AT THE start of March there seemed to be a major shortage of sugar and fodder beet roots, with prices jumping by 10/t from our previous loads with sellers holding out for dearer prices.

However, Simpsons from Ripon managed to supply sugar beet from further afield with less than half the price rise. It also seems to last better than fodder beet, being a bit harder with more sugars.

Significant amounts of paperwork and reading material relating to the SFP arrive regularly. It is nice to see DEFRA hold such nostalgic thoughts in still giving us retention periods for our sheep and cattle for the Hill Farm Allowance.

A recent Entry Level Stewardship scheme meeting co-ordinated by DEFRA was unable to answer our question of how our land at Barmingham should join the rest at Shipley already under the pilot scheme. Another scheme that will probably start without all the rules clarified.

Just to show that not just farmers can make simple errors turning numbers round when form filling, in our last FW contribution our heifers which made 630 were quoted as 360. At least no one is going to look back and apply penalties for this type of simple mistake as DEFRA appears to be getting even keener to do.

The onset of lambing is usually preceded by one or two minor teething problems, with the odd lost lamb or ewe with twin lambs. This year, however, something altogether more disturbing has happened, some thieving b******s have stolen my ATV.

Following this, the cow the vet predicted would experience calving problems when pregnancy diagnosised duly obliged. A caesarean was deemed the only option. But, thankfully, a healthy calf was the result.

Meanwhile, Blue Faced Leicester ewes, which were synchronised at the same time as AI took place, nearly all lambed within two or three days.