Odd one, maybe a farmer among us can answer this?

[RossEM]

Hello all.

 

A field on one of my permissions is made up of about 50% wheat, 30% oats and 20% of something that looks like grass, all sown in together at random.

Is this some sort of fodder crop for animal feed, or has somebody ****** up big time?

 

Cheers, Ross.

[badshot]

I'l have a stab at this one. It could be several things.

 

My first guess is it is organic wheat which is infested with wild oats and black grass.

 

 

Second guess is it didn't establish well and they didn't want to spend too much on it.

If the oats have a black tail then they are definitely wild.

 

Otherwise it is a case of someone missed the spray window for that field and what you are seeing is the result, wouldn't make very nice bread, would it?

 

It could also be a mix for feed as you say.

[Ozzy Fudd]

i wou have said mix for feed first

[badshot]

You could still be right babby

[Ozzy Fudd]

You could still be right babby

 

that would be a complete first

[Baldrick]

That's an interesting one. On the presumption that the remainder of the farm is cropped normally and cleanly, it must be either a fodder mix, or a rather odd crop trial for a local seed merchant/agronomist. It could just be in incompetence on a hilarious scale, where none of the oats have been rogued and the blackgrass/brome has got a little out of hand.

[Highlander]

If the farm is dairy or has animals rather than arable then it's probably 'All Crop' a fodder mix which will also have peas in it. Farmer will cut and bail like silage. Used mainly for dairy cattle as it's highly nutritious.

 

If the farm has no animals then probably a cock up BUT farmers being mostly of Scottish extraction don't usually make that kind of mistake.

[lapwing]

Maybe a grass ley undersown under wheat, with wild oats not sprayed because of the grass? We always use barley as a nurse crop, but I suppose you could use a thin spring wheat but I would have thought there is too much scope for tillering to swamp out the grass?

[Westcountryman]

If the farm is dairy or has animals rather than arable then it's probably 'All Crop' a fodder mix which will also have peas in it. Farmer will cut and bail like silage. Used mainly for dairy cattle as it's highly nutritious.

 

If the farm has no animals then probably a cock up BUT farmers being mostly of Scottish extraction don't usually make that kind of mistake.

 

Interesting!

 

I have seen this recently and it's joking referred to as Muesli crop.

[Delbert]

Our farmer has plenty of wild oats growing in both barley and wheat along with the usual grasses as the seeds are smaller than

than the crop and are easily separated at combining there is no reason to waste money on herbcides.

[discreet hunter]

dont know

[Edward]

^^really useful

 

Maybe is is wheat, with some really bad wild oats and blackgrass

Edited August 18, 2009 by EdwardtheloneShooter

[mr salt]

food for cattle or game.

scott

[activeviii]

one of the feilds here was washed out in all the rain in the winter so they re drilled with wheat. the crop was a right mix when it came up but the crows loved it.

 

 

 

 

and the roe. hehe.

[Tommo]

One of my perm's has a couple of fields grown like this. They have sown a low growing barley with rye and some sort of other low growing grass. When it gets to a ft high they cut like silage and bale and wrap. Game birds love it so much so l've seen at least 8 broods of partridge and a couple of phesants. Hares love it and so do the deer!! The other thing as well is that it come back quick too -- i think they have cut one of the fields three times at least now -

[Baldrick]

One of my perm's has a couple of fields grown like this. They have sown a low growing barley with rye and some sort of other low growing grass. When it gets to a ft high they cut like silage and bale and wrap. Game birds love it so much so l've seen at least 8 broods of partridge and a couple of phesants. Hares love it and so do the deer!! The other thing as well is that it come back quick too -- i think they have cut one of the fields three times at least now -

 

The process of gathering a crop in that manner is known as 'whole-cropping', if you're interested. It will regenerate quite quickly. It's often used as a means of salvaging some income from a field of wheat or barley that has, by disease or damage, been rendered useless for the feed or milling trades.