John Geldard
John Geldard
John Geldard farms 175ha
(430-acres) near Kendal on
the southern edge of the
Lake District. Stock
comprises 50 suckler cows,
with progeny finished
alongside 300-400 bought-in
stores, 1000 ewes plus 250
ewe lamb replacements, of
which 160 are pedigree
Charollais, and a 25,000
bird poultry enterprise.
AS THE WEATHER starts to change for the worse we cannot complain. It must have been the best spring, summer and autumn that I can ever remember.
Over the last two months we have increased the suckler cows to 100. The cows and heifers purchased have been bought with spring-born calves at foot to hopefully fit in with our system. In the last month all calves have been vaccinated with Imuresp RP and Torvac against RSV.
We have also started to buy store cattle during the past few weeks; only time will tell if this proves right or wrong. After seeing the end of a successful season in the sheep sales we are in full swing selling our wether lambs. Despite the prime lamb price dropping back, good fleshed lambs at the right weight are still quite good to sell.
However, the most concerning dilemma facing cattle and sheep finishers at this moment is some of the impracticable regulations im-posed upon us. The latest example is not being able to market wet lambs in the autumn of the year in parts of the country that have 70in rainfall. I feel that such scientific and technical advice can only come from people that failed to obtain a degree in practical common sense.n
In the last month John Geldard has vaccinated all calves against pneumonia – and he hopes that prevention is better than cure.