hey.
Try again, the stuff didn't want to go through the corncracker. Contractor went home again, corncracker out and it finally went well. But, at the peas are not cracked, they aren't all that hard so I hope that digest allright.
We'll see what the cows think but it has been quite a costly experience.
Certainly sounds a testing few days
 

Al R

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
West Wales
The crop lodged very bad, we tried to direct cut with a kemper header, which went well, for 1 meter. Looking at the weather we wanted to harvest that day (also there already was mold coming below) so we called a neighbour who has mowers without conditioners. I raked it, lots of stuff on the ground that I wanted in the pit but hey.
Try again, the stuff didn't want to go through the corncracker. Contractor went home again, corncracker out and it finally went well. But, at the peas are not cracked, they aren't all that hard so I hope that digest allright.
We'll see what the cows think but it has been quite a costly experience.
I know the perils of wholecrop from the harvester side. Has anyone near you got a Rape Swather? They work well as long as you have no stones, I had a pebble go through a corn cracker and it smoothed off every tooth before I managed to stop the machine. Went to a combine type Forschitt header then that worked well although slow. Contractor doesn’t have a Direct Cut header? If there is enough of you doing it a Forschitt header isn’t expensive or convert a combine header.
 

Gerbert

Member
Location
Dutch biblebelt
It was only 3 hectare so I really didnt really feel like calling a contractor with a direct cut header. The whole story from trying to harvest with the kemper header untill having it in the pit was only 6 hours so I can't complain about the contractors and my neighbours dedication.
I figured a flail harvester like you guys on the island seem to have in every hedge might be just the tool. I am not interested in investing money in this project. I don't mind that I tried but honestly I didn't even really wanted to do this. We hired this field with part of the deal being it has to be cereals, so hey. We might end the agreement, I don't know.
 

Al R

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
West Wales
It was only 3 hectare so I really didnt really feel like calling a contractor with a direct cut header. The whole story from trying to harvest with the kemper header untill having it in the pit was only 6 hours so I can't complain about the contractors and my neighbours dedication.
I figured a flail harvester like you guys on the island seem to have in every hedge might be just the tool. I am not interested in investing money in this project. I don't mind that I tried but honestly I didn't even really wanted to do this. We hired this field with part of the deal being it has to be cereals, so hey. We might end the agreement, I don't know.
Can you combine it? I rent a 50acre block next door which has to have 4 acre of quarry bedrock under cereals 🤦🏻‍♂️ It’s worth it as it’s next door but otherwise would be a right pain!
 

Gerbert

Member
Location
Dutch biblebelt
Yeah we did last year, but as it is organic we had quite a bit of crap in it. Also I am not set up in any way to handle loose cereals so that was a pain, dicking around with big bags.
I might look into oats or something that can go though a kemper header really well. But then again, I do not need the structure that a cereal wholecrop seems to bring.
The organic seed is very expensive and I do not have a plough or seeder which doesn't help.
I'd prefer to just put grass in and be done with it.
 

Two Tone

Member
Mixed Farmer
does winter linseed combine better than spring ? spring can be a right pain in the willy !!
I don’t know. This is the first time I’ve ever grown any of it.
No sun, no harvesting.
Don’t get anywhere near it with the reel.
It is remarkably how well it feeds it and the header auger grabs it.
Vari-feed does help and can stop it from wrapping on the auger so that the heads fall under the auger.
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

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    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 5 2.7%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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