Winter barley 2019

Sown first week in October at 13 St/ac with a bag and a half of 10-10-20 down the pipe. Was considering giving it another 2 and a half bags in a few weeks time to finish off the compounds. Only got it sprayed for the first time on New Year's Day but it's thriving. I'll be optimistic and hope it'll be my best crop of WB yet......
 
Lovely looking crop, would expect to see that at end of march not mid January! What was the theory behind the 10 10 20 at sowing, as in the nitrogen part? Would you always do that or just an experiment
 
Lovely looking crop, would expect to see that at end of march not mid January! What was the theory behind the 10 10 20 at sowing, as in the nitrogen part? Would you always do that or just an experiment
There's only 5 or 10 euro of a difference per ton between 10-10-20 and 0-10-20 so I reckoned it'd be better value than zero nitrogen. I always sow winter barley with fert even that small bit as I'd consider it a good foundation for establishment and early growth. It would mean that if there was any hunger in the ground this would feed the plant through a cold winter and help it off to a running start in the spring. This crop seems to be running from day one as even the crows were distracted from it as seed.
 
There's only 5 or 10 euro of a difference per ton between 10-10-20 and 0-10-20 so I reckoned it'd be better value than zero nitrogen. I always sow winter barley with fert even that small bit as I'd consider it a good foundation for establishment and early growth. It would mean that if there was any hunger in the ground this would feed the plant through a cold winter and help it off to a running start in the spring. This crop seems to be running from day one as even the crows were distracted from it as seed.
Definitely looks the part, I'd be embarrassed to put up pictures of my WB at the moment after looking at yours! Cassia at 10.5 stone, no fert, sown 14th October. It be interesting to see what weighbridge says in late July ! Might try your approach on a field next season for comparison
 
Mine looks very similar to yours MF30. Would I be mad to put some CeCeCe on it?
Yes you would be mad. There is growth but very little and temps are falling later in the week. Crops look green but that’s because the winter hunger has not crept into them yet with no leaf die back and senescence. I think for growths regs to do anything you need growth and for growth to continue which it will not this week. Those very forward thick crops may actually need their ccc later than normal as you don’t need any more plants, crops that are too think lodge and have lots of disease. Best approach may be a Ccc modus mix late March and do some real strengthening on them. Every field is different this year.
 
@CORK the dairy farmer.

Get yourself to your local co-op, buy yourself a set of cheap poor quality “waterproofs” don’t be fooled into paying extra for a set that will last for years and will keep you dry, this is an important purchase and will be the reference for future farm investment decisions.
Go home.
Roll around in slurry, make sure to leave the hood down, while wearing the wooly hat with holes in it, proudly go over to your new tractor, complete with a new waterproof seat cover which was “free”
Great job, your going to mind this tractor.

Spend some time getting to understand what’s important on your new tractor, find out how to open the back window, this job will only be done once, so it’s worth doing it right.

Next study the door, is access limited? Any restrictions will cost you time, time is money.
If it was a bit wider maybe?
No, not going cutting lumps out a new tractor, too busy, you haven’t the time, take off the door maybe? go and get your toolkit.

Return proudly with..
One spurious wise grip, a set of screwdrivers bought in German discount store, the quality of which is so low, they could be described as edible.
A luminous yellow spurious Stanley knife.

Slowly and carefully start about getting the door off,
1 minute has passed...
give up...
Go and get the hammer you forget when getting your other tools.
It’s in an old blue USA biscuit tin, the tins were bigger back then, there were more biscuits in them too, you’d like a biscuit now, but no, there’re riding you for biscuits these days. Fcuk that.

Gently use the hammer and wise grip together, this will work..
2 more minutes.
Oh dear.
The ram thing on the door is broken.
Get baling twine tie up broken yolk.
It’ll be grand.

Its 10.00am breakfast time, head in and have a cup a tea, you’d love a biscuit...
eat brown bread with cheap imported butter.

Back to work, time is money, tidy up tools, put spare baling twine in the cab, to keep it dry, it’s so handy to have with you, somewhere around the handbrake. Leave extra on the seat too, it was a great job on the old tractor.

Wise grip and hammer go into the tractor toolbox.
It’s huge, that’s the size of box you’d want to be buying biscuits in.

Get up on tractor, go and put on the silage grab, a claw grab, a great yolk.
It’ll never be taken off again and will be always left open, so as to always be ready for use.

Open door, as you disembark you catch new waterproof trousers on the broken ram yolk, rip them, curse.
Hook up grab, you love that grab.
Ripped waterproof could be a safety risk, get your knife and trim it back, can’t find knife in your pocket, you find it on the seat of the tractor, under the baling twine, the blade was out slightly, the new seat cover is ripped. Curse violently.
Replace baling twine on seat, cut away hazardous piece from new waterproofs, go and feed the cows and pretend none of this happened.

@ithastopay I’m halfway there already, no seat cover though....
5259FB5A-DC2E-48AF-92F2-5690C5205FBA.jpeg
 
Young lad here has started working weekends with a dairy farmer, good experience for him but man the smell. Used to throw all the old clothes in together now no one wants even their old clothes in with his farm clothes in the same wash!!
Overalls and throw them in a shed when not in use
 
That grab has a few signs alright, tines tightened against stacks of washers and bent hydraulic fittings, a few bent roofing nails holding in the pins would complete the picture..:laugh:

And a few light top link pins with a mile of space in place of the proper pins would be ideal too.

It’s on it second set of lower tines and second lower cross member with bushes. It’s loaded a lot of straw in its time.
 
Can you get a bit of manganese on it before the colder snap that's forecast?
Frost won't do it any favours if its deficient.
 
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