Why? Oh Why?

[rjm]

Went out detecting on some land that I've had good finds in the past that  has everything going for it. An Iron Age hillfort, norman motte & bailey, castle etc etc.

After a few hours detecting nothing but green waste and minor bits of old lead it was a detectorists absolute
nightmare. My best find was a rather large musketball.  

It's the worst days detecting I have had for a long time. I usually find something for my collection. Not to day.

I spoke to the farmer and at first he denied he had used green waste. I persisted and said "it's everywhere!!!"
and said I'd encountered it on other farms where it was pulped wood with all the fittings chewed up.

He then admitted he'd used wood pulp as fertiliser................as it was half the price!

This guy has hundreds and hundreds of acres which is rendered almost undetectable. I got it out of him that he
has just one field that he hasn't spread this cheap muck on............so will save that for a rainy day!

The thing I wonder about is this waste was almost always within the first inch or two and embedded in the grass.....which his expensive horses were busily chomping away on. Makes me wonder if the horses will ever
have a problem with it?

Anyone else had the same problem?  (not eating the stuff............detecting I mean!  )

[Chef Geoff]

Yes Bob I've come across it and as you say it's an absolute nightmare. To make matters worse it always seems to be bits of copper alloy so it will be there for hundreds of years and you can't even disc it out, some pieces aren't even that small.

[Meatslicer]

Yup, three of the four farms I have scanned in the VoG have had this stuff tipped over their fields. Some of it was free to a good farm!

I have come across bits of hinges, locks, screws, alluminium track and fittings. I have even found chipboard sections which havent rotted down.

I wonder if the farmers know there are harmful chemicals used in the construction of chipboard and MDF?

Eric

[rjm]

Goodness knows how pulped wood nourishes the soil. I always say you get what you pay for and they may pay
for this cheap 'fertiliser' in the future.

As Eric said, some of this pulped MDF has chemicals in.

As Geoff said, the bits of metal in this rubbish are impossible to discriminate out and will be around for centuries....and make a field extremely difficult to detect.

Looks like the Archaeologists have a win by default ! 

[tyna]

Perhaps it's a conspiracy    I for one wouldn't be surprised - but I'm a cynic 

[Val Beechey]

I think it's more a case of 'Buyer Beware'
If the Farmers have the same experience as Horse owners then it's a case of YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR
. With the price of horse bedding exceeding the price of feeding the brute I've tried some of the cheaper options and been appalled at some of the 'addatives'
It's the unscrupulous producers that need a good looking at. The pulped wood shavings are a good addition to the soil for many reasons but how do they get away with all he other stuff thats getts into the mix.

Val

[tyna]

Yeah - guess if you take on the responsibility of the welfare of  another being who can't contribute to their own welfare through no fault of their own then it costs - big time.  Another thing that gets on my one remaining nerve while we're at it is that there's an allowance for child benefits but where is the provision for pet benefits        People on the whole make me angry  >: ( Beauty is in the eye of the the beholder and if one opts for a hairy child then they should not be excluded)  

[Val Beechey]

I quiet agree Tyna.
The whole set up is crazy. I pay VAT on Cat and Dog food but not on Horse food. But I have to pay VAT on Medicines and Vets bills. Vat  on horse bedding, what a joke. It costs more to buy something for him to pee on than it does to buy a bag of food to feed him. Crazy.
And talking of VETS, well to anyone who has animals I needn't say any more. Now if I was a pensioner who hadn't saved anything all my life I could have free pet meds from PDSA or RSPCA. I've got a poorly cat at mo. and so far were up to £371 since Xmas.
The list goes on and on. One of our (excuse the pun) pet subjects. And another thing. If one of those so called Charities ever asks for donations for birth control I for one will find some money for them.

Val

[Mark]

I have noticed this on many of the farms in the VOG that I go to and it can make detecting a nightmare, infact, I have given up on several fields because of it as some are so infested detecting there has become near impossible.  More and more farmers appear to be using it too 

[tyna]

Brewster is in Pet Plan as were others before him - more expensive the older they get !
At the very least VAT on food and medical help for pets should be abolished  
It can hardly be classed as a luxury to see to their wellbeing  
I for one have had enough  
Now what was that Kenny Everett used to say about shooting

[benny]

At least it will put nighthawks off so someone with the time and patience can detect without having arseholes ruin it for them,even tho you will have to dig a lot more rubbish! Every cloud has a silver lining!

[rjm]

At least it will put nighthawks off so someone with the time and patience can detect without having arseholes ruin it for them,even tho you will have to dig a lot more rubbish! Every cloud has a silver lining!

Even with time and patience, it's a nightmare. I must have dug over 100 signals all for the benefit of 1 musket ball.

I think even the most patient of detectorist would find it very tiring as there is a signal every few feet. If it's in lose soil that's one thing but it tight knitted grass it's a nightmare. 

[rjm]

Yeah - guess if you take on the responsibility of the welfare of  another being who can't contribute to their own welfare through no fault of their own then it costs - big time.  Another thing that gets on my one remaining nerve while we're at it is that there's an allowance for child benefits but where is the provision for pet benefits        People on the whole make me angry  >: ( Beauty is in the eye of the the beholder and if one opts for a hairy child then they should not be excluded)  

We had a cat once. Bought it in Brecon for £38. It was in front of our fire, sleeping, for years until our drunken son
stood on him and crushed him. He had to be thrown out as his foot went right through his body and damged his cardboard inners.

Brilliant cat. No vets bills, no food/drink, no issues whatsoever.................and everybody thought it was real !