Nocturnal muck-spreading..

Graces7

We are in our first year in cattle country so much is new..

Wondering why the local farmers are out muck -spreading well after dark?Rows of headlights on the tractors and scraping sound on stony fields..

Someone has opined that they wait until evening as they are putting too much on grazing fields and not ploughing it in?

Thank you!

jeff greene

It is without doubt, the single greatest issue today, hopefully FG will sort it out.:rolleyes:

Don’t worry about it, farmers know what they are doing. Maybe with the good spell of weather, their just burning the midnight oil to get the work done, don't assume we're all criminals.

5live

When there is work to be done it must be done. The weather is fine, the land able to carry machinery and the fertiliser and slurry needs to be transported to the fields while conditions are suitable. Fear not, it will mostly be over in a month

Graces7

Hmmmm... so why always at night? And what does that mean, the largest single issue?

Is there too much being dumped and not being dug in? Only we know the regs in other countries where this happens and is illegal. And is challenged.

The fine weather is during the day too of course!

mikemac

The farmers around you may well have another job and need to get this farming work done.
Possible even they work shift and get back home late and then head spreading for a few hours.

I don't know what other countries you've been to

Reminds me of a crank who moved to our village.
During the summer you'd be starting up the tractor for the silage crew at 5am or so and we got threatened with the gardai from the crank who was nearby on the main road due to the noise :eek:
The tractors weren't left idling (you don't hang around chatting!), you just start your working day at crazy hours and finish maybe 15 hours later.

johngalway

Farmers often work day & night to get certain jobs done, this can be down to a window of good weather, pressure from other farm/off farm work to be done.

thats interesting

Graces7 wrote: »

We are in our first year in cattle country so much is new..

Wondering why the local farmers are out muck -spreading well after dark?Rows of headlights on the tractors and scraping sound on stony fields..

Someone has opined that they wait until evening as they are putting too much on grazing fields and not ploughing it in?

Thank you!

1.Farming generally doesn't work as a 9 to 5 job. It may be 8-7, 6-10 or any combination

2. It works in conjunction with the weather, if it is good, people work longer to get the work done

3 . "scraping sound on stony field" Ploughing? Whats so terrible about ploughing?

4. "they wait until evening as they are putting too much on grazing fields and not ploughing it in?" Bizarre is the only comment I can make on that comment.

Sorry, I'm not getting what you are complaining about.

So some farmers plough and spread slurry in evening and you use this to suggest they are spreading to much "muck"

That's just weird.

taram

Of the younger farmers I know (I'm 25) lots are working after dark, most of them have day jobs, and help their family in the evenings, or like me, work on a farm for the experience and bit of extra cash: I was ploughing after dark last autumn, and if I wasn't so busy at the moment with my day job and lambing, I'd be one of those out spreading after dark. Maybe they're drilling spring wheat/barley? We've GPS and will likely be stuck doing it after dark due to day jobs.

If they were overspreading you'd soon see it, no one's going out of their way to secretly to waste the diesel or damage their land!

funny man

Graces7 wrote: »

We are in our first year in cattle country so much is new..

Wondering why the local farmers are out muck -spreading well after dark?Rows of headlights on the tractors and scraping sound on stony fields..

Someone has opined that they wait until evening as they are putting too much on grazing fields and not ploughing it in?

Thank you!

That would be me, GUILTY YOUR HONOUR! in my defence i rise at 6:30 in the morning milk my cows, feed my calves, set up a paddock for the cows, get back to the yard and let out cows, wash up in the parlour, bed the calves, clean the cow shed and put in silage for evening, inject that calf with the swollen navel, put silage in with the dry cows and give minerals, check through them for mastitis or any one near calving, bed the calving boxes for evening , move calves to make more room and tag them, eat a bit of dinner, back out put the meal out for the milkers, fix that cluster that the new heifer broke this morning, then just milk, feed calves, wash up, take a dead calf from a cow comming backways, put a bottle in an old girl that shakey on her feet after calving, give an electrolyte to a young calf who is painting the walls with scour, get a cup of tea, put the spreader on the tractor fill it up with sh!t and head for the fields around 9:30 pm so i apologies you honour for doing so much work when the conditions were right and if future i will ask my neighbours for permission to spread after 5:30pm?

dasheriff

id say they either work during the day or else they are really busy and trying to get it done before the weather breaks..I work till 9 or 10 most nights trying to get jobs done..
also spreading at night to hide what they are doing makes no odds you could still see the thick slurry the following day..

5live

funny man wrote: »

That would be me, GUILTY YOUR HONOUR! in my defence i rise at 6:30 in the morning milk my cows, feed my calves, set up a paddock for the cows, get back to the yard and let out cows, wash up in the parlour, bed the calves, clean the cow shed and put in silage for evening, inject that calf with the swollen navel, put silage in with the dry cows and give minerals, check through them for mastitis or any one near calving, bed the calving boxes for evening , move calves to make more room and tag them, eat a bit of dinner, back out put the meal out for the milkers, fix that cluster that the new heifer broke this morning, then just milk, feed calves, wash up, take a dead calf from a cow comming backways, put a bottle in an old girl that shakey on her feet after calving, give an electrolyte to a young calf who is painting the walls with scour, get a cup of tea, put the spreader on the tractor fill it up with sh!t and head for the fields around 9:30 pm so i apologies you honour for doing so much work when the conditions were right and if future i will ask my neighbours for permission to spread after 5:30pm?

Quiet day?:D

bob charles

tomorrow I will be starting in the dark around 6am when most are asleep, might do 5 hrs then swap with a farm hand and go at other jobs let him carry on spreading. Come 7pm tomorrow evening I will let the farm hand go home and I will spread away for another 4 or 5 hrs. Aslong as the weather keeps dry This will continue for a week or so. Sorry for any inconvenience caused. Maybe I should work from 9am to 5pm for the next too weeks and destroy the roads if the weather breaks, then you will be moaning about something else. And slurry is a precious fertiliser product and is most definitely being spread at rates to achieve the maximum fertilising benefits

John_F

theres your answer :cool:

i suppose we cud stop at 5 or maybe 6 and let the job drag out, let the rain come next week, On behalf of the farming sector i apologise for farming not being a 5 day a week job

mox54

cows need to eat grass to make the milk you drink without a thought about where it comes from`, that same grass needs to grow to feed the cows and the farmer needs to ensure the grass grows to the max so spreads to ensure this is done, busy people this time of year, it's country life, wait till the grass is cut again, then you'll see busy!:cool:

pakalasa

Maybe it's a farmer suffering from eosophobia.

You couldn't make this stuff up.:D

thats interesting

And this idea of over spreading slurry. How nuts is that? Slurry is valuable. You don't waste it.
Have you seen the price of fertilizer?

ihatetractors

Graces7 wrote: »

Someone has opined that they wait until evening as they are putting too much on grazing fields and not ploughing it in?

Thank you!

:eek::eek:, please don't tell me you could have believed this!!.

Graces7

Jeepers you guys are touchy!

It was a question and nothing else. Really!

The farmer concerned has no day job and they don't get up in that house until almost 9 am. Trust me on that...

In other countries there are limits on slurry. Period..

We have lived all our lives among farms, usually sheep, and have never seen this like this before.

Ah well; this IS Ireland:rolleyes:

Graces7

ihatetractors wrote: »

:eek::eek:, please don't tell me you could have believed this!!.

It is fact - period.

Baralis1

Graces7 wrote: »

Jeepers you guys are touchy!

It was a question and nothing else. Really!

The farmer concerned has no day job and they don't get up in that house until almost 9 am. Trust me on that...

In other countries there are limits on slurry. Period..

We have lived all our lives among farms, usually sheep, and have never seen this like this before.

Ah well; this IS Ireland:rolleyes:

For farmers who are not in Reps, there is no limit on how much slurry they spread as far as I know.

For farmers who are in reps (Rural Environmental Protection Scheme), and the majority nowadays are, it is calculated exactly how much sh1t their animals produce and it is planned exactly where they spread it so it is not possible to have extra slurry or spread more than they should.

The fact that they are working at night time must be due to some other reason such as weather, time or the availability of contractors etc.

Baralis1

Graces7 wrote: »

It is fact - period.

It's not fact. Lots of farmers work at night. Are you sure its the farmer himself and not a contractor. There could be any number of reasons as previously discussed. Farming is not a 9 to 5 job.

Baralis1

Its not a requirement to plough it in. Farmers use this to ensure more efficient use of the slurry but it is perfectly legal to use a splash plate.

Graces7

Baralis1 wrote: »

It's not fact. Lots of farmers work at night. Are you sure its the farmer himself and not a contractor. There could be any number of reasons as previously discussed. Farming is not a 9 to 5 job.

???? That is not what I meant. Over and out as there is a determination to be more and more impolite and ... patronising. Which helps nothing, frankly.

Baralis1

Graces7 wrote: »

???? That is not what I meant. Over and out as there is a determination to be more and more impolite and ... patronising. Which helps nothing, frankly.

Sorry Graces, I don't mean to be partonising. But you did ask why your local farmers are out spreading slurry after dark. You then stated that it is fact that there is an illegal reason for this because of an opinion someone you know offered.

funny man

Graces7 wrote: »

???? That is not what I meant. Over and out as there is a determination to be more and more impolite and ... patronising. Which helps nothing, frankly.

You have stepped on many toes with the tone and the content of your thread, farming in this country is highly regulated with closed periods for slurry and dung spreading from October up to the 1st of february and this year it rained practically for the whole month, which in turn meant farmers where possible didn't go out onto land, now the weather is better slurry and dung stores are brimming to capacity and farmers around the country are being responsible and are taking full advantage of every hour, spreading while conditions are perfect so valuable nutrients don't get leached away.

We have lived all our lives among farms, usually sheep, and have never seen this like this before.

this explains why you are not familiar with the process of slurry spreading as Ireland has a higher concentration of cattle farming than sheep which in turn are housed in slatted sheds which collect alot of liquid slurry. my suggestion in future is to pose a question rather than to state someone else's opinion.
Welcom to this lovely country and i hope you take interest in the farming activities around you, but educate yourself on the practices of irish farming and you'll make friends not enemies.

johngalway

Graces7 wrote: »

Someone has opined that they wait until evening as they are putting too much on grazing fields and not ploughing it in?

Graces7 wrote: »

Is there too much being dumped and not being dug in? Only we know the regs in other countries where this happens and is illegal. And is challenged.

Graces7 wrote: »

In other countries there are limits on slurry. Period..

Graces7,

The three parts I've quoted above would raise the hackles of most farmers to be honest. The type of answer one gets is framed by the way in which the question is asked.

Dusty87

No offence Sorella, sorry i mean Graces7, but with the amount of complaining you do about the countryside and Ireland, would you not be better to move to the town, or back to canada no?

bob charles

Graces7 wrote: »

Jeepers you guys are touchy!

It was a question and nothing else. Really!

The farmer concerned has no day job and they don't get up in that house until almost 9 am. Trust me on that...

In other countries there are limits on slurry. Period..

We have lived all our lives among farms, usually sheep, and have never seen this like this before.

Ah well; this IS Ireland:rolleyes:

there are limits to slurry allowed per ha in most countries, including Ireland. Considering you havnt a clue on what the limits are how can you say this farmer is breaching them. have you ever taught about asking the farmer about all the slurry he is applying. Your fact and period that you are waffling out is that the and intensive grassland farmer is allowed to apply 250Kgs of organic N per ha across his whole farm per year, is the fact. Considering you know so much, is the farmer going above these limits

Im sorry if your are upset in your playground (Our business premises) with smells and noise. Just because this farmer works at the ends of the day that you dont have to work is not his fault trying to make a living.

rancher

Well done everyone, was away all day and missed the crack,
Everyone wants to live in the countryside, but have no idea of how it gets to look the way it does. Definitely that whingeing is not wanted in rural areas. A result of the celtic tiger i guess.....celtic pup maybe!!!!!

Red Sheds

Graces7 wrote: »

Wondering why the local farmers are out muck -spreading well after dark?Rows of headlights on the tractors and scraping sound on stony fields..

Cant understand why you are wondering why people are working at night, whats wrong with that? Your undertones here are making it out to be that something sinister is going on!

mikemac

Can't wait for the summer and boards.ie explodes in rage over tractors and silage crews on the road. The nerve of them to be there :eek:

Happens every summer, clearly silage crews are supposed to air lifted between fields

Dusty87

rancher wrote: »

Well done everyone, was away all day and missed the crack,
Everyone wants to live in the countryside, but have no idea of how it gets to look the way it does. Definitely that whingeing is not wanted in rural areas. A result of the celtic tiger i guess.....celtic pup maybe!!!!!

its beyond a laugh at this stage. A woman moves beside my uncles house, on her fathers land. A very nice woman actually. Before this she was living in what now is a hotel. The uncle lets this certain field anyway, and a crow banger goin off in it about 200yards from her house, which the farmer has done for the last 15 years or so for the first few weeks after sowing. She txed the uncle at half 11/12 to go out and turn in off as she cant sleep. Fair enough you say, i had a new born baby fast asleep 70yards from it. In a mobile home. Move back to your hotel. Without gettin into a town vs country thread, the countryside is not what you see in 'the animals of farthing wood', and hasn been for a very long time and its not goin to change now for other people's convenience. Not giving out about the woman as she is a nice person, just dosn understand that its not all fresh air and peaceful all the time.

jeff greene

Dusty87 wrote: »

its beyond a laugh at this stage. A woman moves beside my uncles house, on her fathers land. A very nice woman actually. Before this she was living in what now is a hotel. The uncle lets this certain field anyway, and a crow banger goin off in it about 200yards from her house, which the farmer has done for the last 15 years or so for the first few weeks after sowing. She txed the uncle at half 11/12 to go out and turn in off as she cant sleep. Fair enough you say, i had a new born baby fast asleep 70yards from it. In a mobile home. Move back to your hotel. Without gettin into a town vs country thread, the countryside is not what you see in 'the animals of farthing wood', and hasn been for a very long time and its not goin to change now for other people's convenience. Not giving out about the woman as she is a nice person, just dosn understand that its not all fresh air and peaceful all the time.

In fairness, bangers when near houses, must be turned off at night, I always do it as do my neighbours, its common courtesy. They serve no purpose on at night anyway.

keep going

i think there is two kinds of people in this world ,the people who do and the people who dont.once again this shows the difference between the people who do and the people who dont. the people who do will do what it takes to get the job done and the orther,s give out about what they are doing yet they live off the people that do. it applies to all aspects of life not just work,sport ,chartible work ,commuity work.

jeff greene

keep going wrote: »

i think there is two kinds of people in this world ,the people who do and the people who dont.once again this shows the difference between the people who do and the people who dont. the people who do will do what it takes to get the job done and the orther,s give out about what they are doing yet they live off the people that do. it applies to all aspects of life not just work,sport ,chartible work ,commuity work.

I think its more down to ignorance, they don’t understand the workings of the countryside but think they know more than you.

Dusty87

jeff greene wrote: »

In fairness, bangers when near houses, must be turned off at night, I always do it as do my neighbours, its common courtesy. They serve no purpose on at night anyway.

yea, thats fair enough, but txing the uncle, at midnight (he's old). Fair enough anyway but she's one of these sorts giving out about shooting, or hearing gun shots(lamping) at night when its gone on for years before her. Yet its ok for her dog to run around everywhere. Its ok for her to see the country as a place for that but everythin else has to stop. Im not bitchin about her, its just her way or the highway as thats the countryside she seen on tv. Basically they move out for the quietness and peace etc that they see on tv, and expect that.

Bodacious

I worked for an old man on uk cereal farm and he was pure pure class.

Boy buys house and opens himself a 3-4ft gate at bottom of garden where he proceeds to throw everything from garden waste to food waste out into headland, dog and kids out for a sh*t* in the barley etc and was still bad mouthing us in the village.

Down we go after the on a sat morning after harvest and begin to open up a 24ft gate in the hedgerow dude comes running out "what the f**k is going on?!

Cool as a breeze my old middle class gentleman farmer replies " good morning my friend and welcome to the country :)and introduced him to his Irish friend (me) i see you've opened youself a gate into my field, thats fine, i just need one a little wider one to fit this combine into your little garden when i need to dump stuff.

Gate was closed off and nice new timber garden fence erected within a week. Best piece of cool calm and collective talking i ever saw. Old boy was a genius, a seasoned master of his craft that had dealt with this town/country issue several times with similar successes:):):D:D

pakalasa

keep going wrote: »

i think there is two kinds of people in this world ,the people who do and the people who dont.once again this shows the difference between the people who do and the people who dont. the people who do will do what it takes to get the job done and the orther,s give out about what they are doing yet they live off the people that do. it applies to all aspects of life not just work,sport ,chartible work ,commuity work.

Couldn't agree more. Irish pubs are full of these types. They'll tell you 'what's wrong with this, wrong with that'. Turn around then and take a sip of their pint. Christ....you're getting me mad now!

haybob

jeff greene wrote: »

I think its more down to ignorance, they don’t understand the workings of the countryside but think they know more than you.

I agree with that and they only THINK they know more

I have come to the conclusion that city folk should not be allowed to settle in the country, they should be allowed on holiday and special dispensation could be given for breeding

blue5000

haybob wrote: »

I agree with that and they only THINK they know more

I have come to the conclusion that city folk should not be allowed to settle in the country, they should be allowed on holiday and special dispensation could be given for breeding

Yes, but not on june bank holiday weekends.

haybob

blue5000 wrote: »

Yes, but not on june bank holiday weekends.

And munster hurling and football final sundays

blue5000

Haybob sure what would you want to be goin to a munster hurling final for?:D:D:D

keep going

bet your sorry you ever said a bit,graces09,sher we are all cranky from getting no sleep

haybob

blue5000 wrote: »

Haybob sure what would you want to be goin to a munster hurling final for?:D:D:D

I expect nothing less form tipp people but
While I think ye have fine team ye have no munster crown to go with the all ireland this year

blue5000

It's nearly midnight. I'm off to put the agitator on. I'll chance leaving it running all night. The tank will be nicely agitated by the time I get up at 9am!

I'm only sorry I don't live near Bandon though.

Username John

blue5000 wrote: »

It's nearly midnight. I'm off to put the agitator on. I'll chance leaving it running all night. The tank will be nicely agitated by the time I get up at 9am!

I'm only sorry I don't live near Bandon though.

Bandon? I feel I have missed something here...

leg wax

a new neighbour moved into a house alongside our place and put up a sun room faceing our field they took down the fence that was on their side and left our single strand of electric wire, when i approached them one day to see were they putting back the fence they said no that it was up to me to control my animals, i said fine no hassel so you want me to stop my animals on my side no problem, i had 4 scap cars out side their sun room piled up when they got home from work, they came up to the house with their tails between their legs and offered to put up the fence.

blue5000

Username John wrote: »

Bandon? I feel I have missed something here...

I think OP will understand it, mods can we move this to after hours please?

johngalway

At the risk of farmer bashing in After Hours, and seeing this thread has pretty much run it's course, figure I'll close the thread.