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With virtually all stock now outside, at least the regular, every day chores take up less time, allowing the focus to turn to other work.
Calving continues beyond the timescales advised, but I’ve always been of the opinion that it’s more important that a cow produces a calf at least within 13 months of the last one born, rather than within any particular six-week period.
Most of the stock got the chance to enjoy several days of good weather before it turned unsettled and cool. To be honest, the rain was very much needed here, as ground was in serious need of some moisture. Grass growth has now exploded and the baled silage which was being offered to the cows and calves since turnout has become less in demand.
Hay and silage ground has all been limed and fertilised, the fields that can be rolled have been
The spring barley also looks well. Although it was later sown than most, it seemed to work in our favour, as many crops really suffered from the sharp frosts in the first week of May. While our crop was in the ground at that point, it took a full 13 days to start to emerge. Many crops in Lanarkshire which had been sown much earlier, and had been looking tremendous, took a right doing from the frost.
Hay and silage ground has all been limed and fertilised, the fields that can be rolled have been. The others, in the Wader mown grassland scheme, will hopefully be void of any issues which may cause damage to machinery.
I recently attended an update on the local scheme for wading birds, run by Scotgov in conjunction with RSPB. The scheme seems to be maintaining or increasing the number of wading birds in the Duneaton valley, bucking the trend seen in other areas.
Search
The search for another tractor finally reached a conclusion with the purchase of a second hand Claas Arion 510. I had been looking for a compact, stable 100hp 4wd within a set budget.
The enjoyable element of the tractor search was the travelling to view the potentials from Perthshire and Tayside heading north, and Penrith and Cumbria heading south
In the end, the budget was stretched slightly and the compact bit of the criteria overlooked. Coming off a purely arable farm its condition was at least in line with the hours worked.
However, the enjoyable element of the tractor search was the travelling to view the potentials from Perthshire and Tayside heading north, and Penrith and Cumbria heading south. I have never seen the countryside looking as well as it was after a very favourable spring.
Silage
We will be in no rush to do silage, having been forced to do two cuts last year in order to make up a serious shortfall in quantity of first cut. The rain over the last couple of weeks should mean crops will bulk up throughout June, as opposed to burning away as it did last year.
Until then, the focus turns to maintenance, with fencing being the most urgent task. With the farm dissected with roads, albeit minor ones and an average field size of around 10 acres, there are quite a few areas needing attention.
Calves
We’ll continue to market some store calves over the next couple of weeks, as the funds from those already sold throughout May have disappeared like snow off a dyke.
Sales from the farm are down this year, partly as a result of culling older and less productive cows in autumn
Trade has been reasonable, but there appears not only a lack of cash in the system, but also a lack of confidence.
Sales from the farm are down this year, partly as a result of culling older and less productive cows in autumn to ensure forage supplies would last through to the spring.
Also we have taken the decision to retain a number of our own heifers as replacements. We used to buy them in, but have found that our budget does not stretch to the quality liked or required.
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