- Location
- LINCOLNSHIRE/KENYA
Plenty of farmers in Kenya farming quarter acre plots.
We are only hobby farmers in the uk
- Thread starter Barleymow
- Start date
oil barron
Member
- Location
- Aberdeenshire
Red lentils?
ridger
Member
- Location
- Tyrone, Northern Ireland
I must remember to ask
A few years ago I did a load of research into crop insurance and wondered if there was an opportunity in the UK. I had experience of buying it in France and learnt a reasonable amount from certain Canadian growers. Did not really research the US system. The french one, 75% of reasonable size crop producers were taking it, subsidised by EU and it paid out around 75% of regional yield at reasonable cost. A lot of the Canadian cover was based on recovery of input costs.
I came to the conclusion it would not work in the UK because of the fact that our yields over a 5-10 year period were a lot less variable than those experienced by the likes of the Canadians and to a lessor extent the French.
To make crop insurance schemes work you need a high proportion of growers to take out the cover because of yield/weather variability- that was never going to happen in the UK- PLUS Insurers are only in it for a profit, unless they are backed by government/EU etc they are not interested. NFU tried it 10 years or more ago in association with 1 of the large grain traders/merchants I think and only sold a handful of policies.
I came to the conclusion it would not work in the UK because of the fact that our yields over a 5-10 year period were a lot less variable than those experienced by the likes of the Canadians and to a lessor extent the French.
To make crop insurance schemes work you need a high proportion of growers to take out the cover because of yield/weather variability- that was never going to happen in the UK- PLUS Insurers are only in it for a profit, unless they are backed by government/EU etc they are not interested. NFU tried it 10 years or more ago in association with 1 of the large grain traders/merchants I think and only sold a handful of policies.
glasshouse
Member
- Location
- lothians
Why do they need workshops if everything is new?
I recently bought a book of Oliver walstons writings and there is a very interesting article about comparing his farm to a 15000 acre farm in the states. All the costings and everything. To make the same amount of money the American farmer had to farm a large amount more. I will get some pictures of the passage and lost it tomorrow.
Have read same book, there are many low input/low output farms in USA/Canada where 15000 acres output over there is no different to 3000 acres in UK. Walston wrote some superb articles in that era of 80's and 90's that weren't always too well appreciated by farmers at the time! They are very interesting to now re- read.
- Location
- LINCOLNSHIRE/KENYA
I have all his books. Very interesting at the time and most of what he foretold has come true.
- Location
- Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
Outbursts was good
And in an era when we were spoiled by proper ag journalists on the TV; Dan Cherington, Philip Wrixon, Oliver Walston even David Richardson
alomy75
Member
I’ve often wondered about what their wheat yields…they seem to talk in bushels? So if 3000 uk acres is equivalent to 15000 us acres are we saying a 10t crop here is equivalent of 2t/ha there?
Red Fred
Member
- Location
- Hants/Dorset border
Grandad went to Canada in about 1905 and he used to say a similar thing- I remember he had four mules, Mick, Bright, Buck and Barney, and he said he would plough "once up in the forenoon, once back in the afternoon."
My sister did a school exchange with a family of dairy farmers from Maryland. I went over later and stayed with them, and the set up was very similar to ours with about 70 cows supporting the family. I think they have since packed up as we did in the 2000s. One thing that surprised us was how little people had travelled. The cowman was really taken with the idea we were flying off to Houston and LA. He thought the UK was really exotic, and said he once went as far as West Virginia.
- Location
- LINCOLNSHIRE/KENYA
A lot of farms in the northern states last year only harvested enough to use as seed this year but in a good rain year might touch 2 tonnes an acre. Weather is the biggest factor a drought means literally no yield the level of risk is far greater.
glasshouse
Member
- Location
- lothians
I looked a 9000 ac farm in wwstern australia in 2008
It was in 3rd year of drought and the bloke had had enough.
He had harvested 300 kg per hectare that yr
It was sold for forestry for$1.2m ( £500,000 at the time)
The forestry co planted it in wheat, it rained, and they harvested 3 million dollars worth.
It was in 3rd year of drought and the bloke had had enough.
He had harvested 300 kg per hectare that yr
It was sold for forestry for$1.2m ( £500,000 at the time)
The forestry co planted it in wheat, it rained, and they harvested 3 million dollars worth.
oil barron
Member
- Location
- Aberdeenshire
*north west states. Anything east of the Dakotas was fine.
Dead Rabbits
Member
- Location
- 'Merica
Who is he with?
- Location
- LINCOLNSHIRE/KENYA
No Montana's harvest was very poor too and Washington's was half of 2020.
oil barron
Member
- Location
- Aberdeenshire
That’s all west of the Dakotas brother
- Location
- LINCOLNSHIRE/KENYA
So it is. Read east for west but wheat yields in the Dakotas and Minnesota were not as good a they should have been due to the drought.
oil barron
Member
- Location
- Aberdeenshire
Wouldn’t be a lot of wheat in Minnesota. That’s corn country.
- Location
- LINCOLNSHIRE/KENYA
I was in a place called Brooks it was beet and wheat.