Archived News

23rd November 2012

It’s fantastic weather if you are a fish or duck, but really quite awful for those people living near water or working on land just at the moment, especially with more heavy rain forecast this weekend.

There have been branches down in spinneys and hedgerows and the high winds predicted on Sunday morning will wreak more havoc close on the heels of tomorrows rain.

The National Trust are thinning trees on the North Downs, which is not an easy task when the chalk gets so slippery underfoot. We are cleaning out farm ditches and keeping rainwater moving at this difficult time.

We have 200 acres of barley to drill before Christmas and may have to write off some of the rape due to slugs, pigeons and water-logging.

The vet pregnancy diagnosed (PD) nine Belted Galloways at Paddington yesterday and of those, eight are in calf; due mid April – end June 2013.  After PD-ing,  these girls loaded into the trailer and moved to Clock House Field, Gomshall where Ethelred will join them on Monday to overwinter.

Mary is due to calve in January.  She was given another chance with the bull after she slipped a calf earlier in the year.  A blood test diagnosed a disease spread by foxes that caused her miscarriage.

Mary is currently grazing at Netley with a group of cows and calves at foot.  The calves in this group will be weaned off in the spring at about eight or nine months of age.

Other work at the moment entails moving slightly older calves to their winter quarters whilst cleaning barns, disinfecting and preparing for new arrivals.

On Tuesday I'm off to the butchers to help with the packaging and boxing of my Beltie beef and I'm looking forward to being with some like-minded farming folk who have diversified to keep their farm business on an even keel.