Blogs

It is already halfway through 2021; where on earth does the time go? This year seems to have flown by faster than usual as I have been busier than ever working on different projects across the farm.

The Red Tractor farm assurance scheme is something which often crops up in conversation in my day-to-day work, in much the same way the Rural Payments Agency does; usually in a way where the farmer vents to me about the organisation and its staff.

The NHS weigh Arthur, our four-month-old, every month to make sure he’s on track. He certainty is, as he is on the 91st percentile for growth.

Mid-summer has come and gone, and the long hours of daylight are working their magic to speed up the growth of the crops and the grass.

The ongoing saga of footpath signs continues.

It has been a spring to forget for many, with the cold May dragging out winter for what seemed an unbelievable length.

’A wet and windy April and May fills the barns with corn and hay’, is one we’ve all heard. And one we hope is true.

It is the season for maggots, each female green bottle fly can lay 250 eggs in the fleece and they can hatch out after only 12 hours.

June is here and looking like being ‘flaming June’. May’s monsoon conditions provided challenges.

Some of you may know I chair Cattle Health Certification Standards (CHECS), which has set standards for cattle disease control in the UK and Ireland for more than 20 years.