Farmer Focus: David Greasby

THE SHEEP are now inside for the winter having been shorn at speed by Rhydwyn Price, a member of the Welsh team for next year’s World Shearing Championships, and his assistant Richard. We are having to be very selective with straw feeding in the run up to lambing – with moulds a legacy of the wet harvest and a potential abortion problem, only the very best can be fed during this critical period.

It’s been a long wait but a few dry days have allowed us to spread farmyard manure and finally complete our drilling programme. Some 8ha (19.7 acres) of oilseeds have been replaced with wheat, after failing to establish – which is making me paranoid about my inability to get small seeds under way on this farm.

We should have been concentrating our effort on building modifications, especially where deadlines exist for new workshop lettings. This is the area where income stream can be significantly improved, provided costs and investment can be kept at sensible levels. However, prioritisation has been difficult this season with the sporadic demands of weather related farm work, and it is good to finally clear these jobs and move on. Whereas I am convinced that profitable management of all assets must be the way ahead for any business, I feel strongly that core farming enterprises must not be neglected in the drive for diversification – particularly in the short-term.

Six hours to do 60 miles into the City of London for a wedding was an experience not to be shared. Talk about grid-locked. However, we did make the splendid evening reception, the ladies looked beautiful and local history will record how close I came to buying a sports car in gratitude for “spending a penny” at a roadside Porsche showroom.