Blog

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.

Somewhere around breakfast time I normally take a look at Twitter.

As I write this, a few neighbours’ mowers are buzzing around in the distance.

Following on from my last article, I’d like to say how relieved I was that it was so well received and not only by the farming community.

Sam Mather, 17, from Crewkerne, is working as an apprentice on a farm in Dorset and is a member of the National Federation of Young Farmers’ Club.

At a time when it feels like the Government is doing its best to ignore Britain’s farming industry rather than actually listen to it, NFU president Minette Batters has to be applauded for making this week’s Farm 2 Fork Summit happen.