In a new series for Farmers Guardian, the 11 new recruits on the McDonald’s Progressive Young Farmer (PYF) programme. Each month we follow one of the PYF’s to see what they are doing.

March definitely proved to be the month for on-farm maintenance. Whether it was repairing silage clamps, fixing broken cubicles or maintaining machinery, it was all tackled last month.

In the words of Bon Jovi, we’re half way there. In previous years we have lambed over four months, but thankfully this year, for multifactorial reasons, lambing season is only two months.

Spring is still stuttering and stumbling its way into the year, a nice couple of days over the Easter weekend has been followed by a wet and cold Monday, when thoughts of turning a few groups of youngstock have been banished for the time being.

The search continues for a farm weve viewed a few small farms, however weve found that agricultural value and output is completely disjointed from the asking price.

Im writing this in the lull between the indoor lambing of the park ewes and the outdoor lambing of the hill flock which lasts approximately a week and is never long enough.

An independent cider maker has invested in a Kubota compact half-track to preserve its orchards and improve harvesting efficiency across multiple locations. Farmers Guardian reports

ATVs are an integral part of many upland farms. To find out if variations in engine size offer any real benefits in versatility, comfort and performance, Farmers Guardian speaks to husband and wife, Aled and Emily Roberts, who run two Yamahas at opposing ends of the power scale.

Taking account of field conditions ahead of silage-making is vital in order to maximise quality.