Farm Diary

A COLD snap from the north last week, with snow on Sunday, remind us sharply that winter is fast approaching, and whilst Gwenan and Jake start packing for Australia, where they are going to spend six weeks in glorious summer weather, I am left indoors, full of cold and very envious indeed.
By The Newsroom
Published 24th Nov 2008, 11:30 BST
Updated 8th Jun 2018, 04:21 BST

On the farm, I am still searching for the missing litres of milk. The cows look very well indeed, and we are really on top of herd health now, with our lameness and locomotion scores right up there with the best in the country, which is where we want to be.

Fertility is good, which is expected when cows look after themselves rather than put the extra couple of litres in the tank, and almost all the heifers have now calved. Mastitis is still a problem, and we are still experiencing too many cases; I can only hope that the cold snap will help us in the same way as it has already assisted in the calf shed.

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Calves look much better since the weather turned colder and drier, with much of the chesty coughs and runny noses clearing up.

Work on the feed bunkers is completed at last, and we can now repair holes in the concrete yard, and just put the finishing touches to the cow cubicles, where a few need welding after contact with the scrapper tractor!

Our winter preparations were prolonged by the need to prepare roads and access to the Anaerobic Digester site. This week we are preparing an area for the site workers living accommodation, which consists of four double units, a canteen, and a changing room.

For full feature see West Sussex Gazette November 26

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