Scanning going well for Charlie Armstrong

Well, it’s that time of year again – scanning. The job was going well, but two hours after starting, the scan man’s wife turned up with his specs. It went even better after that.


We haven’t finished yet, but so far we have very few empties and only a small number of triplets. However, with two to three days left, the situation could change.


The last of our store lambs inside have now been put onto pellets and are eating them at an alarming rate, but the results have been good – it’s only the end price that’s disappointing.


It’s still far too wet to plough, even on the light land, and trying to spread muck is a complete non-starter. There’s a lot of mess around the sheep lick buckets – never mind the ring feeders that can be seen from outer space – but there is very little we can do about it.


One thing I don’t have to worry about now is writing this article, as this is the last one. So, no more checking spelling, or bribing the children to write something, which never worked anyway. And I am sure the Farmers Weekly telephone bill will be less, since they always had to chase me up. Best of luck to the next person who will be able to enjoy speaking to the many people who read these articles. Soon he will find it impossible to walk more than 20 yards at agricultural events without someone speaking to him and questioning his farming methods.


Charlie Armstrong farms 1,011ha with his wife Jane and parents Charlie and Sylvia at North Charlton, Alnwick, Northumberland. Livestock consists of 1,200 finishing cattle and 10,000 ewes.


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