Back Issue - Practical Farm Ideas - 94 # Aug
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Made it Myself: Self propelled log splitter• Built on junked 4x4 dumper• Goes everywhere; no tractor tied up; • Ram splits both ways, saving time • Hydraulic lift gets logs to table |  |
Soil+ Cover Cropping InternationalTwo in-depth farm visits and a third on-line. Articles which build on those in previous issues make up a growing compendium of soil and zero-till information which will benefit farmers whatever their farming methods. • The first farm we visited is the winner of the Land and Soil Management Award 2015 from the European Landowners Association. They farm difficult land prone to water erosion, some shallow soils. * They are oversowing covers into standing cereals • Our second farm in West Wales has been zero-tilling for ten years, and would not go back to the cultivator. He uses cover crops, and the report shows how well the system works for a smaller than average arable farm in a tricky climate • Our third farm visit is a return to a farm we have been to before. This champion of zero-tilling has a large scale operation with a diverse range of crops and soils. This is the third report we have made, so regular readers can follow progress and methodology, providing a real build up of information. Due to space restrictions we were unable to fit the report into the magazine, and it is viewable on-line. Must be read! • Drilling beans or wheat directly into 40 year sward produces an excellent crop |
Zero-tilled for 6 years this soil is well cultivated and enriched by worms, soil bacteria and other 'critters'
This made it myself tool handles rear wheel weights - get the full explanation in this issue |
Financial Focus: Summer time financial thoughts prepare for end of year accounts • It may be a good time to look at your finances and consider methods more than extending machinery life and deferring replacement. Plus: farmland prices in USA are falling. UK values continue to rise. What's going on? |
More Made it Myself projects
• Stone bucket for front end loader built in N Ireland farm workshop. Sifts out the soil, carries stones to trailer of hedgerow.
• Secure workshop door is built to defeat the persistent burglar. Keeps thieves out and is easy to open and make easy access
• V low cost Android based driving guide It works using a tablet or phone screen and takes free to use signals. Accurate and yet costs £150 or so.
• Rear wheel weights are changed with this home made handler They weigh 300 kg and have to be lifted and offered up to the rear wheel so three studs can be located and tightened. This tool allows one person to do the job on his/her own
• Dairy feed passage gets tiled surface it stays clean, saves feed waste, prevents digestive problems caused by mycotoxins
Farming opportunities in Zambia
| Official language is English, they drive on the left, have square electric sockets, have a stable political history and offer an exciting lifestyle |
Farm manager Stuart Rae looks after 30,000 acres with a dozen major enterprises - we describe the farm in detail |
| • Job opportunites: farm managers / livestock / machinery / contracting / food processing / agronomists and more • Farms for sale: i beef, dairy, cropping, irrigation, tobacco, vegetables, maize, feed lot • Joint venture opportunities: long term leases on 10,000ha blocks of land being taken up by German, African, Chinese businesses |
International agri journos get details of a 150ac arable farm employing 4 people |
| A week's fact finding with international agri journalists. Practical Farm Ideas editor Mike Donovan was the only British journalist to be awarded a place on the media tour which was taken up by 12 writers, from the USA, Canada, Scandanavia, Switzerland, Australia and organised by the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists. The tour was sponsored by AgriVista and AGCO. |
These centre pivot irrigators are commonplace in Zambia
Empty bush land in Zambia. Farming only uses 14% of the total |
Practical Farm Ideas #94 Issue 24-2 Aug - Nov 2015
Newsagent price £4.35 Annual subscription £16.50 *
About Soil+ Cover Cropping International
• Every farmer relies on their soil for crops and livestock.
• Raising fertility without buying fertiliser is a tempting prospect at any time, more so when farm-gate prices have dipped.
Articles published in 2013 on soil were so well received we created a special section titled Soil+ Cover Cropping, enabling arable and grassland farmers to informally share their methods and results.
