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23-3 #91 Nov2014-Feb15

Price £4.35

Start your £16.50 annual subscription with this issue.

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Published in early Nov, Feb, May, and August

Top features in this issue

Made it Myself: Mobile pressure washer and drain jetter.

Built with old sprayer tank, PTO pump, two reels of hose.
Wash down muddy machinery in field - no mess in yard.
Clears drains more easily than rods. Jetter hose is 200m.
Simple project for a great many farmers.

Financial Focus: Ways to help you weather plummeting corn and livestock prices

It may be a good time to look at your finances and consider methods more than extending machinery life and deferring replacement. Plus: farmland prices in USA are falling. UK values continue to rise. What's going on?

Soil+* includes two contrasting farm visits, plus news from the USA.

The first farm we visited has been focussing on his heavy clay for over a decade, and has become a source of knowledge and inspiration for many. Our day with him is massively informative.
Our second farm has changed from min-till with heavy machinery just two years ago, and give a frank report of the changes they have made, and the problems encountered. Equally fascinating, as he is using grass leys to add fertility

Also in this issue:

Grain dozer made in farm workshop - Practical Farm Ideas issue 23-3

Home built grain pusher

Beaver tail trailer for 8t excavator - Practical FarmIdeas 23-3

A refurbished beaver tail -
new floor, ramps, sides, lamps
and other extras

Massey Ferguson MF 6 series drawbar - Practical Farm Ideas 23-3

Massey drawbar moved from under
diesel tank onto weight carrier

More Made it Myself projects

	Two Ifor Williams livestock bodies on a home designed trailer makes a 24ft float for a tractor. Sheep decks included. More than doubles load. See how this unique trailer made.
	Silage tyre handler carries 60 tyres up the clamp - say goodbye to throwing. A 'Made it Myself' 5 star!!!
	Front mounted spring tine cultivator 6 metre to match width of Vaderstad drill. Used on all headlands in front of drill. Saves a pass on land which needs a bit more than one pass with the TopDown. Fits on the rear linkage for light cultivation
	Trailer wheel bearings won't be greased if the cover won't unscrew. Our ingenious farm contributor has made sockets to fit the different sized hub covers. It works every time, on any hub. Job done.
	Making an 8 ton Midi-Digger (JCB 8080) into a flexible farm tool.
	Neat warning sign for traffic costs nothing to make, attracts attention

Extra Made it Myself projects

Add to this a tractor mounted transporter for 6 wrapped silage bales (needs 150+ HP) ; beaver tail trailer refurb ; high strength log splitter ; ATV rear rack cover ; a super-efficient tanker-based slurry system with dribble bar tanker spreading in the field all day. Slurry is carted in modified splash plate machines. Compares with umbilical + no fast wearing pumps and pipes, no set-up. Keeps roads clean.

Practical Farm Ideas #91 Issue 23-3 Nov 2014 - Feb 2015 Newsagent price £4.35
Annual subscription £16.50

* About Soil+ Cover Cropping International

Every farmer relies on their soil for crops and livestock.
Raising fertility without buying fertiliser is a tempting prospect at any time, more so when farm-gate prices have dipped.

Articles published in 2013 on soil were so well received we created a special section titled Soil+ Cover Cropping, enabling arable and grassland farmers to informally share their methods and results.
Build up your soil knowledge with Soil+ Cover Cropping International

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