Needs to charge more then
Why are Velcourt not direct/zero drilling on a large scale?
- Thread starter Pilatus
- Start date
It’s irrelevant. There is only a set amount in the pie to be shared. I’m not talking about job by job contracting.
There's obviously something left in the pie for a profit to be shown. DD would lower the cost of stubble to stubble borne by the contractor, but not necessarily affect the charge to the CFA?
Bloody pointless doing it for nowt
Of course it’s pointless. You only have to look at the cfa surveys done by the likes of strutts or Bidwells then compare it to often published benchmarking figures to realise that that.
- Location
- East Yorkshire
Less machinery, less staff is the answer. And fuel use slashed by at least half.
On 5000 acres one self employed guy on digger all winter doing ditches, the other one who is employed is outloading grain and doing ‘estate work’ so hedge cutting etc. that’s all we have and some harvest help.
You're as shaved to the bone as that and can't see the benefit in direct drilling unless you can sell the culltivation kit? Blimey.
Not really to the bone. We don’t need loads of ploughs and cultivation kit. We have a few old bits we occasionally need and hire if we need something special. The mole plough is our main tool. I’d rather not have 150k’s worth of kit sat in the yard not doing anything.
What's your system?
What do you pull the mole plough with?
Direct disc or tine drill. Heavy land. Mole draining.
ollie989898
Member
I disagree. If the kit is bought and paid for you can adapt your plans according to the season. If it turns wet and to bilge then you can plough and combi as a last resort. A looked after and years old plough and combi drill need not be thousands sat stood up.
Not all direct drillers are total bio-evangelists. Some of them I know of were doing it because it was cheap and could be done in less than half the time, yet their crops remained basically the same.
I like ploughing and tractors as much as the next man but I don't like spending money for the sake of it.
Like I said what you describe is the difference between seeing it as a completely different agronomic system vs saving some money on establishment sometimes.
you can’t play and combi on this soil anyway.
If it goes wet you need loads of cover to drill into, we did that last year and got excellent yields and was one of the few to get drilled up without making a huge mess.
ollie989898
Member
I know people who have successfully done both down here where plough and combi would be the default option for most.
In a cooperative season, the direct drilling method worked fine.
Fair
Fish
Member
- Location
- North yorkshire
For me, no till is a system, you ether buy into it or not, its up to you, but I don’t see the point of farting around running some half arsed hybrid system dipping in and out, all you end up with is all the costs and not many of the rewards.
You put it better than me. Completely agree.
average farmer
Member
- Location
- North Notts
I’m planning on trying to run a half aresed hybrid system in the near future. For the reason of gaining knowledge and experience in direct drilling without the full commitment but hope to progress to full notill when dad (69) gives up driving tractors.
I don’t want to employ anyone full time and would rather try before giving land up . A contractor with a top down/trio would be the next option
I don’t want to employ anyone full time and would rather try before giving land up . A contractor with a top down/trio would be the next option
Heavy land here sees two wheats, cc, spring beans, two wheats, cc, spring oats.
Direct drill the breaks and the covers, occasionally wheat after beans. Flatlift combi the wheats.
Nowt half arsed about it.
Taking straw off & muck back creates traffic, which in a wet time can be a problem.
Beans need deep sowing so we use a Kockerling AT300 with a tine bar on the linkage.
Cc pre oats often Kockerling drilled too.
Oats need absolute minimum disturbance, which is where the Moore comes in. Moore also sows all the other cover crops (mostly pre roots)
Flatlift combi for the wheat just consistently works.
The next stage for us I think is strip til - which will reduce cost cultivating, eliminate the Kockerling and at least half the amount under the combi, thereby creating savings and capacity.
The Kockerling cost £3500 on this forum, originally bought to drill beans & covers.
Moore was bought new with a cps grant, and has since 2018 direct sown about 1400acres
Pottinger combi is brilliant and bought new to sow 500ac in 2015 - it now does about 400ac/yr
If necessary, all three can run together, and occasionally do. They are all very good at what they do, but no one is good at all situations.
How would you do it?