Spring Work ! by happypat

Spring Work !

Last night this massive sprayer started to spray this field to kill all the grass off ready fr ploughing. You can see the brown field they have already done in the distance so in a week or so all this green will be brown.
Quite a change of view for us as we used to plough & reseed with grass but the new owner is going to plant all the fields either with potatoes or maize. All these fields will have crops on instead of cattle.
To be truthful we are quite happy with this policy as we would rather have crops next to us than perhaps animals that are not looked after properly !!
You can tell we have moved over to the non farming side now can't you !!!!!!

You can see Harry's early potato crop under the plastic.
Looks great ...........and good that you are happy with the new owners too!
Great clear sky there!!!! Allan had serious hailstones at work near Aberdeen airport today :(
April 13th, 2012  
Hope the spraying doesn't blow your way. Nice capture of the still green
April 13th, 2012  
@sarah19 We saw some hailstone photos on the news the other day & it looked like snow !!! Cathy & family are up in Braemar until Sunday visiting friends who own the garage there.
April 13th, 2012  
@sarah19 Forgot to say Garth is cycling from Carlise to Inverness with a friend who is doing Lands End to John O Groats, leaving him at Invernes & cycling on to Braemar & then they will all come back together !
April 13th, 2012  
I'm always fascinated by farming stories. Great shot of these fields, Pat!
April 13th, 2012  
@happypat
All the best to him/them! Jonathan is doing the 'end to end' in June...I take my hat off to them all! Hope Cathy and co have all their woollies and thermals! But it's lovely if wrapped up!
April 13th, 2012  
@happypat @sarah19 They'll have to call in on me for a refreshment stop ... they'll be passing my door!
I love the wide open landscape here.
April 13th, 2012  
@jmj Wow that would have been lovely Jennifer & if I was up your way I would be straight round for a cup of tea !!! They spent last night in Fort William I think.
April 13th, 2012  
What a magnificent view you have, all that open space, how wonderful.
April 13th, 2012  
what a great view of your part of the world...!
April 13th, 2012  
I find this so sad! That the neighbouring farmer is turning his land unusable! So, now it's going to be used for vegetable farming - huh! what about the toxins he's pumping in at the moment .... ok, off my soapbox ... great pic, but I'm sad!
April 13th, 2012  
Having just spent a couple hours weeding in my flower beds , I would be sorely tempted to spray the whole lot and be done. At least your view will be green again, just taller.
April 13th, 2012  
Have I missed something? Have you and Harry sold your farm?
April 13th, 2012  
@kwiksilver They use a spray called Roundup which actually works like a protein & forces the grass to over produce & eventually the grass dies...you can put cows to eat on the grass after it has been sprayed. The farmer is going to grow maize to feed his cattle on his dairy farm which is a few miles away. growing some potatoes too. We used to own all the land here but when our sons went to NZ we sold the land & buildings part & kept the house. Well that's how it worked out in the end as we couldn't sell it as a whole ...the banks weren't lending any money !! Harry & I then retired except for the B&B !!! Hope this answers your question too Darrell !!! @farmboy9155 Thank you both for your interest & comments !!
April 13th, 2012  
Lovely expanse of land there .. and was once all yours, Pat. Times do change. The same thing is done here in the Midwest. Land sells and the retired farmers keep the house. You and Harry have a wonderful life and am sure that the B&B keeps you as busy as you want to be. How lovely to still be able to live in the country. God's paradise. Beautiful photo. :)
April 13th, 2012  
Some long hours ahead I assume.
April 14th, 2012  
A lovely scene. Good composition.
April 14th, 2012  
Lovely long scene there.
April 14th, 2012  
Wonderful landscape.........interesting farming these days, everything changes so much, also because of the climate. Having lived in this area for more years than i will mention I have seen so many changes, crops mainly, we used to be hops, strawberries and asparagus, apart from wonderful fruit orchards...asparagus has gone hops have gone and its too warm for strawberries, although some are still grown.
What a beautiful day you had, lovely sky.
April 14th, 2012  
@fannyb Yes so many changes in the farming world Fanny. So many dairy farmers giving up , too old & sons don't want to do the hours etc etc. Existing dairy farms expanding just to keep viable but the worst thing is the paper work & EU regulations, just mind blowing !!! Big changes in your area too by the sound of it ! My sister lives in Litcham so not too far from you I think?
April 14th, 2012  
@fannyb No not near you at all , just checked !!!
April 14th, 2012  
Lovely shot. It's so interesting to see and read about the work going on in the countryside on farms. From reading your posts I know it's long, hard, exhausting work. Farmers just don't get the praise and credit they so deserve. And it sounds like the government agencies don't make life any easier for them.
April 14th, 2012  
eva
Lovely landscape shot.
April 14th, 2012  
Looks great! I miss open fields like this one. . .
April 17th, 2012  
You have the views now without the work Pat. I find when we sell land it seems strange to see it used for other peoples cattle etc. Still seems like ours for a long time. All much the same here.Just have to keep getting bigger or get out. More and more paperwork, redtape, regulations. Sometimes i wonder where it will end as our son is keen to come back full time soon and take over many years down the track .
April 17th, 2012  
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