Diary Of Becoming A Farmer. Preparing for the 2012!!
Story of a young mans efforts to become a farmer without the aid of inheretance.
So I just looked and can't believe it's 8 months since I last had time to write on here. I have been reading from time to time though, so here are I have a few updates of my own! The year has continued in the same vein as it started. Diary Of Becomming A Farmer Happy New Year, Not enough hours in the day and I'm off to the funeral of a good friend on Wednesday who has died of cancer!!
The day job is incredibly busy. We had a General Election resulting in a new government. Following the Comprehensive Spending Review a couple of weeks ago, we are now all digesting exactly how that will affect us all. Now Royalty has announced intended prenuptials next year, so what was looking like a reasonably quiet year in 2011 before a little event in in 2012 known as the Olympics.
The Cattle from the herd I'm managing went back outside in April and this week we are going to take them back in again ready for the winter. I was thinking of taking one of the steers to India for the Commonwealth Games. During the winter he learn't to clear 5 foot hurdles, although at the point he realised he could, they were a little over 4 foot with the muck in the shed. Trouble was he realised he could!! He did this at least 3 times over the winter.
He was coming up to 30 months last week and we needed to get him to "meat" his maker!! In the last month he had escaped the coral twice by clearing the whole 5 foot of hurdle both times. How he didn't break his leg in these attempts I'll never know. So last Wednesday we had beefed up the coral. Still he managed to escape twice more! Wrecking two more hurdles in the process.
Well that was it, he had waved a red rag at me and I was not going to be defeated. So had to get my thinking cap on and outwit him. Two other cattle were still in the coral. So I had to think of a cunning way to get him back to his mates. Half an hour later he was on the edge of the coral thinking about going in again. Then he was in and as soon as I shut the gate he was looking to get out again. So I opened the gate to the cattle trailer which had a bucket of feed in the far end. Sure enough that worked and he was thinking of his belly. He was not happy when I closed the trailer up behind him and he realised he had been caught
So off the the slaughter house we went. Fortunately only 10 miles away but with him kicking and banging all the way. I hope a good time in the lairage should have calmed him down enough that the meat is still good.
We also developed some Steak & Kidney pies to sell through the butchery. It was a really difficult job having to taste the pies and decide which recipee was best... But someone had to do it. We had them ready for Easter and they sold well. Now with winter time almost upon us it's time to get more made. Shame, but I will once again have to check quality control....