Farmer Focus: Richard Thomas

IT HAS been unusually dry again this past two months. This has meant potato planting finished in good time at an easy pace, not battling against the elements. However two weeks of hard frost, which is rare in west Cornwall, rather set back our December plantings.

Cauliflower cutting has finished and growers are pleased with returns from their first season with Clements. Area next year is rising to 210ha (520 acres) from 113ha (280 acres) this year. The only drawback is we are extending the packhouse again to cope with extra volume. However, the shed will now be used for 10 months each year, spreading the costs.

Grass growth has been slow in the cold and dry. This was not helped at Trevear where sheep on keep grazed all pastures hard over winter. In a normal season fields would recover quickly as grass usually grows all winter.

But cows are now out for about half the day and doing a good job grazing. We will run two groups for a while with low yielders out full time. Those giving most milk are still getting most of their diet from the wagon to minimise energy gap. All yearlings and in-calf heifers are at grass, with only this seasons calves indoors, winter is behind us.

David has settled in well to his job as herdsman and I am adjusting to not being as committed to cows. As a result, my father and I were both able to spend a long weekend away watching England play Scotland at Twickenham, and we are grateful to one of our suppliers for their hospitality.

There were a number of Scots in our party which made for a little pre-game banter. Some of the visitors showed their true colours when not backing their own country in the pre-match sweep stake.