Who's bottled it ?

[ajd132]

Which make/type of drill are you using if you don’t mind me asking? My old undrill either runs on top of a mat of straw or goes too deep/hairpins if you apply enough pressure to cut through it. My agronomist said others can make it work with I think John Deere 750 type but they’ve always been beyond my budget.

We got a condor tine drill and an avatar.
we actually used the avatar into a massive thick Matt of wheat straw drilling barley this year, too thick for the tine drill which just blocked. I was convinced it wouldn’t work but my father said to get on with it and it actually has worked very well. Wouldn’t rely on it and was drilled early enough it got established before it went wet

 

[DrWazzock]

I direct drilled into wheat straw with trash trails about 3” deep that hadn’t been spread. The emerging barley seemed to damp off, unsurprisingly.
So I need a chaff spreader and drill that costs about £80k for a secondhand 4m version.
Well I could probably carry on ploughing till I retire without spending that much despite using more fuel etc.
When you consider everything it all looks a bit risky and marginal going DD in a big way on a small farm, much as I’d like it to work and agree with it in principle.

 

[ajd132]

I direct drilled into wheat straw with trash trails about 3” deep that hadn’t been spread. The emerging barley seemed to damp off, unsurprisingly.
So I need a chaff spreader and drill that costs about £80k for a secondhand 4m version.
Well I could probably carry on ploughing till I retire without spending that much despite using more fuel etc.
When you consider everything it all looks a bit risky and marginal going DD in a big way on a small farm, much as I’d like it to work and agree with it in principle.

Agree with you. We are different ends of the scale. (Although I am in the market for a plough and a power harrow drill )

 

[Cowcorn]

Agree with you. We are different ends of the scale. (Although I am in the market for a plough and a power harrow drill )

 

[teslacoils]

Oat straw chopped is pure filth. But you'll not plough land as nicely as after winter oats.

 

[DrWazzock]

If oats filled here more than 1 year in 5 they’d be a goer. Tend to fall victim to the June burnout in a typical year on our dry sand.

 

[ollie989898]

so if you removed straw you are not DD?

I would not say that is correct. The removal or otherwise of the straw is nothing to do with direct drilling. Each farm/soil type requires management to keep it in good heart in terms of structure and biology, how that should best be done will vary from man to man and dirt to dirt.

 

[ollie989898]

Dap allowed down the spout with winter cereals would be a good thing.

Nah, DAP is expensive. Bury it in digestate in autumn and again in spring.

 

[ollie989898]

Oat straw chopped is pure filth. But you'll not plough land as nicely as after winter oats.

Oat straw, I don't know what is worse, chopping it and trying to drill into it or baling it and trying to sell the fudging stuff. Hateful stuff. Linseed haulm would be less problematic.

 

[teslacoils]

Nah, DAP is expensive. Bury it in digestate in autumn and again in spring.

Lol. Paying to pump twice is expensive. One big gulp in spring is the way.

 

[ollie989898]

Lol. Paying to pump twice is expensive. One big gulp in spring is the way.

They should be paying you to take it....

 

[teslacoils]

Oat straw, I don't know what is worse, chopping it and trying to drill into it or baling it and trying to sell the fudging stuff. Hateful stuff. Linseed haulm would be less problematic.

Chop it, plough it. I find it's best ploughed in "green".

 

[Renaultman]

First year I’d chopped oat straw, interesting

I had a nightmare the only year I chopped oat straw then tried to min till.

 

[teslacoils]

They should be paying you to take it....

Yeah, doesn't quite work like that.