silage video

Silage in at last

About three weeks later than usual, but truth be told a good crop and got in decent conditions.

It was cut late Monday, a rather damp day and needed all of Tuesday to even mostly dry.

By this morning only the thickest bits were still wet underneath.
They arrived about 9am and were done by 1:30pm

The clamp needed a bit of work though, as the new lad buckraking had made too much of a ridge down the middle so I leveled it about with the loader and have been rolling most of the afternoon.
I'll do the sheet tomorrow, it is a good half day job at best of times.

There's less than last year but we are one field down due to reseeding, if that had been there it would have been similar.
Hoping to do rather more bales of 2nd cut!
I ordered some more fertiliser for it and will put a bit more on than some years.
The reseeded field might realistically be worth cutting late August time too.

Silage

After a very showery Sunday today has been OKish with just light drizzly showers and by midday the grass was only a little damp about like dew - so decided to start cutting mid-afternoon.
Tomorrow looks much better and the plan is to wilt until Wednesday.
Since it's quite stalky I probably won't touch it with the swathwilter yet again.

Houlstons have a new Class Tractor and Class mowers front and rear which are a little wider than last machine, but I thought it made hard work in any thicker bits uphill so maybe not much faster.
Took about 4 hours to do 40 acres.
There is a field less this year as I ploughed one out but could not get the replacement sown last autumn.
With any luck the spring sown seeds will be worth cutting late August.

Forecast is reasonable for the week so surely will be much better than the horrors of last year with the wettest silage ever.

Spring Barley herbicide

I'm quietly pleased with the barley this year, after a slow start it looks really well, and I'm glad I resisted temptation to put on a bit more Nitrogen as it seems plenty lush enough.

A few days after it was sown I applied a pre-emergence grass weed herbicide called Kula - this is an off-label use for spring barley but has been a huge success, with almost no meadow grass even on headland (except the odd missed strip, see below).

It inhibits many broadleaved weeds too, but a sprinkle of Fat Hen and Fumitory has needed a follow up with Mecocrop, and I added some Manganese to the tank as we have suspected deficiency.

Not spraying buttercups

Spot weeding docks with Pastor in flowery hay field.

Buttercups are rather over-dominant this year but tend to come and go.

Random cattle

The grass up by Riddings has been awful slow this year but finally got some cows that should be due November onwards up there.

Down Castleton road there are some good ones this year.

This Lim steer by Conan catches the eye.

Rabbit netting

A bit annoyed with BATA last week, on Tuesday I rang to order 200 metres for the bottom of the barley as they were starting to have some serious impact and chilly nights/cool days meant growth was sluggish.

They said it would be delivered Thursday which was fine as I put the stakes in one afternoon and expected to be able to do the wire Thursday and Friday if it came mid afternoon.
By Friday afternoon still nothing had turned up so I rang to enquire - now they said they have none and cannot get it till middle of next week!

I rang Farmway at Stokesley and they have at least 20 rolls.
I went down there and got some then did shopping at Co-op.

By the Saturday evening I had it set, bunnies thwarted.