Farming Talk: A break in the rain gave time to bale grass
The rain just kept falling but now we can hope for more sunshine. We have cut 20 acres of grass, which spent two weeks lying in the swath and being washed.
The rain just kept falling but now we can hope for more sunshine. We have cut 20 acres of grass, which spent two weeks lying in the swath and being washed.
We were able to get Kevin Meddins to bale it into large square bales and Tom Hollinshead then wrapped 91 bales into plastic before the next storm.
The cows and calves are now enjoying the regrowth on that field. Our new Stabiliser stock bull, Murphy, is in his element. I hope that he will be as reliable at serving the cows as Jake was. The breed certainly suits us, good eating quality, low feed inputs, easy calving and quiet to handle.
We loaded Jake off to Bridgnorth Mart on Tuesday last week and received a fair price for him. He had slipped a disc in his back while serving a cow and we could not be sure that it would not happen again. He probably would not have been fertile this season after injuring himself anyway, but it was a shame for him to go this way.
We have sold the first spring lambs and hope that the market price remains stable. Spring lamb is also ready for sale in the farm shop and on the market stall. Our new Harper Adams student, John, started at the beginning of the month. He is getting on well and learning how things work in the farm shop and on the farm.
We have put some great offers on the sausages so as to try to increase sales and introduced a new beef sausage, the ‘South African Boerewors’, which is spiced with coriander, cloves, pepper and chilli. This sold out at Attingham Park Food Festival and we hope that we’ll be able to persuade our local trade to purchase it.
Kim and our six-week-old son Oscar are doing well. It has been a life-changing event, which I have undeniably found the most amazing and emotional experience. Lambing and calving are wonderfully magical, but this is on another stratosphere.
Our agronomist advised us that our oilseed rape is ready to be desiccated, sprayed off ready for harvest. Only a few days ago a foot of water was flowing through 30 acres of it. We hope that we’re able to travel on all of the ground after these wet times.
We have a new, second hand combine which is heavier than the previous combine. We’ll need to be careful to avoid some areas of the fields.
Maybe we should look for some dual-wheels before we start harvest?
David Morgan, Strefford Hall Farm and Farm Shop, Craven Arms





