Farm Update - February 2023
James Florey
January is one of the few months of the year that is a touch slower for us on the farm, so we have been enjoying taking stock of what's going on, getting some of those long standing jobs ticked off the list, and doing some ‘what’s next?!' planning. We are even managing to squeeze in a much needed holiday in February, before we enter into the throws of lambing, calving, drilling etc. ... Once we hit March time it is pretty much non stop until after Christmas!
Farm Vet
Much like having a GP surgery that you register with, we register with a farm veterinary practice. We have used the same practice for many years, but our Vet is retiring soon and as such we are having to register with a new practice. Over the past couple of weeks we have enjoyed meeting some incredibly inspiring and knowledgeable local farm vets, whilst we decide which company to work with moving forwards.
To us a vet is so much more than someone we call on when our animals are unwell. They form a fundamental part of our business; they work with us to develop herd and flock health plans that promote healthy livestock and prevent ill health, they share their knowledge and expertise with us, they connect us with other farmers for peer support and learning opportunities, and they do all of this whilst considering our specific business models and style of farming. Whilst we are sad that our vet is retiring, it's been a great opportunity to reassess our approach to this side of our business. We are really excited to begin working with our new veterinary practice who blew us away with their knowledge and passion when we met with them.
Environmental Stewardship
As you know, we love our environmental schemes here! These provide us with a small financial incentive to work with the environment in mind. In order to receive the incentives we have to sign up to a 5 year agreement in which we pledge what we will do with each parcel of land, we are then paid for each of those pledges.
Our current agreement comes to an end at the end of 2023 so we are in the process of seeking professional advice to support us with our next application. We have loads of exciting ideas and things we want to include this time round, including hedge planting, establishment of herbal leys, and woodland management, as well as continuing with much of our existing work, including the wading bird projects.
Lambs and calves incoming!
January has been the month for pregnancy testing our livestock. The ewes have all been scanned and we are pleased that they have tested at approximately 190% (25 singles, 79 sets of twins, 22 sets of triplets and 2 quads). This is absolutely ideal as it should mean that each ewe should end up with 2 lambs. Those with triplets, we will take one away and foster it on to a ewe with a single lamb. This makes perfect use of the ewes 2 teats and gives the perfect conditions for healthy, happy, well looked after lambs. You may remember that in previous years we have scanned at well over 200% (as high as 230% one year!). Scanning this high means a lot of triplets and quads (which can result in complications), and not many singles (meaning few opportunities for fostering). Whilst we love looking after the orphan lambs it is better for the ewes, lambs (and us really!) if the sheep can be brought up naturally by their mother or a foster ewe.
The cattle have been tested in a slightly more old fashioned way - with a glove and an internal examination from the vet. All looks good with the expectant mothers, and we look forward to welcoming our calves in March.
Arable Land
As we said in our previous newsletter, this time of year is pretty dormant for our arable land. Much of the land has been under water, but as the flood water retreats and ground conditions firm up, we will be beginning to spread our farmyard manure on the arable fields. This acts as a fantastic natural fertiliser, reducing the need for manmade fertiliser. It also improves the soil structure, which increases the soils capacity to hold water and nutrients.
Whilst the manure bring huge benefit to our soil health and growing crops, we have to be incredibly mindful of when we apply this to the ground. Obviously we don't want the manure to leach in to waterways hence why we are careful to spread it only when conditions are absolutely right.