Unhappy Cows and being held at the mercy of the markets...

The Dartmoor summer has delivered again, June and July was appalling with the wet and cold making our main harvest of grass late, muddy and hard work. As the grass gets older and goes to seed its value nutritionally drops. We farmers are very particular about our grass and there is a window in which we would ideally like to harvest it either as silage or hay. That window is relatively flexible but long periods of rain are not good. All you get is bulk and wet rubbish and believe it or not cows can be fussy customers! When they aren’t offered the best they will very often complain to the chef (me).  But it really can affect the cows through the winter so please can I order good weather for next June…..? We do get a second crack of the whip and we will be harvesting again late August and let’s hope that the weather improves for then. A Dartmoor winter is wet enough and it would be nice to spend at least a couple of days through the summer in the sun out of my wellies, waterproof jacket and trousers.

Here is me moaning about the Devon summer but our problems are small compared to 12 weeks in hospital. I would just like to tip my hat to a good friend of mine Phil who broke his leg coming of his quadbike back in the spring. He has spent a prolonged period of time in hospital in recovery; let’s hope he is back fighting fit for the late summer and autumn. He is my main rival at the local shows, and I know he will be livid if I walk away with too many prizes! The moral of the story is of course these quads are fantastic machines which are essential for us to be able to access Dartmoor and manage our livestock, but if not treated with respect and a steady hand they can be very dangerous.

The cows are enjoying the summer lounging around with the bull who is busy with an endless stream of one night stands. The calves and young stock are all growing well and making the best of the summer grass. We will be calving again in September and writing this I am reminded of the nightmare of TB and the hassle it caused us and the cattle last year, especially through calving. It is such a weight off our back to be clear and long may it continue.

The lambs are now off the ewes and our focus moves to the sales. Sheep are very seasonal and it is from now on we need them to earn us some money. So the focus is getting them growing and thriving so they are in peek condition for the big markets in September where we sell lots of young breeding females that usually command a good premium. Fingers crossed.

The conundrum with farming is that we are always at the mercy of the markets. Our cost of production although very important, is largely irrelevant. We more often than not have to take the price that we are given and the market can be brutal. At least as a beef and sheep farmer I can hold my animals for a bit until the price improves, however the dairy farmers are stuck, their cows are milking and that milk has to go and the processor and supermarkets know that. The whole agricultural sector is struggling and has been for a while. Let’s just hope that as a country we have made the right call to Brexit and that this government will help smaller businesses thrive and stand up to the bullies in the market place.

Mat Cole

Greenwell Farm