Yes! After what seems like a lifetime of hot, dry, windy weather, we actually have rain! I’m sitting here in the kitchen (during the day!), admiring the steady rain out the window and, as of two minutes ago, we’ve had 6.4mm; that’s the first meaningful rain in what feels like months.
Today is 7 October and so far, we have only planted oilseed rape, which was sown two weeks ago. Because we only have the 12m Horsch Avatar drill to plant crops, we decided to run through the stubbles with the Sumo LDS (low disturbance subsoiler) before planting OSR. Some land had an application of chicken litter, another field had some soft fruit compost, two fields had no organic manures, and all five fields planted with OSR had the straw baled.
All OSR has been planted with a companion crop of buckwheat and berseem clover, although in one field we are partnering with AHDB to run a tramline trial on different companion crops, and two tramlines with OSR only.
When Chris emailed me a few weeks back to ask if I’d write another article, he said, “Without it being too doom and gloom!” Who does he think I am?!
I’ve just reread my last article from January and an excellent one from Clive Bailye that was published in April. Those two articles have stood the test of time and are pretty much where I am today in my thinking, but some things have moved on.
So rather than moan about 101 things, I’ll report on a few positives and comment on a few other things!
As a family, we have always been part of a local church. It’s one of the reasons why we never work on Sundays. Up until a few years ago, I served on the leadership team of a church in Maidstone, but with COVID and lockdown, things changed. I have four children, and the youngest two play football, which, as they have got older, has moved to a Sunday morning affair! So, the dilemma came. Do we stop them playing football so we can all go to church as a family, or do we, for a season in life, give them both the opportunity to do something they enjoy and are reasonably good at? Long story short, they both continued in their footballing journeys, and as a family we encouraged them in that. I didn’t feel that after 17 years of leadership service I could continue while being absent on a Sunday morning and stepped down from leadership. We have recently moved to another church that has a 5 pm service, and we can now attend as a family as well as support the boys in their matches.
At this new church, I’ve had to get to know people from scratch. The question eventually comes… “What do you do for a living?”
Up until recently, that question has been relatively easy to answer, and with confidence and gusto I would proudly declare that I was a farmer!
However, on reflection I’m now beginning to rethink that response. As an aside, I recently had a visit from an American representative from Kelly (who make the Kelly chain harrow), who informed me that 97 per cent of American farmers have off-farm jobs!
With that in mind, I now find I can respond to the question in many ways:
Builder, plumber, forklift driver, ground worker, painter, welder, fabricator, heavy plant operator, accountant, logistics and planning, customer relations, HR, health and safety, just-in-time logistics, taxi driver, disaster management, security guard, police liaison, waste disposal, stock control and catering are just some of the things I could confidently say I tackle on a daily basis!
Just saying you’re a farmer sounds like you sit in a pub with two black labs, in a checked shirt and drinking warm beer!
When I was a child, about the age of five or six, I was mad-keen on Britains farm toys. Those of you who are of a similar age will remember, probably in the early 80s, eagerly awaiting the Britains catalogue. For those of you who have no idea what I’m on about, this was carpet-farming at its finest. This little pamphlet would come out with all the items of model farm machinery you could buy. It was free and given away in toy shops. Our local toy shop at the time was Gamley’s in Hailsham, East Sussex. My mum would take me there, normally after we’d been to Woolworths and British Home Stores, and if I’d saved up enough money, I could buy a new trailer, baler or perhaps some animals.
The animals never really interested me – I always wanted the big shiny tractors or combine harvesters. Dad built me some farm buildings, a model silage pit and even some pallets to scale to complete the dream farm set-up. Today’s equivalent of the Britains catalogue is Farmers Guide, Profi or Farm Contractor, but I’m getting increasingly disillusioned with the eye-watering amounts even the most basic of machines now cost. I recently read a report on a new medium-sized tractor with a price tag of over £400k. That buys a pretty nice house in many areas and a pretty nice farm in some countries! I’m starting to feel that justifying new kit needs to come from larger and larger farms and/or large non-farming incomes?!
Our three main tractors are from 2006, 2008 and 2010. They have depreciated to the point that they’re now probably appreciating and are worth what I paid for them over 10 years ago! They have no AdBlue, complicated screens or regen requirements. They are, and have continued to be, reliable and only clock 200-300 hours a year! One pulls the 12m drill so we’re well on top of the job, but with years like this we need to be!
It’s when we look at combine or sprayer replacements that the challenge comes! I have noticed a number of farm machinery sales recently where the farms have been covering a large area, one in excess of 10,000 acres and many over 2,000 acres. My childlike interest in a machinery catalogue is awakened, and I’m intrigued as to why these businesses are selling up. In many cases, the combine and sprayer are of an age and condition that suggests they need replacing, and that can represent a financial outlay that many are increasingly reluctant to embrace. So, for me, my old-but-reliable machines will stay to fight another harvest! I have invested in one new toy, having sold a lot of surplus bits and pieces last winter: a new hot water power washer. With a flow rate of 21 litres per minute, it blasts any loose paint and stickers off, while putting a smile on your face every time you use it!
Back to the farm. Harvest was a relative doddle. The combine, having been serviced by Paul King, was faultless in its fourteenth season. We were blessed to have Irishman Anthony Brennan as our combine driver for the summer, who piloted and maintained the axial flow through the wheat and beans in his quiet, confident manner. Yields were similar to 2025 (poor), but wheat quality was excellent, and sale prices so far are averaging over £200/t. Beans planted behind the LDS were very even and looked like a big crop. They could have been even better had we not had a 34+ degree heatwave at flowering!
We have subsoiled for the bean ground again this year, so once we start drilling, we will continue through direct-drilled wheat into the beans.
We are currently converting a concrete frame building into industrial units, having obtained change of use, and have also just got approval from UK Power Networks to put a solar system on the three southern-facing grain-store roofs. This will include 264 panels, batteries and the capability of supplying incoming and existing tenants with electricity, while ensuring the farm buildings and farmhouse have a cost-effective supply in the future!
I’m even looking at electric vehicles for future replacement, given the bonkers price of fuel at the moment! If costs continue to rise, we have to keep finding ways of cutting back in order to survive. Solar is one of those opportunities, and with a proposed six-year payback, it makes me look at ROI percentages with a whole new focus and enthusiasm!
To finish on a good note, this year my eldest daughter, Emma, announced her engagement! She’s marrying a great guy from Norwich and they’ll live in Ipswich. I guess that’ll make my future grandchildren tractor boys?!
So, with a wedding to pay for, I’d better get back to work!
Merry Christmas!