Farm Life - pring forward

Farm Life - spring forward

by Roger Hill

After such a seemingly long and wet winter with incessantly miserable weather, April comes like a breath of fresh air. Helped along with the spring flowers, there is positivity for the exciting days ahead.

This time of year, as the grass growth begins to accelerate, it is an ideal opportunity to turn out cattle from their winter housing. It is always a pleasure to watch them skipping around the fields of North Devon and Exmoor.

Spring sowing of crops is the other main job, but has to be timed to perfection. Too early, when the soil is still cold and wet, can lead to poor germination and even soil compaction. Leave drilling too late, especially with grass re-seeding, and there is the risk of hitting dry, hot weather which reduces yield. We farmers are never completely satisfied but with a combination of knowledge, skill and a degree of luck we hope to produce high yielding and quality crops to feed the nation.

Another facet we need is patience, especially with our young vineyard. First planted in 2019, we finally have wine to sell from our 2022 grape harvest. Another spin-off will be our vineyard tours and tasting of bubbly, white and rosé - for more info see; quoitatcrossvineyard.com ‘Til next time, Roger #TuppertheTractor (tupperthetractor.com)

Colourful spring flowers help pollinators