FARMER FOCUS: Stocking up on ice cream supplies
Spring is finally here. The daffodils are out in the lane, despite the deep rut and the hole in the fence, after I got stuck with the mixer wagon in the snow. What a bad day that was – the wife accused me of being a nutter, writes Adrian Harrison.
Yesterday (21 April) it was 4C, so it will as come as no surprise for you to hear that our cows are still inside. Having looked at my records for last year it was the same story; the only difference being the heifers had been put outside.
This month we have mostly been foot trimming with my new toy – my new JT Universal roll-over crush. What a magnificent beast it is. The only snag is that I have now created a new job for myself as resident foot trimmer. We have been doing some routine work as we had a little bit of digital dermatitis kicking around at the end of winter. As part of our foot care we footbath the cows twice weekly, once in formalin, and once with copper sulphate.
Silage stocks are running a little low. We are having to buy some big bales for younger heifers, which are still in, to try and save clamp silage for the milkers, for buffering through summer.
Meanwhile, things have started hotting up on the ice cream front, and I have put on my other hat and been busy building up my stock of ice cream ready for the Dales Festival of Food and Drink.
Adrian Harrison farms 81ha in partnership with his father Maurice in Wensleydale, Yorkshire. He runs 130 pedigree Jersey cows with 70 followers. Milk is used to make Wensleydale cheese
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