FARMERFOCUS

11 January 2002




FARMERFOCUS

Tim Piper

Tim Piper farms at

Churchlands on the edge

of Romney Marsh, Kent.

Wheat, barley, oilseed

rape, herbage seed and

vining peas occupy 890ha

(2200 acres) of the

1105ha (2730 acre) unit

THE new year has continued with the same nice cold, frosty weather, which has allowed us to complete compound fertiliser spreading on permanent grassland.

It has also helped slow down the wheat and rape and will hopefully help kill the charlock that was sprayed with Fortrol (cyanazine). The spray did not appear to have worked, but may have sensitised the weed, allowing the frost to do a better job.

Some crops of rape are receiving attention from pigeons, but as usual they are concentrating on the shaded corner areas instead of targeting the lush forward parts of the field. Gas bangers, flags and the occasional blast from my shotgun have been deployed accordingly.

After writing these articles for a little over two years, the powers that be at farmers weekly have decided it is time for a change. In other words, they have had enough of me droning on about the weather, poor crops, useless politicians, strength of the £, foot-and-mouth, DEFRA and all the other things that seem to have gone wrong with the industry over the past two years.

Personally, I detect a chink of light at the end of the tunnel. Having had a good autumn, with all our crops planted and looking well, there is a degree of satisfaction and something to look forward to this harvest.

I think there are also some optimistic undertones within the industry. Hopefully, the strengthening k will increase our support payments and perhaps in turn weaken sterling, making imports more costly. Perhaps we may then be able to look forward to some more realistic prices in 2002.

So, this is my last article for Farmer Focus, and I must say I have enjoyed providing an insight into what we are doing on the farm. Judging by the leg-pulling and telephone conversations there have been at least two people who have read my articles! I will sign-off by wishing you all a happy and prosperous New Year. &#42

Ron Duncan

Ron Duncan farms 222ha

(550 acres) in partnership

with his wife and eldest son

at Begrow Farms, Duffus,

Elgin, Moray. Crops include

winter wheat, spring barley,

swedes and beetroot,

alongside a pedigree

Limousin suckler herd

A VERY happy New Year to you all from the frozen north of Scotland. After observing for some years that we dont get hard winters like we did in our childhood, we have been experiencing real winter weather for two weeks now. But, to be honest, I have had enough of it already!

A dusting of snow on Christmas day followed by a real dump – as the Canadians say – on Boxing Day, left a level 20cm (8in) covering. Thank goodness there was no wind.

In fact, we experienced heavy rain the following night, which reduced the snow by half, before the next snowfall came. Since then we have had frosts down to -10C.

For us that means considerably longer days attending livestock. Our good crop of stubble turnips is virtually buried and any green showing through the snow is being devoured by every wood pigeon from Scandinavia, as well as our own resident population.

Last month I reported that November had been kinder to us weatherwise and I am pleased to say most of December was equally pleasant, with lots of light frosts and short sunny days. That allowed my son to crack on with ploughing heavy land.

He hopes no one taok any photographs because it would not be the straightest furrow he has turned. But at least some more land is being weathered.

I also took advantage of frost, as did all the neighbours, to spread lots of muck. We abandoned our own barrel spreader in favour of a contractor with a really big machine, which spread as much in a couple of days as I would have managed in a week.

Timeliness is next to Godliness, my father used to say. But it feels like we have been chasing our tails since that protracted harvest, and there are still many jobs to complete. However, the days are lengthening and time will be better spent at home I fear, rather than attending more day-long meetings listening to experts. &#42

Mark Ireland

Mark Ireland farms with

his father and brother at

Grange Farm, North

Rauceby, Lincs. Sugar beet

and barley are the core

crops on the 1004ha (2481

acres) heathland unit

MAY I wish everyone a very happy New Year and lets hope 2002 is less demanding and more prosperous than the previous 12 months.

With no stock on the farm. I always see in the New Year with about six old school friends and their families, choosing different locations every year. Its getting very traditional and this years visit to the wilds of Staffs was no exception.

First, I was late leaving, the weather forecast having taken a turn for the worse, so we felt all the clamped beet needed covering. If eating to excess over Christmas hadnt been enough, shifting heavy sheets highlighted a definite fitness problem. That may need remedying in the coming months.

Arrival at our accommodation saw the banter begin. As usual I had to defend myself against being a Lincs barley baron, who drives a Range Rover and shoots five days a week while banking extortionate amounts of taxpayers money. While much of it is very tongue-in-cheek I do believe many of the general public share this same ingrained perception.

I always manage to stress to the group which brands they should be buying – Silver Spoon sugar, not Tate & Lyle, Warburtons bread because they use our Hereward and as much Bass bitter as they can drink.

I rarely get sympathy for farmings woes, but this year was different. Andrew had had quarries flooded plus the quarry tax, Jon environmental constraints building a new runway, George cartel worries in the pharmaceutical world and Andy insurance problems after Sept 11. One friend didnt manage to come. But Claire is a supermarket buyer and no doubt had nothing to moan about anyway.

Temperatures down to -10C introduced a new challenge – how many men can you get on a sledge, down a steep hill late at night? We also made a good start to supporting the profits of Bass in the coming year. &#42

Paul Warburton

Paul Warburton farms

208ha (514 acres) of

mostly chalky loam at

North Farm, Shillingford

Hill, near Oxford. He is an

owner-occupier, running

the business in partnership

with his wife Hilary.

Cropping includes feed

wheat, feed barley

and oilseed rape

What a pleasure it would be to write about the much better year we enjoyed in 2001. An open and easy spring, diligent commitment from government over clear food labelling, all meat supplied to schools, prisons, MoD, hospitals and the like to be British and a weaker £ to boot.

Instead, 2001 certainly achieved the status of an annus horribilis for reasons with which we are all too familiar. Then, of course, we have had further nonsense from Brussels in the "harmful vibrations" proposals for tractor users and unworkable regulations on muck spreading.

Lastly, comes the non-payment of the life-giving IACS cheques. That is now costing me £30/week in interest charges. What a contrast to the way we all work within the spirit of the IACS regulations, submitting claims by the May 15 deadline, absolutely and without fail, no excuses for lateness accepted and penalties levied by statutory order.

Moving into the New Year, I have finally grasped the nettle and sold the 2001 harvest – Consort wheat at £78/t for February, Savannah £80 for March, Soissons £92 for February, oilseed rape £154 for February and barley a modest £65 for December, thankfully supported by increasing straw values of £2/conventional bale.

All this years crops are at last drilled, care of some heavy frosts. But the oilseed rape continues to suffer disturbed days care of marauding pigeons.

January will mostly be devoted to planting new trees and shrubs. This will include a further modest area of Norway spruce, to meet expanding demand for pick-your-own Christmas trees.

For the past few years I have welcomed families and friends on the farm to select a tree, cut or dug while they wait, priced at £10/tree flat rate. It always pleases me to see how much our non-ag neighbours enjoy visiting and getting questions answered. These are opportunities we should all make the most of.

Best wishes for 2002 and may at least some of our hopes be realised. &#42


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