Archive Article: 2000/10/13
Steve Morris
Steve Morris farms in the
Forest of Bowland, Lancs, in
partnership with his wife
Valerie. Over half of the
190ha (470 acre) LFA farm
is heather fell, with a further
20ha (50 acres) of rough
grazing. It is stocked with
50 dairy cows, 280 Lonk
ewes, 100 half-breds and
40 gimmer hoggs.
OUR landlord, who keeps detailed rainfall records, informs me that the 17cm (7in) of rain that fell here during September was not an unusually high amount – but it certainly doesnt seem that way.
As I pen these notes, cows are indoors by day and night despite having more grass available than usual. Sodden pastures dictated that cows should be housed more abruptly than I had intended. The bulk tank will always pass judgement on these matters and I was relieved to see the 150 litre drop in milk reverse within 48 hours.
Using remaining grass is not a problem; there are enough sheep here at flushing and tupping time to take care of that. A bigger worry is the 9ha (23 acres) I had set aside for big bales to feed ewes pre-lambing. I hoped to bale this in mid-September, but with hardly a dry 24 hours during the past month, Im dearly hoping that by the time you read this well be having a sustained spell of Indian summer.
During late summer and autumn these past few years, our lambs have failed to thrive and been generally lacklustre. This year all lambs received a vitamin and trace element drench in mid-August. There definitely seems to have been an improvement, although I regret not leaving some untreated as a control group.
Mid-October will see gimmer lambs heading to their winter home on the banks of the Ribble at Clitheroe, a welcome change from our higher pastures.
My wife, Valerie, has been suggesting recently that we ought to take a few days off. This break would give us a chance to visit Carlisle, not just for the lovely drive through Cumbria, but also to call in at our MAFF regional service centre. The sooner we know where the moorland line is, the sooner well know the impact of the Hill Farm Allowance scheme on our business.
The difference between our fell ground being classified as severely disadvantaged or moorland is more than £2000. However, the category that seems most likely to take the brunt of the new arrangements is new entrants. As if young people werent being driven out of the hills fast enough. *
Recent wet weather led to a 150-litre milk drop for Steve Morris.