Farm Update - August 2022

Weather

The weather has been a big focus for us this month (when is it not I hear you cry … and that's a very fair point!). The consistent dry weather has been gorgeous to enjoy. It made hay making incredibly straight forward (as we need the grass to be dry to bale it) and it will hopefully make for a hassle free harvest when we start later in the week. But it does mean we have absolutely no grass for our animals to graze. Our beautiful, usually lush, river meadows currently resemble the Sahara. As such we are having to feed our animals with supplementary silage. Usually the cattle wouldn't be tucking in to this until they come in to the barns in November and as such we are left with the worry that we won't have enough to see us through the winter. Right now we are preying for another couple of weeks of dry weather whilst we harvest the barley and oats, and then we would like everyone to do a serious rain dance. Sorry to anyone planning on a UK camping holiday in the latter part of August because we are hoping for some mega rain!

Harvest 

As mentioned, we are hoping to start harvest later this week. This is earlier than normal for us as our crops are drilled in Spring not Autumn like most. The hot dry weather has meant everything is ripening quicker than normal hence the earlier start. 

The dry weather is welcomed when combining as crops are tested for their moisture content and have to be circa 15% (dependent on crop). This means any wet weather or heavy dew and we are unable to combine. 

Once the crops are cut they will be sent away for testing. The grains are analysed in a lab for various quality indicators including moisture content, bushel weight, and protein/nitrogen levels. These results decide what the end destination is for the crops. We hope that our barley will meet the top specification requirements and will go off to make malt for Budweiser beer. If it doesn't then it will be used for animal feed, commanding a slightly lower price. Lets hope the yield and quality is good enough to cover the crazy costs of growing crops. 

Lambs 

The lambs are growing quickly and over the next couple of weeks will be weaned from the ewes. The lambs are now able to manage wholly on grass and silage, and this gives the ewes some time without lambs at foot. This does mean they can all be a bit noisy for a couple of days, so apologies to anyone who lives in Northmoor and can hear any excessive bleating! 

Dog walking paddock

Our new venture, Florey's Field Secure Dog Walking Paddock is now open and the feedback and interest has been amazing! Plenty of owners and their pooches have headed to the field already and enjoyed the rural location, secure environment, obstacles, agility equipment and space. We've had a pack huskies, an anxious Labrador, an elderly man looking after his daughters dogs, a trainee police dog, and so many more. It's been great to see these dogs play, run, and have fun. Check out our website for more information, or give us a like and follow on Facebook or Instagram. 

James & Fi 

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