Today at work

Bill Turtle

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Essex
Another day ploughing, another great sunset.
DBA80C90-E3D9-4FB9-A6EA-404FD6D3C431.jpeg
 

bovrill

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
East Essexshire
A fun few hours chasing these little darlings around the parish this afternoon
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I lost the pin that secures the gate, so used a rusty nail instead, and that turned out to lack the required strength!
They eventually trotted back into the feed passage, so I shut them in there for an hour while I took the opportunity to grab a bit of muck out the pen, and find a proper bolt to replace the missing pin. Hence the widely scattered haylage! Tidying up can wait until daylight, I've not run through muddy fields like this for years, and my knees are creaking a bit now!
 

Adeptandy

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
PE15
At least your getting it in the ground.
I'm in catch up mode, most around here have some in and up, I was trying not to plough..................... gave in and turned it brown with help from a friend ( don't own a plough ) will be the most expensive establishment for years, just hope it grows now ?
 

Steevo

Member
Location
Gloucestershire
I'm in catch up mode, most around here have some in and up, I was trying not to plough..................... gave in and turned it brown with help from a friend ( don't own a plough ) will be the most expensive establishment for years, just hope it grows now ?

I've done similar and justified it easily to myself by saying that that increased yield of winter wheat, higher price than barley, and likely increased straw price will easily pay the contractor cost of plough/combi drill.


Working it through on paper now....

£20/t premium above barley yield of 7t/ha = £140/ha
1t/ha extra yield from winter drop at £140/t wheat = £140/ha
Straw price of £25/ha extra? = £25/ha

£305 per hectare, or £123/ac.

Ok there are higher inputs with winter wheat too I admit....but take off £55/ac to plant the crop leaves £68/ac left in the pot, without accounting for any discount due against the "standard" establishment cost.

Later wheat planting (Nov rather than Sept/Oct) and the ploughing may also reduce weed pressure....which is just as well as no autumn herbicide has gone on. That saving alone could probably offset a chunk off the establishment cost too.

No doubt someone will tell me the fag packet figures I've just put down aren't quite accurate...
 

Adeptandy

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
PE15
I've done similar and justified it easily to myself by saying that that increased yield of winter wheat, higher price than barley, and likely increased straw price will easily pay the contractor cost of plough/combi drill.


Working it through on paper now....

£20/t premium above barley yield of 7t/ha = £140/ha
1t/ha extra yield from winter drop at £140/t wheat = £140/ha
Straw price of £25/ha extra? = £25/ha

£305 per hectare, or £123/ac.

Ok there are higher inputs with winter wheat too I admit....but take off £55/ac to plant the crop leaves £68/ac left in the pot, without accounting for any discount due against the "standard" establishment cost.

Later wheat planting (Nov rather than Sept/Oct) and the ploughing may also reduce weed pressure....which is just as well as no autumn herbicide has gone on. That saving alone could probably offset a chunk off the establishment cost too.

No doubt someone will tell me the fag packet figures I've just put down aren't quite accurate...
Plough/press is costing me £25/a that’s really the only additional expense, it’s bad BG land and not been ploughed for over 10 years so hoping for some clean soil. Not been subsoiled, so that covers the power harrow cost and plough diesel. Drilling is just taking a bit more time. So all in not that bad assuming it grows, and it’s not had the inches of rain others has.
I am putting a few more seeds on though than normal.
 

Sheepykid

Member
Two sheds both loose housed, no cubicles, although we've often thought about it. In nvz so it's not just the cubicles, a slurry store would be needed too.
Would you use a lot of straw per cow during the winter? What stocking rate can you get away with in that shed? We’ve thought about changing but I can’t get my head round the cost to buy cubicles and a slurry store.
 

mixed breed

Member
Mixed Farmer
Do you get much mastitis?
Always get a few cases, usually a sign they need cleaning out, but not too bad.

Would you use a lot of straw per cow during the winter? What stocking rate can you get away with in that shed? We’ve thought about changing but I can’t get my head round the cost to buy cubicles and a slurry store.

Use 4 rounds (4ft) a day. Good barley straw, blown not chopped, lime the bed once a week, and try to clean out four weeks, but time and weather don't always allow.
120 x 40 and a 60 x 40, currently housing 92 as that is probably at its limit.

Cubicles and slurry store are a big investment yes, which will no doubt pay eventually but, the 8 years since I started here have been a roller coaster, from highs of 32p to lows of 16p and lost contracts. All the uncertainty hasn't given me the confidence to invest heavily, we grow all our own feed so have the straw and the manure feeds the ground, so it all goes round in a fashion...
 

Sheepykid

Member
Always get a few cases, usually a sign they need cleaning out, but not too bad.



Use 4 rounds (4ft) a day. Good barley straw, blown not chopped, lime the bed once a week, and try to clean out four weeks, but time and weather don't always allow.
120 x 40 and a 60 x 40, currently housing 92 as that is probably at its limit.

Cubicles and slurry store are a big investment yes, which will no doubt pay eventually but, the 8 years since I started here have been a roller coaster, from highs of 32p to lows of 16p and lost contracts. All the uncertainty hasn't given me the confidence to invest heavily, we grow all our own feed so have the straw and the manure feeds the ground, so it all goes round in a fashion...
That’s partly where my plan comes unstuck. I’d be heavily reliant on bought in feed. We can’t grow any cereals really as we need all the grass. So all feed and bedding is bought in other than grass silage. But I have the ability to house lots of cows.
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

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  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

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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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