Farmer focus, livestock: Jolyon Higgs

At Cwmfron two frosts at the end of August heralded the start of autumn. Luckily I was able to save Alex’s runner beans and courgettes by a bit of early morning watering but, inevitably, grass growth has slowed.

The colder weather accelerates our destocking for winter with on-farm sheep numbers to be halved by December. We sold three cull cows in Welshpool market and were lucky to win the “Briarwood Prize” that week for the highest priced cull cow; an Angus cross weighing 790 kilos. For Briarwood to sponsor a small weekly prize, as they do for both cull cows and prime cattle, shows commitment to our industry.

Lambs are being sold weekly and I am pleased with prices. Our first batches of Mule yearling ewes from both farms sold to an excellent trade and our only worry is how much we will have to pay for ewe lambs when we return to the sales in October. A neighbour purchased ewe lambs to find, a few days after the sale, that many of the ears were infected. With electronic tags so expensive it is vital vendors use aseptic conditions when applying tags. Needless to say electronic tagging caused a few headaches with the readers unable to keep up with the pace of selling, despite tireless efforts by market staff.

On Gower, harvest was completed with good yields, but samples of oats and wheat were slightly spoiled by wet August weather. Price fluctuations mean we are spreading the timing of all corn sales to try to achieve a decent overall average. Drilling of autumn cereals has begun with two varieties being tried for the first time including Cassia two row winter barley and JB/Diego winter wheat. Bucket calves purchased at the end of July were weaned in mid September.