Lambing and calving in full swing for Mathew Cole

The return of rain to Dartmoor is very welcome but having to put the waterproofs and wellies back on in cold April showers isn’t much fun. On our wet rock called Dartmoor, rain is never far away, but I hope its arrival helps those in greater need elsewhere in the country.

Our lambing has gone well at both farms and as I am released from the shackles of lambing and have time to appreciate what has been achieved, there seem to be lambs everywhere. There are also still plenty to mark especially at the prison and we are now keen to get on with it, as every day those lambs get bigger.

Both our vet students, Charlotte and Jess, did a great job this year during their three weeks with us. They experienced all sorts as usual at both farms, with the lambing and calving plus the culture shock of being delivered from a warm student lifestyle to the middle of a Dartmoor hill farm working with a bunch of strange farmers, under considerable stress due to the time of year, with the prison as a backdrop. Let’s hope we didn’t scare them off farmers too much; we wish them well in the future.

Cows are now calving well after a shaky start. Our South Devon cows lost two out of the first four calves so I was a little concerned but fortunately since then I have had a great bunch of calves and all is going well, touch wood.

Farmer Focus: Mathew Cole