What are these holes then?

[warksfarmer]

Yes, the stubble looks really thin, what was the drill, drilling date and previous crop ?

What did it yield and what would you expect normally?

Got the highest yield ever recorded off our farm this year, (by quite some way), early September direct drilling with Claydon.

Your soil looks quite sandy, I would have though dd would work well their, any ideas what went wrong?

Weaving disc drill
Mid March (s wheat)
S Barley
2.16t/ac
3t/ac
The soil across these 3 fields varies from loam to clay, not really sandy though.

 

[warksfarmer]

Is it following a cover crop including tillage radish?

Yep but that's long gone. Gone before we drilled. These holes have appeared within the last 4 weeks I think.

 

[warksfarmer]

what do you reckon the reason is ?

Undressed seed maybe but the crop looked good through the growing season.

Attention to detail maybe as spring crops get a bit forgotten about. I certainly didn't walk the fields as much as the winter wheats but saying that when I have the crop looked ok.

I think we'll do a soil test to see if anything flags up.

But because the plant looked decent but then hasn't yielded then really that's the issue more so than the soil? If there was a serious soil problem then the plant wouldn't of looked good?

Lots of questions .......

 

[Hindsight]

Spring wheat? Was this some of the Gout Fly affected fields you posted earlier in year?

 

[MrNoo]

I have some similar in worked/drilled rape ground, although nowhere near as many as your picture shows, mine appear to be housing mice.

 

[Grassman]

Rats

If it is don't worry. They will move out of the field very soon



And into your buildings!

 

[fudge]

If the holes are golf ball size you have very small rats! I wonder if it could be a colony of very large CSFB protesting at the lack of OSR?

 

[warksfarmer]

Spring wheat? Was this some of the Gout Fly affected fields you posted earlier in year?

No.

 

[TelesnaAg]

Woops looks like I set those drill metres to deep and they popped out in England....I was hoping they would land in the Black Sea....get me some of that good dirt...

Ant...

 

[britt]

If you have got that many mice it would explain what happened to the wheat.
Dig a couple out to see what's bellow.

 

[Dry Rot]

It's DEFRA. They spy on you from above with satelites and drones, send their men with clip boards around, so what next? You've heard of moles, surely? (And I don't mean the furry kind!).

 

[Oat]

Are you sure it is something digging, there doesn't appear to be any excavated soil. Could it be animals feet sinking in?

There doesn't appear to be actual hoof or paw prints, and it would have to be something fairly heavy to sink that deep, but its a thought?