At last, some sunshine, no rain and warmer days after January. February being either underwater or full of snow, at least now the weather has at last lifted us all and allowed us to get on with working in the fields again.
After the snow plough came off, the springtime cultivator was rapidly put on and the fields were quickly covered to allow the drill to plant beans and spring wheat, hastily followed by the ring rolls to tighten the soils (this has the same effect as stuffing the vegetable garden where you have planted carrot/parsnip seeds). This is done in a vein attempt to try and prevent slugs from munching tiny sprouting seeds and so that we end up having a crop, it works reasonably well and certainly greatly reduces the application of slug control pellets. With any luck the next break in the weather more fields can be drilled with Spring Crops.
The Winter crops already in the ground have not faired too badly at all, winter wheat in the whole looks well, oats are in places growing frantically so our sheep were put on to graze down for a week or so. Doing this rather drastic action the crop then tillers out and becomes bulkier (like pinching the tips on a fuchsia plant) and increases yield.
The cows started calving on the 25th February, with a lovely ginger calf, in a week we have had another nine, only one a tug and pull job and all are doing well with very proud mummies, it would be nice if the others continued in this stress free vein but we doubt if it will easy as that. We are off to market each week too with our fat cattle, prices are still holding so there are no glum faces when the cheque come in. Livestock farmers are not normally renown for being happy with telling prices for their stock, so we’d better make the most of it whilst it happens.
The sheep have not quite started lambing yet, although they are looking very rotund and their udders resemble squidgy balls. They waddle along everything being a bit of an effort now, but they still find enough energy to break into a trot when the bike comes along with oat and hay. They all go around looking as if they have just eaten a melted chocolate bar as they nibble and lick the molasses mineral buckets put in the fields for them, these ensure that levels of magnesium and calcium are where they need to be, helping to prevent health issues when the ewe is in milk feeding her lambs.
By the time Mothering Sunday arrives some of them should be eligible for some flowers, although they will have to make do with the dried oats and hay or look at the catkins dancing and pussy willow in the hedgerows, then they will know it's spring as well!