Vegas Nini

Despite probably being a strange name for a calf, “Vegas Nini” it is. The “Nini” is short for Janine and comes from my friend Janine Pierce who came up with the name. As it happens, it was one of my favourite names, so I am quite chuffed about it...it was the clear favourite by a long way. The final scores were as follows:

Vegas  - 22 votes

Vivian – 7 votes

Vivaldi – 4 votes

Vulcan – 1 vote

Valhala – 1 vote

Valutus – 0 votes

Other news...well, there isn’t much. We continue to spread the odd bit of muck around and take the heads of thistles and weeds with the topper (mower) before they start seeding. Beyond that, its all about having a good “trim” in general and making sure the hedgerows aren’t encroaching on the fields too much. (My innuendo alarm is ringing at this point – I’m sure there’s something I could say here!?!). Repairs are also key, and I am setting about maintaining all of the feeding racks in the yards in time for winter.

Apart from making sure we spread every conceivable piece of cowsh*t over the fields, the next major project will be that of re-seeding our largest silage field, “Peans”. This is a total of about 17 acres, which is quite big and scary when you consider the cost of a protein-rich rye grass seed mix plus the time and effort. We’ll do this the old fashioned way and churn up the ground a bit with the chain harrow and then spread the seed with an old fertiliser spreader - then give it a light roll afterwards. Frankly, we just don’t have the means to do it any other way in terms of equipment or cash!

Whilst I am reluctant to change things too much on the farm there are a few tweaks I have made. The old man had, in general, done things very efficiently over the years, however with the focus on generating a reputation for excellent beef I have decided to neuter all of our male calves in order to naturally produce a larger carcass almost wholly on grass, over a longer period of time. This approach should produce more flavour and reduce input costs in terms of supplementing feed with a cereal mix, (bloody expensive right now!). In addition, it is more ethical and essentially allows the animals to feed on their natural diet. Leaving them until they are at least 20 months means our cashflow will be under pressure, but once we catch our tail up it means all animals will be sold for beef at an older age with the improved eating traits that go along with this.

Finally, because I know how much of you like photos, here’s some photos of the chicks in their new des-res, oh, and of course my cock!