The Farm
The Daltons Diary
January On The Farm
January is a time for rest and recuperation for the cows. They have all received their vaccines and wormers along with their second dose of vitamins and minerals.
Thankfully the drier weather is making life for the heifers outside much better. We roll out the hay and move the fence each day so they can eat fresh turnips and kale.
You may see us out fencing if you visit the shop, we have a lot of maintenance to do in preparation for when the cows start calving in March.
Next week, we are all setting out goals for the year. Whether personal or work related, it is great to have something to work towards and achieve.
February On The Farm
The snowdrops have been out in force and the daffodils are starting to respond to the longer daylight hours. Spring is on the horizon and we can’t wait to see the back of this winter.
We have been taking soil samples this week; we try to test 20% of the fields each year to monitor the pH, mineral contents along with key elements. Once we have the results we can decide how much lime the fields require and what elements in the soil need balancing.
The soil is the foundation of the farm, it provides the basis of quality grass which in turn allows the cows to produce a quality product, which we take great pride in providing for you, the customers.
Next time you hear from us we will have lots of new calves ready to show you.
September
September is one of our favourite months on the farm. The temperature is (usually) perfect for cows to enjoy all the grass that has been growing, we scan the cows to see how many are going to calve again in the spring and we also take stock of our winter feed. Making sure we have enough hay and also that the turnips and kale which we grow for the cows to graze in the winter is yielding well.
As you can see from the photo of the calves, they have grown really well this summer and we look forward to them joining the herd. If the weather allows they will graze turnips and hay bales outside all winter, however if it becomes too wet we can bring them into a shed for a few weeks.
As this is our quieter time of year on the farm, it gives the team chance to recharge our own batteries. Jasmin is taking a holiday in Canada for a few weeks, we can’t wait to see the places she has visited.
October
One record after another…
After the warmest September on record, we may have just had the wettest October on record.
Just over 6½ inch of rain has fallen so far in October and it has made the last few weeks of grazing quite muddy. The cows will be in the shed at night from next week and then back out in the day until mid November.
That’s enough about the weather, last week Matt and Jasmin went to learn about how best we can aerate our soils. With the take home message being ‘diversity is key’. So hopefully our winter mixed crops for the calves this year will do just the job.
November
The cows are now tucked up inside the shed, the rain had beaten us and the cows were seriously fed up of mud. The youngstock though, are still outside and will graze grass until Christmas then start on the kale and turnip crop.
The rams have now been reintroduced to the ewes, so lambing will start in mid April.
Time is flying by, we have just organised our Christmas rota and we are all looking forward to having a good chunk of time off before 2024.
