Harry’s Farm

Author
Discussion

Smollet

Original Poster:

13,274 posts

204 months

Friday 8th November 2024
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As the Harry’s Garsge thread had become very OT since Reeves imposed a draconian tax on farms I thought I’d start onehere for our favourite agricultural automobilist.

gruffgriff

1,914 posts

257 months

Friday 8th November 2024
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Looking forward to some tilthy chat.

Doofus

30,607 posts

187 months

Friday 8th November 2024
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Smollet said:
... automobilist.
Can we leave the car chat in the correct thread please?

Smollet

Original Poster:

13,274 posts

204 months

Friday 8th November 2024
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Doofus said:
Smollet said:
... automobilist.
Can we leave the car chat in the correct thread please?
Ho ho

Old Man Peabody

669 posts

221 months

Friday 8th November 2024
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I think after the latest announcement, a separate thread is a good idea.

That also means I can ask a question I've been wanting to for ages if Harry himself is reading (and has the time to answer):

What are the names of the fields and do any of the names have a good story behind them?

Every now and then when a name is mentioned or pops up on the combine screen, I'm intrigued as to how many fields there are, their names and the reason (if any) for the name.

Maybe I need to get out more, lol

gruffgriff

1,914 posts

257 months

Friday 8th November 2024
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And how is the dreenage in t lower feelt?

Doofus

30,607 posts

187 months

Friday 8th November 2024
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Old Man Peabody said:
I think after the latest announcement, a separate thread is a good idea.

That also means I can ask a question I've been wanting to for ages if Harry himself is reading (and has the time to answer):

What are the names of the fields and do any of the names have a good story behind them?

Every now and then when a name is mentioned or pops up on the combine screen, I'm intrigued as to how many fields there are, their names and the reason (if any) for the name.

Maybe I need to get out more, lol
I've already asked him this because most farms have quaint names for fields. Harry's fields had the names they do when he bought the farm. He doesn't know why.

thegreenhell

19,347 posts

233 months

Friday 8th November 2024
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Old Man Peabody

669 posts

221 months

Friday 8th November 2024
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thegreenhell said:
biggrin

Smollet

Original Poster:

13,274 posts

204 months

Saturday 16th November 2024
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New episode now out.

Mammasaid

4,745 posts

111 months

Saturday 16th November 2024
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I'm not blaming Harry for this as he would be a fool not to, but why the flying duck is it more profitable to stop growing crops and put two thirds of the farm out of production?

Talk about the government (past and present) shooting us (the taxpayer) in the foot.

614-HSO

1,546 posts

62 months

Saturday 16th November 2024
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Should sell his combine to Jezza.

It looks like in 2026 we had all better to get used to eating flowers.

The government are just nobs the lot of em, they don't want food grown here they want to import it.

Smollet

Original Poster:

13,274 posts

204 months

Sunday 6th April
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Latest video shows the huge disparity to the start of this year to last. Hardly any rain compared to 2024. I don’t think I saw a butterfly until late May last year due to all the rain we had. This year saw them as early as mid March.

Clad-Hach

56 posts

2 months

Saturday 19th April
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I've been watching Harry's Farm vid's from the begining, its been interesting his struggles with growing Rapeseed its all a bit hit or miss some years.

In the past few weeks I've noticed the Rapeseed around here is starting to flower and I can't see any patchy areas of no growth just tall healty looking plants, before drilling the farmers had plowed over the ground and prepared it vs Harry's light tilling of the soil, could this be the difference between a failed crop and a full harvest.

I don't profess to know anything about farming but the farmers around here clearly do and they have very nice looking fields full of Rapeseed.

paulw123

4,084 posts

204 months

Saturday 19th April
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Smollet said:
Latest video shows the huge disparity to the start of this year to last. Hardly any rain compared to 2024. I don’t think I saw a butterfly until late May last year due to all the rain we had. This year saw them as early as mid March.
Not sure really matters this year as Harry is mainly growing government funded weeds. Think most of the country got a good drop of rain yesterday though.

Fir what it's worth surely the government subbing a less profitable breakcrop would be better than growing weeds?

M4SER

306 posts

140 months

Saturday 19th April
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Clad-Hach said:
I've been watching Harry's Farm vid's from the begining, its been interesting his struggles with growing Rapeseed its all a bit hit or miss some years.

In the past few weeks I've noticed the Rapeseed around here is starting to flower and I can't see any patchy areas of no growth just tall healty looking plants, before drilling the farmers had plowed over the ground and prepared it vs Harry's light tilling of the soil, could this be the difference between a failed crop and a full harvest.

I don't profess to know anything about farming but the farmers around here clearly do and they have very nice looking fields full of Rapeseed.
Thanks for watching! Growing OSR in the Cotswolds got too hit & miss to continue, due mainly to cabbage stem flea beetle damage, which we used to not suffer from thanks to a seed dressing that got banned in 2013. The result of the ban was CSFB populations exploded in some areas, like the Cotswolds, and now most farms around here no longer grow OSR as a result. But some areas of the UK don’t suffer as badly and can continue growing it.

In its heyday we grew 2.4million tonnes/year of OSR and as a country we consume around 2million tonnes, mainly to make mayonnaise, but UK production is down to 0.5million tonnes today, so we have to import 1.5million tonnes /year and that comes mainly from countries that didn’t ban the seed dressing. Go figure!

M4SER

306 posts

140 months

Saturday 19th April
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paulw123 said:
Not sure really matters this year as Harry is mainly growing government funded weeds. Think most of the country got a good drop of rain yesterday though.

Fir what it's worth surely the government subbing a less profitable breakcrop would be better than growing weeds?
You’re forgetting about Net Zero, which is/was the Government’s main agenda. Farmers growing weeds means I’m not using any fertiliser or burning much diesel, so my carbon emissions are much lower. Than if I was growing crops for food. The Government have prioritised low carbon emissions over domestic food production and are paying farmers handsomely to do so. I can’t see it lasting but as a business I can’t ignore the financial rewards for following current government policy.

Smollet

Original Poster:

13,274 posts

204 months

Saturday 19th April
quotequote all
M4SER said:
paulw123 said:
Not sure really matters this year as Harry is mainly growing government funded weeds. Think most of the country got a good drop of rain yesterday though.

Fir what it's worth surely the government subbing a less profitable breakcrop would be better than growing weeds?
You’re forgetting about Net Zero, which is/was the Government’s main agenda. Farmers growing weeds means I’m not using any fertiliser or burning much diesel, so my carbon emissions are much lower. Than if I was growing crops for food. The Government have prioritised low carbon emissions over domestic food production and are paying farmers handsomely to do so. I can’t see it lasting but as a business I can’t ignore the financial rewards for following current government policy.
Growing weeds does help the wildlife. My back garden is testament to that rofl

Jobbo

13,356 posts

278 months

Saturday 19th April
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I enjoyed this week’s Harry’s Farm video very much - but I did think reading the caption that it was the Arctic Rolls which had been damaged and wondered if you’d been trying to use it to tow farm machinery. All became clear laugh

greygoose

8,958 posts

209 months

Saturday 19th April
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Smollet said:
Growing weeds does help the wildlife. My back garden is testament to that rofl
There do seem to seem to be more butterflies and bees about this year compared to last, more dandelions too whistle .