Farmer focus, livestock: John Bainbridge knows the snow is here to stay (for a while at least)

“Snovember” brought an early, and rather unwelcome, helping of the white stuff. It’s now December and the snow doesn’t look like going anywhere fast, making farming life difficult once again.

Today’s usually quiet Sunday afternoon was spent digging a track out to reach 200 Mule ewes to fill their feeders, after drifting snow had blocked the access. This was after my sons had spent four hours the previous morning clearing the farm track, which now resembles a bobsleigh run.

My fat lamb numbers are a good deal less than this time last year, although concentrates are running short. With a wagon unable to get in, I’m thinking of moving on to rolled barley, plus a protein supplement, that can be transported in small amounts from a local farm.

At this time of year, the ewes normally need very little supplementary feed, but the amount they are consuming at present is what one would expect in January. Neighbours say their stocks of feed are also disappearing fast. With my SFP having been credited to my bank account this week, it may be necessary to purchase available feed, whatever the premium costs might be.

The Swaledale shearlings had only been with the pure rams eight days before the snow arrived, giving me cause for concern. Ultimately, I shall see the consequences of this when they are scanned next February.