April Blog

Spring has sprung, but only just. The cold nights have held things back from exploding into life and as we head towards the end of April the hedges are only half way out.  But it is great to see the flauna and fauna wake up and emerge from its winter slumber.

One of the many wet spots we found whilst drilling, unfortunately this one got us stuck.

Arable –  it took 6 weeks to complete what should have taken 1 week but last Friday we finished the spring drilling and everything has now chitted and on the way to emerging.  A combination of low soil temperatures and water logged fields meant we had to pick and choose which field to drill first to allow the others to dry out.  We have chosen to drill spring barley for malting and spring beans for human consumption, which gives us some flexibilty when it comes to combining as it helps to spread the harvest from late July (Oilseed Rape) to mid September (Spring Beans) as well as helping with our Blackgrass control.

Livestock – we are nearing the end of calving with only two left to go and 16 calved. With the slow start to spring we haven’t turned many cattle out with only the yearlings going out to grass, we hope to turn the cows out at the end of this week or first week in May.  At the end of March we had a little road trip to Derbyshire, Buxton to pick up two Belted Galloway heifers and fulfill a life long wish of Claire’s to own some pedigree Belties.

Betty and Aggy

Hay & Haylage – deliveries have started to slow down over the course of April as our customers start to turn their horses out to grass, but many are still bringing them in at night, which has meant we are still busier that usual for this time of year.

To-do List – since the ground has been so wet, we haven’t been able to do any grass harrowing or flat rolling on the hay meadows so this is still on the list, as well as putting a bit of fertiliser on the grass to promote growth and ensure better quality in our hay.  On the arable front we need to wash down all the kit that was used to drill the spring crops and service them before the summer – drill, tractor’s, press, rolls and tow chain!?  It is also the time of year when the sprayer is used the most in order to keep the crops protected from pest and disease’s as they grow rapidly through their growth stages.  At the moment we need to spray the spring beans to protect them from Bean Weevil which is an insect that eats the leaves and causes reduced yield.

February Blog

The weather at the end of January was very much like it began, the storms kept rolling in on a weekly basis which kept the water table nice and high on the farm.  Only the ducks seemed to appreciate this and the 40 newly planted Cricket Bat Willows.

1st year Cricket Bat willows in late Spring

Arable – despite the wet and windy conditions the winter oilseed rape and winter wheat kept on growing on the back of unseasonably warm weather.  This is very unusual for this time of year and it is beginning to have a negative effect on the crops health with a high disease pressure present in both crops.  In the Wheat the main problem is Yellow Rust, which if left unchecked can kill the crop and will mean an early pass with the sprayer to control the disease.  The OSR is suffering from Foma and also cabbage stem flee beetle, with the latter being extremely worrying as their is little we can do following the retraction of Neonicotinoids insecticides by the EU due to concerns over its effect on Bee’s.

Livestock – well we are still waiting on the other two heifers to calve before the main herd, we will probably get ‘The Scanning Lady’ to come in to check that they are in calf for peace of mind.  The main herd (15 cows) are getting very close and it will be around mid-Feb by the time the first start to calve, it is usually ‘marmite’ or 828 ‘muma cow’ that calves first.  On a rare frosty morning we were able to muck out the main cattle shed, starting at 5 am we had the shed cleaned and re-bedded by lunchtime.  Their is still one other cattle shed that needs ‘mucking out’ on the next dry or frosty morning.

Pack of 10 Small Seed Haylage before Wrapping

Hay & Haylage – it has been another busy month of deliveries of all types of produce hay, straw and haylage, with deliveries going out most days to our regular customers in Northampton, Bedford and Leicestershire.  Despite the warmer weather, the saturated paddocks have meant many horses have been kept in over night and sometimes during the day.  As well as the equine market we often take orders for small straw for weddings and parties during the summer, with one order coming in last week.

To-do List -we still have one cattle shed that needs mucking out before they jump out, but will have to wait for a dry or frosty day.  We also have a 360 digger coming in a weeks time to start cleaning out our field ditches to help the flow of water and also the hedges need finishing before the March cut off point under Cross Compliance rules to safeguard nesting birds.

Claire in one of Wildlife & Bird Cover Strips

Back in June we posted about our continued focus on the environment and our aim to give a little back to our feathered friends on the farm at Walgrave during the winter months.  Despite a very dry spring/early summer, most of our cover crops have come up well and we have already seen our first covey of Grey partridge in the Kings Wild bird seed mix.

Kings wild bird seed mix

John drilling with our 4m Combination dill.

During the end of May we drilled around 6 acres of Kings Wild Bird seed mixtures as part of our Entry Level Stewardship scheme in Walgrave, Northampton.  We have chosen a mix that offers a winter hardy cover and season long feed for farmland birds as well as game birds for our small farm shoot.  Thanks to the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust ‘action plan’ that focus on Grey (English) partridge, we have seen an increase in breeding pairs over the last few years by following the guidelines.  We hope to see the benefits for year to come!

Drilling Kings Wild Bird seed mix

This busy honey bee was snapped last Sunday in Walgrave, Northampton pollinating our Oilseed Rape crop. Not only was it a Sunday, but he’d travelled over a mile from the nearest bee hive and average’s 10 trips outside of the hive per day at between 1 to 1.5 miles per trip!