Farm Update - January 2023

TB 

You will all know that we have been battling TB on and off for a number of years now, and you may remember that at our skin test back in September we lost 10 cattle to the disease - a huge number for the size of our herd. Because of both the longevity and severity of our outbreak we were ordered by the Animal Plant and Health Agency to have a diagnostic blood test, alongside our 60 day skin test in December. 

The skin test is the routine method of testing - an injection of both the avian and bovine strain of TB, followed by skin measurements 72 hours later allowing the vet to identify inflammatory responses (www.tbhub.co.uk provide a more detailed explanation of the testing process). The blood test was ordered as it is deemed to be a more sensitive diagnostic, meaning it should identify all the animals within the herd who have the disease, and breaking the cycle of constant reinfection. 

The dual test was carried out in early December. We had 3 reactors from the skin test, but lost a total of 8 after the blood test. We are obviously hoping that this breaks the cycle and allows us to go clear at our next test in March. We'll be keeping our fingers crossed between now and then!

Cattle 

Other than the continued battle with TB the cattle are keeping well and are looking in good condition. They are enjoying a warm dry winter in the sheds, eating our home grown silage. Over Christmas we welcomed our final Autumn (or I guess we should class them as winter!) calves. All straight forward births and happy, healthy animals. This week we have weaned our spring born calves now that they can manage on silage alone. I'm sure the cows will be delighted for some peace! Over the next couple of weeks we will be weighing all of our cattle to check their growth rates and condition. At the same time we will be administering their annual vaccination boosters. These vaccinations help to ensure the cattle are kept fit, healthy and free from disease. 

Today we have the vet with us to pregnancy test the cows who are due to calve in the Spring. As our numbers have been hit so much by the losses through TB, we will be looking to keep back a larger number of calves than usual to join the herd, and become the mothers of the future. More than ever we need all our cows to be carrying healthy calves, and have straight forward births once we are in to spring. We will be keeping the cows inside so we can ensure they are well looked after, are getting all the nutrients they need, and we can support during labour if needed. 

Sheep 

The sheep all remain outside despite the grotty weather. Their fleeces are thick and waterproof, and they are a hardy breed so can tolerate extreme weather conditions. Our main challenge is the mud which can get clogged around their hooves making it hard for them to walk. We are trying to move them frequently to ensure they are on less boggy ground. 

The rams should have done their job with all the ewes, and have now been taken out. We will have a visit from the scanner man at the end of January who will scan each ewe, telling us whether they are pregnant or not, and how many lambs they are expecting. 2 lambs per ewe is ideal to make use of their 2 teats, but last year we had lots of triplets, 3 sets of quads, and even a set of quins! 

Arable 

This is a dormant time of year for us on the arable front. Most of the land is flooded, and so we sit and wait until spring when the fields have dried out (hopefully!) to plant next years crops. 

Environmental Work 

The environmental work continues as always. You may notice whilst out and about that there is a lot of hedge cutting going on. It sometimes feels like, as a nation, we have a slight obsession with tidy hedgerows. I mean, why do they need to be kept neat and perfect, unless they are obscuring roads or junctions of course?! We only cut our hedges every 3 years to allow them to develop in to a healthy and robust habitat and food source for birds, bugs and other creatures. When we do cut them, we wait until the end of February once all the berries have been eaten. This means birds get the most value from the available food source, rather than cutting and wasting during their time of most need. 

 We are also putting out supplementary bird food to encourage farm birds. This is a mixture of different grains, fed on to hard surfaces (we use pieces of board), at various locations around the farm. This supplements what is available to the birds naturally. We have a massive array of birds but most commonly see yellow hammers, blue tits, great tits, gold finches, black caps, wrens, thrush, chaffinch, robins, wagtails, and woodpeckers … to name just a few!

We hope you all enjoy this slightly drier, colder spell we are about to hit … its got to be better than the torrential rain, surely?! Don't forget to get in touch with your lamb orders or any meat enquiries, and we'll be back in touch soon regarding beef.

Happy January!

James & Fi