Changes to benefit the environment...

Roen

kollegeknight wrote: »

Not one germinated. I threw out a few boxes of wild flower seed yesterday. We used a cloche a few weeks ago for a fairy garden for the small lady and they’re flying up so we widened our scope.

Bit of a trend emerging with those things.

80sDiesel

Was under some mature synamore trees today and they were abuzz with bees. Seemingly they flower early and are a great source of polen and nectar.

And I was so tempted to cut them down some day but will leave them now.

wrangler

80sDiesel wrote: »

Was under some mature synamore trees today and they were abuzz with bees. Seemingly they flower early and are a great source of polen and nectar.

And I was so tempted to cut them down some day but will leave them now.

We've a cotoneaster hedge in the yard here and it has been thick with bees the last few days, massive buzzing noise out of it all day

uck51js9zml2yt

wrangler wrote: »

We've a cotoneaster hedge in the yard here and it has been thick with bees the last few days, massive buzzing noise out of it all day

I've the same. About 20-30 bumbles at one plant the last few days

PoorFarmer

wrangler wrote:

We've a cotoneaster hedge in the yard here and it has been thick with bees the last few days, massive buzzing noise out of it all day

We have it here too. Hate the look of it but is black with bees for most of the summer so I let it be.

Muckit

Base price wrote: »

I didn't know what those flowers were either. I haven't heard the cuckoo......

Here is pic of my cattle in the LIPP. Place covered in the cuckoo flowers. I 've heard
the cuckoo around here yesterday evening

kollegeknight

Plenty of cuckoo flowers here too. Mostly in the bog. Just heard the cuckoo for the first time this year last week.

Birdnuts

Muckit wrote: »

Here is pic of my cattle in the LIPP. Place covered in the cuckoo flowers. I 've heard
the cuckoo around here yesterday evening

Main foodplant for the wonderfull Orange Tip Butterfly. From now on your should be able to see the tiny orange eggs near the flower head

Base price

Birdnuts wrote: »

Main foodplant for the wonderfull Orange Tip Butterfly. From now on your should be able to see the tiny orange eggs near the flower head

TBH I don't have a clue about the majority of our non-mammalian species.
However I decided to try and educate myself and recently bought two swatches from Biodiversity Ireland (http://www.biodiversityireland.ie/shop/). One is for flutterbys and the other is for bees.

gozunda

Base price wrote: »

TBH I don't have a clue about the majority of our non-mammalian species.
However I decided to try and educate myself and recently bought two swatches from Biodiversity Ireland (http://www.biodiversityireland.ie/shop/). One is for flutterbys and the other is for bees.

Its an interest from the time I was a kid. I'd borrow a guide book from the library and disappear down the fields. Still try to do a bit when I've time.

80sDiesel

Birdnuts wrote: »

Muckit wrote: »

Here is pic of my cattle in the LIPP. Place covered in the cuckoo flowers.  I 've heard
the cuckoo around here yesterday evening

Main foodplant for the wonderfull Orange Tip Butterfly. From now on your should be able to see the tiny orange eggs near the flower head

Will see if I can find any in my fields.

80sDiesel

Double post

80sDiesel

Double post

PoorFarmer

Seen the first Cinnibar moth of the year this morning. Hopefully will keep my neighbours ragworth down

yosemitesam1

Birdnuts wrote: »

Main foodplant for the wonderfull Orange Tip Butterfly. From now on your should be able to see the tiny orange eggs near the flower head

Seen a lot of those at a few different spots this year. Didn't notice any cuckoo flowers anywhere

uck51js9zml2yt

I just threw a few packs of wildflower and bee mix on the verges of my veg plot.

Will see what happens.

Gawddawggonnit

28ha field and not going to get the chainsaw to this little oak tree. That’s my contribution for now.

Willfarman

Gawddawggonnit wrote: »

28ha field and not going to get the chainsaw to this little oak tree. That’s my contribution for now.

I’d transplant him to a more suitable location next November all the same!

grassroot1

Wouldn't it be a grand place for row of oaks

PoorFarmer

I wonder will the climate emergency announced yesterday be administered to farmers with a stick or a carrot? TBH I cant see government spending big on any changes they want us to make.

gozunda

PoorFarmer wrote: »

I wonder will the climate emergency announced yesterday be administered to farmers with a stick or a carrot? TBH I cant see government spending big on any changes they want us to make.

It's a sop to placate the screamers. Thats all.

grassroot1

PoorFarmer wrote:

I wonder will the climate emergency announced yesterday be administered to farmers with a stick or a carrot? TBH I cant see government spending big on any changes they want us to make.

Plus 100% If the government want change in farming methods or livestock numbers they need to pay farmers to change practice. We cannot do it without compensation.
The rest of society will also have to make lifestyle changes and cut back in energy and natural resource use.
Can't see either happening, yesterday was just a ploy to be seen to be doing something rather than actually taking action

Capercaillie

gozunda wrote: »

It's a sop to placate the screamers. Thats all.

Government/IFA have zero interest in biodiversity.

Say my name

PoorFarmer wrote: »

I wonder will the climate emergency announced yesterday be administered to farmers with a stick or a carrot? TBH I cant see government spending big on any changes they want us to make.

It's teagasc advice going to government offices so it'll be based on maintaining revenue and output coming out of agriculture to government, secondary industries and management advice.
Carbon tax will be looked for to boost government coffers and then some schemes will be introduced to get farmers to jump through hoops to get some back.

Carbon sequestration or carbon trading won't get a look in.
Money is the ruler. There's no real interest in climate change from this government. It's a window dressing exercise.

Carbon should be the currency.

_Brian

PoorFarmer wrote: »

I wonder will the climate emergency announced yesterday be administered to farmers with a stick or a carrot? TBH I cant see government spending big on any changes they want us to make.

I read the Oireachtas Report that is being used, Section 8 relates to farming and from what I can see mostly it just recommends setting up some quangos to further research and more knowledge transfer stuff from Teagasc


It recognises the low margins in the business and so questions if taxation is the way forward..



I also recently read an interesting article about Greta Thunburg and other cases where children were used to spearhead changes. The jist was that its often undemocratic as nobody can really be seen to challenge a child publicly even of they are correct in doing so, personally I think she is being used as a puppet to further this cause for that very reason..


Start questioning a kid like that in public and you'll very quickly be deemed a total monster.


We have two corners that have been allowed to wild out, their not big but we don't farm that much land so everything has to be in proportion.


We grow on hedges big and bushy.


While we have eliminated lots of gorse, one patch remains and providing the dept dont request it we probably won't scrub it out.


I've started paying more attention and recording our wildlife on the biodiversity website, seeing new things, finding out what they are and recording them is a great way to see just how diverse your farm is.
https://records.biodiversityireland.ie/


Was digging a trench and laying a hedge recently on the edge of a site on the farm, I was disappointed at how few worms we see, this isnt a heavily fertilised or slurried area - nothing in years in this site, just very few earthworms.

gozunda

_Brian wrote: »

I..
Was digging a trench and laying a hedge recently on the edge of a site on the farm, I was disappointed at how few worms we see, this isnt a heavily fertilised or slurried area - nothing in years in this site, just very few earthworms.

Regarding the earthworms. Earthworms like soils with lots of organic matter. Soils prone to flooding or gley type soils in areas with even a seasonally high watertable discourages earthworm activity. A great way to encourage earthworms is to add humus such as well rotted fym to an area - guaranteed they will turn up like holiday makers on a beach in July

PoorFarmer

_Brian wrote:

I've started paying more attention and recording our wildlife on the biodiversity website, seeing new things, finding out what they are and recording them is a great way to see just how diverse your farm is.

Do this myself and just save them on an excel file but didnt realise there was an app/website to record on. Thanks

_Brian

gozunda wrote: »

Regarding the earthworms. Earthworms like soils with lots of organic matter. Soils prone to flooding or gley type soils in areas with even a seasonally high watertable discourages earthworm activity. A great way to encourage earthworms is to add humus such as well rotted fym to an area - guaranteed they will turn up like holiday makers on a beach in July

Yea.
Part of this had the blue glar right to the surface, wouldn’t encourage much 🙄

_Brian

PoorFarmer wrote: »

Do this myself and just save them on an excel file but didnt realise there was an app/website to record on. Thanks

I’ve downloaded the app on iPhone but it’s not great tbh, the website is easy though.

_Brian

I thought this “citizen science” project was a great way to collect loads of data.
Farmers and people were encouraged to sample their land and submit the results on earthworm populations in 20cm cube digs.
Showed a decline in earthworms which I suppose is what we would all expect to see considering so much slurry and artificial fertiliser compared to FYM that used to be spread.

https://www.earthwormwatch.org/welcome-science-education

gozunda

_Brian wrote: »

I thought this “citizen science” project was a great way to collect loads of data.
Farmers and people were encouraged to sample their land and submit the results on earthworm populations in 20cm cube digs.
Showed a decline in earthworms which I suppose is what we would all expect to see considering so much slurry and artificial fertiliser compared to FYM that used to be spread.

https://www.earthwormwatch.org/welcome-science-education

Interesting site. Looking at the surveys they did so far in the UK I think it was mainly of garden plots (?) with the result showing that:

The data you have submitted so far demonstrates that the highest density of earthworms occurred in vegetable beds. These are regularly dug over and contain a high degree of nutrients, including organic matter.

This is great news for families and gardeners who manage a vegetable patch and dig in organic matter such as well-rotted manure, compost, leaf-mould, or compost bark. It suggests that well-kept lawns aren’t the best habitat for earthworms, despite less disturbance from digging.

I reckon a similar result would be found in domestic gardens here tbh...

Muckit

_Brian wrote: »

...
Showed a decline in earthworms which I suppose is what we would all expect to see considering so much slurry and artificial fertiliser compared to FYM that used to be spread.

FYM is without doubt a great soil Improver. But unless we are all going to go back to mixed farming and we all having a bit of tillage (our own straw) and using loose bedded sheds exclusively, then the scientists and researchers will need to guide us with modern farming practice.

Animal waste, l would think is most commonly stored and spread on land in the form of slurry.
Has there been studies done to show the effect (if any slurry application method has on earthworm population?
Are there cost effective products that could be added to slurry that would emulate that benefits of FYM?
Are there other organic matter products that could be bought and used to increase soil organic matter?

Water John

What would be a win/win is anerobic digestion, and be an answer to a number of your very good questions. Liquid digestate can be spread with little emissions on grazing grass. The solids from AD can be composted.

_Brian

Muckit wrote: »

FYM is without doubt a great soil Improver. But unless we are all going to go back to mixed farming and we all having a bit of tillage (our own straw) and using loose bedded sheds exclusively, then the scientists and researchers will need to guide us with modern farming practice.

Animal waste, l would think is most commonly stored and spread on land in the form of slurry.
Has there been studies done to show the effect (if any slurry application method has on earthworm population?
Are there cost effective products that could be added to slurry that would emulate that benefits of FYM?
Are there other organic matter products that could be bought and used to increase soil organic matter?

Slurry could be dewatered and the dry matter stores and spread like FYM.
I think the dirty water could be spread with less damage to soils.

More cost and more time in antight margins system is never an option though.

Is slurry injection any better for worm numbers I wonder.

Birdnuts

_Brian wrote: »

Slurry could be dewatered and the dry matter stores and spread like FYM.
I think the dirty water could be spread with less damage to soils.

More cost and more time in antight margins system is never an option though.

Is slurry injection any better for worm numbers I wonder.

Less issues with run-off too. I know a couple of smaller farmers that are near enough organic to the extent that the only thing they put on the fields is FYM. You can tell by the diverse array of fungi,herbs and soil invertebrates that the humus content etc. is in top order in such fields. These guys also run some of the finest stock in the place with mush reduced issues with stomach worms and the like compared to standard operators nearby. If this government and relevant agencies were that serious about all the green blather they come out with, this is the type of farming model that should be supported instead of trying to hoodwink people with empty virtue signalling in the Dail

Birdnuts

gozunda wrote: »

I



I reckon a similar result would be found in domestic gardens here tbh...

Slug Pellets and certain other certain other commonly used garden pesticides are known to damage many earthworm species/populations

Birdnuts

_Brian wrote: »

I also recently read an interesting article about Greta Thunburg and other cases where children were used to spearhead changes. The jist was that its often undemocratic as nobody can really be seen to challenge a child publicly even of they are correct in doing so, personally I think she is being used as a puppet to further this cause for that very reason..


Start questioning a kid like that in public and you'll very quickly be deemed a total monster.

Greta Thunberg is a child with learning difficulties. I would rather see sound science used here then pointless feelgood Greenwash Celebrity worship that is getting in the way of addressing the real issues. We are certainly facing an extinction crisis - but I'm far from convinced that the climate is the big issue - traditional drivers of extinction like direct habit destruction, pollution(particulary marine plastic), industiral fishing,illegal killing and trade in protected species etc. are far more important drivers of this crisis. What we need to see from this government and the EU is a radical reform of CAP, Common Fisheries policies etc. until that time I cannot take the polical system seriously on these matters

Say my name

Water John wrote: »

What would be a win/win is anerobic digestion, and be an answer to a number of your very good questions. Liquid digestate can be spread with little emissions on grazing grass. The solids from AD can be composted.

I was at a biochar meeting and most of the opportunities those from the ag side were coming out with was on the A.D side. Turn the digestate to biochar.
Personally on a small scale I think there's great scope to grow your own biomass and turn it yourself into biochar and dump it into the slurry tanks and sequester carbon through your char and reduce or eliminate your emissions from your slurry and have a great product for your fields then.

In Oz. There's a company selling biochar made from poultry manure. So they're hitting it from getting a waste product and dealing with any botulism issues for the users. Users buying it are putting it on fields that have heavy metal issues.

Edit: Roughly on topic. But did anyone catch the biochar webinar advertised by the farmers journal?
I missed it. :rolleyes:

80sDiesel

Stupid question but isn't slurry the same as fym. How does it differ?

Water John

The worms would tell you it's different.

ganmo

80sDiesel wrote: »

Stupid question but isn't slurry the same as fym. How does it differ?

Slurry is the crap and piss only and is liquid
Fym is crap piss and straw and is solid and normally composts a bit before being spread

_Brian

Birdnuts wrote: »

Main foodplant for the wonderfull Orange Tip Butterfly. From now on your should be able to see the tiny orange eggs near the flower head

One meadow we have is teeming with the orange tip's, and mining bees.

Muckit

Spotted these growing in shady ditch on the farm. Can anyone identify? Is it vetch?

yosemitesam1

Muckit wrote: »

Spotted these growing in shady ditch on the farm. Can anyone identify? Is it vetch?

Definitely not vetch but no idea what it is

Lime Tree Farm

Muckit wrote: »

Spotted these growing in shady ditch on the farm. Can anyone identify? Is it vetch?

I think it is a hybrid bluebell, a cross between the native bluebell and the Spanish bluebell. (Hyacinthoides x massartiana)

PoorFarmer

http://www.wildflowersofireland.net/plants_by_colour.php?id_group=1&colour=Blue%20and%20Purple%20Wildflowers

Anyone of these?

Birdnuts

Muckit wrote: »

Spotted these growing in shady ditch on the farm. Can anyone identify? Is it vetch?

I'm 99% sures its Common Milkwort

Muckit

Thanks all. Very interesting stuff. It's amazing all the plants that could be growing and you'd be passing by them for years until you deliberately take a closer look.

Dinzee Conlee

So - I have a field, that furze is coming back into in a big way, and I need to do something with it...

Field is not accessible by tractor, so whatever will be done, it will have to be done by hand.

I am thinking spraying with Grazon is kinda the only option, but interested to hear if I have any other options...

Putting it in here, even though it kinda goes against what this thread is about. Unfortunately I cant let the field go wild with furze (which will happen in a few years if I do nothing) but I'm not gone on spraying either...

So - any suggestions?

endainoz

Dinzee Conlee wrote:

Field is not accessible by tractor, so whatever will be done, it will have to be done by hand.

Dinzee Conlee wrote:

I am thinking spraying with Grazon is kinda the only option, but interested to hear if I have any other options...

Dinzee Conlee wrote:

Putting it in here, even though it kinda goes against what this thread is about. Unfortunately I cant let the field go wild with furze (which will happen in a few years if I do nothing) but I'm not gone on spraying either...

I had heard of lads feeding furze to horses in olden times. If it were possible to put some in there and fence it off? I know shag all about horses or their diet though but maybe someone here might.