Biofarm 2020

Water John

Is that with spraying off Wrangler, creating the dead grass?
One of yesterdays speakers also mentioned a bag of Granlime/acre each year to balance the shock of N from Urea.

wrangler

Water John wrote: »

Is that with spraying off Wrangler, creating the dead grass?
One of yesterdays speakers also mentioned a bag of Granlime/acre each year to balance the shock of N from Urea.

Both really, even with the sheep there's a fair bit of debris pulled up with the harrow.
Grass grows very thick and fast here so it's difficult to stitch in without spraying. last reseed here we sprayed and spread granlime the same time but didn't sow the grass seed for nearly a month and found it the best result so far. The reekie type harrow did the best job too as the sprayed grass was so rotten, harrow it too early and it's a pain in the arse with the debris clogging the tines and lifting it out of the ground.
The harrow isn't all it's made out to be for stitching in grass, lower fertility and thinner swards might be alright

Water John

With the leveller the neighbour pulled a lot of the debris to the headland, I think.
See your point on the harrow.

endainoz

I was speaking to a guy with western seeds about their organic seed mixes and they said it may be possible to overseed after chain harrowing and chain harrow once more followed by a quick roll. It does sound like quite a few passes on the field in a short time.

But if it worked the field would not need to be touched for a couple of years again.

Today should be interesting...

endainoz

Dr. Christine Jones was excellent once again. The point of multispecies swards has really been reinforced for me this week.

They could work perfectly fine in a conventional system yet the next drought you can guarantee these threads will be have people giving out that their ryegrass crop isn't growing.

Say my name

endainoz wrote: »

Dr. Christine Jones was excellent once again. The point of multispecies swards has really been reinforced for me this week.

They could work perfectly fine in a conventional system yet the next drought you can guarantee these threads will be have people giving out that their ryegrass crop isn't growing.

She goes a bit too far though on her attacks on ryegrass that she goes out of her dept.
A talk to that new zealand fella kiwi Pete on thefarmingforum might be in order.

endainoz

Say my name wrote: »

She goes a bit too far though on her attacks on ryegrass that she goes out of her dept.
A talk to that new zealand fella kiwi Pete on thefarmingforum might be in order.

Kiwi Pete sounds like a big scary Maori

Say my name

endainoz wrote: »

Kiwi Pete sounds like a big scary Maori

Never judge a book by it's cover.

I'm on ryegrass here. I've dropped mineral supplements. Reduced nitrogen and cut it out for the summer months.
Can see a benefit from char in slurry.
Have zero issue with cleanout. Have reduced dosing year on year. And the vet would hardly grace the yard in the year.

I could be the odd one out though on all those terrible ryegrass farmers.

*Looks for the large lump of timber to touch.

Water John

Yeah some of the ground I have moved to organic is a ryegrass silage sward, probably three species. Has done better than I thought. Now it needs more species esp know its prone to poaching and grew a great crop of dandelions this year.

Lady Haywire

Water John wrote: »

Yeah some of the ground I have moved to organic is a ryegrass silage sward, probably three species. Has done better than I thought. Now it needs more species esp know its prone to poaching and grew a great crop of dandelions this year.

Organic dandelion tea could be a niche product John

Pinsnbushings

Any key points on the multi species? I've sown 4 acres here in August as a bit of a trial not sure what to make of it yet. Sounds like the conference is very enjoyable, sorry I didn't sign up now.

Gawddawggonnit

There may be a slight misconception about conventional Irish livestock farms being well down the road of regen. They’re not.
Tillage farms can be quickly adapted. Grassland species need to be changed, and that takes time. Either way it’s a slow process.

Say my name

Gawddawggonnit wrote: »

There may be a slight misconception about conventional Irish livestock farms being well down the road of regen. They’re not.
Tillage farms can be quickly adapted. Grassland species need to be changed, and that takes time. Either way it’s a slow process.

Soil microbial community on livestock farms would be way more abundant and diverse than tillage though.
Can tillage really become regenerative after years of fungicides and pesticides sprayed on soil?
We've heard on the talks about glyphosate being detected in foods.
There's tillage farmers using glyphosate and calling themselves regenerative.
Is not just taking advantage of the regenerative title for marketing?

Water John

Well some reseeding are still using Round UP to burn off, then a pre followed by a post emergent spray on grass. If that stopped it would big start.

Say my name

Water John wrote: »

Well some reseeding are still using Round UP to burn off, then a pre followed by a post emergent spray on grass. If that stopped it would big start.

What you mean some?
It's the majority.

I'm going to get myself in more trouble.
But..glyphosate is an antibiotic. It's why it passes through the system. You spray it on you'll kill a lot of bacteria and be left with dead bacteria bodies. The soil will look darker.

endainoz

Water John wrote: »

Well some reseeding are still using Round UP to burn off, then a pre followed by a post emergent spray on grass. If that stopped it would big start.

I only heard about post emergent spray lately, seems a bit crazy to spray already growing grass again and guaranteeing it to go into the food chain.

Any idea what's in it?

Water John

Ah I'm being diplomatic. Of course Teagasc are still pushing mono ryegrass, what does it need, fertiliser. Look at the Board.

Pinsnbushings

Pinsnbushings wrote: »

Any key points on the multi species? I've sown 4 acres here in August as a bit of a trial not sure what to make of it yet. Sounds like the conference is very enjoyable, sorry I didn't sign up now.

I'd say you could contact NOTS and still sign up, at least you'd have access to the recordings that way. They won't be available to non ticket holders like they have been in previous years.

alps

Pinsnbushings wrote: »

Any key points on the multi species? I've sown 4 acres here in August as a bit of a trial not sure what to make of it yet. Sounds like the conference is very enjoyable, sorry I didn't sign up now.

Little bit here that graise put up yesterday

https://twitter.com/JCBarenbrugNZ/status/1325502092962721793?s=09

A bit of inconsistency in the advise though as a speaker said during the week that if you hit the crown of the plantain plant it wont come back..

Birdnuts

An old farmer told me years ago that a well minded grassland soil will have a variety of mushrooms and fungi in general at this time of year - how much Irish grassland could that be said of these days??:(

wrangler

Birdnuts wrote: »

An old farmer told me years ago that a well minded grassland soil will have a variety of mushrooms and fungi in general at this time of year - how much Irish grassland could that be said of these days??:(

Well minded grassland means something different now than 50/100 years ago

Pinsnbushings

Deleted User wrote: »

I'd say you could contact NOTS and still sign up, at least you'd have access to the recordings that way. They won't be available to non ticket holders like they have been in previous years.

Good shout, I had a look on the website and not too late to buy the ticket and have lifetime access to the videos.

Birdnuts

wrangler wrote: »

Well minded grassland means something different now than 50/100 years ago

Continuing to blitz it with the likes of chem fert and roundup will not see it in good shape to sustain future generations of farmers or where increasing numbers of consumers and governments want to see farming going.

Say my name

Birdnuts wrote: »

An old farmer told me years ago that a well minded grassland soil will have a variety of mushrooms and fungi in general at this time of year - how much Irish grassland could that be said of these days??:(

You'll get those tiny inch high toadstools just up to lately.
The white field mushrooms come end of July, August. Especially when dry weather is ended by rain.
There's another white mushroom that came where horses were grazed.

I think there's a link between increased phosphorus application and a decrease in mushrooms. It could be a specific phosphorus.

Water John

Birdnuts is trying to source his supply, this is the time of the year for a bit of a 'trip'.

Gawddawggonnit

Water John wrote: »

Ah I'm being diplomatic. Of course Teagasc are still pushing mono ryegrass, what does it need, fertiliser. Look at the Board.

Nailed it.

Nothing ruins soil biology like artificial N.

I’m not entirely comfortable with the cult or religion that regen has become...one can be an extreme fundamentalist type shouting down glyphosate use (etc) or one can take from it like any ordinary commercial farm that’s just trying to make a sustainable income.
Environment, economics and politics will eventually dictate the direction we take.

Say my name

Water John wrote: »

Birdnuts is trying to source his supply, this is the time of the year for a bit of a 'trip'.

Get you now.
Teddys bear picnic job.

Say my name

The day is getting closer that antibiotic resistance in humans and animals will be linked to glyphosate.
The wolf has been kept from the door for this long. But if antibiotic use goes down in animals and antibiotic resistance is still going up in humans then those guns will be turned on glyphosate.
Whether farmers care or not what their legacy has been on this planet I'd say the answer is known.
This will not end soon.

Edit: just to say this is not new. Herbicide use and antibiotic resistance was known about years ago. It's just not as if people would shout it from the rooftops.
2nd edit: and worse prescribed antibiotic use in animals might never go down if they continue to get feed with gly. Ok I'll stop now..

Pinsnbushings

alps wrote: »

Little bit here that graise put up yesterday

https://twitter.com/JCBarenbrugNZ/status/1325502092962721793?s=09

A bit of inconsistency in the advise though as a speaker said during the week that if you hit the crown of the plantain plant it wont come back..

I gave mine a light grazing with the calves about 5/6 weeks ago shortly after taking the photo attached. Going by that video I may have been in a bit soon?