Iain Green finally finishes harvest

I am glad I took the early decision to ask our local machinery dealer for the hire of an extra self-drive combine, and harvest was finally finished on 20 September.

This then allowed our own combine to go on and cut a large acreage for fellow farmers including doing a demo for our dealer. We had a whole week of very good weather which allowed everyone to catch up and most to finish harvest at the end of September.

We lifted our third-cut silage the day before the weather broke. Several people have said that by this time there is no goodness left in the grass but with the silage pits all packed full, I am sure the cows will not be complaining. I will do analysis of the silage just to ensure it is good enough quality.

The autumn calving cows are continuing to calve but are in very good condition with good, strong born calves. Hopefully the weather will be kind to them and allow them to stay outside as long as possible, which will help shorten the winter.

The decision by another long-established, efficient, local, family pig producer to stop production is again a sign of how bad the industry is, with only a very small light at the end of an ever lengthening tunnel. I wish the large retailers and supermarkets would realise that unless they start to provide a respectable return to the primary food producer then some day there will not be enough food to feed everyone.

Farmer Focus: Iain Green