Cranfield Posted October 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2015 Are people confusing cover crops with green manure, or is there game shooting on the land? The farmers call green manure "cover crops". I think the confusion could exist between "game cover crops" and "cover crops". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjimmer Posted October 6, 2015 Report Share Posted October 6, 2015 The farmers call green manure "cover crops". Never heard that before. Might be a regional thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenhunter Posted October 6, 2015 Report Share Posted October 6, 2015 No rape for third year running on one farm. The others never have grown it. He's gone over to peas and mustard cover crop followed by sugar beet on the wheat/barley stubbles. I never did any good on the rape but the peas don't seem any better at drawing the birds in round here. GH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitchrat Posted October 6, 2015 Report Share Posted October 6, 2015 The two farmers over whose farm I shoot have said in Essex have said they are putting in less rape due to the changes in the coating to the seed. Evidently the coating prevents against a particular beetle but this has/is about to be banned thus meaning the crop is more susceptible to the beetle. With that and other factors, it seems a bit of a loss maker in their eyes. Yes, the flea beetle - devastated several fields near me last year. The coating is "said" to hurt bees. I though the EU had had second thoughts on this one though as some farmers sprayed it with the stuff instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roughdiamond49 Posted October 9, 2015 Report Share Posted October 9, 2015 We are only growing a small acreage of rape this year due to low returns on it at harvest this year and flea beetle damage in 2014 . Good news, is that we are growing peas next spring instead for the first time in 11 years ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FalconFN Posted October 9, 2015 Report Share Posted October 9, 2015 (edited) Unusually no rape on my permissions either, but it is being replaced with beans, plus the usual barley and wheat. The beans have an EU grant payment attached I believe, as they fix nitrogen and improve soil quality so the next crop in won't need as much fertiliser. There was one bean field last year but it never seemed to be hit by pigeons much. Edited October 9, 2015 by FalconFN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortune Posted October 9, 2015 Report Share Posted October 9, 2015 I was told today that the offered price for rape next year would return (£2 Two pounds) profit per ton, Maybe. The farm in question is planting 50 odd hectares due to rotation but already some had had to be resown because the slugs were damaging the plants. So any profit was gone already. every one was planting pulses which had already knocked the back out of that one also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted October 10, 2015 Report Share Posted October 10, 2015 a lot of farmers are planting rape on "virgin" land as they can get a premium for it ....usually from Mc Donalds...kentucky fry and the like......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortune Posted October 11, 2015 Report Share Posted October 11, 2015 A farmer that I was speaking to the other day also said that every Avenue had been explored and that it was it was a case of losing the least money because every alternative crop had been over planted and the prices are falling through the floor on all of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookie69 Posted October 20, 2015 Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 One of my farmers told me today he hasn't planted any rape, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitchrat Posted October 20, 2015 Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 One of my farmers, who didn't let me shoot his rape last year because of the pheasants, (it was decimated) said it yielded so badly he's not planted any this year. Helloooooooo??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catamong Posted October 20, 2015 Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 A massive acreage been drilled yet again around these parts, no sign of any reduction. Cat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted October 21, 2015 Report Share Posted October 21, 2015 Quite a bit of rape on my shoot this year, which will mean the chance of some winter pigeon shooting as the fields are all away from the game covers and drives, and the potential for some good days during harvest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dad Posted October 21, 2015 Report Share Posted October 21, 2015 One of my farmers, who didn't let me shoot his rape last year because of the pheasants, (it was decimated) said it yielded so badly he's not planted any this year. Helloooooooo??? i had the same, 2 fields in the middle of a pheasant drive worse rape i have ever seen pigeons were all over it november till feb, we shot over 200 off it in 3 weeks in feb but it was too late to save it, they got less than a ton a hectare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clanchief Posted October 21, 2015 Report Share Posted October 21, 2015 Due to poor weather the last two years my farmer has not sown any crops, his friend nearby has only just taken in the summer Barley, its been so cold and wet up here that the crops have not matured in the west of Scotland, plenty of birds o the beech and Oaks, wheat to buy for cattle feed is cheap this year I'm told. Chiefy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael170874 Posted October 21, 2015 Report Share Posted October 21, 2015 Plenty rape on my farms Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitchrat Posted October 21, 2015 Report Share Posted October 21, 2015 i had the same, 2 fields in the middle of a pheasant drive worse rape i have ever seen pigeons were all over it november till feb, we shot over 200 off it in 3 weeks in feb but it was too late to save it, they got less than a ton a hectare. At least you had the 200 off it. In feb they cut most of the game cover up but a little strip was left. Pigeons all over what remained of the rape, plus the smashed maize. 1000's of them. I sat up a tiny hide in the remaining strip and sat there for 4 hours without seeing ONE pigeon within 400 yards. My only blank in about the last 5 years!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Columba Grey Posted November 15, 2015 Report Share Posted November 15, 2015 In NI some farmers have decided not to go for rape this year. One I spoke to cited the Reason as the late harvest and the cold weather in September. He needs a good growth spurt to carry it through the winter and feared that this year he wasn't going to have that growth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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