i ^ 7 . . r ;l RURALUFE Wednesday, Apnl 23,2014


Stewart Lambert and his family farm a herd, of 40 suckler cows and a flock of 500 : lambing sheep on 300-acre Kitridding-Farm, near Kirkby Lonsdale.,


. -A former school governor and youth dub leader, Stewart gives talks and provides' farm visits and demonstrations to educate the public about farming practices. This month, he looks at the farm's lambing Season, and the rest of the work as summer approaches and the;farm gets busier


■


■ v » A a MBING is nearly < ' I over> and as I write we


‘ I are down to double


, BWfigures left to lamb. ■ ' . The weather has been • very kind and all has gone. ■: well although, on a sad -


-'mote, a' few lambs didn't: J- make it alive into this world . •-; and a couple of ewes have- ’departed; But we have had more lambs bom than expected, even a set of , ■


- quads -a ll good strong v lambs.;.


Our orphan lamb pen


J is full, 16 lambs at the ’.moment-due mainly to •->


season is


never plain sailing for the farmer


Our family, have farmed Kitridding, on the edge of the Cumbrian fells, for over 60 years


We chose to.divereifyJn'November 1999 by marketing our own beef and lamb via Farmer’s Markets and Mail Order


r


mwsmmm ' Start your day the hearty way with a Kitridding Farm breakfast, *• using our own meat'and free range eggs. Breakfast menu;'‘ starts from' £ 5 .1 5 .


We opened our shop on the farm in May 2002 and we’ve continued to grow with a gift shop, food Shop and cafe


, Ai i! i:NuO‘ I i A


From 3pm onwards Sandwiches, Tea Bread, Meringue, Selection of Cakes, Tea or Filtered Coffee AtJ|\i| iAYT.)|J\i|\i|,r; AITOIAIU


Regular, roast dinnerand a dessert of your choice with tea or ;i'~ coffee to finish the meal off from £ 1 3 .0 0


Opening Times: Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday 9.30am - 5pm Last orders in the T ea Room 4.30pmv--


KITRIDDING FARM SHOP ^ Old Town, Nr Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria LA6 2QA '


www.kitriddingfarmshop.co-uk Booking advisable to avoid disappointment' - j j D 1 5 3 9 5 6 7 4 8 4 J


K i t r id d in g n n i n . , >


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l5| S j^OJV 1 * rK -tv?: aat’j tr.sSSag AO>-:


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G r a h a m &- b r p w k .. factory outlet


wallpaper, paint and Wall art Monday - Friday 9.00am - 5.30pm


aturday 9.30am - 5.00pm Sunday 10.00am - 4.00pm Exit Junction 8 off the M65


Unit 7 Shuttleworth Mead. Padiham, Lancashire, BB12 7NG call 01282 680442


- ^ ' How you can help


PLANT nectar-rich flowers and shrubs and aim to have something in flower throughout the spring and summer. Buddleia (the butterfly bush), verbena, lavender, wallflowers and marjoram are good examples, but you can also find a list of the top 100 butterfly plants on the Butterfly Conservation web site.


Remember to keep your plants well watered in dry periods, as this helps provide plenty of


nectar. And don't use insecticides and pesticides, both of which butterflies are sensitive to;- Take part in the Big Butterfly


Count between July 19 and August 10-g o to www. bigbutterflycount.org to find out more. ’ Join the Lancashire branch of


i \


Butterfly Conservation, which welcomes volunteers to help with monitoring - find out more at www.lancashire-butterflies.org.uk


• 1


.taking one lamb off triplets ■and one lamb off a twin if -the mother has only milk in


. one side; They are a mixed batch in size, colours and


. temperament, but they are ~ all doing well. ■


T-We have had glamour in.


.the lambing shed, as Rural: . Life journalist Joyce Bishop came for a day's lambing, It was a cold, blowy day and she saw and joined in with ■ the work, and I hope she - enjoyed her day. • It's the most enjoyable and fulfilling job on a good day


■ ■ ,


: - and on a bad day, you do your best.


. Farming, and lambing in particular, is like any other


-.;. job when the pressure is on; if you put in more time


- ■ r ■ ■


A* and effort you will reap the - - -rewards later,- but if you are " not good at getting up, or. ' can't do the hours, your losses in lamb lives and sheep health will haunt you for the rest of the season.


■ ' Although lambing is nearly ■ ■


. over, our spare time is taken ■ up with marking, vaccinating, and moving mothers and lambs on to summer pastures, The grass is now growing'


and spring is well on its way. It would appear that the '


. stones in the meadows and silage fields have also had a good breeding season, as there seems to be a lot to


. pick before the grass gets . too long.


-- My son Graham is making


a smell as the slurry is being spread; not much chance of finding a girlfriend until this jobisfinished. ” ■


■ We have a boat club at


Kitridding, sailing their radio controlled yachts


_


and schooners; They're ' a dedicated group. If the


weather is breezy and fine they sit on the garden seats, ‘ if it is rain they sail from


■ inside their cars, and when it throws a shower, up to the


" cafe they come for coffee. - . • Most of the boats are


home built or modified kits, :


‘.-r and when a breakdown . ; occurs - snapped mast or an •- electrical fault-the youngest


■


sailor is expected to get in the rowing boat and execute a recovery. It has turned into a real social gathering, with a


great bunch of different people who all share the


• same passion, whether It ■ be yachts, power boats or aeroplanes. We even ■


If you are interested in


joining in or would just like to watch, have a ride upon- a Thursday on a nice day - and we're sure you won't be''


■disappointed. • We get the lowdown on • lambing at Kitridding Farm:-■ Pages12&13


■■ ■• ■■ ■


have a group of sea plane ’ enthusiasts who may come ' on Wednesdays.


- .


JOYCE BISHOP discovers how some of the county's rarest creatures are fighting back from the brink of destruction


and expe’rts were worried.-; ; ►


s , ’ But now, according to the :' T results of a survey carried .


B


I vbeing home to some ofthe vrarer varieties of butterfly, and


. out last year by Butterfly ^Conservation, there is cause to .;be optimistic; Because while ' ; these'ephemeral creatures- • may look fragile; they have now proved themselves to be' remarkably, resilient too; ’.. Lancashire is fortunate in


the area around Morecambe Bay is particularly significant. In total more than 30 species


can be found there, including the Northern brown argus, a priority species that is protected in Great Britain; the pearl bordered fritillary - one of our most threatened species, the Duke of Burgundy,.


| “which is also in serious decline, and , the endangered high brown fritillary.


. • But after-the washout of 2012, ■


which was the worst year since the A UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (UKBMS) began in 1976, experts have been heartened by the results for 2013.


- -In Lancashire; an average of


| T 1,150 butterflies were recorded -. - ; on transects compared to 686 in -


I ;>2012 - an encouraging 68 per cent; * ’ increase. In the Morecambe Bay • », .; .area in particularthere was a 96 per A, cent increase, with an average of


. 1,337 butterflies per transect last year, compared to just 682 in 2012.' Sadly, however, butterfly numbers


|-overall remain below average; these beautiful creatures still need help. Lancaster-based Martin Wain is ;- A


< employed by Butterfly Conservation S and works as a conservation officer . :


1. in the Morecambe Bay Nature ■ - ' improvement Area; His aim is to; -.-


UNDER THREAT: Clockwise from - top, a pearl-bordered fritillary; a high brown fritillary; a northern brown Argus Pictures: ANDY SEELY/TIM MELUNG/PETER EELES


find what he describes as 'win-win'


solutions, through working with • land owners and communities. In lay-speak that means he advises and persuades people to manage land in a way that has positive outcomes both for the owners of the land... and the butterflies that live there. "The land owners are brilliant,"


.he says. "They like the idea of their woodland being managed and of .


; helping the butterflies, so it's easy to find a win-win situation. In the past,


: woodlands were seen as a liability because people didn't know how • to manage them. Now we can help with this by overseeing the work ’ - that's done and encouraging land -


owners to manage in a sustainable v way."


, ■ ■ r Martin is upbeat, but admits " ...


-that 2012 was tough: "Itwas quite scary," he says. "We were really worried: But butterflies are quite' tough'."


•


. more connected." . That means enlarging areas of;. t . suitable habitat, improving them/A “ T i... and ensuring there are natural; - '


•.'corridors', or stepping stones; that •.« provide feeding or breeding sites •


• between habitats, allowing species . ; to move around successfully.


'


> ; . ' And so, despite washout 201-2^-^r butterfly experts remain o p tim istic^


,;T ('We.'re very excited a6out-'2014^3H ’•5.because last year, we found highT?%; >|| brown fritillaries in seven new areas, -: I


L^albeit in low numbers," says-Martin.-^ 1


:-sTTcaterpillars/we're.very hopeful of 5-J^ finding this butterfly in the summer- f i


jL' in the sunny woodland rides and -glades that we've been creating-"*


1*--,-'/With the good weather-waVel^/p' .^ having at the moment/to help'the’ / A


.iP RO fEC TO R ? B t t te r tyM I IgconseivationofficerTx-Jjg I 1 ^Martin Wain; MainT*? !'® ^ 1


u t t e r f l ie s had a ;• tough year in 2012. ' ; L


Jh e persistent wet A weather hit them hard;


SS? He.cites examples to back up this • unlikely resilience among butterflies;. the' high brown fritillary - another


. rarity that can be seen around Morecambe Bay- exists as an egg


.,for eight or nine months ofthe year, and the common brimstone, -


-.-one of our longest-lived butterflies, . which exists as an adult from July { .


of one year until spring ’


i dormant in a cool place - during the winter.


;the following year, lying ■ ‘


-.. .Generally, butterflies exist


- for only two to four weeks on the wing. "They are ’ e99-Jaying machines," says ■; Martin. "The female can lay


• up to.150 eggs." It is another. reason why; given the


right environment, butterflies are capable of recovering from bad years like 2012. The 'right' environment obviously


varies, depending on the needs of the species, which might demand-••. specific food or host plants. In A - v • Morecambe Bay, for instance, the “;■; limestone habitat has particular ■


: characteristics that determine what-- . ’ grows there.


*


: says Martin. "In Nature Improvement Areas weaimfor bigger, better : and


« 5 « - -


, "Connecting habitats across . the landscape is important,"


■ /, - T r--


4 V ' X. ^ ' *'* V s ^ ^ 1- Wednesday, April 23,2014 ;


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i RURALUFE. I ' . I S S p


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