Bure Valley Farm

Autumn turns to Winter in the Bure Valley.

November – the last month of meteorological autumn. There was still a range of work I could do on my farm and also for my neighbours. I started the month by employing a worker to plough Field 1…

…That was going to take all week! In the meantime I was going to harvest a crop of Sugar Beet for a neighbour in field 18. For this I was loaned a Grimme Rexor root-crop harvester along with a Valtra Q series tractor and a trailer. I guessed, correctly, that I was taking on 2 weeks of work but I would be getting well paid.

…These large root-crop harvesters are slow and not very manoeuvrable so setting up the early cut of the field was quite tricky but fortunately there was a handy grassy area near one of the entrances. A couple of trips around the field boundary and then Cuts across the field to break it into manageable sections got the harvesting underway…

After completing the harvest at the end of the second week of November, I went to check on field 1. The work was complete and I found the tractor parked by the hedge. All that work had left the John Deere and the AgroMasz plough in need of maintenance, So I set off to the dealer’s to get them fixed…

…Then it was time to sample the soil…

During October my sown crops had germinated and the fields of Barley and Canola had sprouted. I needed to apply some fertilizer to these fields but before that I had to get Isaria Pro Compact sensors fitted to the JD 7810 (They attach to the mirrors)…

…These will detect the correct amount of fertilizer for the crop’s needs and regulate it to prevent over fertilizing the field. This is good for the environment and also my pocket – after I’ve recouped the £15000 spent on the tool. I completed the fertilizing and that was the 3rd week almost done.

I decided to do something about the lack of lighting in the farmyard. The electricians would be fitting some second-hand street street lighting and some standalone spots as we can’t attach anything to the old barns that have listed status. They will also install three sets of solar panels to help offsetting the cost of the electricity the lights will use.

In the 4th week of December I started off by applying lime to field 1 in preparation for a Spring sowing…

Then I decided to buy the triangular field beside the B1149. This was totally overgrown, so the first job was to plough it…

…in preparation for soil sampling. If you read the original posts for Bure Valley Farm, you may recall me buying this field with the intent of sowing crops. I have reviewed that decision – getting a harvester to the field would be problematic as there is nowhere to park it while attaching the header and too much traffic on the B1149! So, this time I intend to make this field a grass meadow and add to my silage production. I’ll be able to sow grass in March and the first cut will probably be in September.

Moving into Winter and December promised to be a month of selling our stored grains and silage. I know from experience that waiting for the prices to reach the absolute predicted high point is a futile gesture – it’s better to choose a price at which you’re prepared to sell. But the first job of the week was to sample the soil in the Triangle Field…

…before applying lime to adjust the pH value during a snow flurry…

In the latter half of the week I sold my Barley…

…as the price seemed good and I also sold my silage bales…

In the second week of December the wheat price was good enough, so I sold that too…

The 3rd week saw me doing a big ploughing job in field 19 for a neighbour…

…Even with the CaseIH Steiger 470 Rowtrac and the Lemken Titan plough that were loaned to me, this was an all week job but it earnt close on £19k which meant that going into the last week of December I had a good level of finances in the bank.

The final week of December was time for a difficult decision. I could afford to buy back field 14 which has had its potato crop harvested. Equally, I could afford to buy field 7 which is a grass meadow. There were other options on things to buy – I really could do with owning a front-loader or telehandler to move bags and bales around the yard (Currently I’m using the Super Person mod to move them by hand – which is somewhat unrealistic!). And, if I sold the Fendt, I could actually just about afford to buy a 260HP tractor! Decisions, decisions… Well, that is one of the key factors of this game – making choices. Ultimately I chose to buy back field 14 so that I can grow another crop. Here it is in the snow after I sampled the soil…

…It has been ploughed and some lime applied, but I can see that the pH is still low. Time to complete the liming…

All that thinking back there… Thinking is a dangerous thing… With around half the week left I took the decision to sell the Fendt 515c and buy a dedicated front-loader to handle tasks around the farm. I already need it for bales and big bags. In future I may also be storing root crops.

I did quite a bit of research before making my ‘loader choice. Some are rigid machines which offer no real advantage over fitting a front-loader to a tractor. Many can only lift around 2t which would be an issue shifting some bales. In the end I have chosen the Claas Torion 639 which can lift close on 4t and is articulated. Here it is with a big bag in the yard…

…and demonstrating its flexibility to store the lime at the side of the barn…

…That’s something the Fendt wouldn’t have been able to do!

I mentioned that lights have been installed on the farm. Here’s a view along the track that leads to the silo and the farmhouse…

…Now I don’t need a torch to find my way around😅

That’s December drawing to a close. Next post will cover the depths of winter on Bure Valley Farm. Will January and February be quiet months? We’ll find out😎