July started with Devon County Show but I didn’t attend with livestock this year, only in person.   Cattle numbers were well down.  Congratulations to Thor Atkinson for making the journey from Cumbria and winning the Limousin Breed Champion. Winter barley was cut in a very hot week, moisture down to 12% and yields about average. […]

At long last the river has gone down, the water has receded and it became dry enough to cut some grass for silage. Volume of crops have been extremely high and the quality is yet to be analysed.  The pit was filled up rather rapidly and we now have hundreds of bales of silage wrapped […]

April finished very cold without any grass growth then May followed with very wet weather, to say the least.  The river has been flooded several times making it inaccessible to be able to check cattle every day and poaching has been an issue.  Due to a lack of accommodation most cattle had to stay out […]

April I was allowed to have a hair cut and tidy up – long overdue once again due to Covid restrictions. Even though it has been a dry month, the persistent frosts have slowed up grass growth considerably and we have had to keep cattle in that we would normally have turned out for longer.  […]

Well, we have had our first Covid Jabs so at last we are on the way forward to our new “normal”… No blood clots to report so all is good. Felt my age a bit this month with my birthday falling during Lockdown.  I thank everybody for the cards, messages and abuse – it made […]

A wet start to the month made everything drag on but as the days got longer, the sun came out and everything looked brighter for a short while A few pedigree calves were born but the majority of spring calvers are due March/April so we are getting ready for these.  Cows have been given boluses […]

So here we are again – back in a Covid  Lockdown for a third time.  Let’s hope we get a better result at the end of these restrictions and life can get back to some sort of normality. Winter routine still carrying on but with heavy rainfall everything has become very monotonous and hard work.  […]

Happy Christmas and New Year to all – I apologise for being lapsed on posting diary updates.  The constant changes to daily life caused by Covid-19 together with juggling business and pleasure is a trial. In November I went to Brecon Sale  – sold a couple of bulls very well on the trade – Killerton […]

  After a wet start to the month I held my nerve and kept the cattle out even though there was slight poaching in the fields but the calves remained healthy.  Started supplementary feeding  but everything stayed healthy.   Calving still going on with a run of bull calves – so far so good. I went […]

September has been a month of mixed emotions.  Sadly things do not get any better on the Stock Bull front and Indien was found dead in the field early one morning with no explanation.  He had been fit and well, serving cows – one of the many joys of farming. PD’ing has not been too […]

August started off with the dreaded TB test for the cows/followers and unfortunately we had one reactor out of the herd which has mucked up any plans of having a reduction sale in the short term.  I have had to negotiate with the National Trust (landlord) to keep an area of river meadows in the […]