We’re constantly told that farming should be treated just like any other business, so, as we approach the end of Q1 of 2016, or the end of March to you and me, it’s probably a good time to quickly assess the quarter.
The weather has been “yucky”, as our three-year-old says, and that’s putting it mildly. This has delayed almost all planned tasks: fertiliser is not spread, fencing is not complete and the little grass cover we were expecting hasn’t appeared because the ground is so wet.
As a result, our plan to increase sheep numbers as early as possible has been delayed. A few more weeks though and we should be back on track.
Sheep management
On the sheep management side of things, we’ve also had to make changes. The nut concentrate wasn’t going down too well with the hoggets, so we changed to a crunch, mixed with some rolled oats, and they seem to be enjoying this better. Admittedly, it takes time to train them in on eating concentrate.
We wanted to scan these in-lamb hoggets, but this plan also suffered a setback. The local farm relief service has the expertise to scan cows, but not sheep. They suggested asking our vet – he doesn’t do this work either, but he did give me a number for a man who does. However, this man never answers his phone – mobile nor landline.
I searched online and got two other names and numbers. One said he was based too far away from us, which is a valid enough reason. The second one said he’d be delighted to call and would be in the area in the next week. I was delighted to finally get a result!
But when I rang him a few days later to confirm a day, the unfortunate man answered the phone from a hospital bed. At that stage, I decided to forget about scanning the ewes for this year.
Lambing
All going well, they’ll be lambing around mid-April, so we just need to start keeping a closer eye on them in a few weeks’ time. They’ve been out-wintered and will lamb outside too. We’ve indoor housing ready, though, if any of them do need a couple of days’ respite.
At time of writing, the work continues on converting the car trailer into a sheep transporter, but this too has had various production glitches. All going well, it’ll be ready “soon”.
Farming is seasonal, and while it should be treated like a business in some ways, it cannot be flatly compared with other small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Just as well, because heaven knows what business leaders would make of our first quarter results!
Read more
Farmer Writes: the value of what’s in your head
Farmer Writes: Spring has finally sprung
We’re constantly told that farming should be treated just like any other business, so, as we approach the end of Q1 of 2016, or the end of March to you and me, it’s probably a good time to quickly assess the quarter.
The weather has been “yucky”, as our three-year-old says, and that’s putting it mildly. This has delayed almost all planned tasks: fertiliser is not spread, fencing is not complete and the little grass cover we were expecting hasn’t appeared because the ground is so wet.
As a result, our plan to increase sheep numbers as early as possible has been delayed. A few more weeks though and we should be back on track.
Sheep management
On the sheep management side of things, we’ve also had to make changes. The nut concentrate wasn’t going down too well with the hoggets, so we changed to a crunch, mixed with some rolled oats, and they seem to be enjoying this better. Admittedly, it takes time to train them in on eating concentrate.
We wanted to scan these in-lamb hoggets, but this plan also suffered a setback. The local farm relief service has the expertise to scan cows, but not sheep. They suggested asking our vet – he doesn’t do this work either, but he did give me a number for a man who does. However, this man never answers his phone – mobile nor landline.
I searched online and got two other names and numbers. One said he was based too far away from us, which is a valid enough reason. The second one said he’d be delighted to call and would be in the area in the next week. I was delighted to finally get a result!
But when I rang him a few days later to confirm a day, the unfortunate man answered the phone from a hospital bed. At that stage, I decided to forget about scanning the ewes for this year.
Lambing
All going well, they’ll be lambing around mid-April, so we just need to start keeping a closer eye on them in a few weeks’ time. They’ve been out-wintered and will lamb outside too. We’ve indoor housing ready, though, if any of them do need a couple of days’ respite.
At time of writing, the work continues on converting the car trailer into a sheep transporter, but this too has had various production glitches. All going well, it’ll be ready “soon”.
Farming is seasonal, and while it should be treated like a business in some ways, it cannot be flatly compared with other small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Just as well, because heaven knows what business leaders would make of our first quarter results!
Read more
Farmer Writes: the value of what’s in your head
Farmer Writes: Spring has finally sprung
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