After weeks of waiting, drilling finally begins. In this episode the first oilseed rape goes into the ground, and our two new 18 metre drills get to work, covering an astonishing 500 acres a day, a scale that would have been unthinkable a generation ago. We also get stuck into some brilliant home grown innovation, fitting RTK auto steer, section control and variable rate onto a Toyota Hilux using open source software and a worldwide community of tinkerers, and begin moving the whole business onto new farm management software inspired by what we saw in Brazil. The heart of this episode, though, belongs to James's father, who sits down to tell the story of the legendary drought of 1976, the year James was born. Fifty years on from a harvest he never forgot, he compares then and now, from the crops and the yields to machinery that has been transformed almost beyond recognition. We finish with some welcome news as the grain market finally starts to move, and an honest word on a poor year and the decisions it is driving. From the first seed in the ground to a remarkable look back in time, this is another look behind the scenes of a modern farming business. For those interested in our new merchandise: https://pxfarms.myshopify.com/ Chapters: 0:00 Intro 0:18 The second drill arrives, cultivation nears the end 2:34 Auto steer on a Toyota Hilux 4:30 A homemade variable rate and section control 7:14 The story behind the DIY tech 13:04 Tom's verdict, and a ride in the Hilux 18:37 A tour of the yard and the new 18m drill 20:28 The grain store and the ADR tyres 21:48 Moving to Crop Wise farm software 24:13 Satellite data and the trial pit damage 26:44 Day one of drilling the rape 27:31 My father on the drought of 1976 32:24 How 1976 compares to 2026 35:58 The 18m drills flying at 500 acres a day 39:39 A sad reflection on the yield 40:35 The fertiliser yard drainage 42:02 The market turns up, and the rotation ahead P.X. Farms is proudly supported by: Hectare - https://www.wearehectare.com Spaldings - https://spaldings.co.uk Agrii - https://www.agrii.co.uk Anglia Farmers - https://af.farm Charles and Dean - https://www.charlesanddean.com/px-farms Everywhen - https://www.everywhen.co.uk Syngenta - https://www.syngenta.co.uk Fendt - https://www.fendt.com/uk/ RTKFNet - https://www.rtkf.net Chavereys - https://chavereys.co.uk Horsch - https://www.horsch.com/en/home Lodi - https://www.lodi-uk.com S&A Buildings - https://www.s-and-a.co.uk All views expressed in this video are our own and do not reflect those of our sponsors. Follow us on: https://www.instagram.com/px_farms/ https://www.tiktok.com/@px_farms https://x.com/pxfarms https://open.spotify.com/show/4AmELtVJYW9JxUiHyeO6ks?si=006712aad9214551 Contact: Email: [email protected] #Farming #Agriculture #FarmingUK #BritishFarming #Drilling #OilseedRape #AgTech #PrecisionFarming #AutoSteer #Drought #ArableFarming #FarmMachinery #FarmLife #FarmVlog #PXFarms Thank you for watching and supporting our farming journey! Don’t forget to like, comment, and share this video! Your support helps us bring you more content from the farm.
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Hey that’s me!
What you have to remember about 1976, is how dry 75 was and a very dry winter. I was drilling sugar beet in February and although there was some rain there was not much. On 3rd June it was snowing and a frost that night. Sun came out next day and never went in again, no rain from then until August bank holiday Monday then that didn’t stop until late November, then it started snowing. I remember it so well. Harvest all finished before Easter of England Show (remember that). This year at least there was decent rain in May and Early June, that’s the big difference, don’t think there were many days over 30c in 76 either, but it was bloody hot.
James keeping the UK concrete industry afloat
Big respect for the senior, he went through tough times as a farmer.
In 76 I was living on a barley beef farm , what I remember is the phenomenal number of flies,particularly at night in the bedroom!
That impersonation was spot on 😂😂
hi i can remenber going to cottenham young farmers and we had a farm tour around scotland rd farm that would be round 76/78 those days i worked for sam/david burgess at willingham which i'm sure you would of heard off i think we ended up in your front room drinking a bottle of pale ale must say it was hard work those days but all good fun my £18 a week wage went a long way
Great video as always lots of thought provoking things as always. One comment which I’m sure there’s a reason for. Why are the tyres so narrow on the main drill hoppers they appear narrower than the tractors both tyre width and overall width?
It’s crazy all the technology in farming today and it always comes down to one thing. The weather
Tom was a good laugh James would have been wondering where the mustard came from 😂
I think James is getting great bang for buck with Tom on a videographer’s wage lol.
Great video, Good see your father looking well, And proud you, Yard looking well,
Great video James great to see Tom lamb on the video explaining the RTK system on the pickup The new Dril looks great
I love what Tom is doing with this open RTK, I think now that times are tight this could be a godsend. I look forward to seeing all of PX machinery on this. Having watched it all on Tom channel I can see shortly a day when you will have a remote control, you will drive it to the field and press the button and come back in a couple of hours and collect the tractor and of to th next field
Are you getting wider tyres on the 18 m avantar?
The finest informative ag vlogs around and another excellent video respect to px senior for his input thankyou 👍👍👍🍺🍺
Top work with the hilux 💪and the James impression. Nailed it 😂
Thanks for a very informative video. Loved Mr Peck senior reminiscing about 1976. Watched Tom Lambs video on the Toyota Tonka Toys auto-steer. Good luck with the new drills and software. 😊
We all know Tom Lamb , but who was that dapper looking gent towards the end of the video . He didnt look like T L , but at times he sounded like him. As for the new drills , WOW . TTFN , the peasant beef farmer
The Hilux is the last step of innovation before the robots show up...