A Long winter Takes Its Toll

Tuesday 27, April 2010

Our company has been busy installing comprehensive drainage systems among growing crops.  We are able to offer our clients the very latest in drainage technology, including the use of all  equipment being supplied with tracks to minimise the disruption to the growing crop - and more importantly, to avoid creating ruts and damaging the soil structure through running heavy equipment over waterlogged fields.

The unusually long winter this year has highlighted drainage problems on many fields across the region as farmers have battled to catch up with the springtime program of work. 

Weeks of wet weather combined with some very wintry conditions at times have meant that arable drainage systems have been tested to the hilt and fields with poor drainage properties have unfortunately suffered heavy impacts on crop development in the wet areas. 

The springtime arable operations including fertiliser application and spraying have been problematic too with machinery getting stuck in saturated soils causing further frustrations to farm staff who have been playing catch-up over the last few weeks.

One pass operation

The tracked equipment allows permeable stone backfill to be placed over the drainage pipes with the stone being conveyed to the shingle hopper on the trenching machine from behind the drainage trencher. This means that only one set of track marks appear in the growing crop. The footprint left by the equipment tracks is so light that the crop is quickly able to recover during the Spring growing period. The only sign of the drainage work having taken place is the line of the narrow drainage trench in the growing crop.

We are set to carry out around 400 acres of in crop drainage work this spring as farmers look to maximise yield potential from their land at a time when input costs are being closely monitored and margins are extremely tight within agriculture.  Comprehensively drained fields can offer as much as a fivefold increase in yield potential in some of the wettest scenarios and many farmers view the need to keep their farmland in pristine condition as clearly the land represents the most vital asset that any farmer can own.  “In crop” drainage work is a popular drainage option for many farmers who want to get the drainage work completed early so that the fields are in good shape for the autumn and ready for the start of the next year’s crop.