 Down on the Farm April & May 2008
After this Easter and start to April, I think I am going to have to rewrite at least one old British proverb. How does “Red sky at night – wind and rain. Red Sky in the morning – wind and rain” sound. Not quite as poetic as the original but I think it just about sums up the last month. This has slowed down many things on the farm but lambing waits for nothing and has been in full swing now for the last three weeks. The ewes have behaved themselves fairly well this year and have lambed reasonably close together – from a start of 450 we are now down to the last 20 or so. Maurice, our shepherd, has been working hard to find enough space in the barns to keep young lambs inside for longer than normal – wet and windy weather is a newly born lamb’s worst enemy and they can succumb to exposure very quickly. We try to lamb as many of the sheep indoors as possible – this makes it easier to make sure every lamb has suckled properly and bonded well with its mother so that when they go out into the fields they stay together better and the lamb is well fed and sheltered. The coloured numbers you will have seen on the ewes and lambs are there to help the shepherd check that they have stayed together. I hope everyone enjoyed having the ewes and lambs at the shop over Easter – lots of the children (and some not so young) had a go feeding our pet lambs. You will be pleased to know they are all now paired off with new mothers and are outside in the fields.
With average temperatures now starting to rise it has been time to apply fertilizer to the arable crops to make sure they have enough nutrients as they begin their spring and summer growth phase and to check for any pests or diseases. Having a thick strong healthy crop helps crowd out the weeds underneath and reduces the chances of disease or pest problems. It is important we produce a good crop of wheat and barley each year, not least because we use it the following winter to feed the sheep and cattle. Also, when we sell our extra cereals then we are paid a premium depending on the quality – wheat suitable for bread making, for example, commands a much better price than that used for animal feed. It is the same for barley – if the crop is good enough to be used for malting for beer or whisky then we receive a much better price.
Our cattle will shortly start to move out of their indoor winter accommodation back to the fields. You will be pleased to hear that our Highland cows and calves will be moving back to the paddock at the Farm Shop shortly – being a hardy lot they have been out all winter in a sheltered field near the farm steading. With a thick coat and smaller frame they are ideally suited to put up with the cold and probably prefer being out anyway – our other breeds of cattle certainly prefer to be in the warm and dry until the weather warms up again. We need to wait until there is a good flush of new grass coming through before putting everything out – our permanent pastures will be used first as they tend to be firmer underfoot. We try and check all of the fences carefully just before the cattle go out again – although being enormous animals they seem to have a knack of finding the smallest gap to squeeze through for a quick wander (often onto next doors carefully planted wheat crop).
Our pigs can also be a bit like Houdini when the mood takes them. Being very inquisitive and highly destructive, a small hole can become a big one pretty quickly as the entire group goes walkabout. However, being intelligent creatures they always come back themselves when hungry – they certainly know where home is when they fancy a square meal, a good drink and a lie down in a warm dry bed. Just like most of us, I guess.
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