Lots of grain stores are converted from cattle sheds. Sitting inside looking at this years weather so far has made me think this is a stupid idea. January was wet. As was February. As was March. June was wet. August wet. September damp. October wet and now November wet. Lets be honest, we are getting in a few days the whole months rain. And quite regularly. We had Novembers in October, and have had it again already.
Going down the road past small dairy farms, with the beasts inside makes me think we are even more stupid trying to grow a rotation on heavy land. Spring work is iffy. OSR is sluggy. Continuous wheat is frowned upon by father. So how long before we have to grass it all down? Will we be able to renew drains in the next 20 years to keep cropping the land? Is it worthwhile doing it?
We are a fairly small arable farm in the grand scheme of things. And lets be honest its hard to add value to a heap of wheat. Could it be that we have gone down the wrong route - should we have built cattle sheds, put land to grass, bought small kit and grown a small amount of our own feed and got contractors to cut it?
Certainly looking at the future I think we need beasts. We can turn an animal into an end product. Sell it local and direct. Make it real good and have Mr Waitrose want to sell it even. But best still, we can sit in the rain knowing the animals are dry, and that the grass will grow lush and green. A few wet patches? Who cares as it wont be touched for months for hay! 1000ac would make a nice dairy, sheep and beef unit. A butchery and cold house, and all the fert we need out of the animals arses.
Whilst all around are running around like headless chickens spraying and spreading, I could be showing some prime cattle. No wearing parts bill would be nice, but do I want a winter putting miles of post and rail up?