Rain, what rain? Don't mention the weather...

Apologies for my recent absence. I thought you wouldn't want to hear a farmer bemoaning the weather. So, good news! Harvest has been completed and autumn sowings are up to date.
The grass has grown relentlessly, so we have a good stock of silage as our winter feed.
Much time has been spent in the autumn on routine maintenance of field drains and ditches. However, they are not meant to deal with extremes of weather.
The continuous rain has caused many of the nutrients in the soil to be washed away, so at harvest we chopped a lot of straw and incorporated it into the ground. Farm yard manure has also been spread onto some of the fields.
Well, it is that time of year and Sue and the girls have adorned the shop with Christmas appeal. As usual there has been coming and goings.
Tia the apprentice butcher has moved on to practice more on the butchery of game. Ian, an experienced chap, has joined part time and Lucy, who brings much cheer to the shop, has joined full time as a trainee butcher.
The joys of managing a farm, a shop and a cafe can be very stressful at times. There are the inspections from Environmental Health officers, the Farm Assurance Scheme, and an inspection from the Rural Payment agency to ensure that the records of sheep keeping are current and we have the correct number of sheep on the farm.
Must go now. Christmas calls.
Stay safe,
David.

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