Lessons learnt from the 2019/2020 cropping year

[Cork]

Thought I might aswell start this as we probably have observations in our minds at the moment.

This year has further driven home to me the importance of having a spread of crop types where possible

WOSR looks excellent and didn’t suffer visibly from the wet autumn or dry spring. Price fell with crude oil but has recovered well.

Winter wheat suffered from the wet autumn but has recovered dramatically since then.
Winter barley as above.

Spring barley had a great start here but has thinned a bit on the lighter land. It looks better on the heavier ground.

There’s a strong chance that wheat will be worth more than barley this harvest. First straw phone call the other night - it was for wheaten straw.

Fingers crossed that we all get decent harvest weather.

 

[gone]

You are better off farming in the Southwest in a drought and the Southeast in wet period.

 

[Cork]

You are better off farming in the Southwest in a drought and the Southeast in wet period.

Does that make “the South” the promised land....?

 

[gone]

Does that make “the South” the promised land....?

Waterford is the promised land. @Blackwater boy :fight:

 

[Blackwater boy]

Are you not about 2.5 months too early with this thread? She’s only in calf at the mo, don’t know if its alive or a bull or heifer yet......

 

[diesel power]

Winter cropping where possible. This is the 2nd time I've had a large enough area under spring crops and the 2nd time a drought has wreaked havoc on them.
A higher seeding rate when sowing in tough or barely there conditions. The 168 on duals sinking are what I'm calling barely there conditions
Early N on struggling crops this Jan really seems to have given them the much needed boost and they look quiet well overall.
Most importantly, avoid looking over the ditch at your neighbours crops and how well they look compared to your own :rolleyes2:

 

[gone]

On a more useful note, Autumn '19 reinforced for the need for vigour ratings on Dep lists.
Oats and hybrid Barleys coped with the winter way better than conventical barleys or wheats.

 

[Cork]

Are you not about 2.5 months too early with this thread? She’s only in calf at the mo, don’t know if its alive or a bull or heifer yet......

I know what you mean , no doubt there will be further lessons learnt but hopefully we won’t see too many more wagon wheels falling off.

That said, there have been observations made and lessons learnt since the ploughs first went in the ground last autumn.

 

[Cork]

Waterford is the promised land. @Blackwater boy :fight:

Sorry, cork is the land full of promises

 

[horsch]

If weather allows from 1st week of Oct start sowing it will only get wetter

good spread as said before

oats near the house it always looks good in the winter

early n and have it pushed earlier rather than later

3 spilt growth reg works well on winter barley

hibrid recover a wetter winter better

 

[Masseyrk662]

Personally I learned there is a significant difference in pressed/firm seedbeds under drought conditions

 

[Bog Man]

Had to resow 10% of the Winter Wheat and Oats and except for one field it was in reasonably defined areas. The week of the ploughing would have been too early to sow most years but maybe I should have sown the wet bits then but it would be very hard to send the drill home if there was dust rising.
I should have gone on a foreign holiday last October but the delayed sowing would have ruined it.

 

[Barrowsider]

Keep a very close eye on cost of production. Variable costs have been creeping up unnecessarily here over the past few years. Chemical spend in particular. Big crops that cost a fortune are better for the ego than they are for the bank balance.

 

[Cork]

Keep a very close eye on cost of production. Variable costs have been creeping up unnecessarily here over the past few years. Chemical spend in particular. Big crops that cost a fortune are better for the ego than they are for the bank balance.

I’d take a step further even,

I think farmers should educate themselves more on the growing of their crops - so that they can understand the products that they are told to purchase; be that chemicals, fertilizer, seeds etc.
Knowledge is power, there’s nothing wrong with spending €30/ac more on your crops than the next man if you can justify that spend - but you need to be informed to justify it.

Farmers will generally know more about machinery than agronomy - you get a grain cheque for the grain you produce, not the tractor you bought or saw at the machinery show.

I’m always disappointed by the lack of farmers I see at Teagasc events and the like - such events can educate us to make a profit margin.
I’ve heard it said that variable costs are fixed and fixed costs are variable.

 

[no name]

I’m always disappointed by the lack of farmers I see at Teagasc events and the like - such events can educate us to make a profit margin.

I'll guarantee the next day if Kelly's of borris had an open day you wouldn't get standing room and be pages and pictures here to beat the band.

 

[Cork]

I'll guarantee the next day if Kelly's of borris had an open day you wouldn't get standing room and be pages and pictures here to beat the band.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking machinery - it’s essential and improvements in machinery technology & scale has helped reduce labour costs and improve the quality of life for farmers. It also provides an interest for guys and perhaps some retail therapy.
It’s just the lack of agronomic knowledge that strikes me.

 

[gone]

I’d take a step further even,

I think farmers should educate themselves more on the growing of their crops - so that they can understand the products that they are told to purchase; be that chemicals, fertilizer, seeds etc.
Knowledge is power, there’s nothing wrong with spending €30/ac more on your crops than the next man if you can justify that spend - but you need to be informed to justify it.

Farmers will generally know more about machinery than agronomy - you get a grain cheque for the grain you produce, not the tractor you bought or saw at the machinery show.

I’m always disappointed by the lack of farmers I see at Teagasc events and the like - such events can educate us to make a profit margin.
I’ve heard it said that variable costs are fixed and fixed costs are variable.

I use to go to all the Teagasc tillage events, but less and less lately, I am finding Teagasc more and more into the hard sell and even more interested in chemical company money than farmers education. Maybe it is just my jaundiced view, after seeing them on their BASF adult entertainment junket.

 

[Ozzy Scott]

I’d take a step further even,

I think farmers should educate themselves more on the growing of their crops - so that they can understand the products that they are told to purchase; be that chemicals, fertilizer, seeds etc.
Knowledge is power, there’s nothing wrong with spending €30/ac more on your crops than the next man if you can justify that spend - but you need to be informed to justify it.
.

I couldnt agree more, no person should know a farmer farm like themselves, know the risk periods, problem area etc, weight up sensible chem use

 

[Barrowsider]

You'd be absolutely amazed how many tillage farmers have no idea, even down to the nearest €50/ha, how much it costs to grow their crops.

 

[Ags11]

Sure if we knew how expensive it is, we wouldn't bother!

 

[Bcl]

You'd be absolutely amazed how many tillage farmers have no idea, even down to the nearest €50/ha, how much it costs to grow their crops.

All I know is it costs me more to grow my crops than what I get for them!

 

[no name]

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking machinery - it’s essential and improvements in machinery technology & scale has helped reduce labour costs and improve the quality of life for farmers. It also provides an interest for guys and perhaps some retail therapy.
It’s just the lack of agronomic knowledge that strikes me.

You'd be absolutely amazed how many tillage farmers have no idea, even down to the nearest €50/ha, how much it costs to grow their crops.

Absolutely. A few years ago I was at a glanbia walk and afterwards there was a raffle for chemicals. The first name out was a substantial grower who surprisenly delt exclusively with glanbia, so up he went and the winners pick whatever they wanted, so yer man picked up a can of mantrac leaving behind proline and the likes, so immediately his advisor went over and snatched the mantrac and gave him 5 ltrs of proline saying this would be much more suitable for his crops Yer man was mortified and hopped into the jeap and left.

 

[KTM 450]

Absolutely. A few years ago I was at a glanbia walk and afterwards there was a raffle for chemicals. The first name out was a substantial grower who surprisenly delt exclusively with glanbia, so up he went and the winners pick whatever they wanted, so yer man picked up a can of mantrac leaving behind proline and the likes, so immediately his advisor went over and snatched the mantrac and gave him 5 ltrs of proline saying this would be much more suitable for his crops Yer man was mortified and hopped into the jeap and left.

It must be the wife does the accounts in that house if he doesn’t know the price difference Between of the two of them.

 

[Bog Man]

Absolutely. A few years ago I was at a glanbia walk and afterwards there was a raffle for chemicals. The first name out was a substantial grower who surprisenly delt exclusively with glanbia, so up he went and the winners pick whatever they wanted, so yer man picked up a can of mantrac leaving behind proline and the likes, so immediately his advisor went over and snatched the mantrac and gave him 5 ltrs of proline saying this would be much more suitable for his crops Yer man was mortified and hopped into the jeap and left.

That was the day in Athy I won the umbrella and Laurence left after he ate the burger.

 

[Bog Man]

I use to go to all the Teagasc tillage events, but less and less lately, I am finding Teagasc more and more into the hard sell and even more interested in chemical company money than farmers education. Maybe it is just my jaundiced view, after seeing them on their BASF adult entertainment junket.

You always had to have someone with you to hold your coat. It was nearly worse than the Nevins and the MCDonaghs.