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“If this was America I’d be a Cowboy...which would possibly be a bit cooler!”

Tuesday 27 September 2011

Down and dirty in Essex

No disrespect to the inhabitants (some more permanent than others) but Basildon, well, the outskirts where I was, is a bit of a khazi. I apologise to anyone who holds the place dear, but at best it is an aesthetically challenged Essex town intersected by the A13 where every inch of the skyline is littered with pylons. That part of the horizon which isn’t marred by steel power-towers (which should really have solar panels on them by now - if they did, this place would be producing more electricity than anywhere else in the UK!) is occupied by an oil refinery bordering the Thames efflu/estuary, next to which is a stunning view of La Isla “not” bonita...Canvey Island. There is an inlet, or a tract of liquefied mud depending on how the sun hits it, which leads out across some flat land where you can just get a glimpse of the north shores of nearby Kent to the south of the river. Sadly, this part of Kent is not the chocolate-box part known for bursting with ripe fruit, hop gardens and Oast Houses. Its possibly even worse than Basildon and sufficiently ugly that Kent County Council don’t even have a name for it. 

Anyway, I went to this delightful part of the country for a “farm-talk” on Cattle Winter Rationing which was essentially about general nutrition, calf management and animal condition scoring run by a bunch called ADAS who get involved in such matters from an educational point of view.

Despite being rather unkind about Basildon, in between the A13 and the oil refinery is a large agricultural concern managed by a lovely bloke called Alex who runs a mixed farm of around 400 acres. Among his livestock is a 34 strong herd of pedigree South Devons like ours here at Scalands, and fine examples they are too. It was a fantastic opportunity for me to learn some important facts about animal health and dietary needs as well as weaning considerations and disease prevention. Remember, despite appearing like I know what I am doing, I have a massive amount to learn, so this was an excellent day although I could have done without the puncture going over the QE2 bridge on the way back and having to change the stubborn wheel on the narrowest hard shoulder in the country. Not fun.

I spread my seed all over the place last week...

As planned, we over-seeded our largest silage field last week. Having let 33 of our beasts chew the grass down, we ran over the ground with a chain-harrow. This is dragged behind the tractor and basically scuffs the ground and drags small tufts of grass up and essentially opens the earth a little, hopefully enabling enough clear surface between the tufts left behind to allow seeds to nestle and eventually germinate. We then went over the same area with a spreader filled with a seed mix designed for silage growth and later grazing. Importantly, within the mix are two types of perennial rye grass which will have the added benefit of increasing the overall protein level so important for the development of muscle. Finally, the whole lot was rolled to try and embed the seed into the earth. This method is very old fashioned and was how it was done before the development of modern machinery. Its also a bit hit and miss and a reasonable percentage of the seed doesn’t make it to where it should go but when grazing space and budget is tight its the only way to do it. Fortunately this week’s warmer weather should mean the seeds start to do their thing. I shall monitor how this field regenerates and report.

Daaan a market!

Fantastic news from Ashford Market last week. We got an excellent price for one of our young fattened bulls in the beef sale and a mention in the sale news. Despite the other we sent in not quite fetching what we wanted, overall we were very happy. In addition we sold three 17 month old pedigree heifers which fetched an ok price, and whichever way you look at it we have reduced our stock by 10 now (we also sold 5 female calves privately the other week) which means we are where we want to be in terms of space and feed for the winter and have some cash in the bank to help steer us a little closer towards the black. This is a business like any business and cash-flow is key especially with increased winter costs looming.

Monday 12 September 2011

Blowy job this farming...



No Spring nor Summer Beauty hath such grace
As I have seen in one Autumnal face 
- John Donne

It would appear that John Donne experienced a different kind of climate back in the 16th and 17th century. Were he around today his words may have more aptly described our Autumn so far as ”violent, and pissy”. Not wishing to elbow any romance into touch here but let’s be honest, no sooner have we just about managed to convince ourselves that we did actually have some form of summer (albeit in spring) that we now seem to be experiencing the full extremes of the available season, overnight. Still, it makes you feel alive and somehow more vital than the comfort offered by more pleasant climes - I hate wearing shorts anyway...you end up getting stung to buggery when you're fencing.

Don’t worry though, sunny spells we’ll continue to have and there is still the odd blackberry to pick. The sloes and damsons are also in abundance this year. Mushroom season is looming too and we can all look forward to lots of stews, dumplings, pies, casseroles and other hearty fare...no more limp salads and cheap, nuked, red-dyed BBQ tucker in the rain. Burn your t-shirts and say “good riddance” to whatever masqueraded as our high season.

We should welcome Autumn. Its a time where things change from green to red, brown and gold. Artists love this time of year. Leaves drop from trees leaving lonely branches bare to the elements against a full range of bruised, grey skies. Pub doors get blown open by a leafy gust upon arrival and people spend their time dripping by the fire. The aromas of damp Barber, wet dog and smouldering socks fill the air – more dominant now smoking has been banned – at least it tempers the smell of cleaning products. (It does all sound a little pretentious, I know, but it is an evocative time of year and I'm a wordy type!)

Where the farm is concerned, I have sold 5 of this year’s heifer calves to my neighbour and plan to send two fattened young bulls and 3 bulling heifers born last year off to Ashford market on the 20th. Income at last!

We are also going to over-seed (if the bloody wind drops, that is) our largest silage field with a perennial rye grass mix to add some more sugars and protein to next year’s cut and plan to do this the old fashioned way – spread it with the fertiliser spreader and let the animals trample it in.

We also need to make more repairs to the feeding racks and make some more bedding space out of the straw shed by using old gates and a bit of ingenuity because we will be housing 60 animals over winter – last year we kept 50 – all part of the master plan of taking more animals to 24 months and older before we send any to slaughter. More time on natural feed = more flavour, and that’s what its all about.

Monday 5 September 2011

John Frederick Smith, 15th April 1937 to 6th September 2010

Tomorrow is an anniversary which we as a family have all seen coming - yet its suddenly here and we can’t quite believe it.

My dear old Dad died a year ago on the 6th September 2010, aged 73. We miss him terribly - he left behind a big hole in our lives and the past 12 months have been quite tough for my Mum as we also lost my nan, my mum’s mother, in December.

However, I genuinely feel that my mum has benefitted from the farm practice continuing pretty much as before, because that way there is less of a change about the place. If you look at the views and listen to my dad’s animals mooing in the distance along with catching a whiff of characteristic farmyard smells, you can almost imagine he is still here. If he was here, mind, he would be bounding around being fairly vocal about something or other, usually a left-wing politician or his favourite new arsehole in the village.

He did involve himself in more placid pursuits such as winding his clocks and reading the papers, although he was on the go most of the time. Quite often if I was to pop round he would say that he was “thirsty”, and “What was I doing today?” aka, do you fancy a pint, or five or six as was often the case. It would generally only be a matter of time before the question came, regardless of the day. I was always available to have a pint with him knowing that one day we wouldn’t be able to anymore.

Strange as it may seem for some of those that knew him, I mainly remember the laughter, his laughter, and the fun we had together - he was very witty. I could go on, as he could in fact, but I’ll leave it there and thank you for paying attention to the farm blog over the past few months.

Dad started off with nothing and the farm represents everything he worked for, without which, as a family we would not have so many wonderful memories.