Winter ploughing: December is with us once again and temperatures are well down, so the door is fully open for winter ploughing. The obligation to establish green cover within six weeks of ploughing, or spraying off stubble, ends on 1 December. And with ground in such good condition there is a real opportunity to get ploughing done or to get stubbles sprayed off.

So make the best of the good weather and frosty conditions to get work done, especially on soil types that are difficult to plough and till in springtime. A good frost tilth makes a great start for a spring crop. Getting the benefit from winter ploughing requires keeping the frost tilth on top during cultivation, so ploughing needs to be well packed. Using a furrow press helps do this, but any of the sod scratchers or light furrow presses can still be a big help.

Ploughing also helps get rid of volunteer vegetation that is carrying diseases and pests through the winter. If you have a big bulk of vegetation present, this may need to be topped or sprayed off in advance. Ploughed-in vegetation needs plenty of time to die back and decay to prevent the direct transfer of disease to emerging spring crops.

Grassland can be ploughed again now also. The benefits of burning off grass where perennial weeds are present is limited at this time of year.

Green cover

The obligation to retain green cover ends on 1 December. While this might mean spraying off volunteers and natural regrowth, fields with catch crops should be left growing for as long as possible, because growth equates to benefit. Having more organic matter to either incorporate or graze is of direct benefit to your land, so leave it growing for as long as makes sense.

Where spraying is to be done, the sooner the spray is applied, the longer the vegetation will have to rot down.

Not all stubbles need to be sprayed off if the plough can do a good job of burial. It is difficult to justify spraying, except on ins and outs, where the plough is well set. Spraying does not do away with the need for good ploughing.

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