Black Sheep Blog

The Mexicans are up in arms about the future of their beloved tortilla.

The rising demand for biofuels and its impact on corn prices (up to 400%), has led to protest from the flat bread-loving populus.

BBC reports ..., as does our local biofuels expert, Simon ...

Bit like Carrot's Commercial Breakdown, but this advert made me giggle:

http://www.themainmeal.com.au/spring/

Thanks to Jim Bean in the forums for spotting this one.

Top Gear may have Ferrari's, Jag's and crazy stunts involving middle-aged men but here at the Black Sheep we have tractors!!!

Machinery Editor's friend sent us this clip of a tractor doing an unsual trick; producing a wheelie that i could never do on my Hedgehopper Raleigh bike!

FWi would like to recommend not trying this at home. For one thing you will probably get your prized tractor stuck in a cake load of mud!!

The office is a buzzing hive of activity today, as is to be expected.

Only one topic dominated the regular monday morning Diary Meeting

No, I'm not talking about the Tim's bull semen hair product thing, but avian flu of course.

Lot of news coverage here, blog stuff here and forum chat here ...

I've found this good website that allows you to argue over a plethora (who said FWi couldn't be eloquent) of important issues; allowing you to choose one side or the other. These subjects range from whether God exists to whether cats or dogs are better (of course dogs are better!!!)...

As i write this post with gloves on (due to it being so cold in our office today,)It is worth remembering that the sun does indeed shine somewhere in this world, and it seems like a herd of cows have got the right idea and escaped to sunbathe there

Here’s our very own Disco Stu helping (actually, getting in the way) at a photo shoot in FW Towers earlier today.

Mr Farmlife wanted a picture of the fishing calendars he’s giving away (it’s like Arthur Daley’s lock-up under his desk) and Disco Stu muscled in on the photoshoot.

If you’re a fishing fan and fancy a calendar, you can win one by going to our Field Day blog.

After my foray into fish calendar modelling last Friday, I thought my phone would be buzzing with calls to be the new fresh face of 2007!!!! Forget half-naked women in paint, I assumed my scrawny features would attract all kinds of offers to advertise their products, using my curious spark to sell plastic wrappers, fertiliser, or the holy grail; a tractor...

Well it is that time of year again, when love can blossom, and flowers come from surprisingly long distances.

Today the office has been surprisingly love free ; I think probably due to the fact that trying to make poetry out of farming is quite difficult. You try and rhyme John Deere (fear!!!) or Limousin bulls (dull!) with anything romantic. Its all Bullocks if you ask me(sorry, bad joke).

If you don’t have anywhere to take your partner tonight, why not treat his/her to fish and chips to celebrate chip week. You may get a smack in the face by the battered cod, but at least you can eat it afterwards.

A frisson of excitement in the office this afternoon.

The invites have arrived for the RBI Achievement Awards on Friday March 23. This is a big shindig run by Farmers Weekly’s parent company, Reed Business Information.

It’s a chance for us all to get dressed up (it’s the once-a-year outing for a lot of our suits!), head up to the swanky Grosvenor House Hotel in London and let our hair down.

FWi is in the running for an award or two again this year so the Black Sheep flock will be out in force. Survivors will bring you news of the event on the following Monday.

I realise that Monday can be slow and a tiny bit pointless sometimes but this seems to take the biscuit for needlessness.

As part of a crack FW team, I'm enjoying the sites of Perth at this moment.

Sadly not the Australian Perth, but the Scottish one.

We're here at the Perth Bull Sales to help the hard launch of Taking Stock - our livestock show and sales blog.

However, these trip usually throw up a few gems and it started well as Mr Photographer checked into the Quality Hotel in Ediburgh last nite and was the surprised to see his name up in lights in the Reception.

The Quality Hotel welcomes Jonathan Page - our Guest of the Day.

What an honour! And he it didn't just end there. No indeed. He was also the proud receipient of a packet of crisps, some bottled water, an apple and a free movie voucher. Such riches.

My mouth is salivating at the prospect of getting home tonight and tasting some doughy pancake goodness.
I must admit that when it comes to pancakes I am a staunch traditionalist, enjoying nothing more than lemon and lashings of sugar.

I rushed home last night, Delia's advice in hand, fully intending to make the tour de force of pancakes. It will be easy i thought, just whisk all the ingredients together and whack it in a hot pan. Well, how wrong was i:

There has been plenty of talk of unusual pancake toppings this week, but now I bring you a great tale of something that happened during the recent Farm Women's Club annual February trip to Stratford-Upon-Avon.

Miss Livestock Reporter has been all maternal today after seeing this site that shows new born lambs on webcam.

She was so taken aback by their cuteness that she proclaimed that she would prefer a lamb to a child any day. To be honest though I am not sure whether this has been fully thought through

Just think of the problems of toilet training, and a child won't attempt to chew through you couch.

On the plus side though, you would be able to make a lovely wool jacket or rug each year.

Just imagine the scene...

It's been a long day; you visit your local convenience store to buy some milk and some lovely pastries (that you shouldn't really have but what the hell). You are just about to go when you notice out the corner of your eye Darth Vader, telling a till operator that he finds their 'lack of faith disturbing'.