Services
Cultivation
Using a range of equipment, cultivation encompasses a broad range of services in ground preparation. Cultivation is often classified into two types, primary and secondary.
Primary cultivations tend to produce a rough surface finish, whereas secondary cultivations produce a seed bed with a smoother surface finish. As part of our services, we undertake full cultivation and seed bed preparation ready for drilling. We offer a full range of cultivation techniques suitable for all soil types and depending on the crop you wish to plant.
Ploughing
Although we aim to try to be “Til Free” where we can on our own land, we understand the need and demand from others, so it’s a service we’re more than willing to provide.
Ploughing is a process used to help prepare the soil for drilling by loosening and turning the soil. Typically, this primary form of cultivation takes place in the autumn or early spring and serves to turn the upper layer of soil, bringing fresh nutrients to the surface while burying the surface debris and loosening the soil.
As the plough is drawn through the soil, it leaves in its wake long furrows of fertile soil. It is normal practice to leave the soil to dry out ready for secondary cultivations, such as harrowing, to prepare a more level seedbed for drilling.
Rotary Cultivation
Rotary cultivating is generally used for secondary tillage after ploughing, to break up the clods of soil and provide a finer finish with a good tilth which is suitable for a seedbed, often in a single pass. On suitable land (without too-heavy organic matter/vegetation) and dependent on the intended crop to be sown, Rotary Cultivating can be applied to negate the use of a plough in as little as a couple of passes.
We use a three-metre cultivator fitted with a packer roller to consolidate the loose soil and help retain moisture.
- Preparing seed beds
- Chopping weeds & crop residue
- Stubble cleaning
- Land reclamation & general tidying
Harrowing
Harrowing should be carried out as part of any pasture management programme in the spring, preferably after grazing in conjunction with rolling and before any fertilizer application.
Harrowing removes dead thatch, lifts vegetation up and levels any mole hills. Its job is to allow air movement and root aeration which helps the soil to breathe and improves water infiltration. It reduces disease by exposing fungi and bacteria to sunlight which is essential for the health of the pasture.
Timing is critical and ideally harrowing should be undertaken in dry, warm conditions, as this allows the harrowed droppings to dry out and kill any parasites. Chain and Tine harrows can also be used in arable conditions for seed bed preparation and covering seed after drilling. When used on sports fields, they are very effective at removing and spreading worm casts and ripping out moss.
Chain and Tine harrows can be used for levelling all weather race tracks and indoor or outdoor jumping arenas and ménages.
- Pasture renovation; breaking up and levelling heavy soil
- Removal of dead grass from the base of healthy grass
- Helping to remove lightly rooted weeds
- Root aeration; for better water infiltration and growth
- Works in fertilizer to both spread and maximize effectiveness
- Surface levelling in equestrian centres, racetracks, and running tracks
- Stimulates growth by aerating and tearing out thatch
- Environmentally friendly grass care
- Seed bed preparation
- Excellent for ripping out moss, spreading manure, and levelling mole hills
Rolling
Paddock Rolling is usually carried out in the spring once the weather has started to dry up. There are two types of roller flat and ridged. Ridged or Cambridge rolls are for rolling newly seeded virgin ground. Flat ballasted rollers are for established grassland.
During flat rolling, the grass is compressed, which makes it spread out, creating a thicker sward and helping to prevent weeds from appearing. Flattening uneven ground, created by livestock, tractors and vehicles can be removed. We usually carry out paddock rolling after harrowing which helps push any stones back into the field that has been pulled up by the harrows.
Ridged Cambridge rolls are excellent for rolling new leys and making sure that the seed is in contact with the ground. Germination is a lot quicker and flourishing after using this machine.
It mustn’t be too wet to avoid damage to the ground caused by tractors. Dry conditions will not give the full benefit of either process, so timing is crucial.
Pasture & Grassland Fertiliser Spreading
Fertiliser spreading is an integral part of maintaining your paddocks and grasslands to produce high quality, plentiful forage for livestock. Fertiliser spreading promotes plant growth by replenishing minerals and salts that have been absorbed by grass and increases sward density.
Manure Muck Away & Spreading
We can offer a straightforward Muck Away service, loading and removing your animals' manure with our loader tractor and 12-tonne tipping trailer, or spread it on your own land.
One of the more traditional methods for application of organic fertiliser is of course muck spreading and includes the spreading of slurries, yard and cattle muck, compost, coffee waste and chicken litter.
Manures contain readily available nutrients that can be used as a replacement for bagged fertiliser. They also contain organic nutrients which will slowly break down in the soil over time, providing an on-going supply of nutrients in the soil, improving soil structure and quality.
Hedge Trimming
As part of our contracting operations, we can provide a hedge trimming service to keep your field margins and hedgerows neat and tidy in the field or along the highways. We currently operate a 7-metre reach flail head, tractor mounted hedge cutter and also sawblade for thicker branches.
The hedge trimmer is also equipped with a debris blower mounted onboard to help leave a clean and tidy finish, especially roadside, which eliminates the risk of persons having to put themselves in potential harm's way of traffic clearing up afterwards. We are used to collaborating with traffic management companies where needed.
We adhere strictly to the closed period to reduce the risk of disturbance to nesting birds, so it is paramount to get the job done quickly and efficiently during the months available of September through to February. We have just the machinery and experienced operatives to do it.
Hay & Haylage Production
We can offer you or your company the full service of hay and haylage production, or individual stages that suit.
Starting with the mowing of your crop using our 3-metre front, and over 3-metre rear disc mowers, we can cover more than 6 metres in one pass to ensure the grass is cut quickly and efficiently to begin the drying process and utilise the weather conditions.
Next, we will spread the grass using our 6.72-metre Krone Tedder designed to fluff the crop, allowing air and sunlight to penetrate right through to ground level, thus aiding the drying process and achieving a better quality of forage.
The next step would be to rake the grass into windrows ready for baling after carefully checking the crop is at a suitable moisture content, depending if it is intended to be baled for hay or haylage.
The type of bales required would shape the choice of the rake used; if conventional small bales were required, our single rotor 4.6 metre Krone rake would fit the bill. If large round or square bales were the request, then our twin rotor 7.6 metre Massey Ferguson rake along with a tractor fitted with auto-steer GPS guidance make the combination a formidably efficient setup. This is perfect for time-saving, full crop collection and carbon footprint reduction with saved fuel.
Of course, if haylage was the chosen forage, round bales can be wrapped in stretch wrap on our Mchale round bale wrapper. Conclusion of the process can be carting and stacking the bales for you.
Conservation Cut & Clearance
Using a very similar process to hay making for cut and clearance, the site is mown, tedded, raked and then baled with bales removed from site or left for composting. This tends normally to be done later in the year, from mid to late August onwards into autumn once any wildflowers would have flowered and started to go to seed. During the making process, tedding and raking helps the spread of seed.
The aim is to remove the grass year on year to reduce the fertility of the ground, which will encourage species of wildflowers to dominate rather than being out-competed by grass. We can cut and clear vast areas for clients in the same way we can with hay/haylage, but we can also fit into smaller sized sites, such as a couple of acres or less with our Iseki cut and collector machine. It’s a self-contained cutter and collector in one, with a high lift and tip capacity.
Please note, we are committed to reducing the risk of cross contaminating sites with unwanted weeds and seeds where possible. Before leaving a site, the machine will be cleaned off, and our tractors are equipped with air compressors, air lines and blowers.
Grassland & Paddock Cutting/Topping
Regular paddock topping is an essential part of paddock and pasture maintenance. Paddock topping removes tall, tough grass and weeds that is not palatable to livestock, particularly horses and ponies.
The ideal length for grazing animals is around 100mm or 4 inches. Cutting weeds before they have time to go to seed will give the grass more chance to get established without competition.
Please note, we are committed to reducing the risk of cross contaminating sites with unwanted weeds and seeds. Where possible before leaving a site, the machine will be cleaned off, and our tractors are equipped with air compressors, air lines and blowers.
Urban Open Spaces & Playing Fields
With such a spectrum of urban open spaces and playing fields, we at Chidwell are confident that we can offer clients a large array of options to keep their urban open spaces and playing fields well managed and cared for.
In our fleet we have a range of machines, such as the compact Iseki cut and collect machine, that will leave a short neat football pitch-like cut, to just taking the top off an area to tidy it up.
Next in the range are our Flail mowers that can be fitted front and/or rear of a tractor and combined they will give approximately a 5-metre cut. Flails are particularly useful at chopping and mulching, leaving a fine and greatly reduced residue. Again, Flails can also be used to simply keep an area of growth under control or leave a fine playing field finish.
The machine that’s best suited to covering large areas in our collection is a McConnell “batwing” 4.60 metre folding rotary blade cutter. This machine can also be used to reduce overgrown areas and will still leave a highly respectable finish. The “batwing” is our go to machine for many of the parks, playing fields and large open areas that we currently look after.
Please note, we are committed to reducing the risk of cross contaminating sites with unwanted weeds and seeds. Where possible before leaving a site, the machine will be cleaned off, and our tractors are equipped with air compressors, air lines and blowers.
Fencing
Information coming soon...