Rebekah Housden: You need to channel Eric Idle if you’re a farmer
Rebekah Housden © Rebekah Housden As we hurtle towards the shortest day, more of the daily tasks necessitate a head torch as it seems impossible to fit everything in to the narrowing window of daylight.
Inevitably, I always need a standby as the battery never seems fully charged.
The effects of the fantastic summer in our area are wearing off, the fields are turning wet and I now walk round the sheep to check the tups and their business, instead of using the quad bike which would leave a trail stark enough to be seen from space.
See also: Rebekah Housden: There’s no shame in being a part-time farmer
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With a record amount of grass for the time of year in front of them, the ewes and any remaining lambs are thriving.
It is strange to get so far through the year and not be panicking whether the fields can sustain them until laying-in time.
With the splish splosh of my footsteps through the fields and binoculars in hand, the wind dies down occasionally and sometimes it isn’t even raining.
Odd times, even a ray of sun can glimpse through, reminding me of the wise words of Eric Idle.
You can easily focus on the downsides, but there are many positives to focus on instead.
The sheep being in such good condition and the grass still covering the ground, for example.
So far, none of the ewes have slipped and gone back to the tup yet, which is a concern with bluetongue in the area.
New farming headline are usually negative – the ray of optimism about the removal of import tax on fertiliser is quickly offset by hearing it could be subject to a new carbon tax.
More and more farms are disappearing to trees, solar farms, battery storage… now data centres seem to be the new Monopoly piece.
Things seem stagnant and it is a while since there was any purely good news.
Sometimes, however, just being lucky enough to pursue what you want to do even with the ups and downs is the bright side which you need to grasp.
