Paul Palmer Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 lovely pictures Ol,love the backdrops,again,nice updates Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenside MF Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 big old bus that deere,the bonnet goes on forever,looks like that chap needs a beer though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oakley Farms Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 I like what you have done with the spudnik elevator Ol, the same process over here when loading potatoes for processing. This is such a learning curve, keep it up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Light Land Posted February 1, 2015 Author Share Posted February 1, 2015 big old bus that deere,the bonnet goes on forever,looks like that chap needs a beer though He needs a 1/32 Jamie to help him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Light Land Posted February 1, 2015 Author Share Posted February 1, 2015 February, the busy month for combining is here as well as watering late crops still. The heat loving crops like Raddish and Maize are doing well. I don't have a pick-up front to display heading rye grass so a real picture will have to take it's place. Worth more than cereals, rye grass seed is a key crop here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave the farmer Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Thanks for the updates.i bet the case is a good machine in that grasseed.being able to reverse everything out if choked up.more of flows Appearing around the U.K..what's your high temps in the summer and is it a dry heat or more humid.dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Light Land Posted February 2, 2015 Author Share Posted February 2, 2015 Your welcome Dave. Yes being able to reverse every thing out is a strong point of the flow as is the easy clean down between crops and the gentle thrashing/cleaning. 30deg is a hot day here and the heat is dry in this part of the country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texas Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 Great pictures Ol. Some foto's from the models looks like real Texas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Light Land Posted February 22, 2015 Author Share Posted February 22, 2015 A fair bit happening of late. Cleaned yields of grass seed are starting to come back from the cleaners with no record crops this year at 1.8t/ha even with best efforts to keep the water up to the crops the heat may well been to much for the crop. Premium milling wheat has been promising so far with the first paddock yielding 10t/ha. Story's of 13t/ha crops of feed wheat are riff this year as the season was in the favor of irrigated cereals. With a consultants prompting this spring I'd ordered a mounted spreader through our NH dealer witch was dropped off last week. With no liquid fert used here the ageing Amazone spreader was limited with the way were growing some crops now with late N as the trailed spreader knocked the crop around to much forcing me use a ag plane on some crops at grate expense. The saving on the ag plane each year and being able to go when I need to will be welcomed. I went with a Sulky as they weigh less than other brands and the farms previous owner had always spoke highly of them over the years. With such limited spreading days due to wind in the spring it'll be good to have both spreaders going early some mornings. Winter wheels were put back on the other evening ready for PK and lime in the coming weeks were grass is going in. New spreader. All the straw bales are tidyed up now, still got the baler and 8410 taking up my limted shed space mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Palmer Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 another good update Ol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jdeere6910 Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 Great update Ol. Nice line up in that shed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niels Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 Nice once again Ol. Get that spreader dirty! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Light Land Posted February 23, 2015 Author Share Posted February 23, 2015 Thank you one and all for looking. I'll spray it in oil before use to keep the salt out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Light Land Posted February 25, 2015 Author Share Posted February 25, 2015 Generally paddocks going into rye grass seed have a veris soil reader over them as I like to tidy up the PH before the grass is drilled as time is on your side and Grass is less fussed about the PH than other crops giving the lime a season to kick in before another crop is planted and the value of grass seed makes it worth getting the royal treatment. According to the veris readings this year on paddocks intend for rye grass seed there's 100 tonne or so to go on so instead of flogging my jcb more than I need to I asked our silage contractor about dry hireing his loader as I've seen it not turn a wheel for weeks due to the drought. The loader arrived today all be it at the top yard not the main yard like i'd said.......no wonder the plastic lady that dropped it off had a wait to get picked up. As well as harvest this time of the year is when contracts for seed multiplying crops start coming out as the merchants get an idea of how the harvest has gone. Rye grass seed areas look to on par with other years while at this stage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Light Land Posted March 13, 2015 Author Share Posted March 13, 2015 Heading through March sees the lifting of fire ban. Smoke form stubble burns can be seen rising for miles around as the harvest draws to an end on the plains. Eastbank is no different with round up going on any dirty patches a few days ahead of burning the wheat straw. With the drought this year rye grass seed contracts have not been cut back as hard as other high value plant breeding crops as merchants no doubt see alot of regressing in coming years. 75ha in total of rye grass is contracted for next harvest. All of witch is going in after wheat this year. Base fert of 400kg/ha of 0,10,0+S and lime were needed have go on the stubbles while the 3ltr/ha of round up gets a hold whats lurking under the stubble's before the rake starches the out side round off the edge and the drill makes a fire brake around the outside before it's set alight, after burning the Rubin/drill chip the top 10cm to mix in the fert and ash before slipping the seed under the press wheels. With the low price of milk this year combined with a drought the friend of mine with a near by dairy asked if I'd mind using his tractor as a way of part paying for all the barley and grass straw he's taken in a bid to help with his cash flow provided we look after it. I agreed as it's cuts both ways and I can't run my old G240 for nothing,so for now his 8410 will be doing the drilling. One of the reasons for going down the Rubin road last spring was it's ability to carry a seeder on the back. We did price up a Joker disc harrow and a Pronto seeder but it meant buying two sets of dices in essence adding alot to the cost of buying and up keeping them and still being abit light to for deeper working witch I tend to do. The heavier/bigger blades of the Rubin handle the irrigation ruts better and are a little closer to the Kuhn Discover discs we'd run in the past,a happy medium if you will. This week I had the privilege of taking around one of the church elders who in part supervises the block I contract farm with our local church who called in for a chat and a look at my seeder. Dean and his son are farming 220ha of mixed soils a few kilometers away. This highly respected arable farmer is well known for his ability. With there ageing 6910 John Deere tractor and 2188 Case combine they grow predominantly Wheat,rye grass and clover seed crops with a small area of carrots and onions for seed crops each year. Having an outsider look over the farm is always refreshing I find as it stops you getting into the rut of thinking your a good farmer when your not. One thing he rightly mentioned was the market tells you what it wants by price,there's no point growing crops that don't fit in with our high cost stretchers. His suggestion was with the rapid drop in dairy prices selling maize silage and beet next season is laughable considering the damage to the soil and the cereal type returns they make when theres no money in milk. He recalled the last boom in dairy prices when his farm was 50% maize silage for 4 years in a row now there growing none. Taking the money is one thing but knowing when to run is another. All in all he thought things were heading in the right direction with leasing land for spuds and growing as much value added seed crops as possible but warned to have a good think about growing fodder crops untill milk prices spark a biding war for fodder again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jdeere6910 Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 Love that 8410 Ol, great update. How much longer do you think stubble burning will be legal for? It seems a very visible way of polluting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Light Land Posted March 13, 2015 Author Share Posted March 13, 2015 The Government have not long ago held an inquiry into the subject Pat and found it's fine and have the facts to prove it now. Really though a few are... -that there are so many crops being grown here that amount of wheat straw burnt each year isn't that much -it's a management tool to be used if needed -This is one of biggest vegetable seed growing areas in the world and they need planted into clean soil just after harvest...makes money for nz etc etc -The damage to soil worms isn't as bad thought as they are not on top exp after harvest exp when it's not every year. -A hot burn helps with slugs and some weeds.....You've seen the slug burden here yourself. -If you burn in a fire ban time your hammered by the police/fire depto/council -you have to pay for damage if it gets away on you -not as many houses around here as in europe and the fire is all over in no time so the smoke is only around for a short time. -it's cheaper than mixing in stubble with a catros or the like drying the ground out then trying to get the next crop away the same week with a beet drill -not all organic mater is lost, exp if it was a cold burn. -Growing crops here with irrigation in our climate means crops have huge root systems that is all organic mater to build up the soil or the stock grazing in the system as is often the case help the soil strucher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jdeere6910 Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 Thanks for the reply Ol, very interestin g to see a governments perspective that has agriculture on its agenda. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niels Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 Nice update again Ol. As said that 8410 is lovely. Liking the idea of the drill on the back also. Nice conversion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Light Land Posted March 15, 2015 Author Share Posted March 15, 2015 Thanks guys,good of you to take a look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Light Land Posted March 15, 2015 Author Share Posted March 15, 2015 Bit of an upgrade. This spring saw the local arable research farm move to a new location to make way for a new industrial park after the Christchurch earth quakes. For as long as I can recall the research farm had a tidy wee Fiat F115 for cultivating there 30ha of test plots. This spring when I were in looking at a Sulky spreader I saw it out back of the New Holland dealers yard and the dealer told me they had sold it when they moved out of the area along with there 3 furrow plough and 3mtr power harrow. Seeing it was still there at harvest I offered to buy it as the current 680 Fiat we have was well past it and i've few tweaks to make to the way were growing onions for next year in terms of bed size,going up from 1.5mtr to 1.8mtrs to pick up abit more land and get less over size onions on the outer sides of each bed. Also the days of asking people to eat dust lifting/planting onions are gone really. Onions are kept as a sperate entity on the farm meaning in short onions have to buy there own kit and pay there way this is keep a close eye on the profitability of such a crop that see massive shifts in prices from on year to the next. For all the onions we grow this will see the farm out for many years and be a handy back tractor being abit bigger than the one it replaces. Here it is on farm with 5000hours on the clock and a new set of row crop wheels set to 1.8mtrs so it'll fit down tramlines in cereals as well. My first tractor used on the onions and grain dryer since I started out on my own, now sadly it'll live out it's days on a boat trailer rusting away. An old photo of the tractor being setting up with the planter many moons ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niels Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 That is a very tidy tractor Ol! You won't regret that, bomb proof tractors. Can easily do 10.000 more if you look after her. Have you bought a new onion drill as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Light Land Posted March 16, 2015 Author Share Posted March 16, 2015 Thanks for your continued support of my layout Niels. Agree, the F115 is a proper tractor exp the Iveco motor. I'm in the process of sorting a new planter. Going from 1.5 to 1.8mtr beds and putting less plants in the center should help even the size out abit I'm hoping plus pick up abit more land. So the outside 2 rows will be a touch closer together than the center row to even out the edge effect. (Were trying this in real life as well) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niels Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 There are a few company's over here developing a front harvester which takes out a few rows in front of the wheels. This way you can drill the beds close up without any spacings in between and put the tractor on wide wheels. They chuck the front rows on a swath in the middle and a separate harvester on the back will harvest the rest and sieve soil out. It has some good advantages but the onions are passed over a machine twice so more damage can occur. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Light Land Posted March 17, 2015 Author Share Posted March 17, 2015 That's interesting Niels, do you know the gap between the rows? I've often thought about with the help of gps, moving the beds over 1/2 a bed on the 2nd year onions so the fertile soil were the wheels were when growing on 1.5 mtr beds is in the center for year 2 so the onions that tend to struggle in the center of the bed will have more fert under them. Although light and space are the main reason for smaller onions in the center it would be interesting to see if it evened the crop out much if any. Your thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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