Are We Heading For Another Dry Summer ?

[marsh man]

Around our way we have had very little in way of a good rain fall for ages , irrigation have been going on the different crops virtually non stop for the last few weeks , today was one of those hot humid days that attract every fly in East Anglia once you lay a pigeon down in your hide , but no sign of rain .

I know it's early days. but if the dry weather continue we will be looking at another early harvest and more problems for the live stock farmers .

[Ratlegs]

In Lincolnshire there used to be a saying

If the Oak is out before the Ash we will have a splash

If the Ash is outbefore the Oak we will have a soak

up to now the Oak is well in front

Could be dry

[GingerCat]

I planted numerous roses and other things today and couldnt help but notice how dry the soil was even some depth down. It's been very dry with no real rainfall for while. 

Similar to last year. Have to wait and see I guess. 

[JDog]

I hope so. My moods are considerably improved on sunny and warm days.

[oldypigeonpopper]

12 minutes ago, JDog said:

I hope so. My moods are considerably improved on sunny and warm days.

hello, have you not been fishing lately J D ?

[hawkfanz]

bin rainin here most of night,,,,still chuckin it down now,barley is 3 feet high now.

[JDog]

10 hours ago, oldypigeonpopper said:

hello, have you not been fishing lately J D ?

Yes I have been fishing a few times. My best session, when I was surrounded by serenading Reed warblers, I caught nine tench, four bream and three crucial carp. Last time out I caught a few but was largely an enthralled spectator as I watched the only other fisherman on the pond catch some real beauties on cockles.

[oldypigeonpopper]

16 minutes ago, JDog said:

Yes I have been fishing a few times. My best session, when I was surrounded by serenading Reed warblers, I caught nine tench, four bream and three crucial carp. Last time out I caught a few but was largely an enthralled spectator as I watched the only other fisherman on the pond catch some real beauties on cockles.

hello, now that sounds a nice fishing day, it been a long time since i have heard any reed warblers, last time  on the river Avon in Wiltshire 20 years ago,   we use to use fresh water mussels for catching tench in a large deep gravel pit, just shows you do not always need the humble maggot,   cheers

Edited May 26, 2019 by oldypigeonpopper

[marsh man]

10 hours ago, JMikeyH said:

Forgive my ignorance but what effect will a dry summer have for pigeon shooting? Is it better for us to have a dry summer (I'm new, can you tell?)

If we end up with the same dry conditions we had last year you can more or less forget about shooting over laid cereals , on the plus side we had one of the earliest starts for the harvest ever ( July 11th ) , and then when they started it was non stop for 17 days , another record . this created stubble everywhere and the pigeons had a vast choice of fields to feed on , although at the moment the stubble shooting have got quite a few question marks to contend with this years harvest 

[BenBhoy]

On 25/05/2019 at 22:22, JMikeyH said:

Forgive my ignorance but what effect will a dry summer have for pigeon shooting? Is it better for us to have a dry summer (I'm new, can you tell?)

 Heavy rain on well grown crop causes it to 'flop' down. This is called a layed crop & is attractive to pigeon as they can feed on the seedhead as its pressed to ground.

[oldypigeonpopper]

2 hours ago, BenBhoy said:

 Heavy rain on well grown crop causes it to 'flop' down. This is called a layed crop & is attractive to pigeon as they can feed on the seedhead as its pressed to ground.

hello the right term for the above is called Lodge, barley and wheat grows in stages and when reaching stage 7 termed milky that is when pigeons and blackies start to feed on the fields, i spent many days out in the fields and farms with an Agronomist friend working for a division of Shell 

Edited May 27, 2019 by oldypigeonpopper
more info

[BenBhoy]

36 minutes ago, oldypigeonpopper said:

hello the right term for the above is called Lodge, barley and wheat grows in stages and when reaching stage 7 termed milky that is when pigeons and blackies start to feed on the fields, i spent many days out in the fields and farms with an Agronomist friend working for a division of Shell 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lodging_(agriculture)

Not a term I've heard before, thanks @oldypigeonpopper everyday a school day!

[marsh man]

24 minutes ago, oldypigeonpopper said:

hello the right term for the above is called Lodge, barley and wheat grows in stages and when reaching stage 7 termed milky that is when pigeons and blackies start to feed on the fields, i spent many days out in the fields and farms with an Agronomist friend working for a division of Shell 

You might well be right for the correct meaning of the crop been knocked about due to wind and rain , but I think each county have there own way of describing the same thing , we have always known it as laid if a large area have gone down , or blown if there are only odd patches that have gone down .

Having said that , in this day and age if we don't get the rough weather in what you call stage 7 , or known to us as the milky stage it is very unlikely it will go down due to the shorter and longer stems .

[oldypigeonpopper]

1 minute ago, BenBhoy said:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lodging_(agriculture)

Not a term I've heard before, thanks @oldypigeonpopper everyday a school day!

hello, well i did not know either and i have been shooting years before that, he moved up to Yorkshire to do more research on the type of seeds we have today  

[oldypigeonpopper]

6 minutes ago, marsh man said:

You might well be right for the correct meaning of the crop been knocked about due to wind and rain , but I think each county have there own way of describing the same thing , we have always known it as laid if a large area have gone down , or blown if there are only odd patches that have gone down .

Having said that , in this day and age if we don't get the rough weather in what you call stage 7 , or known to us as the milky stage it is very unlikely it will go down due to the shorter and longer stems .

hello, your right marshman, last year i was hoping for some shooting on 2 fields of barley, despite some inclement weather there was hardly any laid down and never got the pigeons or blackies like i hoped, but it was a very good yield, 

[BenBhoy]

Our neighbouring farmer grows wheat & OSR. He was telling me of advances in crop development,  dwarf varieties which are less prone to 'lodging' etc. 

[motty]

On ‎26‎/‎05‎/‎2019 at 09:28, marsh man said:

If we end up with the same dry conditions we had last year you can more or less forget about shooting over laid cereals , on the plus side we had one of the earliest starts for the harvest ever ( July 11th ) , and then when they started it was non stop for 17 days , another record . this created stubble everywhere and the pigeons had a vast choice of fields to feed on , although at the moment the stubble shooting have got quite a few question marks to contend with this years harvest 

Oh, I'm not too sure. Last year I had bags of 130 and 180 on laid barley, despite the lack of rain. Hopefully I will have similar this year.

[motty]

4 hours ago, BenBhoy said:

Our neighbouring farmer grows wheat & OSR. He was telling me of advances in crop development,  dwarf varieties which are less prone to 'lodging' etc. 

Some short stem varieties of wheat are prone to pigeons landing on with outstretched wings, so I am told.

[marsh man]

8 minutes ago, motty said:

Oh, I'm not too sure. Last year I had bags of 130 and 180 on laid barley, despite the lack of rain. Hopefully I will have similar this year.

Could well have been a different variety, or the land had a lot of spraying done on the previous crop . we never had any sizeable patches worth shooting , odd little bits but nothing to write home about .