December has been a fun month where we got a lot done. The run up to Christmas seemed to pass so quickly that I was astonished when it suddenly arrived.
The first major and important project completion was phase one of my farm ring-fence. The entirety of the High Road in Fobbing, plus Marsh Lane and the Recreation Ground, have all been fenced, giving me a tremendous amount more solace with cows now grazing all over the farm.
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| Fencing around the Recreation Ground in Fobbing, showing the galvanised metal strainers and stakes of the ‘Clipex’ system. The ruts and mud around the base are a necessary mess caused by fencing and will be rectified in the Spring |
There is still more work to do in the new year. An additional bottom strand of plain wire needs to be added, plus a top strand of barbed wire. There is also rather a lot of rubbish to clear up… Some of it is green material – hedges needed coppicing to enable the new fence to be erected. However there is also rubbish which has simply been tossed over from neighbouring gardens into the field. I find this behaviour so peculiar and upsetting – I believe the phrase is “
$£*%ing on your own doorstep”. But I hope by having done this work, and by planting a decent hedge by the fence, that I don’t have to deal with any more clearing up other people’s waste.
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| Amongst the asbestos and general garden and house junk tossed by neighbours, you do still get the occasional gem |
The fencing in theory was grant funded. I say in theory since the Rural Payments Agency specify that the fencing should be erected with wooden stakes and strainers (the big posts at the ends). I elected instead to go with a metal fencing concept called ‘Clipex’. The stakes and strainers are all galvanised metal, guaranteed for 20 years. What’s more, if one were to fail, they are much easier to remove and replace than staples and a wooden post. It also costs substantially more… I have submitted the grant claim, and am hopeful that the agency will see sense and pay the grant. When I first came back to the farm nine years ago, my early memories were of a number of weeks each Winter out repairing fencing. But of course that isn’t all – broken fencing also allows livestock out, which wastes more time and adds considerable risk to a livestock operation. For me, even without the grant payment, metal fencing was a must, so I’ll be intrigued by what the powers-that-be say!
A lovely day in the middle of the month was spent planting 110+ trees in my agroforestry. I still have a similar amount more to plant in the next few weeks. The trees that came this time were almond, walnut, cider apple, and Asian pear, plus nectarine, peach, cherry, gage and mirabelle. I am still waiting on cobnut and apricot. Last year’s planting effort was frenetic and harried – by no means an enjoyable experience, having to manage a large workforce and a complex planting scheme (issues all of my own making!).
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| Some absolutely magnificent trees this year, mostly from Frank P Matthews, with a few from Walcot Organic Nursery |
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| A significantly less daunting task with just two pallet boxes having arrived |
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| The plan. Most of the planting this year was filling in gaps in rows from unavailable trees last year |
This year in contrast was just fab! I had fantastic volunteer help from Corringham local, Pat, and Writtle student, Ashia. My employee, Paul, went on ahead with the hydraulically powered auger on the digger, making the holes for the trees. I busied myself laying all the trees out in their correct locations before dropping back onto installing mulch mats and plastic spiral guards to protect the new trees from hares. And Pat and Ashia worked like troopers getting all the trees established really nicely. Mum & Dad popped along too for a bit of moral support and to lend a hand.
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| Pat |
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| Ashia |
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| My planting team working hard to get the trees in |
Besides the significantly more manageable workforce, this year also benefited from much kinder planting conditions. A dry (up to that point!) Winter meant that I could load my Land Rover up with kit and drive to where it needed to be without getting stuck or making massive ruts. Plus the pleasant temperature and lack of drizzle or heavy rain made for enjoyable conditions! Fingers crossed that the January planting effort will be similarly fun.
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| This is the auger on the front fo the digger which we use to dig holes. This significantly speeds up the planting process. But it is important when using this method to use a spade to smash the sides and bottom of the hole up, to prevent roots from just going around and around, and ensure they have a route out |
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| Planted nectarine. What a stonker of a tree! |
In the same week I had the pleasurable job of taking a group of 20 or so farmers round the farm on a farm walk organised by Westpoint Vets (my large animal veterinary practice). My main vet Mia was also there, along with Ian, one of the practice managers, Tim and Amanda. Always before my walks have tended to be for arable farmers or the public, so it was really good to tailor the walk more towards a livestock basis. I was pleased that a decent cohort of vets from the practice were able to come and hear about my
farming methods. Especially Ian who was Dad’s main vet (not that we ever had a huge amount of cause to use him), since what we are now doing here has altered so drastically.
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| Me talking cows, in front of cows |
Whilst Omicron was only beginning to be spoken about in the news, we still had the opportunity for a South East Grain Alliance (aka SEGA) meet up in London. This was an all-day event, starting at Brixton Windmill (with a tour, presentations & lunch), followed by a tour of Little Bread Pedlar (a bakery in Spa Terminus, Bermondsey) before culminating at Kernel Brewery (also in Spa) for final presentations, beer and pizza. Kernel happens to be my favourite brewery!
Unfortunately I was tied up at the farm all morning and missed everything up to the brewery! But I managed to get up for a couple of delicious half-pints, after which I had the chance to present about how I am running the farm with nature as the guiding principle and the future changes I have planned. It generated some very intense debate (which I relished!) predominantly around the concept of ‘cheap food’ and its impact on
farming. I was most pleased when I got a free pint from the bar staff after my presentation – apparently it was interesting not just to
farming and food folk.
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| My talk that earned me a free pint |
In the week running up to Christmas when Paul had knocked off work, I had quite a lot of cow work to do. In the Spring I had bought some new heifer cows and had been told not to serve them with the bull until this coming Spring. However, it had become apparent that that advice was incorrect since these cattle were getting on the big side. So I had a decision to make: hold out until June before putting the bull to these cows (to calve Spring 2023), or look to split my calving and have some of my herd Spring calve, and some Autumn calve (cow gestation periods are about the same as a human at 9 months). If I didn’t put them to the bull now and left them, there is a greater chance that they would be fat at calving, which can cause calving difficulties. So I decided to split them (at least this means that my bull has some company for the next month!).
Cows’ menstrual cycles are three weeks, and my intention is to only run Kestrel the bull for five weeks. This is to keep any calving window super tight, but it does risk some animals not getting in calf. That said, by running a second calving window within the year, those cows get a second opportunity within a year to get in calf (provided blood testing doesn’t reveal an issue which is a detriment to their fertility).
This decision meant that I needed to set up a new temporary pen for the cows and separate out the thirteen heifers to go to the bull. It was actually rather an enjoyable job in the end. Most enjoyable because I got to release the heifers, four or five at a time, from the trailer into Kestrel’s field. He was audibly very pleased for the company!
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| The weather has varied plenty since putting these big heifers to the bull. Misty here… |
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| …and very frosty here! |
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| Still, frozen clear mornings make for super pictures |
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| Kestrel having a sniff! |
Because of this, I now have three groups (something my burgeoning cattle-farmer brain couldn’t at all have fathomed a year ago!). One group is my quarantining heifers, awaiting their TB test before being able to safely join the rest of the herd. One is the aforementioned group now with the bull. And the third group is the in-calf cows with calves, plus a couple of animals I don’t want to put in calf. The next job is now to wean the calves when for a brief period I will end up with four groups!
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| My group of in-calf cows with soon-to-be-weaned calves had a very chilly morning |
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| I find it amazing how well adapted to varied conditions these cows are. Putting on a fantastic coat of hair for winter. It looks beautiful when frosty! |
2021 has been a year with a number of substantial learning curves. From a
farming perspective it has been very difficult, with inclement weather seemingly coming at every turn (I was so grateful for the kind Autumn!). And I have had many set-backs in my varied projects. I feel in a terrific place for 2022 though, and am looking forward to continuing these monthly blogs and doing even more cool things on the farm!
