Less OSR?

[enrico]

Are you missing the Marches?

Don't miss the hills! My knees wouldn't take them any more but I do miss the traditional farming that exists in Wales and Shropshire compared with here! This barn farming send to make the countryside so sterile!
E

 

[Curly green finger's]

Could well be clover. Both white Clover and Bramble tend to be “white”, both occur around July and both are slow to granulate. Similarly, Borage is pale and slow to granulate, as is Rosebay willow herb – both July (ish).

It is white murox do you have any of the honey left I sent you? has it cristalized. That was my second extraction if I remember rightly.
The honey I'm talking about was extracted on the 25th of July the forage was mainly clover and brambles in June /July..
Willow herb, thistle, and hb extracted in early September.

 

[Curly green finger's]

Don't miss the hills! My knees wouldn't take them any more but I do miss the traditional farming that exists in Wales and Shropshire compared with here! This barn farming send to make the countryside so sterile!

E

How can you not miss the hills

Photo 1 bramble forage
Photo 2 March 25th 2019 Clee Hill apiary
Photo 3 summit looking towards the long mynd.
Photo 4 Radnorshire and beyond
Photo 5 Clee Hill summit

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[Murox]

It is white murox do you have any of the honey left I sent you? has it cristalized. That was my second extraction if I remember rightly.
The honey I'm talking about was extracted on the 25th of July the forage was mainly clover and brambles in June /July..
Willow herb, thistle, and hb extracted in early September.

No it has not crystallised at all - just finishing the last scrap. Was kept in kitchen cupboard remained clear and runny throughout.

 

[Dariusz]

General trend for farmers at the moment. Since the ban on neonics the costs of all the additional sprayings has brought the profit margins down. Also we had a really bad wet autumn which meant many couldn't plant their OSR.
Fortunately I have one apiary that has about 60 acres of the stuff about 300 yards away from them. It should flower mayish time... about perfect for the bees.

absolute rubbish.
last august-september was very hot and dry , the population of flea beetle has been very, very destructive, resistant to any chemicals incuding neonics(just different name)on our farm. we drilled twice last year over 300acres but unfortunately the flea beetles started multiplying much faster then we could kill them, and destroying the crop.
what surrvived from crop to winter was terminmated by slugs and very wet weather and lack of frost, any field today looks like rice pods from vietnam,
in fact; from 300acres 25acres are leftover with poor crop,
we haven't had the chance to drive any type of machine in the field to kill slugs, because of danger of stock in the field.
if any farmer has a similar story, you can imagine the scale of destruction osr in new year

 

[Beefriendly]

absolute rubbish.
last august-september was very hot and dry ,

Thank you for polite reply....
Last August September was very wet, very windy and cold.
Worst heather honey harvest in living memory.
My local farmers are the guys who told me the cost factors.
Are you calling them liars?

 

[Beefriendly]

we haven't had the chance to drive any type of machine in the field to kill slugs, because of danger of stock in the field.

What sort of machine would that be??
And what are you doing with stock in a slug infested OSR field?
Or are you just ing

 

[Dariusz]

windy and cold? where they living?
i dont call them liars,just rubbish talking abouts neonics insecticide and what you described "trend" without reall factors,

 

[Beefriendly]

Fortunately I don't have to be a cattle dealer to know when bull pooh is present.

 

[For want of a better word]

Farmer Simon said he will be planting rice if this rain dont stop!

 

[Curly green finger's]

There's a lot of hedges being left until these last few weeks because the fields are to wet to get on.... Poor birds that are starting to think about nesting.


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[Curly green finger's]

What sort of machine would that be??

And what are you doing with stock in a slug infested OSR field?

Or are you just ing

Good question?

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[Teebeeaitch]

I don’t think the bees will really miss the OSR, there are plenty of other nectar sources out there. Millet seems to be favoured locally as an OSR substitute. It may not do much for the bees but it has its advantages at harvest time for the declining sparrow population. That is of course as long as the pigeons don’t get there first. It’s not all just about the bees you know.

 

[gp125john]

Most farmers have had terrible problems with flea beetle on all brassicas since the ban on neonicatinoids. As a result a lot are no nlonger planting much OSR

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

There's a lot of hedges being left until these last few weeks because the fields are to wet to get on.... Poor birds that are starting to think about nesting.


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That's OK, the hedge cutting ban has begun.

Saw a lush yellow field of OSR in flower near Raglan Castle today

 

[Dadnlad]

Most farmers have had terrible problems with flea beetle on all brassicas since the ban on neonicatinoids. As a result a lot are no nlonger planting much OSR

That's true round here too, but apparently with less being grown the price per ton is making it worth drilling - if they can find something to stop flea beetle
Also they've had some success drilling earlier in August

 

[Millet]

I don’t think the bees will really miss the OSR, there are plenty of other nectar sources out there. Millet seems to be favoured locally as an OSR substitute. It may not do much for the bees but it has its advantages at harvest time for the declining sparrow population. That is of course as long as the pigeons don’t get there first. It’s not all just about the bees you know.

The only time bees favour me is when extracted supers go in the Bee shed or if i am cleaning the extractor out..

 

[Millet]

On a sensible note.. .. as long as i can remember every other field in my area has been crop rotated OSR every year..this year is the same as what everyone else on here is echoing..very little being planted.. apart from a 10 acre field near my hives..