Showers turn to downpours

By Stuart Luxton

Hello again. I’m sat here writing this on a very wet Sunday afternoon. The forecast wasn’t too bad but the Okehampton showers seem to have merged into a torrential downpour. I went out with some friends on a bike ride this morning on which I got soaked to the skin, maybe shorts weren’t the most sensible attire, and it hasn’t really relented much since then. The lovely dry warm September is already a distant memory.

We still have the maize to harvest, although it's nearly ready to cut. If we get the weather it will be easily the earliest we have ever cut it. Our wheat is safely in storage. This year was a really good crop of grain and straw, a reflection of the great growing weather we experienced for most of the summer.

There are about 20 cows left to calve, hopefully we don’t have to help too many, Aberdeen Angus are a really easy calving breed. The one I’m calving in the photo just wouldn’t get on with it. I decided to calve her when there was some respite from the monsoon and put her in the shed with her new baby. It was probably that she just didn’t want to lie down on the wet land to have her baby, let’s face it who would? The mother of the calf is a lovely young cow, the baby was male. If all goes well the baby will be sold as a young breeding bull in the spring of 2023.

The seasons seem to come round so fast now, I can't believe that we are once again preparing the ewes to see the rams — before we know it Christmas will have come and gone and it will be lambing time.

Much fuss has been made in the news about problems in the UK food supply chain, the slaughter industry and our transport network problems have lead to scaremongering about food shortages. At the shop we have had phone calls from customers who are already worried about their Christmas dinner. In reality because most of our products are either home produced or local, we are pretty much unaffected by these problems. Don’t worry, we will have everything you need for the festive season.

Whilst discussing the meat supply industry, a friend told me that the supermarkets are getting round the problem by importing more foreign meat. This doesn’t surprise me. Supermarkets look after themselves and in the long run the only losers will be British farmers. I think the message here is to make sure you buy British.

The café has been very busy since reopening, sometimes too busy. We had to temporarily suspend the Sunday opening because the staff were being spread too thin. We advertised and found some great new additions to our lovely team. Once we have everyone up to speed, opening the café on Sunday will recommence in early November.

I hope the rest of the autumn isn’t too wet; next time I write it will be nearing Christmas…