, •'ll’ fli


c mr <W


;<!«( -v iir


»t f>7 im •


(Vflf .voi H:


<vr« j/. Mifll mill :»(*{.‘V:


fUi-C :>((/. Hill: \<m "A ;»(i: A A


!.«««■ '


. >H|J» !/i <vr|i! a fiili. /!


•mi v'; ■


AKH if:


i(W & nit:f, ;i(!


hhf; -U M


/l-ii HI


mu. ■ A <U(.(; in


(«((• ;.(!


I'Hdi ’ I! i'i||,, .-(•; rli) I;


iK U " n i'ii( "'i i ’ll|, tVi


ilKii (ft I »/<


■ < !t> -a


!• Iff it!


K|. ’ ll 'f'tv 'l| 111; f(


Til M ;(|j If 'Mi « ’ii« !fi 'Mi it nil a


till (i !!: ii


the fear remains


I AY fever season is here again, streaming eyes, running nose and a headache. My i son is a sufferer... or is it the


aftermath of the Young Farmers AGM weekend at Blackpool? Whatever the reason, it means HEdrives the tractor, while I pick the stones before the grass hides them... H Cattle tuberculosis is much in mind locally. Fortunately, we passed our test in January and may not^ be tested for four years. But if our herd was compromised it would usually only be one or two cows that failed. They would be culled and then the hardship bites while you are on a standstill with no stock movements


except to slaughter. Nothing can be brought on to the farm or sold off, resulting in serious cash-flow problems for beef farmers, although milk sales are unaffected. This stop is lifted when you have two clear tests.


' Imagine the anguish if you had a clear test in the spring, four reactors in October and then 140 reactors in April so that 80% of your milking herd had to go. It's not just the loss of income- from the milk, it's also the calves they


were carrying-future replacements. Probably more distressing, they were mainly home-bred high-quality cows, genetically as good or better than many pedigree herds; they'll be hard to replace. It's a worry for all cattle farmers that it could be any of us in that situation and, unless TB is brought under control, more farms will be affected; farming is hard enough without the extra pressure of lurking diseases.


6 0 & It


Stewart Lambert and his family farm a herd of 40 suckler cows and a flock of 500 lambing sheep on 300-acte Kitridding Farm, near Kirkby Lonsdale. A former school governor and youth club leader, Stewart gives talks and provides farm visits and demonstrations to educate the public about farming practices. This month, he looks at how the animals in his care just love the summer...and how a farmer's stock and livelihood can be jeopardised by TB


JGSSI ■ rgSte


a s s s S ' - ’ V ~‘£ g , ,


j i s i . . j j-L ,


m f ’j ?. >.} u ' ' .-4V


0 Th e buildings are empty except for


I RURAL LIFE Wednesday,MayZ8,20H Wednesday, May2B, 2014


20 pet


lambs and a frustrated stock bull. It's one of the pleasures of farming, to watch cattle as they are let out to grass in the spring after seven months inside. They gallop to the field, heads high, snorting with pleasure, running and


jumping and enjoying the freedom.


m V. .’/rf&vV m


B On a lighter note, Country Fest, our local fun and food weekend, is on at the Westmorland Show ground on the May 31 and June 1. It's a family day out and this year it's hosting a record attempt for the largest kite ever flown - a 64ft teddy bear. There will also be sheepdog handling, terrier racing and more as well as the best selection of local food, drinks and crafts from Cumbria and Lancashire. It's a great day for all the family ... even the dog.


It must be even more of a shock for the autumn- born calves - out in the open for the first time, no roof overhead, bright sunshine and vast open spaces to run and frolic. It always happens; one will run too fast into a hedge, fence or a wall and escape to the next field or injure themselves. We had an old cow that should have known better, she did a sprint down the lane, a high kick through the gate and a sort of pirouette - too much exercise for an oldie - and snapped a hamstring on a back leg; the end of the summer for her!


for Summer!


As Lancaster livestock auction celebrates its 50th birthday, JO Y C E BISHOP dons her wellies and mingles with the farmers at its weekly cattle sale


. Jy


a whole host moi;e.'AIJ o -----and bwoim


^ k B o d t s g i m


gSjghe auctioneer's eyes dart between 1 two or three of the men leaning |h against the barrier around the H auction ring. Clearly, I am in the wrong place;


Jack Murphy Mairead


Quilted Jacket . £ 5 4 .9 9


Toggi Ladies Sadie Shirt


. A fab wardrobe addition! £ 4 2 .5 0


behind them. While auctioneer of 30 years Gary


Capstick reads their subtle gestures with consummate ease,' allowing the price'to rise accordingly, I see nothing.. What, I wonder, are they doing to


convey their interest in one animal, but not the next? In more than 40 minutes of bidding I '


3 0 m m


spot only the twitch of one finger from a buyer; not a nod, not a shake of the • head, nothing. Bill Nelson, livestock manager with


Jack Murphy Mark Shirt A classic summer shirt! £ 4 4 .9 9


Toggie Bretton


Printed Silk Scarf £ 2 9 .9 9


JC Country


Why not come andwsitus? CleveleyBankLane. Forton. PR31BY »»W.Je«,Un<ryeo.ok


t o n t r y e t o f .


North West Auction’s, laughs when I tell him and explains that nobody is really keen for anyone else to see what they are doing - bidding, selling, what­ ever. He looks around. "There won't be many farmers actually buying," he says. "A lot of the people round the ring are professional buyers working on behalf of farmers." This is a reflection of mechanisation on the farm, which means fewer staff and fewer opportuni­ ties fora farmer to spend a day at the


auction mart. A full-time farmer himself until 2000,


Bill moved into the auction business when he was 52. Now, his farm on the Scottish borders is managed for him. "


■ do miss farming, but I get involved at the weekend," he says. He is not surprised when I reveal that


I haven't been able to extract anything more than a Christian name from the Lancashire dairy farmer I have been chatting to. The farmer-who tells me he is called


Alan - is liberal with other information, however, and gives me chapter and verse during the sale of store cattle in the main ring at NW Auctions' Lancaster base op Wyresdale Road. He enlight­ ens me on cattle breeds - blonde


- D'Aquitane, Limousin, Angus, Hereford - and on what to look for in an animal when you are buying for beef. "You don't want too much fat here,


on the belly," he says, slapping his own stomach and pointing to a lean, mus­ cular beast, a blonde D'Aquitane steer, which eventually sells for £1,080. "And those are a bit on the small side


for their age," he says as five young ani­ mals enterthe ring. "Now, look at this next lot, they're younger but bigger, so they'll fetch more." He is right, they do and I'm impressed. He laughs. "They ' call it a stockman's eye," he says. "Even when I'm looking at my stock at home I can pick up when something's wrong." He is Selling five two-year old Holstein


steers from his dairy herd and is hoping each one will fetch between £500 and £600; • He sympathises about my inability


to understand auctioneer Gary, whose rapid-fire commentary gives away very little to a city girl like me; an occasional number maybe, the context of which is lost among many other numbers. "He's like a calculator," says Alan. "He can put a value oh an animal as soon as it comes into the ring." This ability means that during the


earlier sale, of cast cows - generally- milkers that have come to the end of their useful life - each animal was in the ring for about 10 seconds as a supreme­ ly focused Gary clocked the bidders' desire to add another few pence to the price per kilogram or to draw a line under their interest. In contrast, I was privy only to the animal's weight, age and lot number, conveniently displayed for me on a digital screen above Gary's head. And that was it; a rap from the wooden baton in Gary's hand signalled an end to each sale and the cows were gone,' out the other side to the waiting vehicles which, in this instance, were likely to be taking them to the abattoir. I feel, briefly, as though I am getting


the hang of things. I correctly identify a Limousin and make the right ap­ preciative noises when I see a nicely muscled animal. "See," says Alan, with a grin. "You're getting a stockman's eye already." I doubt he is serious. But then he is gone; suddenly up on


his feet and with the briefest of good­ byes he disappears as his own animals enterthe ring. I never have chance to ask him what they eventually fetch; I lost track of rapid-fire Gary at £500...


CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: The auction ring at NW Auctions of Lancaster, one of the region'slargest lifestock auctioneers; a farmer watches proceedings; one of the cattle in the ring; the man in charge, Bill Nelson; auctioneer Gary Capstick in full voice; largest lifestock auctioneers; young auctioneer and auction ring assistant,


Ian; young auctioneer and auction ring assistant William Alexander Pictures by ROB LOCK


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41