How much of your farm is mowable?

just do it

I'm talking about the land that is level enough and free of stones etc to mow and harvest silage.

I said

just do it wrote: »

I'm talking about the land that is level enough and free of stones etc to mow and harvest silage.

Around 30%

Mad4simmental

%100 of a small annof farm.

15 years ago, probably %70

freedominacup

There's rock through the surface in most paddocks and there's a few that you wouldn't send an sp crew into but almost everything is mowable. No farm has no waste.

mahoney_j

95%,I have an area rented only on a year to year basis and it's old pasture with bits of ragworth through it.notcwilling to reseed it unless 5 year lease is forthcoming .sprayed it with forefront last year and got good results but there's more up again this year

AntrimGlens

Exactly 20%. Due to rock, heavy ground and steepness the remainder has never been mowed for silage, especially now making bales they'd be everywhere once they come out the back of the baler. Thus why 2nd cut is so important to us. I do remember making hay on some of it thirty years back.

Genghis Cant

freedominacup wrote: »

. No farm has no waste.

We have a farm roadway, and some hedges. The rest is mowable.

onyerbikepat

You'd have to envy those people who can 'take out a paddock for silage' whenever they like. It must make grass management very easy. A lot of us in the West have some land that is either too wet, too stoney or just too 'cut up' from the last grazing.

Greengrass1

freedominacup wrote: »

There's rock through the surface in most paddocks and there's a few that you wouldn't send an sp crew into but almost everything is mowable. No farm has no waste.

No wonder you burn up quick.
Nope 13 acre of natural wood here that can never be touched.
Used to be an awful lot of waste here bit father has spent last 10 yrs on the saw cleaning it.
We still have about 5 acres in one 30 acre field that we cleared 5 yrs ago and never finished.
Its all grown over now again so there's plans to bring a local lad in with a mulcher in next yr.
Then we have one 12 acre field that has to be redrained. There's is still 5 bad springs in it and can't be looked at till may most yrs

weatherbyfoxer

All mowable and sowable here apart from yard, roadways,..etc

micraX

Small bit between the poly tunnels

Muckit

Very small farm here but all that we graze can be mowed.

Mad4simmental

Greengrass1 wrote: »

There's is still 5 bad springs in it and can't be looked at till may most yrs

We just got rid of a spring in the middle of one of the fields this year. Dug a sump and filled with stones & shored it out to a drain about 400 M away. Worked very good.

Greengrass1

Mad4simmental wrote: »

We just got rid of a spring in the middle of one of the fields this year. Dug a sump and filled with stones & shored it out to a drain about 400 M away. Worked very good.

We piped this field before but may be redone.
Idea I have is to put more pipes in and then stone mole it in the opisite direction

Charliebull

approx 80% other 20 with a bit of TLC could be too

Miname

Everything's mow able bar a few steep headlands. There's a couple of fields you wouldn't let everyone drive on or they could be upside down

max12

99%

Deepsouthwest

Mad4simmental wrote: »

We just got rid of a spring in the middle of one of the fields this year. Dug a sump and filled with stones & shored it out to a drain about 400 M away. Worked very good.

Do u find this a successful way of getting springs away? We're constantly draining soft patches/springs here when we get the weather. How do u know u've got the source of the spring in v dry weather? Have often taken a drain from the middle of a soft patch to the ditch even though there's no water in it when it's being done. Still seems to work when the wet weather returns, well at least most of the time

Mad4simmental

Deepsouthwest wrote: »

Do u find this a successful way of getting springs away? We're constantly draining soft patches/springs here when we get the weather. How do u know u've got the source of the spring in v dry weather? Have often taken a drain from the middle of a soft patch to the ditch even though there's no water in it when it's being done. Still seems to work when the wet weather returns, well at least most of the time

Ya this one worked very good. It was easy to spot the source on this one as the water would bubble out if the ground. We dug a sump about 1.5m deep lined with geo-textile and filled it with washed stone. Took a shore out to an existing drain on the boundary.

There is a flow of water all the time out of it. It was causing a good wet/soft spot in the deals for years that you would need Welles to go into but it's perfect now.

restive

30% mowable, the rest spends 6 months of the year under water.

whelan2

60% mowable in a good year, 30% mowable in a wet year.

ABlur

90% in a good year. Though you wouldnt call a lot of whats mowed great quality stuff. Species rich stuff!

freedominacup

ABlur wrote: »

Species rich stuff!

That's my phrase for the month sorted.

milkprofit

just do it wrote: »

I'm talking about the land that is level enough and free of stones etc to mow and harvest silage.

100 /cent but needs some drains done every year

visatorro

Rough calculation 90%

moy83

About 40% . I dont know am I jealous or shocked or jealous that so many of ye are in the 90/100% . Did I mention jealous ?

Capercaille

Around 70% in normal year. Last year was able to mow the whole lot.

just do it

Wow, 75% of respondents can mow > 70%

I'm at 35% currently and feel I can get it to maybe 80-100%. For parts of it though you've to question is it worth the investment

Muckit

just do it wrote: »

Wow, 75% of respondents can mow > 70%

I'm at 35% currently and feel I can get it to maybe 80-100%. For parts of it though you've to question is it worth the investment

Well easy put a figure on that what's land going locally? If you reclaim it has to be worth 6-7000/acre.

just do it

Muckit wrote: »

Well easy put a figure on that what's land going locally? If you reclaim it has to be worth 6-7000/acre.

Fair point. I suppose looking at it that way it's worth it if the cost of reclamation is less than the increase in value due to reclaiming it.

Damo810

As things stand, about 75-80%, with some work (which will be done hopefully) all of it bar 2 acres which is seriously steep, to the extent where some quads would struggle, the rest is fine though, lucky in that respect.

I said

just do it wrote: »

Wow, 75% of respondents can mow > 70%

I'm at 35% currently and feel I can get it to maybe 80-100%. For parts of it though you've to question is it worth the investment

Same as financially tough would be well up to 70 80% as well tring to do one field as money allows breasting trees and ditches and fencing eats it up.Have reseeded mowable ground that meets silage requirements so no pressure for rest yet

just do it

I said wrote: »

Have reseeded mowable ground that meets silage requirements so no pressure for rest yet

Same here although I've weaned some autumn calves and don't think they're thriving as well as they could as the quality just isn't in the grazing ground. An extra €50/head on 10 weanlings would pay for reseeding a few acres. Plan to try to sort out a few acres each year and look forward to the day when I'm setting aside surplus paddocks

Deepsouthwest

I think there's a lot of 'different standards' of what's mowable going on here. I've made bales on most of the grazing block this yr, a lot of poached or rough ground, not ideal ground by any means, but it was still done, I'd say my contractor not overly impressed with me! Have a friend who's forever saying his farm isn't suitable for mowing, as he never skips ground for bales and I can honestly say everytime I pass I can't see a single paddock I wouldn't face into if it was mine

KatyMac

Got a lad in with a digger this year and he buried a host of huge rocks which made a great job of a field.
Have some that's way too steep to chance letting a contractor in, so I can't/won't mow.
In a reasonable year (like this one) I've a couple of fields that can be worked with care and I plan, when finances allow, to get drainage put in.