In your field

Being handed the baton by fellow Dorset farmer and longstanding Farmers Guardian contributor, Jon Stanley, is rather a daunting task, but, as this is my first article, I thought I would write a little bit about about my background and a general introduction to our farm.

What a difference a few days of sunshine can make. In the east, October was the second dullest of all time, and one of the rainiest too. But November has dawned, skies are blue and the fields are fit.

As the UK heads into a second lockdown I felt very lucky, if a little guilty, to be heading for Iceland.

Not only do I trade on farmers’ markets, I am a director of the community interest company which runs our village market.

Well, the back end of the year is definitely here and it is cold and wet. We are currently trying to finish off tailing and dipping the ewes, but the weather here is playing havoc with our plans by bringing what must be the wettest stretch we have seen since February.

I do wonder if ‘Cheshire maize’ isn’t a perfect illustration of the eternal optimism of farmers.

The full effect of Covid-19 hit us hard when Jim’s mum had a nasty fall and we were not allowed to travel in the ambulance or visit her in hospital over the next week or so.

After a truly fantastic September that felt more like May, the seasons have definitely changed here in Dorset.

This month’s column takes the the form of an open letter to MP Lucy Frazer, who represents south east Cambridgeshire.

Autumn is always busy for a sheep farm and with the onset of some very heavy rain and strong winds the season has definitely arrived in a hurry.