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The maize is now safely in and Phil is busy mowing. We are now next in the queue and are hoping to start chopping on Sunday. We are leaving the grass in swaths for as long as we can to try and let the ground dry out. Some of our neighbours have been making...
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Outcomes the sun and suddenly the jobs which we could not do, are now good to go all at the same time! This blog is supposed to be about land drainage and agricultural contracting, but I realised that I spend a great deal of time talk about the weather...
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On June 26th 8 intrepid novice cyclists are setting off from the Shobnal Maltings (Burton-upon-Trent) in order to raise money for the Molson Coors Growers Group charity, The Prince's Countryside Fund . Our aim is to raise awareness of the supply chain...
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Defra has announced that farmers will be able to apply for payment through agri- environment schemes to feed farmland birds during the leanest months of winter. Beginning in January 2013, new schemes will enable farmers to access rural development funding...
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We have used that description before when describing the overspill of bTB from an ‘ environmental, non - bovine source’ – badgers, into another popular mammal, alpacas. Playing with their own published statistics, and deflecting searching questions about...
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The proposed merger between Milk Link and Arla has been warmly applauded by dairy industry watchers, and rightly so. Against a background of ever stronger retailer power, increased globalisation by major players with turnovers in the £billions, and a...
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The week has started well. The maize ground is worked down and should be sown today. We were not the earliest to sow but maybe the conditions are better now for a quick germination. Our neighbours are busy mowing for first cut. Ground conditions are still...
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Over the last couple of days I have carrying my camera around to try and capture some of the wildlife that I am seeing around the farm at the moment. This lovely spell of warm weather is really bringing the wildlife out to enjoy it as much as I am. The...
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Alex, one of our Monday helpers and I are checking the ewes and lambs at Wallacefield. It doesn’t quite add up and I can hear a plaintive baaing coming from the vicinity of the river, someone is lost. We wander over and sure enough there is a lamb on...
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The Home Grown cereals Agency today announced that AHDB/HGCA Market Intelligence team will be launching a Pre-Harvest Market Outlook at Cereals 2012 event being held next month and will offer a short round up before each variety tour. The agency also...
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... that she contracted TB from wildlife? So said a curt note from the Badger Trust in reply to a farmer in Wales, about to lose this beautiful cow. For good measure they also said they cared about ALL animals. You could have fooled us; they sure as hell...
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Following our postings on Dianne's illness, she has updated the website with this thumbnail of how she is coping with the intensive bTB drug regime. (click News tab for the full account) On April 12 th 2012 Dianne started a nine month regime of a...
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Following a debate in London last week, which was attended by UK agriculture minister Jim Paice, farming unions have begun to call for the introduction of break clauses to inequitable milk supply contracts, so long as processors are allowed to dictate...
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A big sigh of relief as the TB test was clear last week. The council inspector was happy with my records so we shouldn't see her again for a couple of years. It did feel as though she was checking up on things already covered by our farm assurance...
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Horticultural termination - by a man called Arnold! Read More...
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It's May 1st 2012 and on Dai Bevan's farm in Carmarthenshire the future for his herd of pedigree Longhorn Cattle looks bleak. Bovine TB has struck. Many will have watched Adam Henson's visit to the farm just before the cull on the Sunday evening...
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There have been reports of a plant disease normally found in subarctic climates affecting plants as far south as Herefordshire. The fungus Sclerotinia Subarctica has been identified for the first time in the UK in buttercups and carrots. University of...
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Potential of a silver lining, despite worldwide dairy slump Wednesday 16 May 2012 Following cuts to prices by dairy giants in the UK, announced at the end of last month, large processors from around the world have followed suit; US-based Land o’ Lakes...
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Hiya everyone. I'm a young farmer and I'm going to be posting posts for a while every so often. This is not my blog i am just posting in it. Hope you enjoy my posts. Thanks
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According to the IGD’s latest research, 59% of shoppers say that their most important concern just now how much they spend. Not surprising given that since 2007 prices have grown by 14% compared with wages at 9%, the spectre of unemployment looms and...
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After optimistically taking my entire winter wardrobe home to Cornwall over Easter it’s been a chilly few weeks up in Newcastle! We have even had a brief snowfall or two, luckily they didn’t last long. Since heading back to university after Easter it...
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There are reeds appearing in the big field at Houghton. There weren’t any last year but they seemed to have popped up from somewhere and need tackling. Thankfully for a change this isn’t a digging job but a strimming job. The Honda strimmer is big and...
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Every now and again mother nature throws up some interesting quirks in any population. This is one of my favourites! She's a Texel cross North Country Mule with some very strange markings indeed. She certainly stands out when driving through the park...
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Many times on farming forums and in the comments sections of the farming press, we are the butt of the same old, same old mantra. bTB is all our fault. It is dirty farmers, lax farming practises, cattle movements and fraud which cause bTB. Not only is...
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We made the decision on Tuesday to turn the cows out hoping the weather was on the up. It was short lived because after a heavy nights rain we have brought them back in again today. We are completely out of silage but have managed to find a clamp full...