Farmers

[Boddie]

Why do farmers always put gates right next to the muddiest part of the field?

[wildone]

Originally Posted by Boddie

Why do farmers always put gates right next to the muddiest part of the field?

Because that is where the tractors go in and out. How else can they get mud on the tyres to be left on the road.

[Fourwings]

Cmon guys, give us farmers a break, some of us try to keep mud off the roads.
You really ought to try getting a machine that can weigh in excess of 15 tons in & out of fields at this time of year, it can't be done without making mud!

[wildone]

I will give you that some farmers do try to clean the road behind their tractors. I have even seen them or their workers with brooms/shovels cleaning up. However where I now live I am sure that if a farmer does not coat the road with mud he is regarded, by his associates, a wimp. In the main though my answer to Boddie was tongue in cheek. (No Emoticon).

[Helen]

I'd rather have mud of the road, than that disgusting mess I see around towns and cities, of vomit, urine and mcdonald boxes.

[Fourwings]

Originally Posted by Helen

I'd rather have mud of the road, than that disgusting mess I see around towns and cities, of vomit, urine and mcdonald boxes.

Hey - someone on my side

Couldn't agree more Helen.

[nightshade]

MUD next to a series of dangerous bends the enterprising farmer holds a clay pigeon shoot,the entrance is right at the apex of one bend so some one steps into the road to guide traffic out,the mud is there for days lumps as big as house bricks.Just along from it there is a hole in the hedge where a car went through!

[henrya]

Mud on the roads a problem? Come on people, this is the countryside! There is supposed to be mud on the roads. You'll be complaining about cockerels crowing next, or cows mooing. A lot of farmers do try to keep the worst of it clear, but they can't keep it spotless.

henrya

[Helen]

I'm with Henry on this.

If it's not mud on the road, it would be something else, no matter what.

[nightshade]

I was talking about an already notorious blackspot and mud being left on the road after a mere recreational event,with no attempt to clean up despite the hole in the hedge from a previous vehicle having left the road

[Jo Pedder]

Originally Posted by henrya

Mud on the roads a problem? Come on people, this is the countryside! There is supposed to be mud on the roads. You'll be complaining about cockerels crowing next, or cows mooing. A lot of farmers do try to keep the worst of it clear, but they can't keep it spotless.

henrya

some people do - my mum complains about the volume of bird song in her garden, the herd of deer that eat her flowers, the Badger that digs the lawn...she also moans that farmers don't have to pay road tax on tractors, even though they do the most damage to 'her' road

I am however with fourwings here: country lanes get muddy, in my eperiance, these are usually well signed by farmers at times and places where it is a road risk.

[Jo Pedder]

Fourwings - i'd be interested in what you know about the new regulations on wildlife farming: I read that new rules apply to field margins, run off to streams etc. and also a new system for wildlife grants. Is there a good website I could get a run down from ?

[Lou-D]

Hi Jo

Are you talking about the entry level scheme which took over from the environmental stewardship scheme? If so, you can find out some info on the defra website: http://www.defra.gov.uk/erdp/schemes/es/

Regards

Lou

[nightshade]

In case anyone feels I am antifarmers I have a lot of respect for anyone who wrests a living from the land especially in todays paperwork infested world and both my boys worked for local farmers to make sure they knew what work was!

[Fourwings]

Originally Posted by Jo Pedder

Fourwings - i'd be interested in what you know about the new regulations on wildlife farming: I read that new rules apply to field margins, run off to streams etc. and also a new system for wildlife grants. Is there a good website I could get a run down from ?

Hi Jo,
Lou-D is correct, the best place to get info on the Entry level scheme is the DEFRA website, there should be somewhere on the site that will allow you to send for the E.L.S handbook, if you like a little light reading.

To explain it here on the forum would be like writing an essay, the E.L.S encompasses all aspects of farming & the enviroment and even introduces archaeology into the mix for good measure.

When its all sorted out and running smoothly it will have a positive effect on british wildlife & should make our farmland a little less sterile & more wildlife friendly.

[Jo Pedder]

thanks for the replies, i'l check out the link...ta

[Lou-D]

Hey Fourwings

Have you joined up to the ELS or HLS?

I live in the mainly arable, intensively farmed area of East Yorkshire called Holderness (I work for an agric machinery dealer). When I first moved out here from Hull about 18 years ago, there was not much in the way of hedges or anything apart from fields full of cereals! East Yorkshire is one of the areas of the British Isles with the least trees! Now, mainly because of the environmental stewardship scheme (or ESS, as it first started out as) I've started seeing more new hedgerows and conditions better suited to wildlife. As a result, when I go out I can now see barn owls, hares, skylarks, grey partridges and other species that were once rare in this part of the country. One of the farms just down the road from me is a 'beacon farm' for the ESS, having started the scheme in 1988. It's now a nature lovers paradise! It also helps that a disused railway line runs past the farm, providing a corridor for the wildlife.

Ok, most of the farmers are applying for the scheme for the monetary benefits more than for a love of nature. I was informed by a farmer friend that he was getting paid more for a lark plot (where they leave bare patches of 4 x 4m when sowing the field. This benefits larks and other birds by providing them with a 'feeding patch' and nesting area among the growing crop) than he was for a ton of grain! However, who cares if it's working!

The only thing I worry about is if a future government decides that intensive farming is once again the 'in thing' and scraps the ELS. I guess we will have to cross that bridge when it comes to it and make the most of what we have now.

Sorry I've rambled on .... a subject near to my heart as you can see! lol.