Alistair Mackintosh is pleased to be up to his eyes in silage

We have silage at the end of June, and I’m pleased to report that crops have been heavy, so much so, that it is unlikely we will need a second cut. Having said that, to keep grass under control, we will probably have to cut some, and build a clamp, somehow.

Lambs have done well, and by the time you read this, both ewes and lambs will have been OP dipped and the lambs will have been weaned, and hopefully we will have sold some store lambs. The early-finished lambs have been a good trade, so hopefully the stores will also do well.

Cows and calves have all been fly sprayed. In the past we’ve had a problem with New Forrest in the calves, however, fly treatment in the first week of July has prevented the problem.

Winter barley is looking well, and looks to be a good crop, but crows and pigeons are feasting on it. No amount of guns, or bangers, seem to be having any effect – if they eat much more their obesity may well be their downfall.

The European Commission has plans to “green” Pillar 1 payments in an effort to make European agriculture more sustainable. I always thought profitable agriculture equalled sustainability, not to make it more difficult for farmers to qualify for the payments.

At the time of writing, we await an announcement on TB – let’s hope the politicians are brave enough to give us the tools to tackle this blight on our industry.