Things have been a bit different on the farm for the past month. Aileen and I celebrated our 10-year wedding anniversary in early July and thought it was about time we had a holiday and gave the kids their first ride on a plane.

We set off for France with great excitement and full of plans for an exciting week, however it didn’t all go to plan – I managed to dislocate my ankle and break a bone in my leg on the second day, in a freak accident.

Thankfully, the insurance company was great and made the whole ordeal slightly less traumatic

An early flight home and surgery to screw my ankle back together wasn’t on the itinerary, and to say we were all gutted is an understatement.

Thankfully, the insurance company was great and made the whole ordeal slightly less traumatic for Aileen, however, I have been told in no uncertain terms that the 10-year gift was rubbish and another one will be required.

Frustrating

Going from being flat out farming to being shut in the house has been difficult and frustrating, but there are plenty of people far worse off than me and I’m lucky to have Aileen keeping things moving and some great friends and neighbours pitching in as well.

It has also been a wake up call to us that as a small business relying on family labour we are very exposed when something does go wrong.

I was as guilty as anyone for thinking I was invincible

I would highly recommend that all farm businesses put a bit more thought into a contingency plan, and ask some difficult questions about what might happen if an accident does occur.

I was as guilty as anyone for thinking I was invincible, and although I’m a firm believer in thinking positively and cracking on with whatever is in front of you, life can give you a reality check very quickly.

Condition

We have had an excellent year weather-wise and it’s great to see ewes in good condition and making a good job of their lambs.

Fortunately, we were well up-to-date with work before we set off on holiday, but we all know that it never takes long before the jobs start to pile up again.

We have most of the lambs weaned now and onto some good-quality silage aftermaths, which have responded well to the clover we direct-drilled into them in mid-May.

In my opinion, the system the tup or bull has been bred and reared in is really important when selecting new genetics

We are also starting to make some good progress with our herd of Luings and have recently purchased a new junior stock bull to use on our yearling heifers. The bull was bought privately from Giles Henry, who is running his cows in a very similar way to us in a low-input outwintered system, and is selecting for the same traits we are. In my opinion, the system the tup or bull has been bred and reared in is really important when selecting new genetics to improve our stock.

Reflection

The unplanned lay off has given me some time to reflect, analyse our business a bit further and the direction we are heading in.

I am convinced that we are doing the right thing and that continuing to breed good- quality stock with low requirements for human intervention, combined with progressing the grass-based rotational system, should give us as simple a system as possible.

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