Archive Article: 2001/01/05
Comparison demo for cultivation drilling
Whether you favour minimum tillage or ploughing, the chances are your land is just as saturated as your neighbours fields. Thats not all they have in common. Both will need to be drilled quickly when drier weather arrives.
So, full marks to a former FW barometer farmer for giving south-western growers a chance to compare reduced cultivation drills.
As Richard Payne points out, growers in mainly livestock areas often have to travel far to see such demonstrations. And the results may carry little significance for their own farming situation.
Visitors to his farm near Taunton are getting the opportunity to follow the progress of crops sown by five different machines right through to harvest. And the initiative is also earning extra cash for his local cancer care charity.
Sheep dip collection move is welcome
Fancy a dip? Not if its used sheep dip. So its welcome news to hear that Severn Trent Water is to collect used sheep dip from its tenants and store it before incineration.
What about other areas of the country? Hopefully, more water companies will consider working with groups of producers to develop dip collection schemes.
Glimmers of hope in
a tough Challenge
It makes unpleasant reading: From a wheat margin of nearly £50/t in 1995, the top performance in the Lloyds TSB Farmer Group Challenge fell to £6/t last year.
Its a bleak return by any standards. But at least if producers can survive in the short-term on such meagre returns by trimming costs, they are well placed to profit when the upturn finally arrives.
Meanwhile, congratulations to the winning team which relied on marketing expertise, as well as the technical skill, to triumph.
Planning winner has valuable expertise
Judging FW competitions is seldom easy. But selecting the winner of the 2000 Farm Planner of the Year competition was even more difficult than usual.
But a clear winner of the challenge run by the Institute of Agricultural Management, in conjunction with HSBC Bank and Farmplan, was Tom Main.
A graduate in agricultural business management from Wye, he managed to achieve what must be a tough task for even the most experienced of consultants: To draw up a realistic five-year development plan for a Glos Estate.
As farming struggles through its worst crisis in living memory, its heartening to see a new generation with fresh thinking.
Going over the top on expensive gadgetry
Stepless transmissions, front-axle suspension, electro hydraulic controls, self-diagnostic computer aided systems. Tractor makers continue to pile in the technology.
Impressive stuff but, as the costs of these developments continue to escalate, do manufacturers consider there may be a sector of the industry which requires little more than a basic machine?
Farm attractions…day would be well spent
Considering a farm attraction? If so, this years National Farm Attractions Network Conference at the NAC on Feb 8 should prove an attractive day out.
Its a popular event reflecting the urgent need to find new sources of income to boost meagre returns from mainstream crops and livestock.
Opening up your farm to the paying public also helps to get farmings message to consumers. It could also provide a return on capital and effort that conventional farming is failing to offer.
So why not spend a day at the NAC on Feb 8?
Clever Irish move to counter BSEscare
Ireland exports most of the beef it produces and the latest BSE scare has dealt its industry a crippling blow. But a joint venture between beef producers, a feeder wagon manufacturer and a beef processor is helping to minimise the impact of the crisis. The scheme, aimed at finishing cattle before 18 months, is helping to retain specialist Italian export markets.
Finishing cattle to exact specifications at a younger age, using nutritional advice from Keenan, helps beef producer Kepak meet market needs.
Its a system, which works and benefits everyone in the chain. What better proof that co-operation can pay?