The McCreas remember Oliver-James

Saint Patrick’s Day, 17 March, last year was a very sad day for our family as the funeral of our lovely little boy Oliver-James, three-and-a-half years, coincided with the holiday.
The grief of losing a child has been something we are still coming to terms with. However, we are thankful to God for the wonderful times we had together with Oliver-James.
Three weeks later my wife give birth to our fourth child Simon-Peter, another wonderful little boy whom we are extremely grateful for. He may never realise how much he is helping us. My three staff did a tremendous job and kept the farm going; I don’t know how we would have coped if I had been a one-man show.
One year on and spring is in the air along with the slight smell of slurry from every farm in the country spreading at the same. Our trailing shoe tanker definitely reduces the smell a huge amount, along with not dirtying the grass, meaning we get extra growth and faster grazing times. Just one problem – we can’t afford to buy stores. It’s looking like we’ll have plenty of silage for next winter.
I hear eggs prices have gone through the roof on the back of the cage ban. Let’s hope that pig prices can do the same as the European stall ban approaches faster than many in the EU would like. Our sows have been loose since 1998. BPEX quote 70% of pigmeat imported into the UK would be illegal to produce here. We must act upon this to gain market share.