tractorboyjules1977

How's it going Dave , long time no see , good to see your still busy !!!

Nice array of kit Gary , top job

Latest goings on , whole crop for this year now finished with the jd chopping through 1200 acres finishing late Fri night and the claas just pulling back in the shed today after totalling around 240 acres for both of Orchards dairy units .Some late 2nd cut silage just in as gone a bit far for the cows to graze , straight after back in on Green Hills grass grounds with the slurry , Next job looking at the corn next week and possibly drilling some kale and turnips

Thanks Dave , yeah new 2nd hand one Dave to help out the jd up at Orchard HQ

Testing times for everyone but must carry on ! Green hill farm 2nd cut silage more aless done , mowed through 150 acres weds then picked up 24 hours later , just the 2 trailers running as all fields close to farm , good to see our refurbished redrock performing well and doing the job of a 15 grand trailer , bit of a Change on the pit a 6210r on buckraking duties as jcb has been tied up on whole crop work .the 6210r now replacing the NH 315 which suffered major gearbox problems so decision was taken to chop him out after a short period of time . Next on the job list full throttle on whole crop , update from Orchard HQ to come later in the week

Not bad Dave , thanks for asking

Christ Dave you look busy , like it keep on posting !!!

Cheers James , seems to be up and down on the staff front , finding decent experienced staff rather than just sticking bums on seats !

Cheers Dave , how's it going ?

Last of the maize went in last week totaling around 1700 acres for ourselves and customers .Most of 1st cut silage now coming to an end around 550 acres left , so with the forager now back in yard for a short service before the off on Mon morning to chop through some horrible stoney ground ! The lads having a well earned rest for the wknd , just the mower man on today , been challenging times this last couple months but must keep n rolling best we can , update from green hill farm to follow at some point

Good to see yer busy Dave , keep on posting

Update from Green Hill farm , getting the nurse tank out across some of the stubbles ready for slurry ferrying next week , Got onto the some of the hilly and heavier land with the cultivator early in the week followed by the drill to get in a few acres of spring barley . Back in the yard the cows still on winter rations , but probably by next week both low and high yielders will be going out to grass , Later on in the week got a couple loads of barley straw booked in to tide our Young stock over !

Been a while 1st up an update about what's been going on up at Orchard HQ , last week we were still digging beet on our last patch of water logged ground , during the week managed to get on with the cultivatior trying to get some air in the ground after at last a week or so without any of the wet stuff , the grass grounds up at Orchard not fearing too bad so got out with the harrows and rollers and a bit of fertaliser , the cows up at Orchard not yet out as pastures still hanging with soft spots ! Down at Green Hill farm cows also still in for a minute ,update from Green Hill to follow later in the week , most of my time in the office over the last week talking with customers about what the next few weeks hold under all this covid 19 , still the wheels are just about turning !

Good to see your busy Dave , is it me or is this forum getting quieter and quieter ??

Cheers Dave , yeah doubt if I'll make it up there

Finally a dry week in this part of the West country , still a bit soft underfoot but with the frost's starting to pitch out , still on going jobs around the farm at Green Hill , such as hedge trimming as the majority haven't been cut back for a couple years , getting some more slurry out on the firmer pasture grounds aswell as continuing to ferry in digestate . Back at Orchard HQ the last of the carrots finally coming out of the ground aswell as the last 7 acres of fodder beet , the fodder beet being weighed off and sent down the road to local farmer for feed for his mixed rations for his dairy herd . Next week looking like it's back to unsettled weather , so probably more work shop duties and cutting road hedges !!

Orchard Farms ltd are now proud to introduce the latest edition , Green Hill Farm ,based only 2 miles down the road from Orchard Farm , 450 acres of mainly grassland adjoining to the boundary of Orchard farms furthest fields , were up and running with 250 head of high yielding Holsteins, this will be the most prominent of the 2 dairy's due to the fact the pasture land seems to be more productive than some of our own land , makes sense for the dairy's to be split in 2 with high and low yielders now separated allowing for a far better over sight of the 2 herds , the plan is to run this farm as self sufficiently as poss , ie tractor , machine and man power wise , but with the contracting side coming in when extra help is needed , same as up at Orchard Farm , the yard still a work in progress with odd jobs to complete but the main thing is now we're running , tractor wise weve decided on mainly new Holland here due to the fact both Buglers agriculture and Hawkins agriculture pushed hard to get a machine or 2 in , and price !! The T7,315 main duties will be spread over the tanking duties between both dairys splitting the weeks work , A new year coming and new venture , more to come from Orchard farms

Been a while , so just a little Christmas update , were still struggling with drilling off the remaining acres of wheat , so now seriously looking at some extra spring corn . The boys managing to get out with some slurry and yard scrapings on grass grounds and the odd sacraficial stubble ground ! Also on hauling wheat up to duffields mill and hauling potatoes off to branstons potatoes ltd , At Orchard HQ we've made some rapid developments regarding the business , mainly the decision to come out of the AD plant and selling off our share of the consortium, now to fully concentrate on growing the dairy side of the business having now recently purchased another 450 acres and yard and buildings which are now up and running but still undergoing work , so more to follow in the coming days ! Exciting times ahead for Orchard Farms , lastly a merry Christmas to friends and customers

Like the update Dave , good to see you haven't floated away !!!!

Brilliant photos Gary , top job

With the combining nearing its end for harvest 2019 ,just 200 acres of wheat and 70 acres of beans , attention now turning to getting on with some potatoes out , boxes being loaded and prepped ready for start of digging , hedge trimming now in full flow with 1 machine , no 2 machine getting attached later on this week .Saturday we had a little trip down to Smarts Agri to pick our new JCB 420 , replacing the old TM 310 which was over on the dairy unit , much needed change on a 11000 hour machine . Another venture on the horizon is the erection of a new arable unit just up the road , work already well underway hoping to be completed before Christmas , that's the plan anyway .

Nice too see your keeping the wheels turning Dave , keep on posting

Just a little update after the bank holiday , wheat well underway 245 acres done ,all baleing up to date and bales all in , hedge trimmer now on for verges around the farm and cutting back some of the field entrances , wet weather on and off last few days so tankers have been on 3rd cut silage grounds , giving the grass a much needed boost before 4th cut !! Plough also been out on some old wholecrop stubble preparing for grass seed to go in

Cheers Dave , much appreciated

With the weather on the change all hands to the pump this last week , all the wholecrop finished off , some 3rd cut silage done and the combines rolling ! Last Thursday saw the ?set of the barley come off , weighed on the weighbridge and stored in the grain shed , combine all back in the yard ready for diesel refill and the header to go through the workshop to replace some bent fingers before we head off into the wheats and then the beans ,the decision last week to take off 125 acres of grass to stick into bales for the youngstock to munch on later on .last job of the wknd replacing a blown pipe on the Richard larrington before wheat duties , saying that looking at the weather for the foreseeable don't look like the combine will be eating too much corn next week