For help, advice and discussion about stuff not related to aviation. Play nice: no religion, no politics and no axe grinding please.
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By skydriller
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1875553
^^^Love it!!^^^ :lol: :lol: :lol:

My long departed mother used to call this " Hedge Hopping"...

..."Hedge Hopping" was what she called it when my father, a farm manager, would be driving along and looking over the hedges at crops in other farmers fields and comment about something...

Regards, SD..
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By TheFarmer
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1875562
Fertiliser prides have doubled, as they’re linked to gas prices.

Normally, that would take my nitrogen bill from £50,000 to £100,000 next year. Thankfully I was part of a group that bought forward.
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By Milty
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1875592
As a relatively new forumite, I’ve just spent an enjoyable chunk of time (not declaring how long as I’m a slow reader) catching up on this from the start. Thank you to all who have shared their experience in a very interesting thread. Please keep it going if you can find the time.

I grew up in the country next to a dairy farm until I was 10. Much of my childhood free time was spent watching or helping (probably hindering) as I grew older. I was too young to be involved in the theory part of farm life. It’s impressive to get an insight into the fact that project manager, mechanic, hygienist, scientist/chemist, trader, meteorologist, accountant etc all gets rolled into one job title of farmer.

One of the best parts of my work is that I get to see into many different factories across a lot of sectors but we don’t do a lot directly with farming so it’s nice to see this here. Thanks again.
By johnm
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1875691
The principle of manure was to recycle waste stuff in positive ways, so compost and manure are the way forward once we go back to using horses instead of tractors.

Sewage sludge is sold as manure by the water companies but it is somewhat controversial because of all the chemical pollutants and pathogens in sewage. The EU is seeking to establish a manageable regime for its use, but if everyone went vegan that might help quite a bit :D
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By Pete L
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1875699
johnm wrote: all the chemical pollutants and pathogens in sewage. The EU is seeking to establish a manageable regime for its use


Never mind the recreational drugs :D

We were taught at college that every cyclical chemical process should have a purge - so perfect recycling of all sewage into the food chain on a short loop I don't believe is a great idea. The horse muck gets left for a year before being put on the garden but that's almost edible in itself since horses are such inefficient grazers.
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By Bill McCarthy
#1875710
If you watched “Harrys Farm” above - if this was the USA, the cereal “breeders” and the likes of Monsanto would bankrupt every farmer for “saving seed”. They even bankrupted a seed dressing outfit for dressing saved seed. “Food Inc” (on Netflix, I think) is a real eye opener and shows the very tight controls over USA farmers. If we do get a trade deal with the USA, I fear they will get a hold over here.
It’s obvious that Harry is not doing much crop rotation.
By Nick
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1875810
Pete L wrote:
johnm wrote: all the chemical pollutants and pathogens in sewage. The EU is seeking to establish a manageable regime for its use


Never mind the recreational drugs :D

We were taught at college that every cyclical chemical process should have a purge - so perfect recycling of all sewage into the food chain on a short loop I don't believe is a great idea. The horse muck gets left for a year before being put on the garden but that's almost edible in itself since horses are such inefficient grazers.


I tip the horse muck on the farm next door and overgraze the horse paddocks with sheep. Eating produce grown, that has been fertilized by your own species sh 1t, is asking for trouble.

Nick
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By skydriller
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1875827
Nick wrote:Eating produce grown, that has been fertilized by your own species sh 1t, is asking for trouble.


I take it you didnt appreciate "The Martian" then? :wink:
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By TheFarmer
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1876172
An early start at 0430 hrs this morning, as the pressure is on the beat the rain this weekend.

I’d already planted 20 acres when I took this.
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I’m doing about 12 acres per hour, and hope to cover 150 acres today. The seed planter is 6 metres wide, and I travel at between 10 and 12 kph, using around 30 litres per hour of diesel.

Lots of buttons and lights to play with!
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This field is 72 acres, and I’m getting through it slowly. It’s quite steep in places though, and the John Deere is working hard this morning, using all of her 215 horses!!

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The wheat is a new variety called Cranium, which is good on brashy soil and tillers out well, meaning it’ll help drown out black grass and other weeds.

Seed rate at this time of year is about 200 kgs/ha. That’s 80 kgs per acre. After it’s dried a bit, it will be slow rolled to give a smooth surface for a pre-emergence herbicide that will allow the wheat through, but nothing else.
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By Pete L
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1876193
Please keep it coming this time. It's a completely different way of thinking about the world than the day job.

Next year's slow telly hit must be "Crop of the Year" or something like - almost enough forum farmers to carry it off. How does TheFarmer score on diversity points? :D
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