This weather is getting serious !

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This weather is getting serious !

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Bodger

Joined: 23 May 2006
Posts: 13524

Posted: Tue Jul 25, 06 8:42 am Post subject: This weather is getting serious !

I would imagine that most people through out the UK who keep grazing animals are in the same boat as myself in as much as in this heat their grass is scorching and burning before their eyes.
Fields that I've left ungrazed by the cattle for weeks are dieing .
I've just bought 3 big bails of last years hay for 63 quid in the hope that this will put me on untill the rain comes and the grass begins to grow.
I'm going to phone up this morning and see if the local farmers merchant have any sugar beet left but I'm not hopeful.

This situation is quite grim at it could get a lot worse. Its an unusual request in the UK but could everyone of all religous persuasions put their hands together for a drop of rain. Especially over my bit of Pwllheli !

alison
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 12918
Location: North Devon

Posted: Tue Jul 25, 06 9:10 am Post subject:

Ours is okay at the moment, but we have our cows and sheep on hay, due to having campers in, and they more than pay for forage!

They all move back to the big field on the 8th Aug.

The thing with camping is you have to have the field clean for a few weeks before people arrive, so we like to do it on the silage field then it is cut ready for the srrival of people and their has been no temptation to keep stock on there longer.

Andy B

Joined: 12 Jan 2005
Posts: 3920
Location: Brum

Posted: Tue Jul 25, 06 11:05 am Post subject:
So not much rain over the winter, no rain at all over the summer!? what kind of mess are livestock farmers going to be in if this pattern carries on for the next few winters/ summers.

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Tue Jul 25, 06 11:07 am Post subject:

Andy B wrote:

So not much rain over the winter, no rain at all over the summer!? what kind of mess are livestock farmers going to be in if this pattern carries on for the next few winters/ summers.

Switch to farming wilderbeast?

Lionheart

Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Posts: 427
Location: Cheshire

Posted: Tue Jul 25, 06 4:35 pm Post subject:
Things are bad in the East......most of the livestock farmers I've met recently have already started feeding their cattle (the sheep seem to be okat the moment). My grass has pretty much burnt up and the ground is like concret which is preventing me from doing any fencing. I'm just hopeful that we get some decent re-growth in September, otherwise this year will prove to be very costly!! Cris

Penny Outskirts

Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 23385
Location: Planet, not on the....

Posted: Tue Jul 25, 06 9:04 pm Post subject:
When they were bringing in the rapeseed this evening, it wasn't even registering any moisture on the tester thingy. Should be around 9% apparently - now they have to wet it, then dry it again. Normally if they harvest at night, there is more moisture - not at the moment! The thermometer in the house is reading 25 degrees at the moment.

Bodger

Joined: 23 May 2006
Posts: 13524

Posted: Tue Jul 25, 06 9:32 pm Post subject:
23.4 in the house now.

hardworkinghippy

Joined: 01 Jan 2005
Posts: 1110
Location: Bourrou South West France

Posted: Wed Jul 26, 06 9:26 am Post subject:

It was 28.5� in the house yesterday because I've had a window open all day. I've been DIYing inside and I was just about to grout some tiles in the window and I read the instructions on the box. "Do not use in temperatures over 30�"

So I did it in the middle of the night.

Fabrice was out all night lamping foxes with the Hunting Federation chaps. (Got 9 saw 17) We do most things in the middle of the night because you just can't concentrate when your dribbling all over.

Our goats and sheep are far away in the valley where there's a stream and bit of grass but they hardly eat during the day at all.

The dogs sleep all day under the table. Our myna bird Arthur keeps saying, "Il fait chaud!" (It's hot!) which raises a smile and makes me imagine that he's probably gifted.

Bodger

Joined: 23 May 2006
Posts: 13524

Posted: Wed Jul 26, 06 9:38 am Post subject:
I managed to get 10 bags of sugar beet pellets yesterday to help me get through the dry period. I think I was quite lucky to drop on them. The agricultural merchant says that there wont be anymore untill October. A nice black cloud came over us at 7.00 am this morning but it just kept on going !

Pilsbury

Joined: 13 Dec 2004
Posts: 5645
Location: East london/Essex

Posted: Wed Jul 26, 06 6:59 pm Post subject:
My min max thermometer in the house reads min28c max 34c and thats been the last 2 weeks with the windows open and 2 fans going, why did i put so much insulation in the roof

Nanny

Joined: 17 Feb 2005
Posts: 4520
Location: carms in wales

Posted: Wed Jul 26, 06 7:15 pm Post subject:

the danger of course is that when the weather breaks, it will chuck it down and run off instead of soaking in which is what we need....the harvest on this side of the country is well underway now

they keep predicting rain here and then we get nothing......humidity is pretty high, the goats lay about in their pens trying to keep as cool as possible and the dogs can't find anywhere cool enough

my office was about 32 degrees this after noon and nowhere for the air to go......you can't work efficiiently, all you can think about is that your clothes are sticking to you

yuk

Mat S

Joined: 07 Nov 2004
Posts: 282
Location: Leicester

Posted: Thu Jul 27, 06 5:51 pm Post subject:
I just got a right soaking - was heading to the alloment in just shirt and shorts. About half an inch or rain at a guess. Big thunderstorm last night, can't imagine how big the pumpkins are going to be!

Bodger

Joined: 23 May 2006
Posts: 13524

Posted: Thu Jul 27, 06 5:56 pm Post subject:
Still without rain here you lucky boy Mat

Bog Spavin

Joined: 25 May 2006
Posts: 362
Location: North Yorkshire

Posted: Sat Jul 29, 06 12:36 pm Post subject:
My friend who is a beef farmer came to stay with us last weekend and said that hay is going to be very expensive this year. She has had to let the stock through onto the second cut because she has no grass and others are doing the same so if you can stock up then do it early.

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