What % of winter crops not planted or destroyed

[Renaultman]

It's not got down to the drains properly and that's been a problem. The October rain was so intense it's capped it really quickly. That's not helped at all. Drainage and ditching it part of normal routine here as the fall is minimal.

I have to admit, we are getting to that point, the drains aren't running as well as they should be, considering how wet it is.

 

[Clive]

Theres one way to find out if something works or doesnt.....time, your system is less reliable its been proven time and time again and my neighbours crops confirm my opinion

righto

did you read my earlier post ?

ps - if my ancestors had only ever done what their ancestors did etc etc etc ……… i would be living in a cave still and certainly not communicating via the internet on a pocket sized device right now

 

[bankrupt]

Rainfall 1991 - 2020 anomaly
March 2024

 

[glasshouse]

Have never been able to get my head around ploughing down muck….I understand the volume issue, but:
Cows sh4t on the soil surface.
All the bugs that break down the sh4t live on the soil surface.
As the sh4t is broken down and drawn down through the soil profile, the different biota in the different levels of the soil are specialised at breaking the sh4t down further.
That’s been going on for more than a few generations.

Same applies to the straw.

Why put all that goodness in a place that the biota don’t inhabit? Just doesn’t make sense to me!

Thats how all our arable soils were made, with muck and plough
They didnt just happen

 

[Clive]

Thats how all our arable soils were made, with muck and plough
They didnt just happen

farmers created soil ? now that is a rather bold claim

 

[glasshouse]

farmers created soil ? now that is a rather bold claim

Thats the reality.
Just look at the soil where old forests have been felled and not had the benefit of thousands of years of ploughing and muck. They are crap
Not to mention marling and liming.
Lots ofnatural soils were useless til lime arrived on the scene

 

[Huno]

Rainfall 1991 - 2020 anomaly
March 2024

Lucky sods in North East Norfolk??

 

[Case290]

Another 10 Acres not going to make harvest. very disappointing as it’s was hedge to hedge but just lay with water after last weeks rain and all gone yellow.

 

[Pottersfarm]

Thats the reality.
Just look at the soil where old forests have been felled and not had the benefit of thousands of years of ploughing and muck. They are crap
Not to mention marling and liming.
Lots ofnatural soils were useless til lime arrived on the scene

Generally soils in woods and under hedges is in far better condition than in farmed fields.

 

[Bossfarmer]

righto

did you read my earlier post ?

ps - if my ancestors had only ever done what their ancestors did etc etc etc ……… i would be living in a cave still and certainly not communicating via the internet on a pocket sized device right now

i dont need you to tell me this you didnt invent the smartphone or the internet, nor did you invent direct drilling its been around a long time too and people keep returning to tillage for a reason, there are conditions where a direct drill simply wont work but a plough and combi will

can you direct drill through 15-20t/acre of muck? thats what really improves soil, all dd seems to do is cause compaction, not my words the words of an estate manager who took over after the previous guy had been sacked, first thing he did was take a plough through it

 

[teslacoils]

Generally soils in woods and under hedges is in far better condition than in farmed fields.

Until they are farmed, then.

 

[glasshouse]

Generally soils in woods and under hedges is in far better condition than in farmed fields.

Depends where you look
I passed a field yesterday where an old shelterbelt was removed forty odd yrs ago.
You csn still clearly see where it had been by the yellow and poorer crop

 

[Cowlife]

I always remember we dug over a bit of rough ground one summer to add it into a field. No scrub but big natural tussock grass well up past my knee.
It would have got grazed a bit but never abused.
The soil was like powder. It was dry weather but I've never seen soil on any of our farmed fields like it.
Must have been a combination of deep roots, no compaction, no fert or slurry, and undisturbed worms.
Always wondered what the rest of the place would be like if managed the same.
Need something like galloways to utilise it unfortunately.

 

[snarling bee]

You can still see where most of the old hedges were because the crop is better.

 

[glasshouse]

You can still see where most of the old hedges were because the crop is better.

guess where the livestock used to lie and dung at night? Wnen proper mixed farming was a thing?

 

[snarling bee]

We have doubled our OM by use of FYM, compost and sewage cake. It would probably take 50 years of cover crops or re gen ag to do the same, but it will all revert to a lower level quite quickly if we don't keep adding the amendments.

 

[glasshouse]

We have doubled our OM by use of FYM, compost and sewage cake. It would probably take 50 years of cover crops or re gen ag to do the same, but it will all revert to a lower level quite quickly if we don't keep adding the amendments.

Had my arable soil tested last yr- 8% OM

 

[Wombat]

You can still see where most of the old hedges were because the crop is better.

We have two fields which are totally bugger apart from where the 4 trees took the water out during the crap summer every plant came and looks great . Amazing to see the difference.

 

[jh.]

i dont need you to tell me this you didnt invent the smartphone or the internet, nor did you invent direct drilling its been around a long time too and people keep returning to tillage for a reason, there are conditions where a direct drill simply wont work but a plough and combi will

can you direct drill through 15-20t/acre of muck? thats what really improves soil, all dd seems to do is cause compaction, not my words the words of an estate manager who took over after the previous guy had been sacked, first thing he did was take a plough through it

I think the plough is like hitting the reset button every year and does get results but at expense of erosion.

I'm in my late 40s now , ploughed fields here all my life and I can see the rock heads getting shallower and bigger with more of them these days . My best spring crop yields are from pre Christmas ploughing but I have gullies cut down through fields come spring , so know I've lost soil .

It's one of the reasons I've been looking at direct drills closely for about 7 years and getting demos as I can see a day winter ploughing is not allowed and spring ploughing simply doesn't work here in the heavier stuff . The claydon and avatar both coped fine with a thick dung spread over it but the claydon hauled up every stone it could and avatar had dung spreader tracks showing all season.

Even the Scottish farmer is starting to report this .

 

[bankrupt]

As so often this time, next week's going to be really wonderful here - dry, windy and low RH.​

​

North Tawton: 8-14 Day Forecast​

09:46 Wednesday

• Wednesday10 Apr
  
  12° / 6°
  
  14 - 29 mph
• Thursday11 Apr
  
  14° / 9°
  
  15 - 28 mph
• Friday12 Apr
  
  15° / 9°
  
  17 - 34 mph
• Saturday13 Apr
  
  12° / 7°
  
  22 - 40 mph
• Sunday14 Apr
  
  10° / 6°
  
  20 - 40 mph
• Monday15 Apr
  
  10° / 6°
  
  19 - 35 mph
• Tuesday16 Apr
  
  8° / 5°
  
  19 - 37 mph