Watch: repairing the damage from the wet spring

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the atrocious weather we had this spring and the damage I had done to my ground. With the improvement in the weather over the last few weeks, you could soon forget how bad it really was.

Since I wrote that article, I have had numerous people asking me how I am going to repair fields, given that they have done something similar on their own farms.

My thinking is that it will depend on the type of soil you have and the amount of damage that has been done.

Sandy soils

If you are on sandy soils, then any issues are probably healed at this stage; you likely have a bigger problem at hand from the ground being too dry (not a problem that I have).

If you are on peaty soils, then it is a different story. Peaty soils are like a sponge and generally soak up water and let water away naturally. There is not a lot to do, unless they are badly tracked, in which case it will probably need to be ploughed.

If you are working on a mountain farm, you probably have few options other than just to hope that nature gives you a helping hand.

Clay soil

Most of my farm is a clay-type soil, which provides some benefits. If the damage is not too severe, then time is the best healer.

Rest and dry weather can improve things, as will a little slurry or fertiliser, as the crop of growing grass will help repair some damage.

There are two other problems here on my farm.

First is the damage done by machinery. How do you level tracks? If it’s still wet, I go in with a grape and try to level it as much as possible.

Then, once it starts to dry out, I pull some kind of machine over it (land leveller, harrow or just a link box) to try and level it. As a very last resort, I will use a land roller, but only in very dry conditions.

I have also had some success in sowing grass-seed in these tracks. To be honest, if it’s really bad, sometimes the plough is the only answer.

Tramped

My other problem is grazing ground that has been tramped by cattle. Again, it depends on the amount and severity of the damage. The problem I have had this year is that some of my paddocks have been tramped at least twice this year already.

I try a number of different options, including over-sowing with grass-seed. In the past, we have tried different subsoilers but with very limited success.

They mostly left a lot of work behind, due to stones being pulled up.

I have considered other options like spikers but so far, I haven’t tried them out. One thing I have found is that, given time, paddocks do recover to a certain extent (although if in a really bad state, then a full-plough reseed may be needed).

Other problems

There are a few other problems that have also raised their heads here this year. The main one is that grass has been put under stress and with this dry spell, it is running to seedhead very quickly.

When I look over my paddocks, I am really embarrassed at how bad they are looking. Practically everything went to seed at the one time. Normally, I cut excess paddocks from the first week in May and then you always have some good grass coming into the rotation.

The problem I have had this year is that some of my paddocks have been tramped at least twice this year already

This year, we didn’t cut any paddocks until the third week of May and have cut some every week since, which has meant that we are playing catch-up.

Everything was ready for cutting in the one week, but if you do that, then you soon run out of grass. So, we have had to graze some poor-quality grass and top it afterwards.

Everything looks a mess at the moment, but we will have to keep working away at it and hope that we can restore some pride in our land management.

When it comes to the damage done this past spring, I certainly don’t have all the answers – but ultimately, dry weather is probably the best healer.

Read more

Farmer Writes: a tough challenge to get through the spring

Farmer Writes: jury out on multispecies swards in the west