K.Smith Field Services

Seems a good time to say "Clean ditches prevent flooding" 😊, if some one could inform the local council as well I think we could save some roads 👍

One of today's little tasks.
Digging of a cut away into an earth bank ready for the installation of Compost/muck bays.
Cutting them into the bank means zero hardstanding area is lost, only a rough dug finish was required as the sleeper was will be back filled once constructed.
... I removed the brambles and moved the topsoil to another part of the property, which was levelled in a hollow.
Stay tuned for the pictures of the finished bays
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Todays tasks in the sunshine.
A bowl shaped hollow dug and graded around two oak trees that were struggling a little due to increased soil levels.
And then the removal of a dead oak Tree and root ball from an avenue of Oaks.... Leaving it level and smooth ready for a replacement tree to be planted.
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The end of one section of our recent land drainage endeavours, coupled into the existing intact land drain half way across the field.
Trench levelled out ready to cultivate when the soil dries out, and the drain is flowing well even 48hrs after installation.
An easy permanent solution to drier more usable fields and areas.

Small job on the way home.
Shared private entrances blocked by a small fallen tree, cut cleared and stacked.
Gear all to hand in this weather if you find yourselves blocked in.

Here you can clearly see the darker muddy water rushing out of the backed up drain into the hole we dug, surprising amount of water for a small 3 inch very old terracotta land drain.
When we install the new drain next week it will cut through all these existing drains making sure any sections that are still working continue to drain water from the land and into the new line.

The start of a land drain repair this week. A very wet field of corn and some very old broken drains.
We managed to find the outlet buried in the bank and a running drain on the edge of the corn but unfortunately both are beyond cleaning.
... New pipe across the field to be installed next week.
In the mean time I have dug a short trench to take away the excess water from the drain that is running.
Mud glorious mud 😊
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Large fallen tree to deal with today for a regular customer. Brush wood, chipped and blown back under the hedge to rot away and cord wood ringed for eventual fire wood.
Nothing says countryside maintainance more than timber work to me. We work with trusted local tree surgeons if it's a complicated fell or delimb to get all jobs completed.
... What a tree-mendous day...... Sorry couldn't help it
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Thats the pesticides and crop spraying licence updated for another year, to keep me legal and informed.
Unfortunately due to the sheer amount of paper work, insurances and behind the scenes investment required to keep up I will only be doing my own crop spraying at home for the foreseeable future.
Hopefully in the near future I will be able to afford to invest the money into the equipment required and return to the paddock spraying services offered.
... Please remember, the work you see in your field is less than half of the work involved in offering services like spraying.
Thanks Kyle
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First full day out for the new chipper, working along side local tree surgeons, taking 20ft out the top of huge conifers.
Safe to say, everyone was very impressed with the performance of the chipper. Making light work of 20ft lengths of 6 inch plus diameter conifer.
... Same again tomorrow 😊
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Land drains are so underestimated. The government paid grants in the late 70s and early 80s for them to be installed to improve productivity of agricultural land, that tells you how important they are.
Unfortunately alot of those installations are coming to the end of their life or need serious maintenance.
... This one this morning was an old long forgotten main drain next to a mains water line.
It was pumping out that much water, it was believed to be a mains leak at first. Luckily for us the outlet is clear and running so this is a simple repair to patch a section of new pipe in.
Happy days
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So with the arrival of 2019, our reshuffle of services is complete and active.
The attached pictures give a list of the main activities we are now focused on.
The main areas are digger work and drainage , tractor mounted flail hedgecutting and muck aways.
... If you have any projects in mind for the year please do get in touch.
Look forward to hearing from you all Kyle
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Emergency stable yard water pipe repair today. The old copper and metal pipes had corroded away and burst.
We removed all the old piping and joined onto the good but obsolete sized black plastic pipe with a special adapter. We then stepped the pipe down to 25mm modern pipe and then down again to 20mm pipe to allow the existing tap to be used.
... From the new year, we are aiming to keep plenty of water fittings in stock including oddball sizes and adapters for these exact jobs. We can repair and install any water systems outside of the house.
Sorry forgot to take a before pic, this was half way through the repair with a temporary stop fitted to allow the water on the rest of the yard to remain on.
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Wishing all our customers past and present, a very merry Christmas and a happy new year.
The new specialised services we offer will kick off in full force from the new year.
I look forward to working with you all in the new year and beyond.
... Kyle
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How does this grab you?
As part of the continued machinery restructuring, we have invested in a bigger better muck grab for our muck away service.
This type of grab is perfect for dealing with the mixed types of muck of equestrian yards, making loading quicker and cleaner even with straw and shavings mixtures.

What started out as a lovely day installing new water pipes to feed new taps and tanks. Using the mole plough means the line in picture one is the only disturbance of the field required, except a small trench to start from and run too.
Unfortunately by the time it came to coupling it all up, the weather had gone sour. But we still had it all plumbed up with a new stop tap as well before dark, with the fields horse safe again within a day.... Time to dry my boots by the radiator I think.
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