Farm Update -July 2022

We recently saw this quote and it did make us chuckle, as it certainly feels a little bit like that for us at the moment: 

            ‘farming is saying ’but after this week things will slow down a bit'  …                                                   over and over until you die.'

Not that we're complaining of course, it's just the usual chaos over here … livestock work, new ventures (yes you heard that right, and can learn a little more below!), website developments, hay making, sheep shearing, machinery maintenance, all with a little sprinkling of COVID (yep, after 2 ½ years it eventually got us!). But it's keeping us out of mischief which is always good.

Curlew and Environmental Work 

First things first is to update you on our 2 precious curlew eggs … well the great news is that they have hatched! 2 fabulous little curlew have made it in to this world and are preparing to fully fledge. The curlew remain in the locality at the moment and treat us with regular fly pasts when we are in the meadows, but we anticipate that they will head towards the coast in the winter. The amazing volunteers from the Upper Thames Curlew recovery project have done an incredible job at protecting and monitoring the nest site, and will continue to keep an eye on their progress. The egg shells have been collected and sent to the University of Sheffield for scientific analysis, as part of a wider study into curlew.

The river meadows are looking awash with different wildflower species. As part of a floodplain meadow study a colleague from Natural England has been monitoring plant diversity. On a recent botanical survey new plant species were identified in both the meadows and wading bird scrapes - these included water plantain, pepper saxifrage and great burnet. It's great to see that the meadows continue to improve and flourish. 

All things growing 

Well things in the ground are making slow progress - both the grass and the grains. We could really do with some more rain (ahh yes here comes the weather chat!) to really get the grass going, but in the meantime we'll make use of the dry weather to make some hay. The dried grass is baled in to large round bales which will be used alongside our homemade grass silage (grass that is baled slightly damper and wrapped in air tight plastic causing in to ferment) to feed the cattle over winter. 

The crops continue to plod along, although could really do with some steady rain to help fill the heads with nice bold bright grains. Any extremes in weather can really impact the grain quality, so at this stage in the growing process we are after a nice consistent balance of sun, rain and warmth (we don't ask for much hey?!).

Livestock

It's a similar story on the livestock front … yes, you guessed it … we need more rain! This extremely dry weather means the grass has pretty much stopped growing - you may have noticed it with your garden lawns. Well it's the same for us with our grazing fields, which means a lot of juggling of cattle to ensure they have enough high quality grass to sustain them. 

The sheep are now lighter and cooler having been sheared last week. A welcomed relief I would imagine, despite the cooler temperatures. Whilst doing this the lambs received their second dose of ‘heptavac’ to stop them picking up any clostridial diseases. The lambs are growing well and in the next 6-8 weeks we should see some ready to head to the abattoir, so watch this space for fresh lamb availability.

Courier charges 

It will come as no surprise, that along with all other producers, we are facing significant increases in our costs of production. DHL UK, who we use for all of our nationwide courier deliveries has significantly increased their delivery charges. As such, and after much deliberation, we have had to review our delivery pricing structure. As of tonight, nationwide delivery will be charged at £7.50, with FREE delivery on orders over £100 (with the use of our free delivery code). Remember, that if you live locally you can choose to collect your order and if we are passing we will drop it in to you anyway. We hope you understand our need to make this change. Don't forget to keep your eyes peeled for the free delivery code!

Exciting times!

It's exciting times ahead for the Florey fam as we are pleased to announce that on 1st August we are opening Florey's Field secure dog walking paddock. This has been a long time coming thanks to a lengthy planning process and yes (you guessed it!) the dry weather meaning the grass has taken an eternity to grow, but we are nearly there!

Think an amazing 3 acres, 1.8 metre secure fencing, natural and man made obstacles, masses of space to roam, walk, run or train your dogs, a field shelter for shelter, shade or rest, all in a lovely secluded, rural location. The paddock will be available to book by the hour for exclusive use.  Perfect to offer your dog total freedom and enrichment, or for formal training. A secure site for nervous or reactive dogs, or those with poor recall. If you're local to us then make sure you give us a visit when we open, and like us on facebook or instagram.  You never know, there may even be a cheeky discount code on its way for our Northmoor Meat Company customers. 

Well I think that's it from us on what felt like a mammoth update! Have a fabulous rest of the week!

James & Fi