FARMERFOCUS
FARMERFOCUS
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
SPRING has arrived for a few days at least and rarely has it have been so welcome. Following a sodden January and February, the bitter east wind of early March subsided, allowing us to sneak out with the fertiliser spreader on some drier slopes.
Slurry has been more of a struggle though. With the slurry store full since early March, emptying the slurry channel twice weekly over hedges will now be replaced by more generous applications to silage fields.
I think part of the reason spring is so welcome this year is because last year it appeared in a haze of licences and fear. The first three weeks of April 2001 saw us taking hay and liquid feed to our 100 hoggs, trapped on 0.9ha (2.3 acres).
Hogg wintering has been easier this time. Not only have we been offered more acreage than in previous winters, but also on drier holdings than before.
This year, there is the opportunity to take two neighbouring blocks of summer grazing, amounting to about 32ha (80 acres). Although sloping and not dairy cow land, it will give us more flexibility if a rent can be agreed.
Half bred ewes have finished a successful lambing, but they are slightly leaner post-lambing than I would have liked. The older Lonk ewes, which should have gone to the draft sales, are next to lamb. They were put to Suffolk rams.
They should give us a heavier crop, at 160%, than the main batch of horned sheep, which dont start until Apr 15. These only scanned at 120%.
Another sight to lift the spirits has been the spring in fathers step since the reopening of Gisburn auction mart. Hes been down in the mouth this past year, without his weekly banter with his mates.
The mart has been getting complaints that it has been enforcing biosecurity rules more rigorously than in markets over the county boundary in Yorkshire. With trading standards officials monitoring every move, all the directors can do is ensure the auction functions, allowing price transparency to return to the market. *