FARMERFOCUS
FARMERFOCUS
Bill and
Jonathan Metcalf
Bill and Jonathan Metcalf
rent 89ha (220 acres) of
grassland, plus moorland
grazing, near Barnard
Castle, and own a further
unit 12 miles away, both
are situated in the Less
Favoured Area of Teesdale.
Farms are stocked with 120
sucklers, including 20
pedigree Blonde
dAquitaines, and 1200
ewes with 200 replacements
WE ARE now well into our third week of lambing and, for the first time, Ive found it unnecessary to wear a coat. Also, unusually, we have lambed no ewes inside and lambing fields actually have grass around the outside edges rather than puddles.
Bluefaced Leicesters went out with the first lambers, but nearly all produced a tup lamb.
At last we find ourselves able to look at Mule gimmers, viewing their potential for September sales, which last year we could not bring ourselves to do.
A Cumbrian farmer has agreed to buy our bigger running lambs after the end of the retention period in May. We have also had enquiries about the remainder, together with hoggs, which have just started to lamb.
We have also been asked about supplying Mule lambs direct in September, without the hassle of clipping. But how do both parties know what is a fair market price?
Hopefully, DEFRA boffins will soon be satisfied that no unnoticed foot-and-mouth infection will come to light due to the stress of lambing and the go ahead for the autumn sales will be given, together with direct farm to farm sales.
Recently, we purchased a new Blonde dAquitaine stock bull. If his calves are good enough, it will relieve the need to shuffle pure cows around to avoid them being served by relations. Our original Blonde bull was the last stock bull we purchased in the late 1980s, with all new blood coming on the female side.
Calving has been fairly slow after a late start and we have just had our first five calves by our own new bull, which we kept last year. Cows already calved have been turned out on to a bare field and given silage. They had been on hay inside, which saved on straw.
At one time we feared we may have needed more straw which would have been financially painful, but we should now have sufficient to last until everything is turned out. *