Jolyon Higgs completes harvest on time for family visit

Harvest on Gower was completed by 26 August. Yields were better than feared during the dry April spell but not record breaking.

Surprisingly spring barley was the best performer, and the new Class Avero combine meant we could work faster and had virtually no breakdowns.

Tom found a teenager had got to the oats before him. Apparently he had lost his boomerang and so decided to beat the crop down with his tennis racket. We believe he came from a neighbouring campsite along with wicker chairs and other rubbish.

We are often asked to tow out vehicles that have left the road. The drivers are always full of remorse and I feel sorry for them. However when it comes to paying for the damage to the fence they suddenly become very uncooperative and just won’t pay. In the future it will be no money, no tow.

At Cwmfron, work was somewhat interrupted by the first visit of our four-month-old identical twin grandsons with their brother. Having three under two’s in the house meant that farming had to be reorganised around their routine.

Autumn has arrived leading to increased pressure to reduce stock numbers in the hills. September is very much a time of sheep sales with Welsh mule yearling ewes sold from both farms and older ewes leaving Cwmfron, together with an increasing volume of prime lambs. Grass stocks are plentiful at present, unlike many farms in Shropshire, Herefordshire and Gloucestershire where I hear dry weather has left fields looking bare.

Farmer Focus: Jolyon Higgs