Oakley Farms Posted August 19, 2014 Author Share Posted August 19, 2014 Two yard pics as to what foreman Joe has been up to, loading DAP and bags of slug pellets on a trailer destined for the crew at Bondip, also loaded our small JCB on the low loader to take up there for lifting the bags of DAP into drill hopper before coming back for the fert and pellets. In the back ground you can see one of the Challengers which is Steve's E off the rape drill as its having tracks adjusted, Phil's Challenger C is parked up while he is sat on the sprayer, and the hired 69 on small fert spreader for pelleting driven by Dan the man. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B O R Posted August 19, 2014 Share Posted August 19, 2014 Very nice pics again Alex. Your grain silo looks just like the one we,ve recently set up at work, with grain prices being so bad it was decided that a huge percentage would be kept and crimped and clamped and mixed during the winter in the diet feeder at a rate of 2-2.5kgs per cow per day, thus saving on nuts and molasses. The crimper was bought new and from inspecting it ive found that its made in Belgium, 5 tons per hour it states as its output but because the wheat has to be cut earlier than normal for crimping we found that the combine doesnt clean it as well so output was reduced due to periodically having to stop and clean out the chaff from the crimper, but still around 3.5 ton per hour was put through it and i was amazed at how it compacted in the silo,if its successful then the silo will be extended next year. There is still some later sown cereals to be cut and i think this will be sold rather than opening up the now well covered silo. Today whilst fencing in a neighbouring field of just combined oats the landowner was telling me that they averaged 3.4 ton to the acre and this was all sold directly to a flour mill.. Today i counted 9 huge manure spreaders blackening the ground in readiness for the plough and 2x 4900s baling away at oat straw destined for mushroom compost so baling on through the heavy showers didnt matter. Next week the silver boards of the ploughs will be shining in hopefully sunny conditions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oakley Farms Posted August 19, 2014 Author Share Posted August 19, 2014 All go over your direction then Brian, very interesting to hear, what percentage would you estimate harvest is at in your area, i would say here in the South West we are at 70-75% the way through 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B O R Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 About the same Alex, at work there still awaiting slightly later sown barley to fully ripen, but others seem to be well through at this stage, i seen quite a bit of ground sown today too, things are split into 3 different farms at work so its a 3 hour round tractor journey from base to either of the 2 outfarms and one area is always slightly ahead of the other in terms of growth and ripening, both rich land farms but one is just better situated for the full extent of any good weather we,ve had. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oakley Farms Posted August 26, 2014 Author Share Posted August 26, 2014 Tuesday 26th August and a return to work after the wet bank holiday weekend. Spring Beans are now ready for combining but of course the weather is now not, we have only 53 acres of rape left to drill at Blackdown so things have progressed well, id like to get that wrapped up this week if we can and start on secondary cultivations and get some beans into store. However as its wet we are going to start lifting spuds today if we can, this wet weather should help conditions after such a dry spell. We have moved some boxes up to the grading shed ready to make a start at Atherstone in a field called Joe S with the Variety Harmony. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niels Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 Final year for potatoes or will you have some next year Alex? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oakley Farms Posted August 26, 2014 Author Share Posted August 26, 2014 (edited) I wish it was the final year for potatoes but we have invested a lot of money here at Oakley into 1/32 scale potato equipment we simply can't afford not to grow any, next year will however see a change into processing potatoes where there still seems to be a market but we are acting fast on signing contacts as everybody will be in the same boat but hopefully we are at a slight advantage here thanks to our irrigation network Edited August 26, 2014 by Oakley Farms Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Light Land Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 Why not grow onions Alex as you have the kit more or less and plenty of land? Are onions popular as a crop in England like in Holland, Germany and NZ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niels Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 Understandable Alex. Shame you won't be able to use CTF on that side of the farm then. Maybe the market will climb up a few more years and if cereal prices stay low your probably glad you kept them in your cropping. Also a good stubble for a first wheat if you can lift the field cleanly. Ol, well I do conquer onion growing is quite something different! They saying over here is that you have to grow them for at least 10 years. One year they are worth their weight in gold, one year you have to dump them in a ditch and the other 8 are break even. It's a very strange crop but Dutch farmers sell onto the world market (mainly Africa and Asia plus UK also lots) where's the UK growers can sell their produce in their own country. From an agronomy point of view i'd be very careful though unless you have a very good agronomist with good sense. Also kit wise you'll need quite a bit more and I think Alex is looking less machinery rather than more. One option I have often thought of myself in the UK is grow potatoes one year and keep the beds intact with a sort of CTF system for 72" beds and put onions on them the next year. Knowing UK farmers though they'd rather put wheat on it first. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oakley Farms Posted August 27, 2014 Author Share Posted August 27, 2014 If im honest i dont know much about onions and i dont know many growers around here, worth some research though, a crop that is taking off round here though is beetroot, always good to be growing what others arent though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CX820Joe Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 Maybe Oakley could have a go at Quinoa which is being grown fairly locally to me for some variety Alex?: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-shropshire-28108725 Has also been on Countryfile, and was in last weeks FW - quoting a price of £1000 a ton, with hoped for yields of 2t/ha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oakley Farms Posted August 27, 2014 Author Share Posted August 27, 2014 (edited) Saw that on Countryfile and thought it was interesting, my opinion with it was to wait for some more info on agronomy and seed manufactures for some insurance but defiantly some scope there, back to potatoes and we have decided not to change to onions or beetroot, but to find niche markets for our potatoes, around 30-35% of next years potato acreage will be for processing and harvested in late July early August which will put added pressure on harvest, and the rest of the acreage made up of niche markets which we are in talks with now, this will work well with taking down 3 cold stores for extra grain storage as growing processors will cut down storage space as they are transported immediately after harvest also providing early cash flow. We simply cannot give up growing spuds and will stick with it as it forms the base for the whole farm crop rotation and it is a shame it doesn't fit with CTF but i am working on how to improve this, i won't overcome it as 12 metre production is ni on impossible but going at 30 degrees to Controlled lines will help, and possibilities of a different harvester with a bunker to keep trailers at headlands. All work in progress but its a minefield at changing bed widths etc, we have to stay at 72 centres and improve harvesting techniques and ways to irradiate compaction post harvest. 1 in 3 is a good year just the last 3 have been bad but this seems like a solution to what was a very concerning issue with the potato industry as a whole, at least with a market under our belt it gives scope for future investment to move forward, we just want to secure the future of potatoes at Oakley rather than be defeated as it was the crop that started us off. Edited August 27, 2014 by Oakley Farms Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niels Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 Maybe Oakley could have a go at Quinoa which is being grown fairly locally to me for some variety Alex?: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-shropshire-28108725 Has also been on Countryfile, and was in last weeks FW - quoting a price of £1000 a ton, with hoped for yields of 2t/ha. I think you'd be better off waiting a few more years until decent soya bean variety's come about that are earlier to harvest and yield well in our mild climate. Quinoa is being grown in Holland as well as it's a big hype but when everyone does it how will the market react? It's also a very late harvest, like soya beans. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oakley Farms Posted August 27, 2014 Author Share Posted August 27, 2014 Made good progress today with everything so in a happy mood! First field of spuds finished and the headland of Dairy Ground off so spud harvest progressing well, pic of Dan backing the last load of the day onto the grader as the heavy drizzle started to fall just in time as the rape drill returns to the yard and is backed in the shed along with myself in black beauty and the rolls as we managed to finish off Blackdown today so thats all our own rape in the ground. Tomorrow we will spread slug pellets and Phil will get the pre em on. Mark has hitched on to the topper and will knock down the next lot of spuds, this is done at night so it doesnt hamper harvesting progress the next day as its the same tractor on the digger as the topper due to row crops and Mark being the main spud man. Steve is going to start secondary cultivations where its needed while i have an urgent meeting with an arable farmer in North Petherton 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oakley Farms Posted August 27, 2014 Author Share Posted August 27, 2014 An absolutely cracking video on YouTube now of Flawborough Farms combining and drilling rape for those of you wanting to see CTF in action, and a sneaky peak of a bit of kit turning up at Oakley soon, well worth a watch! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B O R Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 Alex, a question... If a normal potato grower was deciding to venture into processing then obviously he is going to be growing ware crops and either selling the remaining seed to the usual markets or using a percentage to replant the following year then would the change in drill size from growing for seed to growing for crisping, chipping etc mean that he could possibly work around it with the kit he has, for example the majority of destoners as you know work 1500mm wide beds but the ware growers go for the larger 1700mm beds. But is it possible to remain with the 1500mm and work ware into this size, i know it wouldnt matter much in model form but just wondered. Also how does this work in the tillerstars, im imagining they are designed to accomodate both growers, im currently putting together a full potato kit and had also thought about basing it around a farm that has grown seed for years but now moving more towards processing. In an uncertain market especially like last year it would be nice to have the confidence that as a grower you,re not waiting for a price release that could either make or break you that year and have a nice steady reliable source of constant customers, although id imagine there would be a huge initial investment into processing equipment and buildings also.... In my model farm the planter is 2009 and the reekie destoner 2007 and the grimme cw150 2011, new bedtiller last year and new 3 row ridger and new grubber on the way for next year so there would be a lot of fresh equipment to be changed to accomodate the larger drills for ware unless it could be worked.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Light Land Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 An absolutely cracking video on YouTube now of Flawborough Farms combining and drilling rape for those of you wanting to see CTF in action, and a sneaky peak of a bit of kit turning up at Oakley soon, well worth a watch Some outfit, make us (real life & layout) look like Piccadilly circus on a bad day. What's the avg PH of your soil Alex? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oakley Farms Posted August 28, 2014 Author Share Posted August 28, 2014 Dont take my word here for everywhere as im sure other growers suit different methods but here we dont change bed size, we stick with the 1500 wide bed. We have grown for processing in the past and always under contract for McCain's growing there own variety called Shepody. Now the seed is a pain to plant as all it is is last years spuds cut in half and coated in lime, trouble is that the sizes are different and if not cut central you get a big difference in size, this can play havoc with spacings. These are planted in standard 1500 two row beds as you would normally and dug green top as skin finish is not a problem. They go straight off to factory from the grading line, two ways of doing this, we prefer to connect a long elevator to the box filler and load straight into the lorry as they are bulk trailers, no double handling and only works if lorries are on time, or box them up and tip in box by box with the JCB which i hate doing. Sometimes this happens when lorries are late or we push on into the night ahead of rain to fill the nexts days contract. Usually they will book 3 - 4 lorry loads a day so the team are under real pressure to keep crop flowing, another tip i would suggest is to have a fifth wheel dolly with air brakes so the trailer can be moved around with tractor or a second hand truck hired so the trailers can be loaded when you want then the haulage boys can bring in an empty trailer and a full one is there waiting, really helps to even things out and the digger and grader can keep going, id rather be a load ahead than have 3 lorries all sat in the yard! By growing for McCain there is no change or investment in machinery needed except or an elevator and maybe a fall breaker basket or having change storage to bulk which i think we would avoid and store in boxes and tip using a box rotator. So in answer to your question Brian it can be worked but growers have to be fast to get on these contracts as everyone is in the same boat and is probably the easist way to change to processing. At Oakley we are looking at 30% acerage into Shepody and exploring other avenues such as potato vodka where we would like to supply a manufacture all year round to make use of the cold stores. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oakley Farms Posted August 28, 2014 Author Share Posted August 28, 2014 Some outfit, make us (real life & layout) look like Piccadilly circus on a bad day. What's the avg PH of your soil Alex? We are on sandy loams here so they are slightly acidic as you would expect, i would say averaging accross the farm as 5.7/5.8 but our target area is 6.2-6.4 so liming is carried out now and again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oakley Farms Posted August 28, 2014 Author Share Posted August 28, 2014 Back from the meeting today with a farmer in a state over family issues with a urgent proposition of contract farming his land at North Petherton which is about an hour from us here in Ilminster, looking at his crop records he has grown continous wheat and barley for the last 6 years on red sandy clays. So i accepted to take on 75% of his area and block crop it which will be 315 acres leaving 5% as an EFA and 20% will be rented to local potato growers Beer and Bolt since we dont want to increase our spud acerage but at least there is scope to there in the future should things pick up. Phil will be prioritised to spray the whole lot off tomorrow and we will try and bang some rape in there providing i can get hold of the seed! Great that we where recommended and asked for a change and is a cracking little place to take on with good sized fields, a nice shed for tipping grain, storing seed/fert or kit under cover when working there along with a spray tank so all perfect. Its right opposite the Wiseman factory on the M5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oakley Farms Posted August 29, 2014 Author Share Posted August 29, 2014 (edited) Dairy ground finished off today so a bit of a break now until the rest of the spuds are ready in around 10 days. Managed to get hold of some seed rape, DK Expower and a little Extrovert both hybrids with will be here Monday/Tuesday for North Petherton. hoping to cut some spring beans tomorrow afternoon so moving kit up to North Cadbury in the morning which is our furthest block from base so need every trailer we have got on the road. I have told everyone to exercise caution up there and do everything by the book due to the fall out with a neighbouring farm earlier in the year over share farming this particular ground pulling out after we had invested leaving Oakley with a huge whole in our finances and a nasty taste in the mouth with tensions rising after we kept a new shared low loader and a 3 metre Horsh drill, but have put it behind us and are out to prove a point by getting in there and clearing some ground and fast, doing a top job with two combines, a challenger & chaser and 7 trailers running they will think they have been invaded! Lets do it lads! The grain gang on tour! Edited August 29, 2014 by Oakley Farms 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weblet375 Posted August 29, 2014 Share Posted August 29, 2014 Alex this is a great thread mate.you sound like a wise man, keep up the good work. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Light Land Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 You wouldn't have much bean straw left once it's been through the aps hybrid drums and rotors to bale up or work in right Alex?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oakley Farms Posted August 30, 2014 Author Share Posted August 30, 2014 Your right there, the aps would hammer it but what is there i offer but glad Julian declined as i wanted to chop it and work in to put back organic matter, i can see it all going that way at Oakley in the future 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Light Land Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 I've had too you tube how these popular lexions with aps thrash the grain out just to keep up with the forum, namely you Alex. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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