Oakley Farms

Good to have everyone out doing things this week, with hedgetrimming now wrapped up Webby moves onto loading Orchards spreaders who are in spreading compost for us, James is on behind topping down cover crop down tight that's been sprayed off, fingers crossed it will start to dry out a little and we can get out and incorporate this. Sprayer is out between showers getting the last of the round up on catch crops ahead of Maize. He will move onto getting some herbicide on rape to clean up from winter, liquid feet on winter barley then back to fert on rape and probably straight into T0 and fert on wheat....where's that other sprayer too!? 3 guys are still on hauling in organic matter, the compost contract now finished we are topping up with digestate from local AD plant. In between all this we are finally putting up the new spray shed usually in the rain!

I believe so, some are still fixed axels but I wouldn't entertain a trailed sprayer without steering. It's the physical problem of going backwards, steering or no steering your front wheels will wander off the tram line when backing into corners, it doesn't really worry me as our tramlines are reasonably wide anyway just if it's wet it makes a mess but lets face it if it's that wet you probably shouldn't be out there anyway! Not a lot in it between SP or trailed really, just prefer SP

Lovely as per usual, love the unimog in green, looks well.

Extra set of wheels for a start and you have to back it into corners which is more tricky, so makes tramlines wider and generally more of a mess.

Well in the last week it's felt like spring is finally just around the corner which has meant we have woken from our winter slumber. Compost is being hauled in from Dimmer by Dan, Mark and myself, tipped on ground for spring beans, our commitment to upping organic matter continues and will be spread by Orchard Contractors in a couple weeks. We've had the sprayer out stretching its booms spraying off cover crops, may have to relook at this structure as it's leaving grounds wet in early spring, these will need to be topped before we think about opening up to let some air in. We are into the last week of hedgetrimming and should wrap things up on Saturday as we use the last week to work round the AD maize grounds. We have some recs' for Single top on some rape hit by pigeons over winter but it's yet to arrive so need to chase up Pearce Seeds fertiliser department tomorrow as I'm keen to get this on asap. If it arrives I'll have to stick the 939 on the spreader-overkill I know but it's all iv got with Trimble at the mo for auto shut off and VRC. Amongst other things trailers are now the final things for the winter workshop, a little extension on the flatbed and the running gear on the bowser getting wax oiled to prevent rust from liquid fert.

just quietly counting money ready for purchases this year!

To be honest it is a step back In someways however the way I look at it is a step forward, but an affordable step forward, we are still keeping the self propelled, will need it for high clearance in rape etc, it's simply an easy option to take the pressure off at peak times as we struggled last year with timings particularly rape at flowering was late as we were tied up with T1/T2. We have available man power and tractor already and simply can't justify another self propelled-not enough work load. Also it was a nice sized tank on it too that will work well with our unimog and bowser. I grant you headlands will be a pain though!

The new sprayer will (hopefully if I can pull it off) be a Horsch and will have a designated tractor one of the 724's as we are going to run it with the N Sensor for liquid fert.

January 17 update What has seemed a long quiet month things have just started to pick up and you suddenly realise what you have actually achieved, the workshop team have done an excellent job working their way through each machine individually replacing parts, greasing and checking the little things like lights etc, I believe this makes a big difference to the longevity of the kit and saves us massively on downtime when we really need to be moving, it's how I like it, things in tip top and I feel it makes everything perform that much better. Cultivation and drilling equipment is nearly done, including the potato planting gear. Going to look at trailers and the maus before spring. Webby is getting on well with hedgetrimming, roads are now all done and he is hitting a hole into fields now, perfect in this frosty weather hardly making a mark. Looking at getting soil conditioners in now starting this week with chicken litter from Lopen and Frogmary up to bay hill, around 200t and our contract with dimmer for compost begins on 1st Feb, this will be spread by orchard ahead of spring drilling. Finally now have planning permission after a year to put up that small shed for machinery and a spray fill bay so hope to get that up soon. Purchased a new sprayer today-trailed so new concept for us, relieve some of the pressure off the aging rogator and handle liquid fert more. Once temps rise a bit we will head out and get some round up on the winter cover crops so we are ready to get seedbeds nearer spring drilling. Possibly going to look later on at changing a cultivator for something that handles maize stubble a little better as this is something we struggled with and didn't leave a nice finish for the drill when were up against it early November.

After a crazy autumn outside of the model world, time for model farming has suffered so as things start to wind down for Christmas Iv found time to sit down and do an update. 2016 has been another enjoyable year model farming although restricted time wise through October and November. All crops went in well and have emerged well as they go into winter shut down. Not a great deal happening on farm, machine by machine going through the workshop ready for spring, at the minute it's potato planting kit, next will be cultivation and drilling equipment, if there is time I'd like to get the combines in. Hedgetrimming road hedges is happening, hopefully dry up a little in the new year to get on the fields, also start to prep some maize ground. So what's in store for 2017?....small changes, we are keen to look at getting the whole maize operation for AD into complete 6m CTF and that goes for wholecrop too. We need to look at sprayer options which will probably be the first task of 2017, looking at trailed options to help out the rogator....hate the rogator with a passion! Hopefully put up a small machinery shed with a new housed sprayer filling and washing bay next to the biobed and liquid fert tanks. Like to change the chaser bin and get the ejection trailers running smoothly with the maus but all this depends on the future of where I'm living with a possible job change on the cards could see a re-location. Wishing everyone on here a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Time for an Autumn update, over the last 2 weeks the team have keep plugging away at the mountain workload which is now beginning to pay off, what's seemed like endless amounts of cultivations where drilling was delayed for nearly a week to cover over some secondary cultivations, nevertheless we have about 700 acres of wheat in the ground now which has started to be rolled behind and followed up with pre em and new for this year avadex on some ground. We finished harvesting potatoes yesterday and are on the last day of chopping maize which will free up a lot more of the team to help with rolling and running seed about. We have more Autumn work this year with the AD feedstock rotatation swapping over so there is now a fair chunk of maize stubble to change over into cereals for wholecrop next year after 2 years of maize. The ropa maus is now available for hire should anyone be interested

New to me but was second hand, a bargain! Perfect for parking under the dirt elevator from the grading line when digging spuds! For hire to respectful local contractors too!

Today has seen a big lump of wheat seed arrive ready for next weeks drilling campaign, the maus was prepared to action and went into battle, as did the pisten bully, clamping this years maize beside the farm as you come off the weighbridge for ease at harvesting and also weighed out when sold back to the ad plant throughout the year

Sorry to hear about your rape Smithy, down here we had just about enough rain for it to emerge but it has come up patchy in places, I think direct drilling it helped for us but it was slow going because it was so hard, it seems to be away now, not sure how try and sort the patches out though! Barley will be in by the end of today into some reasonable seed beds, we will look at drilling some wheat at the end of this week as this year we have a fair bit of wheat going in after maize for wholecrop AD, just the way the rotation has worked out the maize and wholecrop ground is swapping and some oats as a cover crop over winter to get in on the remaining ground. Maize is starting today with Orchard chopping and us using the Maus to load and run the 2 ejection trailers, this is very early for us but it's been so dry it's brought it forward. Into the second week of digging maincrop spuds too and we find ourselves juggling jobs again!

Harvest Log Day 33 & 34 Well that's a wrap! Harvest 2016 complete, 2 half days at Clarkes and that see's the last of it. 1,680 acres of OSR, 2,617 acres of wheat and 1,093 acres of beans making 5,390 acres this year. It's been a good year, weather and wheat was anyway, rape and beans not so but we shan't dwell! So this completes harvest log for 2016 which I hope you have enjoyed. However The fun doesn't stop, stay tuned for 150 acres of potatoes to be lifted next week, and 1,464 acres of maize to come off not to mention cultivations and drilling to be getting on with. Big thanks to Team Oakley so far, James is happy in the weighbridge office to see the last load in!

Harvest Log Day 30-32 Well to finish combining by last weekend didn't happen, plagued by heavy showers was fustrating, we managed to finish Bondip off bit by bit but the weekend was a no go. Still, managed to catch up with some hedgetrimming, cultivations and applying round up. A good drying day yesterday and today so tomorrow we're going for it, the final 225 acres of Spring beans to bring in at Clarkes...lets be aving you!

Harvest Log 29 No harvesting over the bank holiday after rain Sunday, good drying day on Monday and back on today, just aswell as the traffic was horrendous around here yesterday with holiday makers travelling through on the way back from Cornwall. Tony Houses ticked off the list, moved up to Bondip tonight, munched off 60 acres up there, Bondip is split into 3 blocks all next to each other, old, new and Kingsdon, we have started in old, great fields all interlinking with no header changed. Thats all we could manage tonight with limited trailers due to potatoes. Shepody was finished tonight with 4 lorries due tomorrow finishing this years contract. Maincrop a week or more away yet. It's been a cracking season so far, this time last year we hadn't finished wheat, and didn't finish beans until 27th Sept!! At this moment all cover crops are drilled, rape drilled and 800 acres of beans left, finish the weekend if dry. Catch up on some ground work, spraying etc and then get the drill back out mid September. Talking with the AD plant today and maize is looking like the 12th of September! Very early being such a dry season, we'll see. .

Harvest Log Days 26, 27 & 28 A small break in the weather twice this week delayed us from finishing wheat but no too worry it's all now in the barn as of last night, the 2 days we were held up has today allowed us to go straight into some Spring beans, 133 acres high up above Ilminster at Blackdown were had today, they have looked good all year but slightly disappointed with yield. Off to Tony Houses at Ashill for 125 acres, small fields means this is a day job! Probably head up to Bondip after that. Phil is trying his best at catching up on other jobs such as spraying the OSR volunteers off, which reminds me all of 2017's OSR is in the ground, rolled and pre em'ed, catching a morning here and there on the cultivator before jumping on the chaser bin for harvest as Mark who normally does it is digging spuds at the minute. Spuds are now going well after a week of struggling to keep up with contracts, green haulm blockages etc we have the weekend of no lorries so we can get ahead hopefully making it half day diggings so trailers can pull away to help with beans. So all going swimmingly, plenty to be getting on with however nearing the end of combinable crop harvest 2017. Stay tuned to see how we get on in the next week

Harvest Log Day 24 Back on the wheat today after the last weekends rain. Last week we finished Selvinge and 80 acres at Eames Mill. Today got going at midday at Horlicks for 60 acres, the last of the wheat to be swathed for Orchard Contractors this year, they should bale and chase this tomorrow. Moved right to the other end of our patch this evening to Camelot East, 60 acres done leaving 340 acres of wheat left for 2016, no sweat! Things are very stretched now with potato harvesting also happening at Parsonage, I need 9 trailers tomorrow for wheat and 3 for spuds! Work getting behind on the sprayer and with cultivations now too so plenty to do. Spring beans a little way off yet.

Good to hear how you chaps are getting on, different story down here with rain on Friday and Saturday, it's done the world of good as it was steady. Thursday we finished Selvinge and also a block of 80 acres down at Eames Mill, all the straw was destined to be chopped, turned out to be the right decision. Started drilling OSR today (Sunday) up at Kingstone with is being direct drilled with the Horsch, now going in a treat after the steady rain. Heatwave set to return next week and we can wrap up the last 550 acres of wheat, slight break before spring beans. Still plenty to do with cultivating winter barley ground, spraying off OSR volunteers, pre em on newly drilled OSR, and starting to dig Shepody potatoes tomorrow, let the juggling act commence!

Thanks Chris that's very helpful. Do you spray off your beans? Much the same story down here, rape is really looking down at the moment, hoping a reduction in area nationally will make a premium next year, final chance next year with a 66% area reduction for 2017 here

Harvest Log Day 21 Got going a little later than normal today at 11:30 after fixing the elevator and trying to clear some of the backlog in the grainstore, although when we did get going this never really cleared all day and poor old James has been pushing wheat about all day and after working most of last night too so we didn't press on too much tonight and it's getting very chilly by night now. Myself and Tom have re loaded trailers tonight and tipped into intake 2 to fill wet bins and then clean overnight to clear. We have been over at Frogmary today which is the site where the digester is located and the largest poultry site, 190 acres done today, 23 left in the morning and then back to Selvinge on home turf, this block is being chopped, first time ever! We need this block off for rape and the weather is on the turn so it will help out Julians team on the balers to catch up and get bales hauled whilst we still press on clearing hectares. Full steam ahead.

A lot of our wheat is JB Diego after we switched from Alchemy. When do you usually drill your winter barley Smithy, mid Sept? We need some advice on it! Spray and fertiliser programs would be very helpful! Nice to hear your local radio station connects with rural issues, makes the link between farm and plate better and people appreciate Agriculture.

Forgot to mention we are now just over half way through harvesting our total combinable acreage and over half way through wheat which is fantastic, fingers crossed for a few more settle weeks to see the wheat and beans in, digging Shepody spuds next week too!

Harvest Log Days 17,18,19 Time for an update, Well a busy few days over the weekend and Monday, starting with the cultivations team, Camelot West block was direct drilled with the 12 metre horsch with DSV Terralife cover crop mix over the weekend by Phil and rolled in by Dan, this completed all the post harvest rape ground either cover cropped or had its first pass with the Carrier so today we decided to pass the Carrier over some wheat stubble in the Meads ahead of winter barley. Probably looking at drilling rape the end of the week now instead of today as the weather looks more catchy for combining, so phil will get on with spraying down beans and potatoes. Combining wise we have finished 600 odd acres at Wigborough tonight which wraps up 3 days there and it hasn't been without its problems, the end of Saturday the header auger on combine 1 sounded awful so the whole thing was popped out Sunday morning by Vaughans, bearings changed and in again by 11am! All good Sunday with Germany's demo team bringing down a new Lexion model for us to try, nice weapon, increased output and a cleaner sample with 4D sieves on wigboroughs slopes. Tonight we have had an elevator pack up on intake pit 1 so having to bypass this by tipping into pit 2 which goes into the two wet bins, out of there and up into the dryer, this slowed everything up as it can't handle the rate it's coming off the field at with 2 Lexions, ended up tipping direct into store tonight but it does need putting through the dryer for a touch of cleaning and a few percent knocking off as the dew this time of year was in at 9 tonight. Electrician and James working through the night to get this up and running and run that wheat through over night so it's out the way before starting Frogmary tomorrow.