Blog

Well, this is a funny one. We live in very strange times and now we are nearing the end of lambing time there is time to reflect.

We have now almost completed the spring work, with spring barley coming through the ground fairly evenly and its top dressing of fertiliser being applied at the end of last week.

Jim Beary is a mixed upland livestock farmer in the Peak District and a member of the Future Farmers of Yorkshire at the Yorkshire Agricultural Society.

Thomas Carrick is part of a family-run upland beef and sheep farm in the North Pennines, near Alston. With pure-bred Swaledales to produce Mule lambs, they also run Salers cross cattle with Aberdeen-Angus calves which they finish at home.

None of us could anticipate just how altered the world has become in a matter of weeks. We are all affected by Covid-19, in so many ways, and it has never felt more important to reach out and communicate, both in our rural communities and more widely.

The roads are so quiet and the air is only broken by birdsong and young lambs and their mothers calling to each other.

The last three weeks have seen a marked shift in how and where we buy our food. It is a pattern that will remain while we are in lockdown and I suspect there will be a few habits or behaviours that persist for the longer term. 

In light of the heightened level of safety measures during the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, the Livestock Auctioneers’ Association (LAA) has announced additional security standards and restrictions to ensure continued

Cheshire dairy farmer Andrew attended Harper Adams university and went on to manage pedigree and commercial herds. He secured a job with breeding company Genus, where he became sire analyst. He has now returned home to manage the 350-cow herd.

Sadly, the world has certainly changed beyond recognition from a month ago and, with coronavirus restrictions looking set to continue over summer, we seem to be living a very different life.