Farm Update - 3rd October 2016
James Florey
Beef Availability
Freezer running low? Fancying some of the best beef around? Have no fear!!! Northmoor beef is available for delivery throughout the UK on Thursday 3rd November. It's simple ... visit our shop here and browse our range of set beef boxes or make up your own Pick 'n Mix selection box. Place your order from the comfort of your own home, sit back, relax and await delivery of your fresh, refrigerated beef direct to your door. Not going to be at home? Fear not! Let us know a safe place where we can leave it and our friendly delivery driver will drop it there for you to find on your return. It'll even stay fresh for up to 10 hours post delivery! For those of you who just can't wait for delivery, collection from the farm is available on Tuesday 1st November.
Cattle
The cattle really have looked a picture over the past month or so, roaming around the fields enjoying the sun on their backs. The calves continue to grow, feeding off their mothers as well as eating the grass. Over the course of the past month some of cattle have been moved into new fields with fresh grass - they absolutely love this! It is always a pleasure to see them let into a new field and gallop off across it with the calves chasing along behind!
We have 9 cows due to calf at the end of this month and we will shortly be bringing them into the cattle shed. By having them inside during this time we can keep a close eye on them in the run up to them calving and look out for any problems that might occur. On the whole they don't need any assistance but always best to err on the side of caution!
Arable
Harvest is almost done - Just 7 acres of beans left to do which is a little frustrating! The rain on Saturday didn't help but hopefully we'll get a few dry days together this week for them to dry out so we can get them finished off.
The Spring Barley that we finished combining in August has now been collected from the farm and delivered to Budweiser to be malted and made in to beer. The Spring wheat is currently being tested in a grain testing laboratory (yes these do exist!), and we are hoping the results will enable this to be sent for bread making. There are various quality standards the crop needs to meet that ensures the flour produces good quality bread.
Now that harvest is almost over, our attentions turn to preparing the ground for next years crop. In order to achieve the best possible quality and yield it's essential to have a good seed bed with healthy soil. Muck that the cattle produce during the winter is spread across some of the land to provide nutrients and improve soil structure. Being located on the banks of the river Thames means we experience our fair share of flooding! This can lead to heavy and compacted soil, with poor drainage. This year, in order to try and improve drainage and soil structure, we have planted a mixture of fodder radish and forage rye. The fodder radish has long thick roots that burrow deep in to the soil. When the crop dies off, channels are left in the soil where the roots were. These channels provide a drainage course that helps to reduce flooding and compaction. Fingers crossed for a less soggy year!