Well today has been a good day!
At last, our first calves by Mulberry have arrived today! Two lovely Ayrshire heifers, one bull (unfortunately) and a strong black Aberdeen Angus bull from a recently bought in cow. This we hope will be the busy calving period we've been waiting for since Christmas!
After an awful weekend of yet more rain and even a covering of snow on Sunday, have we reached the light at the end of the tunnel? Things can only get better from now on, surely, Spring is only round the corner and we can get some of these cows out to good grazing as soon as it drys up.
Our milk yield is only 1000 ltrs a day, the lowest ever on this farm. With freshly calved cows, milk should go up now and better quality too.
This afternoon, whilst it wasn't raining, I decided to get aboard Jester and go for a hack down the road. Having a nosey about, see what sheep were out or how the grass was looking on parts of our farm not recently visited! By the time I got back, (wait for it!) the sun was shining and it was a glorious glimmer of Spring, if only for half an hour. It did lift my spirits!
I'm now back from the first of seven talks this week. Unbelievably, I've got three this Thursday. One at 10.30am at Southwell, another in Nottinghamshire at 1.30pm and another 64 miles into Northamptonshire at 7.30pm. Looking forward to Friday night as I'm the after dinner speaker for a Gardening Club at Burdells. I'm taking my Mum too as she's into gardening and has her own garden open during June for NGS.
I wish my camera was working, so I could add a picture of our first baby calves of 2013! Will try to do better next time!
Monday 18 March 2013
Monday 11 March 2013
March Madness!!
I know I didn't like February but March isn't much better. What's happened to the weather now we're officially in Spring? Not seen any March hares running about the fields yet. Even they think it's still winter.
Nearly a month as passed by since my last blog and guess what? We're covered in a layer of snow again, blustery powdery white stuff! We've had floods and a short dry spell since my last blog and even a couple of days where the birds singing from the branches of the trees made it feel like spring had sprung! Only a few snowdrops dare show there faces so far.
Oh well, the winter routine on the farm continues. This morning it was me, Mark and his father Noel on duty. Mark out there at 5.30am to start milking, Noel and I outside by 7am, Now it's light in the mornings we can get on at bit better. Having milked 90 cows, scrapped out the dung from the cubicle sheds, bedded 96 cubicles with straw by handfork, hayed and corned the young 10 weaners and horses between us, then it was time for breakfast in the warm.
Out again at 9am to scrape out the dung from the feed shed, then Mark fetches 5 round bales of silage (the clamp silage ran out two weeks ago). We fed the bales into the feed manger, then fed the dry cows (which we've got a lot about at the moment, due to start calving next week in earnest - can't come quick enough as we desperately need more milk in the tank). Having taken the tractor with a load of silage down the field to Alama Bank to feed Mulberry the bull and 10 in-calf heifers (who have wintered outside all winter), then it was back to bed down the youngstock (30 inside now) and all the dry cows. I then mucked out two stables for the horses, collected the eggs, our dog Beattie has been outside with us all morning (travelling in the tractor and running about with the cows so now she's covered in cow muck!) and finally coming into the house for coffee at 11am!
We are awaiting 8 in-calf heifers to arrive this morning as they are due to calve shortly and need to be on farm before they do! They've passed the pre-movement TB test a week ago so we know they were coming but thought we'd have some stock outside by now. Alas the weather has different plans for us.
Some dairy farmers in the area, have completely run out of fodder so have had no choice but to turnout some stock and even the dairy cows during the day. Just think of the mess when its wet! Even the grass hasn't got going yet, grass needs warmth and sunlight to start to germinate and grow. Experts are telling us to get used to extremes in the weather so we've just got to get on with it and muddle through somehow.
Yesterday it was Mothering Sunday and I invited my parents to come out with us for Sunday lunch at nearby beauty spot, Launde Abbey. We had a marvellous three course lunch in such a fabulous building. My parents do love this part of Leicestershire and marvel in the undulating terrain we work and farm in. As we awoke to snow yesterday I wondered if we'd get out, but as usual once out of Somerby, the rest of the world has far less snow to worry about. Even with a covering of snow, the countryside looks spectacular on a bright sunny but very cold morning.
Charlotte spent the weekend at Skegness with the Young Farmers Club and had a brilliant time. Harry's at school in Somerset, and didn't realise it was Mothers Day! I did get a bunch of lillies from Charlotte though on her return so that was a nice surprise.
Can't believe we had a Fete meeting last week. Both Mark and myself are on the committee as we host it in a small paddock in front of our farmhouse. This will be the fifth year we've hosted it and each year seems to gain in popularity. It's planned for July 14th - hope the weather improves by then!
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Nearly a month as passed by since my last blog and guess what? We're covered in a layer of snow again, blustery powdery white stuff! We've had floods and a short dry spell since my last blog and even a couple of days where the birds singing from the branches of the trees made it feel like spring had sprung! Only a few snowdrops dare show there faces so far.
Oh well, the winter routine on the farm continues. This morning it was me, Mark and his father Noel on duty. Mark out there at 5.30am to start milking, Noel and I outside by 7am, Now it's light in the mornings we can get on at bit better. Having milked 90 cows, scrapped out the dung from the cubicle sheds, bedded 96 cubicles with straw by handfork, hayed and corned the young 10 weaners and horses between us, then it was time for breakfast in the warm.
Out again at 9am to scrape out the dung from the feed shed, then Mark fetches 5 round bales of silage (the clamp silage ran out two weeks ago). We fed the bales into the feed manger, then fed the dry cows (which we've got a lot about at the moment, due to start calving next week in earnest - can't come quick enough as we desperately need more milk in the tank). Having taken the tractor with a load of silage down the field to Alama Bank to feed Mulberry the bull and 10 in-calf heifers (who have wintered outside all winter), then it was back to bed down the youngstock (30 inside now) and all the dry cows. I then mucked out two stables for the horses, collected the eggs, our dog Beattie has been outside with us all morning (travelling in the tractor and running about with the cows so now she's covered in cow muck!) and finally coming into the house for coffee at 11am!
We are awaiting 8 in-calf heifers to arrive this morning as they are due to calve shortly and need to be on farm before they do! They've passed the pre-movement TB test a week ago so we know they were coming but thought we'd have some stock outside by now. Alas the weather has different plans for us.
Some dairy farmers in the area, have completely run out of fodder so have had no choice but to turnout some stock and even the dairy cows during the day. Just think of the mess when its wet! Even the grass hasn't got going yet, grass needs warmth and sunlight to start to germinate and grow. Experts are telling us to get used to extremes in the weather so we've just got to get on with it and muddle through somehow.
Yesterday it was Mothering Sunday and I invited my parents to come out with us for Sunday lunch at nearby beauty spot, Launde Abbey. We had a marvellous three course lunch in such a fabulous building. My parents do love this part of Leicestershire and marvel in the undulating terrain we work and farm in. As we awoke to snow yesterday I wondered if we'd get out, but as usual once out of Somerby, the rest of the world has far less snow to worry about. Even with a covering of snow, the countryside looks spectacular on a bright sunny but very cold morning.
Charlotte spent the weekend at Skegness with the Young Farmers Club and had a brilliant time. Harry's at school in Somerset, and didn't realise it was Mothers Day! I did get a bunch of lillies from Charlotte though on her return so that was a nice surprise.
Can't believe we had a Fete meeting last week. Both Mark and myself are on the committee as we host it in a small paddock in front of our farmhouse. This will be the fifth year we've hosted it and each year seems to gain in popularity. It's planned for July 14th - hope the weather improves by then!
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