Topping grassland

hally

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
cumbria
I would totally disagree. Some of us down here cut fields with rushes every year and bale it up dry for bedding, trouble is , the rushes get less every year. Also after cutting, put a bit of muck or slurry on the ground and the stock will eat the succulent young growth.
I get your point if you regard them as a asset but if you want rid just spray, far cheaper than mowing and baling and they are gone in year one. Speaking as a farmer on a Cumbrian hill farm with the second highest rainfall in England ( after the lake district) we see a lot of rushes in the area …..some can control them some cannot but lack of control is not always poor farm practice but often to do with environmental schemes, or even the desire for shelter for the outside lambing guys.
 

Derrick Hughes

Member
Location
Ceredigion
Desaster of the day so far
IMG_20210715_101742.jpg
 

Fendt516profi

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Yorkshire
I get your point if you regard them as a asset but if you want rid just spray, far cheaper than mowing and baling and they are gone in year one. Speaking as a farmer on a Cumbrian hill farm with the second highest rainfall in England ( after the lake district) we see a lot of rushes in the area …..some can control them some cannot but lack of control is not always poor farm practice but often to do with environmental schemes, or even the desire for shelter for the outside lambing guys.
That depends on how you work it out, cost of spray plus applying it. Cost of mowing and baling minus cost of straw that would be bought in
 

toquark

Member
Had some good results on the rushes this year by topping last back end, spraying regrowth with MCPA in late May before they seed, letting them brown off, cutting tight again in June then probably spray this week or next. The regrowth would have been less than 20% of the original area and usually just in corners which the boom never reached. I'd be tempted to try spraying and cutting again this season if there's enough re-growth to go at.

Its fairly addictive getting them gone...

Agree with the comments that sheep don't help them. But neither do knackered drains and sour ground.
 

neilo

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Montgomeryshire
Not if you cut before they seed. Does anyone believe that seeds become unviable if you heap the muck up and let it rot abit

The idea of composting is to create enough heat to kill weed seeds and pathogens. To compost the midden you would need to turn it a few times to get oxygen into it, creating heat.
 

fluke

Member
Livestock Farmer
Topping skids - I have a 2.8M Lely splendidmo which i think has 7 discs?? would I have to put a topping skid on all the discs?
 

neilo

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Montgomeryshire
Topping skids - I have a 2.8M Lely splendidmo which i think has 7 discs?? would I have to put a topping skid on all the discs?

My 9' Malone has 7 discs and came with 3 skids. I've not felt the need to get more, but I guess it might support the bed better on rough ground? Personally, I wouldn't want to use a disc mower to top rough ground though.
 

fluke

Member
Livestock Farmer
Its not too rough..... just concerned about supporting the bed well, Lely do a 100mm skid. I have some stewardship ground which I just need to keep on top of and snip off ryegrass seedheads and thistles. But you use one at either end and one in the middle i guess.
 
Rushes-

Top them down as low as you can early in the season and wait until they are 12 inches tall, green and growing hard, then spray with MCPA (can add 2,4D as well if you want) and use an adjuvant. Good steady spraying and you will eliminate them. They stop growing and go a lovely yellow colour. Very thick patches may shelter/shadow each other so you may get a few survivors which you can possibly tidy up next year or even use thrust or something to knapsack them.

Weed wiping also works well but a steady job.
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 79 42.5%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 65 34.9%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 16.1%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 75-100%

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

    Votes: 6 3.2%

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

  • 1,287
  • 1
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/
Top