May on the farm
I love this time of year at the farm. The grass is growing. The cattle are mostly out in the fields. The trees are coming out into leaf. Pumpkins and squash seeds are growing in the glasshouse. There is a sense of optimism, of impending growth of production. I guess I am fortunate to live on a farm and experience this.
The squash and pumpkin seeds are in their trays at the moment in the glasshouse. But there has been a problem. The mouse. They would grow a lot faster if it was'nt for the mouse.and for the quite chilly weather we are getting The mouse must have taken 70 seedlings, munched his way through the delicious centres. My staff tell me it was more than on mouse. They are probably right
We have had to remove some of the trays to the safety of the Stable Room where I can look after them better and give me time to catch the mouse.
The Cattle are looking their finest. Many of them, both the Mums and their calves, are looking so healthy with shiny coats. I think the reason is something to do with the fresh grass at Springtime but it also about the new grazing regime we have put in place at the farm. That of 'mob grazing'. With this technique we are working with nature more, moving the cattle on more so that they get fresher pasture more often, where the sunshine and warmer weather helps the grass to recover more from that grazing, because the cattle are not allowed to eat the grass down so much
The Pasture fed cattle association, with it's 'Pasture for Life' logo, has a wonderful on-line group of farmers where we share information about cows and grass and all the infrastructure that goes with running a farm. It is so useful and inspiring to know that there are hundreds of farmers out there nationally trying to do the same thing as me, trying to follow more ethical farming, organic and regenerative. Trying to work with nature.
We are aiming to produce a sustainable farm model that promotes biodiversity, soil health and producing top quality beef and lamb.
Follow our blogs and hopefully there will be another installment very soon for the story of our pumpkins.
