June 2010 Archives

Cows are no strangers to starring in ad campaigns - only a couple of weeks ago Tim blogged about Muller yoghurt's latest offering.

Well Swiss milk promoters have taken the concept one step further and produced a whole series of TV ads starring a multi-talented Fresian. In the ad above the cow shows off some unfeasibly fancy footwork with a football. In another, it gives a flamenco dancer a run for her money.

Also in the series are: ice-skating cow, sumo wrestling cow, tap dancing cow and singing cow. Which should keep you busy for at least the next half an hour...

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when England made it into the final 16, but no-one is more relieved than England fan and sheep farmer Rob Bradshaw.

Yesterday Tim brought news of the East Anglian farmer who painted the flag of St George on the sides of two of his cattle, but Northants-based farmer Rob Bradshaw has gone one better by spray painting his 24-strong flock of sheep with the St George's cross (which, let's face it, could have been a monumental waste of time had England continued on their previous form)

Thankfully we upped our game which means Rob is getting a bit more mileage out of the stunt. And if the paintwork wasn't enough, he has also named each one after a member of the England football squad.

The biggest one is named Crouchy (after lanky striker Peter Crouch) the ram is called Fabio (after feisty manager Fabio Capello) while the friskiest in the flock is John Terry. Clever Rob, very clever.

Rob reckons the sheep love their new names and England fleeces, although some of the villagers think he's a bit crackers. We can't think why...

Field Day friends The Wurzels are getting all political - in a cider-related capacity, admittedly.

They've welcomed the news in Tuesday's emergency budget that Chancellor George Osborne will not be instigating the cider tax suggested by his predecessor Alistair Darling.

"Thanks go to George Osborne for listening to our advice," said Tommy Banner and Pete Budd. "With festival season upon us, now is the perfect time to enjoy a glass of cider with friends, without burning a hole in our pocket. At last, something we can all drink to!"

The Wurzels - who even have a song called I Am A Cider Drinker - are at Glastonbury this week. I imagine there'll be a little cider drunk there...

Picture just in of the Norfolk farmer John Nickalls and his England-supporting cattle... 

A farmer from Aberdeenshire, Chris Reid, is about to ride a motorbike from Alaska to Argentina.

Along with a friend, he'll be making the 22,000-mile trip through 15 countries in only 12 weeks.

It's in aid of the Colin McRae Vision, a new charity supporting children's health and education throughout the world.

The pair's adventure is being undertaken with no back-up crew or previous knowledge of North or South America.

Chris explains: "We arrive in Anchorage, Alaska, on August 31 and pick the bikes up from the airport and head north. First, we ride to Prudhoe Bay, the most northerly point accessible by road in North America, we then start our journey south, zigzagging our way through the Rocky Mountains down into the USA.

Imagine a penny-farthing made from tractor parts. Well, you don't need to imagine it - here's one my colleague Emily has come across...

Much Wenlock's Young Farmers Club has raised hundreds of pounds for Help For Heroes after baring all for a charity calendar.

I thought I'd run out of weird animal combinations, but it seems not. Here's a chick and a German Shepherd.

Thanks to Gary Ensor who sent us this fabulous photo all the way from Naivasha in Kenya.

Having returned there after a visit to the Royal Cornwall Show, he found his Jersey heifer rearing this distinctly odd black-and-white 'calf'.

Apparently, the zebra foal had been brought to his farm having been orphaned and caught in an electric fence; the heifer, meanwhile, had slipped her calf a few days earlier but was producing milk so is now rearing it as her own.

"No one is aware of this happening in this part of the world before, so it will be interesting to see how it progresses," says Gary. "Perhaps it might think it is a Jerbra or a Zebresey!"

An East Anglian farmer has shown his support for the England football team by painting the flag of St George on the sides of two of his cattle.

Bearing in mind the England team's seeming penchant for merely hoofing the ball upfield, perhaps they can expect a call-up...

Gloucestershire Old Spot pigs have been given protected status by the EU.

The move prevents anyone from passing off a pig not from the Gloucestershire area as an Old Spot.

It puts the breed in the same company as Champagne, Parma Ham, Cornish clotted cream and Melton Mowbray pork pies in terms of having privileged status throughout Europe.

The regulation is intended to reassure consumers that, when they buy this meat, they can be confident they are getting pork from pedigree Gloucester pigs raised using traditional farming methods unique to the county.

I wonder how they're going to enforce it. Presumably through spot checks...

,,, and here, because you can never get enough of The Wurzels, is a short vid of two of them.

Forget U2. Forget Coldplay. Forget The Killers. Meet The Wurzels.

You wouldn't get this happening in this country -  a farmer using a cannon to protect his land.

Whatever next? First it was the squirrel and the pigeon, then the jackal and the vulture, and the magpie and the sea eagle, then the sparrowhawk and the woodpecker and now it's a lion and an owl.

Strange goings-on in the news.

A hen has laid what's claimed to be the world's largest egg, a Herefordshire farmer has made some award-winning vodka and a Dalmation has survived a 100ft cliff fall in Devon.

And just in case that isn't enough, here's a video of a footballing dog (quick, Fabio, give it a call-up), and (below) a cat wedged in a window in Romania.

I told you the ads are often the best thing on TV - well I now hear that Sex Pistols front man Johnny Rotten is back on TV screens in a new Country Life butter ad.

Like the previous Country Life ads, which I found hilarious, this one aims to highlight the fresh creamy taste and British credentials of the Dairy Crest butter brand.

Full marks to the team at Croots Farm Shop in Derbyshire who have come up with a range of World Cup sausages.

The offering includes The Bangerooney, the WAG Sausage, the Three Lions and the Johannasburg-er.

They're even giving 10% of the proceeds from the sale of each World Cup sausage or burger to Treats Children's Charity.

Steve Croot, who runs the shop in Belper with his wife Kay, told the press: "The Bangerooney is red and white, made from links of tomato and plain sausage. The WAGs sausage is a girly sausage made with chicken, lemon and tarragon. The Johannasburg-er is packed with beef and pork and is quite spicy. No lions have been used in making our Three Lions sausage. They're made with black pepper and cayenne to give them a bit of a bite!"

Perhaps after Robert Green's performance at the weekend they ought to introduce a 'clanger banger.

FW's machinery editor, David, has been telling everyone how exhuasting Cereals 2010 was last week. He'd have everyone believe he spent two days racing between stands, frantically writing articles and discussing detailed technical matters with machinery manufacturers.

I was a little perplexed, then, to find this picture in his folder of photos.

Students at the Royal School of Veterinary Studies at the University of Edinburgh will have the chance to gain more hands-on training, after it opened a new Wildlife Emergency Clinic.

Bet this is the first time the Queen's ever met a man dressed as a cow.

Remember Caroline, who looked after Field Day when I was on holiday? Well I'm very jealous because she's just spent some time with musical royalty - The Wurzels.

She interviewed the scrumpy-loving west country band, beloved of Young Farmers and ag college students everywhere, ahead of their appearance at Glastonbury later this month.

I'll link to her interview and video as soon as it's done (I fear she may still be suffering a cider hangover) but, in the meantime, here's a short safety video for those attending Glastonbury which the legends of rural rock have made with the local police force. 

The folk at Gloucester Cathedral have enlisted the help of local farmer Paul Jackson to create an exclusive pie to sell in its coffee shop, and from the looks of things, tourists are in for a treat.

The pie couldn't be more locally sourced, boasting slow-roasted hogget (one-year-old lamb) from Paul's Cotswold-cross flock, flour from nearby Shipton Mill, butter from Netherend Farm in the Forest of Dean and cheese from farmer Jonathan Crump's herd of Gloucester cattle.

The creation is dubbed 'Pilgrim's Pie' and it certainly looks like its worth making a pilgrimage for. But if anyone from Gloucester Cathedral is reading this and wants to send me a sample, I suppose I could find a minute to do a taste test and report back... begrudgingly of course.

A regular resident of the Rare Breeds marquee at the Royal Cornwall Show is Plymouth artist Carol Payne.

Her work is often sold in support of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust and this year she has worked feverishly to create a special work of art.

"I wanted to do something to celebrate the show's 50th year at Wadebridge and to publicise the work of the Trust, so when I heard that the Duke of Cornwall was coming to the show, I wrote to him and sent him a catalogue of my work.

"He is patron of the Trust and I suggested I paint something based on the rare breeds that he keeps that I could present to him at the show," she said.

When she got a call back from his office, no-one could have been more surprised than Carol.

"His office only phoned a week ago to say he loved my work and he'd be happy for me to do something for the occasion."

He suggested one of two breeds and I chose White Park cattle. Since then Carol has researched the subject and "worked flat out day and night" to create the painting of a cow in a field of buttercups.

The painting, an acrylic on canvas which measures 29 by 48 inches, will be presented during the Duke of Cornwall's tour of the show on Thursday.

Unless you've been hiding in a cave for the last few months you'll know that the World Cup is just around the corner. Naturally most industries are trying to get in on the action (and get their hands on a slice of the profits) and it seems that farming is no exception.

Mark Harris, Lewis Spencer and John Harris (l-r) from Broadditch Farm Shop in Southfleet Kent have tried to piggy-back off the biggest event in the footballing calendar by stripping off to promote their fresh local produce. Thankfully, some strategically placed home grown cauliflowers (each decorated with an England flag made of radishes) is protecting their modesty.

The guys told me that it all started with a conversation about how they could celebrate the 20th anniversary of the farm shop, and before they knew it "we were standing in a field naked."

I hate it when that happens...

How weird is this - pets dyed to look like wild animals.

Best not show this to Matthew Naylor - or he might get ideas concerning Wooster.

One combine has been out early in Northamptonshire.

Ed Dyer and Kathryn Rogers, who live at Radmore Farm, Litchborough, recently got married and wanted a typical country-style wedding - but with a difference.

Seeing as they both drive the combine on the 500 acre farm, they thought it would be appropriate to use it on the big day.

Ed's dad helped adapt a man-cage to fit on the front in place of the header (painted New Holland yellow) and his mum, who's a florist, then helped decorate it and transform it into the perfect wedding vehicle.

"We both thoroughly enjoyed our ride back from the church in the village to the farm," says Kathryn. "It was certainly a head-turner - and not the sort of work the combine is used to!"

Sometimes the best bit about TV is the adverts. And this one is superb. For some reason, it just makes me smile. 

Thanks to Rachel who showed me the ad.

Say hello to Rachel, incidentally... she's started working with me at Farmers Weekly so will be posting stuff on Field Day from time to time. Be nice to her!

I really like the work of artist Angela Davidson.

She's just unveiled one of her pictures that'll be starring on her stand at the Royal Highland Show. It's titled Hercules.

You can see another new work, a Texel ewe called Going Dutch, below...

Artist Mike Jory, who we've featured before on Field Day, is holding another one-man show of paintings.

Titled Are You Looking At Me?, it was inspired by - and features - the animals and landscapes of Devon, Somerset and Gloucestershire, and runs at the Picture House in Exeter until June 14.

"Painting cows on Dartmoor means you get to see the animals interact with their environment - for example, a cow lying down and almost obscured by the heather, a horse peeking out from behind a tree, or one herd encountering another," says Mike.

Lower-lying parts of Devon can also provide unexpected ideas. "Driving through country lanes near Bickleigh, I came across some deer roaming wild in a field so, sneaking along the hedgerow camera in hand, I was able to take a few reference photos which inspired a painting," he adds.

"I hope these paintings have a universal appeal and hopefully bring a smile to people's faces as they recognize something of the animal's personality or see some humour in the behaviour depicted."