Tommywommy

Put up a for sale sign with your phone number. You'll find out pretty quick then !!

I soil sample ag fields all day but the science and terms we are taught rarely relate to real life situations and terms / language used on farm. Our place at home is on upper Lias clay bed subsoil, the only people who would use that are land agents and enviroment agency boffins. We call it marl clay. If you want to read an interesting book on soil read "dirt, the erosion of civilisations " you will never look at soil in the same way again !

Subsoil ( bottom layer ) looks like what I would marl clay. Middle section looks like a good fire or a lot of compacted organic matter. Very hard to tell whether silt, sand or clay without handling it. Is this in a domestic garden or an agricultural field ?

Farmer with tip here. Unable to find group. Searched wood alert ! . Came up with nothing. Are you able to put up a link please ?

Know a man who's very good in north Bedfordshire. Done some for us and did a cracking job. Can pm you his number. His name is Peter Hall from Carlton.

Had another load of Euc in yard this week. The oil stained my hands black for a few days but does smell nice. Will sit in curtainsider til next winter and see what it's like. Screw splitter ( hycrack ) is awesome. On our old 85hp zeroes its unstoppable on all our nasty knotty hedge grown ash !

Just had a chap drop off 1 1/2 ton of eucalyptus off at father in laws farm as a thank you for pulling him out on the site he was removing the tree from. Split some today with the Hycrack cone splitter. Was a pleasure to do even with a fair twist in some of it. Bloody heavy though. . That is actually all Ash for next year in the photo but a biggish pile of Euc next to it now. Smells lovely

There's a group on Facebook called Timber tractors and lorries. Can't add link from phone . Ask to join full of nutters who love taking their machines out and working them properly. Awesome machines, can't build quality like that now. A sensible post including location and I'm sure you'll get a few local to job contacts. Good luck and don't forget some pics !!

I have a battered 55 plate single cab with 130k on the clock parked outside my place most days. Car dealers driving transits and show pony hilux's constantly stop an pester anyone whos in the house as to wether its for sale, its utterly battered and the dings on the rear body technically write it off. got one " dealer " upto £3500 cash which he funnily enough had on him!! just for fun to then told him to piss off. My point, would they be offering that or stopping at all if it was a ranger / isuzu / l200 ? No they wouldn't. Only bad thing with hilux is legal towing capacity, mine pulls triple axled stock box with fifty 60 kg ewes no problem but is it legal, absolutely not. Buy a Hilux, you wont regret it

As a farmer and someone who recycles hundreds of thousands of tonnes of organic waste and Digestate to land ever year across the South of England I can confirm there is a massive reduction in earthworms in arable rotation soil. We know more about space than we do the soil beneath our feet ! That's astounding . A farmer I spread for said if he bought his great grandfather back and showed him the condition of our soils they would curse us. It's not sustainable how most arable farming is carried out now. Mixed farming is a lot better.

Firm I work for ( not arb ) pays less than a pound for derv ( white ) on fuel card set up. However daily bill is £22,000 and there's max three days credit !! Welcome to haulage !!

It's extremely heavy. We use it round the farm a lot. Will never buy a sheet of ply again however the 19mm stuff is very heavy but structurally also very strong so it has its drawbacks.

That's a trailer mounted stock box, hope there was no livestock being carted on that trip ! In farming we are so bad at keeping things roadworthy. Don't think much will change whilst 90% of the time we get away with it.

We farm here as well as me working as an agent for a liquid waste recycling company. Everything I / we do is bloody dangerous . Dagging lambs is potentially lethal, very sharp comb and cutter next to left arm / wrist all day. Got some killer scars on legs from machinery and cattle handling. I once heard on radio four statistically the most dangerous part of ANY job is travelling in a vehicle to get there !!! I do however take your point on board. At work safety very important, all 150 guys out on sites are told no jewellery. Last week one gloved finger and another bloke fell in ditch and ripped earing out. Awaiting claims from employees who ignore rules is fun !!! Maybe just keep here . Wouldn't want to see neighbours son losing fingers / arms !

Just bought a new Hycrack splitter. Don't even sell logs now ( to much hassle and use a lot a home / farm shop & tearoom ) my decision on the £1200 purchase inc vat was it will be a fair chunk of that secondhand any day of the week. Saw a genuine hycrack / hydrocut one which was 15 to 20 years old go for £ 600 ! It has saved my shoulders and back some real grief. Chainsawing, loading logs and any manual work is great but swinging axe splitting mostly hedge grown ash ( lots of knots and limbs, not long straight runs like forest grown) . I can do a lot more in one day. On another note does anybody dare to hire a hycrack / screw type log splitter out ? Two neighbours having seen it would like to use it for a few days this winter !!! Wife said get a cheque or cash first as the likelihood of them ripping hands off was high. I love it and like and moving machinery as long as you've got head screwed ( no pun intended ) it'll be fine !!

No one needs to tell me twice not to bother cleaning anything ! Not a pro like everyone else on here just a dumb farmer tidying up overgrown hedges and trees at home . Thanks for the helpful comments ;-)

Conclusive evidence that cleaning things is bad. Now to convince wife ! Thank you

What can I soak chains in to clean them up after cutting / logging ash trees all day. Tar like crap stuck to chains on both saws , goes black once it cools down. Any help appreciated. Tom

Is there not some sort of national body/ organization promoting sustainable british timber ? Your products are far superior to whats currently used/ availible from most agricultural stores. Coppicing is surely the most sustainable way of producing timber, Why aren't Defra or forestry commisson out there promoting the product and the people who produce it. Agriculture has its own issues with informing and interacting with joe public, If everyone does a little to help with the education side of things it can make a big difference, we do Open farm sunday every year and have a few other events here and numerous school visits throughout the year, It is making a difference locally, not only to our shop but also to others and the way they shop even in supermarkets. Open Farm Sunday 2013 - Home Go visit your local farm, talk to them and tell them what you do. Agriculture is in my opinion at a turning point were we are going to become alot more important than in the past. Without food we won't get much work done !

Thanks Doobin, is there any way of telling when it was cut apart from the vendors word ? I am a farm manager and cannot understand the rubbish/ foreign products we are sold/ choose to use, this is british, superior to softwood and if purchased directly from the woodman there would be a level of trust regarding when the timber is cut. At what point in history did all our industries become so distant, there are thousands of acres of woodland that if managed correctly could provide excellent materials for agriculture/ building industry. We found some fencing in the brambles as part of our hls hedge work, the wire was completely corroded however the four inch square chesnut posts are in bloody good order. asked the wifes grandad and he does not think he fenced it and he's been farming here for sixty years plus !

These look good, can anyone tell me why they are cheaper than the rubbish softwood ones we currently use, three years in a damp spot and rotted off. anyone closer to me ( bedfordshire ) producing these at a similar price ? Local is best after all. chestnut fence posts 6ft x 100 posts free local delivery | eBay Tommywommy:001_tt2:

I always try to but being shreks secret bigger twin does not help, plus more choice online if you can deal with package deliveries and returns if not right/ what you wanted.

My Heavily pregnant sow once ate a whole goose in under thirty seconds in front of wife and i, truely remarkable feat, if pigs are kept indoors in an intensive system any problems ( feed related ) cause havoc, when outside your telling me they wont/ dont eat dead wildlife, seen many a hedgehog skin on outdoor sow units and around our paddocks when i kept pigs. paperwork is an sod, good local abbatoir is a must, you cannot scald end de hair a pig any sense without the right kit, believe me i've tried. if its for yourself and others who are understanding of the way a pig lives and knows to cook pork throughly, no exceptions feed them whatever the hell you want, they wont ever eat leeks though, for that reason i have told the wife never to feeed me leeks ever again. The kiwi's and alot of other nationalities eat feral / wild pigs and boars and they hoover up all the fallen stock and wildlife and dont get ill. Fact. pigs outside are tough mother tuckers, Dont get me started on free range eggs, taste delicious and i eat loads having alot of hens around the farm but when you see them flying into a steaming pile of dog turd or a rotten sheep that has died under a piece of machinery you would be horrified, it my humble opinion they are just natures way of recycling evrything. Its a wonderful world til us humans came along. Tommywommy

Thanks gentlemen, Thats great, will give me something to look forward to coming in the post this week. Tommywommy