Farming Diary December/January
It always amazes me how different the seasons are on the farm and it seems that sometimes our routine changes every week, as we prepare and deal with the next hurdle in the life cycle of a farm. The winter months however are slightly different, with the shorter daylight hours and all the cattle being in the barns and the yards - the routine of feeding and tending to the cattle at close quarters makes a nice change. At other times of the year we tend to move from one big job to the next not really having time to appreciate the animals. In spring the cows can’t wait to get out, during summer they want to be as far away from us as possible and once autumn turns to winter they know that the best place to be is in the yard with plenty of feed and a dry shed to shelter in.
We are now clear of TB. All farms have to read two full clear or negative tests, sixty days apart, to be classified as ‘clear’ and it was a massive relief for us when the last cow went through. It has been a horrible year for us with a great deal of stress on both the cattle and ourselves but after ten month and four full herd tests later we are finally ‘clear’. That is until our next test in six months time …. This means we can now sell our animals to other farms and achieve their full value. It has not been an easy time and as a business is has had a major affect on our cash flow for the year. When you have a TB breakdown it is safe to sell cattle direct to slaughter but not to sell cattle on the open market. It is possible to sell to other farms with TB under a license, but usually at a lower price. As a Dartmoor hill farm with thin soils and high rain fall we are not able to ‘finish’ all our cattle and so traditionally rely on selling younger cattle to other farmers for breeding or for them to grow on and ‘finish’. This clear test now frees our hand and gives us the ability to put some cash in the bank at last.
We will be selling prime lambs through the winter usually until early February. These lambs are subject to the market and prices so far this year have been disappointing. As I mentioned last time, it has not been a good year and so far we are about £10 per lamb down on last year. Let’s hope that prices improve as the season goes on. Lamb is a very seasonal product and traditionally the price will rise from Christmas until Easter when the new season lamb hits the market. Fingers crossed the price comes up and balances things out.
The ewes should now be well in lamb and the rams removed to have a well-earned rest. In January we will scan all the ewes to find out how many each one is carrying. We do this to enable us to manage the ewe’s diet to give the lambs and the ewes the best chance of survival. Any ewes with triplets need almost as much good feed as they can eat, those with twins will also need looking after well. The ones carrying singles will have limited rations to stop their one lamb getting too big.
Over Christmas we will shut down as much as possible to spend time with the family, but even on Christmas day the animals will still need feeding and checking. We will do all we can to reduce the work load to tick over, however it is always lovely to go into the yards around the cattle and sheep when all around is quiet. An afternoon stroll around the yard often helps the turkey dinner go down too….! From all at Greenwell, we wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy and prosperous New Year!
Mat Cole