ENTERTAINMENT ON THE FARM


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RICHARD THOMAS L I FE ON THE FAMI LY FARM


Each month Richard Thomas will join us to talk about life on his family farm in North Herefordshire, where they farm beef, sheep, arable and apples. Their ethos is to try to farm in a more regenerative style for the benefit of future generations.


We are now through lambing for this year and apart from the frosty mornings, we couldn't have asked for better weather.


For the most part it has been dry and the only bit of bad weather I can really complain about is the snow we had at the start of April. We lamb our Romney cross ewes outside from early April and we are getting to a point where we don't have to assist that often. Only as we came towards the end and did I have to catch the occasional ewe with a big single lamb.


I have two good dogs who will stand a ewe up enough for me to catch her and help deliver the lamb or the odd pair of twins. Most of the time however, I am able to drive around several times a day, just checking that all is well. The resilience and ability of the stock to manage without our help is amazing, if we only set them up to achieve. This is also the first calving season that we have not had to help any cows to calve. In fact, just as with the ewes, we haven't actually seen that many calves born. On our early morning checks, dad and I have been greeted with new life in the barn or in the field and the


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