Adrian Harrison struggles in the snow
I sit with icicles hanging from my nose, having just spent the entire morning defrosting drinking troughs. The main things that have come out of the -8C temperatures and snowstorms are that modern technology isn’t always best.
For the second time in a year I have had to agree with my father. Gone are my aspirations for ventilation for the calf house, and I have had to bring in a temporary wall to try and prevent the snow scene that occurred last night. I was wondering if I should apply for a diversification for a ski run and gondola lifts off Addlebrough.
I have a busy week ahead – injecting the herd for BVD and getting slurry out. Not sure where now, as the big melt is on its way. We are going from frozen tundra to marsh status in 48 hours.
Now I am not sure if any of you have ever seen the programme Escape Down Under while having breakfast? It seems it has repeatedly shown a startling fact. While the would-be emigrants are going through Aussie grocery comparisons, there is always one item that is flagged up as massively different in cost, and that is milk. These families are discovering that milk in Australia is five times more expensive than in UK.
Finally, having just had a meeting with our milk buyers, we have been awarded a late Christmas present of a price rise for January. This is very welcome news indeed.
Adrian Harrison farms 81ha (200 acres) in partnership with his father Maurice in Wensleydale, Yorkshire. He runs 130 pedigree Jersey cows with 70 followers, with milk sold to Wensleydale Creamery, Hawes, and used to make real Wensleydale cheese