It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster few months here on the farm, we are taking the ups with the downs at the moment as the farming landscape is changing and the future seems more unsure than ever…Read on to hear what we have been up to as we take 5 on the farm this winter…
#1 Not getting political but…
We are living in uncertainty right now as the government look to introduce the Family Farm Tax. My daughter and the many young farmers that Matt and I support may not have a future in farming. I feel quite sad about it all - we are custodians of the countryside and protectors of the landscape that the UK is so well known for. It isn't just about the farm tax, I think that is very much the final blow, but about the concern for UK food produce going forward and how that looks for us as a country and the generations to follow.
The farm is never really ours, as farmers, we are always working to leave the land better than before, always improving and protecting the environment for the next generation to enjoy and continue our work. That all hangs in the balance now. I think back to the way Duxmore looked when we took it on and all the improvements we have made over the last 20 years. It's a continuous improvement cycle, implementing the new and putting in to practise what we have learnt along the way.
For my small part here on our farm, I manage the woodland, planting trees and cutting back overgrown plants like brambles and weeds - all because I want the next generation to enjoy the wildflowers that increase year after year, and the squirrels can have further shelter from the buzzards as they run between us and the neighbouring properties. For Matt, it is so much more. He works so hard and when we lose a farming family member we don't just lose a relative. We lose a work colleague, we lose a best friend and we lose a mentor too. Add to this the potential loss of your job, your business and your home, it’s easy to understand why so many are worried.
#2 Stretching out the grazing
We have been eeking out the grazing, keeping animals out on the drier ground for as long as possible - to stretch the straw until spring - however, with the colder wet weather, we have started to feed bales to the cattle now out in the fields, and the youngstock and early lambing ewes have started to come into their winter housing. Our breeding herd stay out all year round and thankfully, the ground at Quarr is well-draining gravel soil, so even in the depths of winter, they have dry areas to take shelter.
We start lambing at the start of January, so we like to keep the ewes out as long as we can, but they have now come in for winter, to start settling in. Young stock, including pigs, will come in where necessary. Pigs like mud as we know, but the younger stock are less tolerant to the cooler temperatures.
#3 Blue Tongue
The Gilten Market was cancelled due to the Blue Tongue restriction zone. This means that all the work that had gone into preparing the show cattle didn’t get to be seen. However, Matt took the Young Farmers, and other keen showers, through a show-prep demonstration. Along with local farmer Allan King, they shared their own experiences and successes, helping their fellow farmers to prepare their stock for showing seasons ahead.
#4 Making space
Matt has been making space in the barn for more stock to come in. Like many farmers, Matt is multi-skilled (you have to be), and puts these skills to good use. One benefit of open barns is that you can adapt them to suit your requirements. Matt has been making a partition for the barn, to allow mixed stock to safely share the space. He's been utilising old plastic drums, cutting them in half and securing them to gates to create a feed barrier. This not only recycles old materials but provides a useful feeding solution that limits waste. It's also a safe method for feeding the bulls in the barn. This also involves a bit of replumbing to make sure that all the water supplies are in the right place for the new pens.
#5 Yule
We have begun to decorate our home and the shop window with botanicals foraged on the farm. This feels like the perfect celebration of the natural environment that surrounds us, inspiring everything we do. We love making things at home, everyone gets involved, with friends often flocking to join in too. It’s quite possibly my favourite time of the year.