Farming Diary

With all the autumn sowings completed by the middle of November, I thought the workload would drop to a lower pace. How wrong I was!

The number of jobs to be dealt with seems to go on and on. I suppose it’s because we have all had an exceptionally good autumn for sowing etc. Some of these other, not so urgent tasks, have been put to one side. We have had two lifts of sugar beet, the third and final lift may not be until after Christmas. This land will be sown with a spring crop. Hedges are being trimmed where needed and the gale force winds we all experienced recently, with branches and trees being blown down – some breaking fences – created extra work. These extra jobs will be taken care of during our annual fence checks and repairs in the next two months, unless needing more urgent attention, before we turn the cattle out to grass in the spring. Talking about the cattle, these were all brought into their winter housing at the end of November, just before the weather turned so wintry; they will now have a ration of silage (grass conserved in the summer), cereals with minerals and fodder beet – all grown on the farm – apart from some minerals and proteins which are usually bought in (and is a very small percentage of the diet.) Always bedded yards with plenty of straw to lie on, the cattle also like to eat some, which brings fibre into their daily ration, helping to give them a balanced diet and stay very contented, which is always good to see and very rewarding, ensuring we give them the best care whilst they are with us.

2021 has almost ended and we, in the farming fraternity, are still awaiting government guidance on how any proposed changes to the traditional farming of decades can be implemented to incorporate improvements to the environment. Nevertheless, we cannot afford to farm if these new ways do not cover rent etc. It could even lead to some redundancies, particularly in the bigger establishments. It would appear this hasn’t been thought through, and despite hearing a glimmer of hope this morning as I write this diary, everyone is still feeling unsure of direction. As always, the shop is exceptionally busy at this time of year. We are looking forward to seeing all our customers, old and new, in the New Year. With such an open autumn, the colour on trees, hedgerows and shrubs in the garden has been spectacular. In fact, I think they get better each year! The birds have recognised the good weather and made brief visits for food which is put out for them each morning. At the beginning of December, our gladioli, marguerites and many other plants, were often flowering for the second or third time this year, which all helps to brighten the long dark days of November and December.