Working outside naturally brings you closer to the environment and it makes you recognise changes that easily go unnoticed by the majority. The days are getting longer, the temperatures are rising and the cattle appear to have a 'spring in their step'. This means one thing, Spring is on its way!!
Springtime is usually associated with ideas of rebirth, rejuvenation, renewal and regrowth. But for us this renewal is in the form of a new JCB! Its been a long time coming and our old TM200 was costing far to much in maintenance and repairs so it made sense to buy a new one. It arrived at the beginning of March and has already been tested in various situations...Pulling out the Land Rover has just been one!
Springtime is usually associated with ideas of rebirth, rejuvenation, renewal and regrowth. But for us this renewal is in the form of a new JCB! Its been a long time coming and our old TM200 was costing far to much in maintenance and repairs so it made sense to buy a new one. It arrived at the beginning of March and has already been tested in various situations...Pulling out the Land Rover has just been one!
When driving machinery across the A38, I often get a few concerned looks; But Dad said theres definitely more rubberneckers when I'm in the JCB for
1) a young girl driving a big machine and
2) its brand new and has the ability to do a lot of damage to other vehicles!
Although its safe to say I hit a max speed of 15mph so I'm often holding up a que of traffic!
Speaking of rebirth, we have recently agreed to contract rear 40 continental heifers. They are gradually being delivered from market into our system and the first batch arrived last week. Its nice to have a bit of colour in the sheds as well as some female company! However the limousine calves appear to be slightly wild, so hopefully in time they will calm down to make handling easier. With the shortage of Aberdeen Angus steer calves at market, trade is slow with approximately 4 calves being delivered per week. But this this does enable us to contract rear cattle for others as we have the time and facilities to ensure the calves have the best start in life.
A couple of weeks ago we went to a farm open day specifically focus on calf rearing practice. It was good to see how other farmers operate the rearing and weaning of calves thus allowing us to compare and make subsequent improvements. We have now decided to change where we mix up the milk to reduce moisture in the calf shed with the hope of reducing phenomena. We are also trialling a new milk powder to see if we can have better growth rates from a slightly cheaper product. I'll let you know if there are vast improvements!
I also had an eye-opening experience at a local farm sale. I have never seen so many Land Rovers parked in one field, let alone the number of farmers. I can now understand why people look confused when I say I'm a farmer as I couldn't be more opposite to the stereotypical 50 year old male covered in muck. To say I was in the minority was a bit of an understatement, yet I continue to strive and promote female farmers.
Thank You for reading my blog :) I am always excited to see that the numbers of views continue to rise each month. I hope you are enjoying them!
1) a young girl driving a big machine and
2) its brand new and has the ability to do a lot of damage to other vehicles!
Although its safe to say I hit a max speed of 15mph so I'm often holding up a que of traffic!
Speaking of rebirth, we have recently agreed to contract rear 40 continental heifers. They are gradually being delivered from market into our system and the first batch arrived last week. Its nice to have a bit of colour in the sheds as well as some female company! However the limousine calves appear to be slightly wild, so hopefully in time they will calm down to make handling easier. With the shortage of Aberdeen Angus steer calves at market, trade is slow with approximately 4 calves being delivered per week. But this this does enable us to contract rear cattle for others as we have the time and facilities to ensure the calves have the best start in life.
A couple of weeks ago we went to a farm open day specifically focus on calf rearing practice. It was good to see how other farmers operate the rearing and weaning of calves thus allowing us to compare and make subsequent improvements. We have now decided to change where we mix up the milk to reduce moisture in the calf shed with the hope of reducing phenomena. We are also trialling a new milk powder to see if we can have better growth rates from a slightly cheaper product. I'll let you know if there are vast improvements!
I also had an eye-opening experience at a local farm sale. I have never seen so many Land Rovers parked in one field, let alone the number of farmers. I can now understand why people look confused when I say I'm a farmer as I couldn't be more opposite to the stereotypical 50 year old male covered in muck. To say I was in the minority was a bit of an understatement, yet I continue to strive and promote female farmers.
Thank You for reading my blog :) I am always excited to see that the numbers of views continue to rise each month. I hope you are enjoying them!