Farmer focus, livestock: Julian Ellis is struggling to find time to write his Nuffield report

My Nuffield scholarship is gradually coming to an end.


I recently went to the annual conference in Edinburgh to give my presentation. I was one of 26 scholars who presented their findings from all parts of the globe. We all agreed we had an experience not to be missed.

Now I just need to complete my written report, but finding time for this is easier said than done as there is always plenty to do.

This week was no exception as I needed to get ready for our crop-assured audit and I seemed to be one of the two cajoled volunteers who needed to go on a gritting course for our parish council. We had to spend an afternoon learning how to manually apply salt, whereas building flood defences would have been more worthwhile considering the recent problems in our county.

Although we often curse our farm’s exposure to the wind, the chances here of flooding from a natural disaster are pretty slim. I understand it made the national news, but sadly we didn’t see it because our TV went wrong Saturday night just as Ann Widecombe was about to do her turn (tragic).

The dry cows have started to strip graze the winter forage mix of Kale, rape and turnips that we drilled at the end of July. I am hoping this field will last until we have cut some cabbage as the rest of the forage crop was drilled around the ditches of the cabbage fields. So far, the idea has worked well, as the ditch cabbage are always the first to be attacked by slugs or pigeons and rarely yield as well as the rest of the field.

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