Farm Weather Station

Back in September 2011 I bought a weather station for the farm, weather has always intested me and I wanted to have up to date information about the climate right over the farm. I also bought the data logger so I could record it all on my computer, this would make farm spray day predictions easier and allow traceability about what the weather was when chemical were applied on the farm if there was ever a problem!

What a year to start it on, this shows the strange weather we have had and how it affected the growing seasons. Sept, Oct and Nov warm and dry causing the herbicides to be less effective leading to weed problems in Spring. The Winter was realitively mild with only a few hard frost which allowed aphids to live and move all winter carrying plant and animal viruses. The Spring was VERY wet and warm which created the perfect conditions for disease growth on the crops and the Summer was short lived with little sun and high rain levels.

All in all a facinating piece of equipment and well worth the money if cost. Our weather interest has been increased and now we learn about the full chart predictions from Simon Keelings web casts posted by him each day. http://www.weatherweb.net/wxwebtv2.php A very detailed weather prediction that was pretty much right all through harvest.

BWB

Harvest 2012 Done!

 

Harvest 2012 promised so much.......

Loomed with anticipation, lingered with intent and disappeared with the saying ‘if only’! That is how I would describe harvest 2012.

Looking back at the start we were worried that the fields would be too wet to travel after our wet spring and the crops looked full of potential until the late surge of disease knocked that on the head.

Once the combine started to rumble, the oil seed rape crop was first to feel its force of knives, rotors and sieves. It had died quickly with the help of the ‘Round up’ and it made for easy combining as the crop had a strong structure and was standing tall. Yield was a down on what we had hoped for but this could have been due to the wet drawn-out period around flowering, this didn’t help pod production with limited pollination by insects and then after that, when we didn’t want insects, we got the wrong one called ‘Pod Midge’ that bites into the pod, lays an egg and dies which then means that pod is destined to be a lunch for a grub not put in my combine tank!

Grass harvest made easy by late July Sunshine

Next crop ready was the herbage grass seed. All I can say is, “Wow, what a year to grow grass!”  Rain, rain, rain and sun at the end! I’m sure you got fed up of cutting your lawns as the conditions just promoted grass growth and this was reflected in our yields. Although half had grown through and proved to be tricky to combine, the stripper header records hovered up close to a hundred tons in total which is a cracking yield.

Our neighbours by this time were starting into the wet wheat crop on their farms and we started to hear reports of up and down yields. No rhyme or reason but the yields were jumping about and the quality was shot to pieces due to the late disease.  We had a couple of false starts, eager to get on, but the moisture was not near the magic 15.5% I wanted. We got it eventually and the elastic band holding the combine in the shed broke and we were off.  As expected, the yields were all over the shop.  Variety and drilling date caused the biggest differences but it was very strange. The crops combined like bumper crops but the ears of wheat were full of empty grain sites or very small shrivelled grains. It was certainly not going to be the bumper harvest we thought back in the early spring before the wet weather. The straw was green and did not want to die after all the fungicides we had used to keep the plant green and free from disease. It made for a very slow harvest. Most evening air was damp and this caused the combine to stop thrashing at around 9pm each night. Normally we can keep moving well up to 11pm and sometimes after. The weather did change for the middle of August and we started our marathon. We harvested wheat for 11 days straight, starting around 10am and finishing at 9.30pm. It was probably the longest combining stretch I can remember but it was at crawling pace. We got over it at last and the wheat is in the barn ready to be sold. The yields look to be just above our 10 year average but below our 5 year average. The market is reflecting what everyone has found around the country:  quality down, yields unknown and this has driven the price up, so now we just need to market it correctly to smooth out the reduced yield short falls. The marketing is really important because it was the most expensive wheat crop the farm has ever grown! The money we spent on disease control pushed the variable costs through the roof. Was it worth it? Time will tell, when the account crunches the numbers!

The later crops were a mixed bag, Spring Linseed went really well. First year of growing it and we like it when the instructions while combining say, ‘maintain a high forward speed!’. We are looking at growing this again next year.  However, this wet spring and harvest conditions were the final nails in the coffin of our growing Naked Oats. It’s the crop we under-sow our grass into. The wet weather caused them all to ‘lodge’ which is when the crop buckles and falls over, this left us very concerned for the small grass underneath and we can’t take that risk again, so we are going back to the safer growing option of Spring Barley but with a possible yield and financial hit. The spring beans were again consistent with the previous years and were wrapped up in a day’s combining, so a nice easy finished to a slow and drawn-out harvest. 

What now?  Well, the fields have turned brown very quickly, the new rape crop is in the ground and coming up and, fingers crossed, this weekend we will start the wheat planting. The new crop year has started and we will see what comes to test, push and surprise us in the next twelve months. I’m sure there will be surprises along the way but nothing too serious I hope! My first surprise after the harvest dust was settling was to hear that my almost 92 year old Nana has learnt to write text messages! Certainly no reason for anyone to be a technophobe!  BWB

A treat of a hobby.

Young Hobby in Westhorpe in 2011 taken by Mike Rae (www.mikerae.com)

The opportunities for watching wildlife at this time of year can be somewhat limited from the tractor cab. As the combine works it's way up and down the fields I am always pleased to see how many different species are taking cover in the oil seed rape and wheat crops and it reminds us that we still needs to leave cover once the fields are completely clear of crops to give them somewhere to hide from predators. The numbers of young pheasants and partridges we have seen this year have been especially pleasing given the difficulties they had with the wet weather earlier in the summer.

The highlight of the harvest so far though has come in front of the mower rather than the combine. Nick was mowing the grass seed stubble to remove the long dead grass and as he was driving up and down the field he was disturbing the skylarks taking refuge in the long(ish) grass. A hobby had realised this and was sitting on the ground waiting for Nick to drive past before making its move after the skylarks. The skylarks knowing the hobby was gunning for them were waiting until the tractor was almost upon them before they flew as short a distance as possible before dropping back in the grass. Because of how close the skylarks were to the tractor, trying to evade the Hobby, Nick and I (who by now had rushed up to see the show) were treated to the spectacle of the agile Hobby flying around the tractor cab in an attempt to catch the skylarks. At times the Hobby was no more than 5 metres from the cab and provided a tremendous display. This went on for over half an hour before the Hobby gave up and left to hunt somewhere else empty talloned It will not be long until the Hobbys are making their way back to Sub Saharan Africa so it was a real treat to witness one at such close quarters. PB

Barn Owl Success in Westhorpe

In May I wrote about the increased Barn Owl activity around one of our Barn Owl boxes ( Click Here to View) and here is the update...



Barn Owl hunting in Westhorpe - Mike Rae (www.mikerae.com)

Barn Owl breeding has been more a tale of heartache than success in recent years with only one chick fledging from a brood of 3 that hatched last year from 5 eggs. The two chicks that died were both good sizes and the only explanation I can think of for it is that one of the adults vanished and the two chicks starved to death. The most common cause of death for Barn Owls is being hit on the road and the female (I know this as I had the opportunity to ring her in the winter) was left to do all of the hunting on her own. The single chick did fledge which was our first successful breeding since I have been on the farm. Also at our Great Ashfield farm a pair of Barn Owls abandoned a single egg in 2011.

I was quietly optimistic when I saw two birds together on film around the box, one with a ring on which I am hoping is last winter's female and a new male which is unringed.  On 17th April I checked the box for the first time and there was a Barn Owl sitting on 5 eggs that I could see. I was very careful not to scare the Owl out of the box and made sure that she was not disturbed off the eggs. By blocking the entrance hole and using the inspection hatch and a torch I was able to have a good look in the box and then quietly left the area. I should add that Barn Owls are a schedule 1 species, I am an accredited agent of a schedule 1 license holder and it is a criminal offence to disturb a schedule 1 species without a license.

Knowing that the incubation period of Barn Owls is 32 days and they are 53 days from hatching to fledging I had a nervous wait for seven weeks not knowing whether there would be healthy chicks or cold eggs in the box. I was able to see Barn Owls hunting on our grassland and over our neighbours paddocks most evenings so I was fairly optimistic that the news would be good.

I revisited the box on the 9th June to find...

 

..three good sized, healthy chicks were huddled up in the corner of the box. On the 11h June I ringed the 3 chicks so they are now individuals. I was also able to determine their ages by measuring the 7th primary feather, which is a technique devised by Colin Shawyer and was demonstrated on Springwatch this year. The chicks were as follows - Chick 1 -Ring number -  GC92390, 7th primary feather - 42mm = 36 days old, Chick 2 - GC92391, P7=70mm = 42 days old and Chick 3, P7= 85mm = 45 days old. At the time I was ringing the chicks, the adults were both waiting to bring food into the box so we got them back in as soon as possible and got out of the way so they could be fed whilst the weather was good. I had my worries about the chicks not getting enough food as we had a great deal of heavy rain through June and July as Barn Owls will not hunt in the rain.

At this time I put up the remote camera and left it looking at the box to see if I could capture any good footage of the young owls and they got older, braver and eventually fledging.

After 3 weeks the batteries had run out out on the camera but I had over 300 15 second videos and this is my favourite one showing exactly how a short-tailed vole is eaten by an owlet.

 

 

One of the adults bringing food back to the young.

 



Since the videos were made I have watched the young owls flying around, gradually getting further away from the box but reassuringly the adults always seem to be on hand with food and teaching them how to hunt. Now that four out of five of the birds are ringed we will know if any are found at a later date and be able to trace them back to Westhorpe. PB

The Dust Monster

Wheat harvest has started and we are covering about 25ha a day. The combine is working hard due to the oil conditions being soft as well as the straw being a little green. This is due to the wet weather in the build up to harvest. We are also chopping all the straw to incorporate it back into the soil to aid its structure and improve organic matter levels which causes more fuel to be burnt. We are filling up with about 800L of fuel a day @ 70p/L so the fuel bill will be massive, however in a hour we can combine 35-40t of Wheat so in a ten hour day we will bring back to the shed about 400t of Wheat which is worth about £70,000. So the most important thing while the Wheat is dry is to keep the combine moving and in top working order. It gets a full grease, oil and check each morning by Nick and then he makes sure all yesterdays dust is removed as this can cause a fire if it builds up on the engine. Long day, long hours but a good time of year. Hope to see you all out and about over the weekend while the sunshine continues! BWB

More than One Kind of Mole

We all hate moles in our nicely manicured lawn, lifting great mounds of earth up into mole hills and digging tunnels along the surface so they can move about under the cover of soil and darkness. They can be a pain but down on the farm, we have a very large and loud ‘mole’ that is currently ripping through the grass crop land that will shortly be cultivated and put into winter wheat.

It’s a mole drainer out doing its job. So what is a mole drainer? This is a special piece of equipment that is used on heavy land farms to help drainage. You have to have a certain type of soil to use it correctly and you also need the right soil conditions to benefit from it.  It is the deepest-working, pulled cultivator found on the farm and it takes the most amount of power to pull it. Remember the general rule: the deeper you move the soil, the more horsepower is required; well, this is a prime example.

It looks small but it does stick it's heels in to make it hard to pull

The implement is relatively small and is dwarfed by the large ‘New’ Caterpillar tractor boasting 320hp but the mole’s unique design and depth it makes it the hardest implement to pull in our clay soils. The machine has wheels to turn and move it on the road but in the working position, the wheels are not in contact with the ground so the whole machine slides on the surface. Mounted on the back is a blade which is a long, thick, very strong piece of metal that is held low, below the frame. At the end of the blade, you have a bullet which pulls a ceramic expander. Those are the correct terms but I describe them as a leg and foot pulling a ball and chain!

The idea is to create a mole: a round tunnel formed in the clay subsoil just above the field drains. The field drains are permanently placed pipes and gravel that remove water from the field, working with the slope. The temporary mole is formed just above these, so not to break or damage the pipes and they are formed at ninety degrees to them. Therefore, over all our fields we have a lattice work of pipes to allow the water free movement out of the topsoil, making our fields easier to work and better for the plants to grow in. 

The leg sets the depth and then the foot starts to move the tightly compacted clay ready for the clay to be pushed back by the hard ceramic expander that creates a smeared clay channel. This smeared clay channel then hopefully dries out to create a natural clay pipe. This is repeated every four metres over the whole field and they normally last about 6-7 years before they collapse or fill with sediment, so it is a on-going rotation around the fields with clay soils. The conditions are very favourable this year to make the moles as the wet spring (and summer) means the clay is very receptive to being formed into the mole, as deep down it is very moist. It also means that the blade does not wear away very quickly as the top soil is not baked solid. The pressure on the foot, expander and blade is huge. The friction is massive and you can see flakes of metal peeling off them and they become very hot. The ceramic expander can get so hot that if you hold it with your bare hand your skin will burn!

The foot and expander hang under the frame.

The new tractor has had its first run out and the noise it makes sends goose bumps up my neck, that really deep throaty roar of the exhaust belting out power! We are looking forward to working it hard this autumn but first we need to clear the harvest, which is proving challenging with these showers and thunderstorms. I hope I am not making a mountain out of a mole hill! But if the sun does not come out soon we will be in a right muddle with crops being spoilt and ruined wheat sitting ripe on ear!

Sun would be most welcome to help with harvest and bake the newly formed moles deep in my clay! BWB

Make hay while the sun shines!

A full week of work in the herbage grass fields for everyone on the farm has just finished. The hot sunshine made it a very busy week with harvesting, hay making and a wildlife surprise!

The special fingers on our Stripper Header

We started harvesting the grass seed using our combine with its specialist header called a 'stripper' header. This is designed not to cut the plant stalks but to use specially designed fingers to lift the stalks and strip the seed off each stem as the header passes over it. It has revolutionised the grass seed harvest that used to be a struggle cutting the crops directly with a conventional header table. Now, with the new header, what took us 8 days with two smaller combines, takes just over 3 days with one! The seed is then taken quickly to the farm where it is put on a special floor that blows lots of air through it to reduce the temperature of it and dry out the remaining moisture. We level it out so that the crop dries evenly and we are not left with any wet spots or hot spots. The crop yielded really well but considering the wet spring it was a perfect year to grow grass as your lawn cutting regime will testify!

The side mounted mower

Once the combine gets started the hay making process begins. The grass stalks are mown with a disc mower; this is 2.8m wide and is mounted to one side of the tractor so you don't run the grass flat on the floor as you do it, making it difficult to cut low down. This is then spread out over the field by another machine called a 'tedder'. It has rotating sections which pick up the cut grass and throw it about. It is 7.7m wide, so we can cover a large area quickly. This teddering is done 2-3 times over a period of two or three days, allowing the heat of the sunshine and wind to dry all the moisture out of the hay. 

The Rake

Once the hay crop on the ground is dry, the decision to row it up and bale it is made. This involves another machine called a 'rake', which scrapes the hay up into a row by using a number of tined arms that pull the hay to one side against a partition. Once in rows it is ready to be baled. The baler picks up the row and compacts it inside a chamber within the machine that packs it tightly before two strands of string are looped around the whole cuboid and tied up by a mechanical knotter. 

The baler and sledge

The bales are then pushed out by the next bale being made and they fall out of the back onto a mechanical sledge pulled behind the baler, this arranges the bales into eights by a continuously moving belt floor that drags them quickly off the baler down different passages. This triggers levers to open other passages for the next bale. It lines them up in two rows of four and then the last lever triggered by the eighth bale releases the back gate and the eight bales drop out on to the floor. We put them into eights as they are much easier to handle in vast numbers. The two loaders on the farm have an attachment that picks up the eights by a set of claws that grab the bales and so we can pick up and load trailers with these eights or make stacks in the field. Most of the hay bales are sold to local horse owners and pet owners that feed it to their animals throughout the year. As the old saying goes, 'Make hay while the sun shines', as this is so important and the sun makes the whole process much easier and the quality of the final product really good for safe storage in lots of different stable blocks. If it is too damp the hay can start to warm and cook itself. This can ruin the quality and in really bad cases can actually catch fire if left undiscovered!  

All the different activities took place on the farm over the past week then, on Friday, the sun never came out and so hay making was stopped. This gave me a chance to go and check the other variety of grass we have left to combine. The grass is not ready to harvest but it is proving a great hunting ground for this Short Eared Owl that I finally caught up to with my camera! BWB