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I had a bit of a lucky escape just over four weeks ago after receiving a kick in the face from a six-month-old calf which had been receiving attention for a sore foot.
Fortunately, I wasn’t knocked out, but the blow required a visit to my local accident and emergency department, and a subsequent wait for four hours to get stitches put in. I also require further dental work.
I have been assured by family and friends that it has not affected my good looks, there having been none to start with, but the incident has highlighted the need for even more care and caution when doing such work.
I have been asked many times since as to the level of pain experienced at the time, but I have assured everyone it was nothing compared to my annoyance at dropping my guard and getting caught. I just hope it’s not a sign of age.
Labour
With spring silly season well and truly upon us, it’s just as well schools are on holiday for two weeks. The increased labour resource available (my wife Anne and the kids) is being put to good use. It is difficult to prioritise all the work that needs done, and everything seems to need done today or this week, and can’t be put off.
While daylight hours continue to extend almost noticeably every day, the head torches and the tractor headlights are still being used at both ends of the day
Lambing, calving, preparing stock for sale, and the start of field and groundwork come on top of all the usual routine work of feeding, bedding, scraping and mucking out.
While daylight hours continue to extend almost noticeably every day, the head torches and the tractor headlights are still being used at both ends of the day.
The family Zwartbles flock continues to expand, with lambing well past halfway. Calving has just started and we are in a rush to spread dung and complete harrowing and rolling in the fields to be shut off for the benefit of wading birds under our agri-environment scheme (AECS).
Favourable
Ground conditions remain favourable, although we did receive a taste of winter a couple of weeks ago, but it was nowhere near as severe as last year. Temperatures still dictate that winter clothing is required, but seed barley is in the barn, lime awaits spreading and fertiliser is due to be delivered within the next couple of weeks in preparation for the growing season.
It has been said that the only place with a shorter growing season than Crawfordjohn is the moon
Our farm at Crawfordjohn, situated in the wider Duneaton valley, does not benefit from a very long growing season. You could travel in any direction 10 or 15 miles and you will see grass and crops easily two or three weeks ahead. In fact, very often a difference can be noticed within two or three miles. It has been said that the only place with a shorter growing season than Crawfordjohn is the moon.
Stores
We started selling store calves again this week, with the first trailer load since January going to Stirling.
Holding off until nearer grass time seemed to pay dividends as we sold to a top of £960 at 444kg for an 11-month-old Limousin steer. It is a trade which would not have been achieved a few weeks back, and will at least go some way to covering the costs and overheads involved in producing suckled calves.
Tractor
A fair bit of time has also been spent recently either trawling machinery dealer adverts or viewing secondhand tractors. However, the search continues, and it seems that decent, well-looked-after 4wd 100hp tractors, either with or without a loader, and at reasonable money, are like hens’ teeth. The reason seems to be a strong export market, and the exorbitant price of new tractors.
There was a time when I subscribed to the view that on a stock farm with baled silage, a tractor without a loader was only half a tractor
In contrast, there seems an abundance of 130hp (and upwards) tractors with all the bells and whistles.
There was a time when I subscribed to the view that on a stock farm with baled silage, a tractor without a loader was only half a tractor. But we still have an older loader tractor, plus a forklift, so on this occasion a loader is not essential. The search continues.
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