First on the list was installing the pallet racking (used in lots of big warehouses) which enables me to suspend a hopper with one tonne of seed in above the flour mill (to stop me manually filling the mill via small buckets or bags).  Installation was a little tricky, necessitating threading the racking through the rafters of the mill room, followed by man-handling and a good measure of brute strength.  So it was especially satisfying for that job to be finished.

Pallet racking installed (the orange and blue frame) with a large hopper on top.  The mill is inside the room below this

Every job seemingly comes with some small injury.  This time a broken little finger due to a circular saw kicking back when cutting out the holes for the pallet racking

There was another matter of levelling the stone on the mill.  The mill works with a large stationary granite stone on the bottom, and an equal sized spinning stone above (the runner stone).  Each stone weighs around half a tonne.  The grains are milled by controlling the aperture between the stationary and runner stones, and it is simply the weight of the runner stone which grinds the grains into flour.  It is obviously important for the two stones to mate evenly to produce a good quality product.

Having performed this job poorly at first attempt and promptly ignored tackling it again, it was not a task I was relishing.  All the more because to do a good job, it helps to have the motor on, rotating a large pulley mere inches above your head as you make adjustments…  However, my head remained in-tact, and I was very pleased by how accurately I got the runner stone to sit.

Final milling set up.  I really like the yellow!  The hose entering the mill is from the hopper suspended on the racking above

There was then the matter of fitting my automatic bagging and weighing machine.  This machine also works with a hopper suspended above on pallet racking.  And a large eight-inch diameter hose running to the bagging machine below.  In my infinite wisdom whilst installing this hose, I decided it wasn’t necessary to secure the bottom of the hose to the machine with a clamp.  It had been a long day and I was tired.  Consequently, when opening the hopper above, flour descended down the tube, popped the tube off the machine, and instead dumped around 80kg of flour all over the floor of my nice, clean mill room.  [insert expletive of choice here].  Fortunately around 20kg stayed in the machine and allowed me to test that it works well.  Which is does.

Flour disaster…

The culprit…  If only I had installed a hose clamp.  Ah well

This mishap occurred at around 7:30pm on a Friday evening after a pretty full-on day.  So then having to hoover up my hard work felt pretty frustrating.  However, the following day I got going early and managed to mill and bag up over 300kg of beautiful buckwheat flour which is now with Hodmedod’s.

My first flour order, palleted and ready to go!

We have also been cleaning seed for sowing.  This is currently a very janky set up.  But soon enough this will be encapsulated within my processing shed

At the end of September I was able to extricate myself from the farm for a week and take my girlfriend away to Scotland.  A bit of head space was needed, and I am writing this on the day I am back.  Which I why I am keeping this blog short – I have a lot of emails to catch up on!

I might have been 11 hours away in Inverness, but I still managed to pop along to my friend Nikki Yoxall’s farm walk (for the Pasture Fed Livestock Association).  She has just taken on a tenancy in Dingwall, an half hour drive from Inverness.  What’s more, I knew a few of the other farmers on the walk too!

Nikki runs Shetland cows with her husband James, and is a fantastic proponent of regenerative farming and agroecology.  When I was deciding on which breed of cow to choose for my system, my first thought was Shetlands – they are also dual-purpose (meat & milk) like my Red Polls, and are hardy.  But arguably too hardy for Essex!  This was my first time seeing this breed in the flesh though, and they were absolutely stunning.  I know I made the correct choice with Red Polls, but I am fighting temptation not to have just a couple of other cow breeds about!

Shetland cows.  What absolute beauties!

Do you think they could look at home on Fobbing Marshes…?

With October really signaling the evenings closing in, we have the small matter of establishing our winter cereal & bean crops (provided the weather is kinder than the past two years).  Plus my electrician is booked to get some final fix electrics fitted in my mill room and grain processing shed.  I can’t wait for proper lighting!