The farming and smallholding thread

[Humble Tiller]

I think that is probably enough rain for now, over 150 mm in November. All the stock checks are now done on the quad or on foot to avoid trashing the tracks, gateways and the fields themselves. The Lord alone knows when we can start going round doing fencing upkeep.
The wheat looks very pale compared to previous years, no doubt exacerbated by not putting on any chicken litter prior to drilling, as per EA rules.

Although it is winter, so far it has been very mild. This means an increased risk of bugs in the crops in store, normally controlled by forcing cold winter air through the grain. If any bugs are found at the mill that load is either rejected or cleaned at my expense. To avoid any nasty surprises I've put pitfall traps (above) in the stores so we can deal with any problems before grain starts going out next month.

 

[Humble Tiller]

We had a bit of a grown-up discussion today about next year's cropping, especially important given the abysmal showing by the OSR* this autumn (70% loss).
OSR is now out of the rotation here for the foreseeable future, until a way to combat Cabbage Stem Flea Beetle can be found that is acceptable to all parties.
Oats were mooted as a possible replacement. However, we have now grown them for three years as a rape substitute, but they are not a true break crop and soon there would be a drop in wheat yield and a need to increase nitrogen applications.

Peas and beans were briefly considered, but they bring their own problems, and our (ancient) grain handling plant wouldn't cope with them.

What to do ?

Under the Strategic Farming Initiative (the replacement for direct subsidy/BPS) we can grow, and be paid for, an approved legume mix, which doesn't need harvesting, and can be moved around the farm as part of the rotation. Importantly a rotation with the SFI legume mix (it improves soil condition) has a gross margin very close to one with oats or OSR, and there are no harvesting or storage costs. It is worth noting that this scheme is non-competitive, and all applications will be approved according to DEFRA.

What it doesn't do is produce any food.

 

[Londo]

View attachment 785941
We had a bit of a grown-up discussion today about next year's cropping, especially important given the abysmal showing by the OSR* this autumn (70% loss).
OSR is now out of the rotation here for the foreseeable future, until a way to combat Cabbage Stem Flea Beetle can be found that is acceptable to all parties.
Oats were mooted as a possible replacement. However, we have now grown them for three years as a rape substitute, but they are not a true break crop and soon there would be a drop in wheat yield and a need to increase nitrogen applications.

Peas and beans were briefly considered, but they bring their own problems, and our (ancient) grain handling plant wouldn't cope with them.

What to do ?

Under the Strategic Farming Initiative (the replacement for direct subsidy/BPS) we can grow, and be paid for, an approved legume mix, which doesn't need harvesting, and can be moved around the farm as part of the rotation. Importantly a rotation with the SFI legume mix (it improves soil condition) has a gross margin very close to one with oats or OSR, and there are no harvesting or storage costs. It is worth noting that this scheme is non-competitive, and all applications will be approved according to DEFRA.

What it doesn't do is produce any food.
View attachment 785947

Just a thought . Would you be allowed / would there be any benefit / is it possible to move livestock onto the fields with the legume mix when grown ?
Possible food for the moos ? Just thinking

 

[Archibald]

Just a thought . Would you be allowed / would there be any benefit / is it possible to move livestock onto the fields with the legume mix when grown ?
Possible food for the moos ? Just thinking

No Bovines eating Legumes will increase their methane output, the main cause of climate change

Archie

 

[Londo]

No Bovines eating Legumes will increase their methane output, the main cause of climate change

Archie

Ah! A bit like feeding split peas to a plough horse .
You don't want to be behind it working the plough .

 

[armchair_jihad]

Gents I have said it before but here it is again, this thread is such a tonic in these times awash with general nastiness and pure Evil, just giving us City dwellers insight into your working days is a welcome oasis.

 

[beefer]

Gents I have said it before but here it is again, this thread is such a tonic in these times awash with general nastiness and pure Evil, just giving us City dwellers insight into your working days is a welcome oasis.

#Metoo

 

[Humble Tiller]

Just a thought . Would you be allowed / would there be any benefit / is it possible to move livestock onto the fields with the legume mix when grown ?
Possible food for the moos ? Just thinking

It might be possible, and a having a grazed grass ley as part of an arable rotation is making a comeback. However, in our case the mix is designed to improve soil health and structure, and not to be a fodder crop. Added to which, none of our arable fields are fenced or have water to them.

 

[Tyk]

It might be possible, and a having a grazed grass ley as part of an arable rotation is making a comeback. However, in our case the mix is designed to improve soil health and structure, and not to be a fodder crop. Added to which, none of our arable fields are fenced or have water to them.

That must be a careful dance, rotating crops the right way to restore the soil and avoid various parasites and infections. Lot to get right for long term sustainability of a viable farm.
I enjoy seeing the livestock looking healthy and the fields, you're in a really nice bit of countryside.

 

[Humble Tiller]

That must be a careful dance, rotating crops the right way to restore the soil and avoid various parasites and infections. Lot to get right for long term sustainability of a viable farm.
I enjoy seeing the livestock looking healthy and the fields, you're in a really nice bit of countryside.

We have always had a very simple rotation: winter wheat / spring barley / winter oil seed rape. So that is cereal, over winter stubbles, cereal, deep rooting brassica. It works for us, wheat yields are now very nearly averaging the magic 4t/acre, and the organic matter indices are very good. A longer rotation could be introduced, but we struggle with storage and ancient plant, and as per my post above, nowadays actually growing crops is not always the best option economically. How we grow the remaining crops is changing too, no more insecticides on the spring barley, soil sampling to see how much nitrogen we need to apply and so on.

This is a lovely part of the country, thank you for saying so, though I'm sure there are many on this site with less charitable views of Salisbury Plain and its environs.

 

[Escape-from-PPRuNe]

View attachment 785941
We had a bit of a grown-up discussion today about next year's cropping, especially important given the abysmal showing by the OSR* this autumn (70% loss).
OSR is now out of the rotation here for the foreseeable future, until a way to combat Cabbage Stem Flea Beetle can be found that is acceptable to all parties.
Oats were mooted as a possible replacement. However, we have now grown them for three years as a rape substitute, but they are not a true break crop and soon there would be a drop in wheat yield and a need to increase nitrogen applications.

Peas and beans were briefly considered, but they bring their own problems, and our (ancient) grain handling plant wouldn't cope with them.

What to do ?

Under the Strategic Farming Initiative (the replacement for direct subsidy/BPS) we can grow, and be paid for, an approved legume mix, which doesn't need harvesting, and can be moved around the farm as part of the rotation. Importantly a rotation with the SFI legume mix (it improves soil condition) has a gross margin very close to one with oats or OSR, and there are no harvesting or storage costs. It is worth noting that this scheme is non-competitive, and all applications will be approved according to DEFRA.

What it doesn't do is produce any food.
View attachment 785947

That looks like a splendid beast.

 

[Humble Tiller]

That looks like a splendid beast.

She's one of the older ones, and is massive, probably 650kg, maybe more. Twenty of them galloping accross the paddock is a seismic event.

 

[Escape-from-PPRuNe]

She's one of the older ones, and is massive, probably 650kg, maybe more. Twenty of them galloping accross the paddock is a seismic event.

Cattle are amazing, really; you want to tickle them between the eyes, you really have to be scared of them, and you're going to roast them anyway because they taste good.

 

[Humble Tiller]

Cattle are amazing, really; you want to tickle them between the eyes, you really have to be scared of them, and you're going to roast them anyway because they taste good.

 

[Tyk]

View attachment 786442

Fine looking beasty, How old is he?