job satisfaction is huge. This is the first year that we appear to have got the feeding and genetics about right. Importantly, both the sheep and the in-calf cows have only had grass and hay to eat, which really supports our goal of grass reared red meat.
I have finished laying 200 metres of hedge in the Marches border style that learned in my time with Herefordshire Young Farmers. It is a skill I am so grateful to have learned and perhaps more importantly be able to put to good use in my working life too. Our plan is to try and lay every hedge on the farm in a 25-year rotation. We have about eight kilometres of hedge line, so I am not too far behind my target! The best thing about laying our hedges is the wildlife we are bringing back on to the farm. Last spring I saw two breeding pairs of Yellowhammer flitting about the farm. It is my favourite farmland bird, with its unmistakable flash of bright yellow. They love tight, thick hedges with plenty of vegetation at the base, so fencing off the hedgerows is very important too, to protect them from the livestock.
Seeing the farm as a whole ecosystem gives us a lot of job satisfaction in what are fairly dark times at the moment. Our farm is bisected by footpaths and so it is nice to share where we are and what we do with others as they enjoy the countryside too.
There is much talk of an impending drought within farming circles as it has been very dry. We can't control the weather and I'm not heading out to do a rain dance, at least not yet! We are however looking at managing the farm more regeneratively and holistically to cope with the changing climate and external pressures on agriculture. I haven't got space to write about that now, but with the looming target of carbon net zero and everything that goes along with that, changes are definitely coming.
Photos by Russell Lewis
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ENTERTAINMENT ON THE FARM
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