It's nice to see some decent sunshine at last! I really quite like the winter but I do get fed up with constant rain. John will be happy now because the grass will grow better although he started shearing yesterday and last night he was complaining about muscles that he forgot he had. He sheared 100 sheep, quite a lot really for the first day of the season. I'll have to get used to seeing black bruises on his legs and his jeans being covered in lanolin, the greasy substance that keeps fleece waterproof. It's a nightmare to keep him in clean clothes cos all his jeans have to be boiled and he wears holes in them really quickly!

It seems that good shearers are getting harder to find. I guess it's just another one of those skilled jobs that are affected by the lack of young people entering into farming. John does well cos he's tall and very strong but his back does suffer when he has to bend down to shear my southdowns.

One of my southdowns had a ram lamb this morning - with a little assistance. She has a tendancy to prolapse and John had already fitted a spoon - a plastic device that gets inserted into the vagina to hold everything in place if the ewe strains too hard. John had tied the spoon to her wool but last night, we had to fit a harness as she was managing to push the spoon out again. This is a worrying time because if the ewe starts to lamb, the lamb can't get past the spoon. All's well that ends well though because when I went to look at her early this morning she had started to lamb and John lambed her without too much difficulty. I normally do difficult lambings with the southdowns cos they're a bit small for Johns hands but she was an old ewe with plenty of room and I don't have Johns experience with ewes that are prone to prolapse.

At least we don't have to worry about our last few lambs being exposed now what with this lovely weather and it looks set to last into next week! Our early lambs are now looking like little monsters; it's hard to imagine that they can grow so fast. John still isn't sure whether some of our young heifers might have been caught by a young bull so they are going to become the centre of our attention next! Still, with the shearing season started, it'll be a while yet before the smell of sheep leaves the house!

Ok, so I know its been a while again! My excuse is rather a sad one. Our dear friend Andy who allowed us to manage his farm for him in his last few years has passed away and I really didn't feel much like blogging.

Andrew was one of life's true gentlemen and he will be badly missed. I'll write a proper blog about him after the funeral next week.

However, to continue, I bought a copy of the Countryfile magazine today; a rare treat for me as magazines aren't something I would usually spend money on cos I don't have that much spare. They had a lovely review for a book that I thought I'd share with you - it's called The Self-Sufficientish Bible and it's written by twin brothers, Andy and Dave Hamilton. Basically, it's a guide to being green in all aspects of your life. I was so interested in the book that I've bought a copy so they are responsible for my spending even more of our precious resources but I'm hoping that by following their teachings, I will be able to make back what I've spent. Anyway, they have a lovely website - http://www.selfsufficientish.com/ that I would suggest that you take a look at if you're into that kind of thing.

The site also has a great blogging forum which seems in the main to be friendly. I certainly got a lovely hello when I signed in to introduce myself! Someone did have a bit of a moan when I posted a blog about Rural World on the links part of the site but there you go, you really can't please everybody and there's always someone ready to knock you down, even if they don't know you from Adam! Anyway, barring that one person, the forum seems friendly and willing to share views and ideas so I will be going back to have a bit more of a look around. I can only hope that the Rural World blog grows in the same way and is as big four years on!

All the best

Rachel.

Hi, it's been far too long since my last blog - I have been very remiss but to be honest, time has been a little tight over the last week or so. A very good friend of John and I is in hospital with a terminal illness so I've spent alot of time there.

Also, John has been vehicularly challenged again! The exhaust fell off the truck and then the head gasket blew on the 4x4 so my poor car has been rolled back into service as a farm vehicle AGAIN! It has nearly done 200 000 miles and has been used to drive around fields and carry all manner of unusual cargo's so it really isn't surprising that it's on it's last legs. I could really do with something new now and a little 4x4 would be very appealing. It's not as though I would just be having it as a status symbol - any vehicle of ours is expected to do some off roading, whether it was designed to or not!

All the stress of the last few weeks were beginning to catch up with me at the weekend and I really needed some time out before I blew my own head gasket! John had left Rocky at home with me whilst I was meant to be doing some book work but I really couldn't settle to it so I decided to take him out for a walk. it's amazing that I have lived with John for over two years but haven't really explored the local footpaths. I guess I've always been too busy with my various projects or the farm to be bothered. Anyway, as John had the car we had to walk from the house so I was forced to go exploring close to home.

I'm very lucky that Rocky is so dependable and well behaved when out walking. I can be totally confident that he won't bother livestock or other walkers and he's a total pleasure to take anywhere. We didn't go far - I hadn't got a map and couldn't face the potential embarrassment of having to call John and admit to being lost right on my own doorstep - I really would never live that down. We ended up walking about 4Km, far enough for me to walk off my blues and to enjoy the lovely weather. We even found a fresh water pool just big enough for Rocky to have a little swim in so he was delighted.

I enjoyed our walk so much that I was determined to make more of a habit of it so when I got home, I jumped on the internet to the Ordnance Survey website http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/ to see what maps were available of the area. Did you know that you can now order custom made maps, centering on the postcode or grid reference of your choice? I thought that this is an excellent service and ordered one straight away. Hopefully now my walks with Rocky can be a little more adventurous!

Unfortunately, I'm house-bound today as I have loads of stuff to catch up on on the computer and Rocky is with John and Moss, on a contracting job cleaning out a shed for a local poultry farmer but Lily, my very petite and fussy Asian cat has decided that my lap is a good place to sleep so I'm not without company! Best get on now, bye....

I enjoyed a rare pleasure this evening - I was at home and able to watch most of Gardeners World whilst I cooked our dinner. John wasn't due home till after 9.00 so I was able to enjoy having the TV all to myself for an hour. I was pleased to see Monty Don reminding people that bad weather was still possible at this time of year, although anyone who has set even a foot outdoors today should be perfectly aware of that fact.

I get very frustrated and angry at this time of year when I see the larger garden centres selling bedding plants. There really is no point in planting bedding plants until the beginning of June. Late frosts will almost certainly kill them off and anyone who buys them to go outside will simply be wasting both their tme and their money.

It's fairly ironic that in farming over 200 acres, we actually have no garden to speak of. We live in a tiny terraced house in a village so no garden there and as the farm land isn't ours, I can't really turn any of it over to vegetables. I do grow herbs, tomatoes and peppers in pots around the front door but I think it will be a while before my tender seedlings will be able to go outside this year.

Meanwhile, John is complaining bitterly because the grass won't grow. As lawn owners all over the country are probably pleased that the grass is still finding the weather rather too cold, on the farm we are getting rather short of the green stuff. That means that our cattle 'cake' bills are on the rise again. It's a good job that our lambs from last year are finally bringing in a good price.

At least the countryside is beginning to look a little more summery with even the rape starting to turn yellow as it comes into flower. At least the colours will be warmer even if the weather isn't!

I was absolutely delighted to receive a call today from a lady from a recruitment agency, asking if I had a vacancy for a new sales person. Now... I have worked in sales for about nine years and as much as I would like to think that Rural World was generating enough business to be able to recruit an experienced full time sales person, to be honest, we ain't there yet!

So why was I so thrilled? The gentleman in question had come over from New Zealand and was asked by the agency to name some companies that he would like to work for and he apparently said he'd like to work for Rural World! It's nice to think that the word is spreding that far!

Actually, there appears to be a shortage of skilled workers in agriculture at the moment. I'm not sure if that extends to sales - there does always seem to be a raft of sales men and women out there - but other areas seem to be crying out for skilled staff. In fact, in his article in the Independent today http://www.independent.co.uk/student/career-planning/az-careers/agriculture-671529.html?r=RSS ) , Allan Nickson of Myerscough College suggests that this shortage is affecting other countries too to the point where they are looking to poach our newly qualified students! John certainly isn't often short of contracting work to supplement the farm and with the shearing season nearly here, I'm sure that he won't get much spare time to spend at home. So I do have to ask myself, what has happened to our own agricultural career path to bring about this shortage?

I can't help but wonder if part of the problem has been caused by our potential young farmers growing up on family farms that have been constantly hit by devastating issues such as BSC and Foot and Mouth. Living with the turmoil and insecurity brought about by these disasters must surely have put a good number of young people off from following in their parents farming footsteps. I also think that as the old ways of tenant farming slowly come to a close, most young people brought up in a tenant farming household realise that unless they are very fortunate or very successful, having a farm of their own some day is highly unlikely. In fact, that's exactly the position that John and I are in now - do we own a house or land? At the moment we certainly can't afford both!

So I'm really not surprised that the young people in our rural communities are shying away from agriculture as a career and to be honest, I can't say I blame them. It's hard work, involves long hours, reems of paperwork and legislation and frankly, isn't very financially rewarding. However, if you've ever got up early in the spring and watched the sun come up after having saved the life of a ewe and her lambs by correcting a badly presented lamb and helping it into the world, then gone home to a full english breakfast, safe in the knowledge that you've already burned off the calories then you'll know why I will keep fighting to ensure that John and I can keep farming!

I thought I'd let you know about a lovely web site that I recently came across called Little Ffarm Dairy - http://littleffarmdairy.wordpress.com/home/ . The site is owned by Jo and Tony Knight and they dedicate the site to their story as small holders. The site has loads of information and news about what they are doing and they invite comments from anyone with something useful to say.

I have to say that I'm very impressed, both with the dedication that they show to their blog and that they can constantly think of something new to say - I am often stuck for inspiration!

Anyway, good luck to Jo and Tony for their small holding and thanks for such a productive website!

Best wishes

Rachel.

So... if any of you visit the BBC news website regularly, you may already be familiar with the article http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7349320.stm discussing the new EU row in Brussels that may affect British food. Basically, if you are of a French persuasion and have a taste for the raw, minced beef dish, steak tartare, then your health and welfare is likely to be potentially responsible for a possible detrimental change for the way us real foodies like to have our meat prepared.

Essentially, what the EU are saying, is that to protect people who eat steak tartare from Salmonella and other food poinsoning micro organisms, beef used to make mince will only be hung for a maximum of 6 days, as opposed to up to four weeks - the usual maximum time for hanging beef. Unfortunately, it isn't possible to seperate the mince from the more expensive cuts such as fillet and rib roasts prior to hanging, so basically the whole carcass can only be hung for 6 days. As you are probably aware, the longer beef in hung for (usually in a refridgerated room these days)the more tender and tasty it becomes. This is a natural process caused by enzymes in the meat begining to break down the tougher tissues. In the UK, we love our meat well hung, although we have to pay a little more for it to account for the extended time that it spends in limbo between being slaughtered and ending up on our plate.

The reasons that steak tartare is more at risk from contamination by food poisoning bugs are two fold. Firstly, because it is eaten raw, no bugs are killed by the cooking process. Secondly, as the meat is minced, any bugs sitting on the outside are ground up and mixed throughout the meat so they can't be removed or destroyed. Poorly cooked sausages and burgers can be dangerous for the same reason. This is a pretty dangerous combination and it is easy to see how it can make people ill. Normal steak, even if only seared on the outside is safer because any bugs sitting on the surface can be destroyed by cooking and haven't had a chance to penetrate into the meat.

It frustrates me that yet again, the eating peculiarities of one nation will potentially affect an entire continent or at least the member states of the EU. I hope that those lobbying on behalf of UK food producers manage to win this round of legislative by-play.
Surely, if the french want to eat raw mince, it's up to them to ensure that it's prepared safely so that the rest of us can enjoy properly prepares meat in comfort. We as a nation are slowly getting better at defending the quality of our animals before slaughter, I hope that we can also defend the quality and traditions of our meat cooked, like only the British know how!

I read a very interesting and long article today by Rob Lyons on the Food Price Crisis - http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php?/site/article/4977/ . The article appeared to describe, very fluently, how the food price crisis was in fact, possibly due to the environmental stewardship schemes created by the government in preference to growing crops intensively. Mr Lyons investigated the idea that biofuels have become a scapegoat for the world shortage of food because it is claimed that the production of biofuels diverts agriculture from its’ main business of growing food stuffs.

Whether there is any political value in Mr Lyons article or not, I do not know as these larger issues of world politics are somewhat beyond my current sphere of understanding. However, the article did raise my interest because it unknowingly touches on an issue that is becoming a problem to most farmers – diesel.

Mr Lyons didn’t mention exactly how much diesel, bio or otherwise, is required to produce any kind of farm crop from cereal to lamb or even to simply maintain the land through mundane tasks such as hedge-trimming. If you drive a car at the moment or even own a motor driven lawnmower, you can’t have failed to notice just how expensive fuel is becoming. I do wonder exactly how much of the food price increases can actually be laid at the door of rising fuel costs.

Whilst I can appreciate the disclaimers of biofuels when they maintain that the growth and production of these crops are if anything, more damaging on the environment than the impact of using fossil fuels, I am a great advocate of anyone trying to come up with a solution to the fossil fuel crisis that is approaching all nations. I do wonder just how people think that we can farm crops without fuel, now that farming is so modern and automated. I also wonder whether many people have made the connection between a future scarcity of fossil fuels and the soaring price of food.

Hmm, should I be investing in a couple of shire horses and asking John to sharpen up the scythe? I guess that maybe that future is a little way off yet but exactly how far away does it need to be before we can afford not to plan? A bleak future indeed. Maybe the hardships faced by the third world farmers described in Mr Lyons article are the ones we have to look forward to. I do have to question then who will be the worst off – the third world farmers managing the way they always have, or our developed world farmers, learning once again, how to do the job without combine or tractor.

Well it’s been a relatively quiet day today, no lambs born (we seem to be going through a quiet spell) and no excitement other than some ewes and lambs escaping from a farm where we have some grass-keeping. John, moss and Rocky managed to find them three fields away and brought them home again, despite Rocky feeling a little stiff in one leg where he got kicked by a cow yesterday. As sheep dogs go, Rocky has learnt a lot very quickly but he still hasn’t got the idea of how far a cow can kick, unlike the much older and wiser Moss. They both perform a fantastic service for us and we wouldn’t be without either of them – they’re the best dogs in the world!

Unfortunately, that’s exactly what we’ll have to do tomorrow morning when we have to load up the cattle that John’s taking to our local cattle market in Melton Mowbray. As I mentioned yesterday, we have a lot of cattle to sell at the moment and it means a very early start for John and I, to get the cattle rounded up, sorted out and loaded into the trailer. We are currently selling what is known as store cattle. This means that they are not yet ready for slaughter and will be bought by someone who will fatten them up further; possibly someone with an intensive cattle rearing system. Our farm is pretty low intensity compared to most. Our cattle live mostly in the fields with plenty of space as opposed to being reared in large numbers in cattle sheds. Cattle usually enter the ‘fat market’ just before they reach 30 months old – this is an optimum sale time as they have grown as much as possible before they reach the critical cut off age of 30 months when the rules change about which areas of the food chain that they can enter.

Store cattle are usually sold by the price in pounds per animal but fat cattle are weighed and sold by the price in pounds per kilogram. This can work out at anywhere between 80 pence and 125 pence per kilo and an animal can weigh in excess of 650 kilos although you have to remember that this is what we call ‘live weight’. The price you pay at the farm shop or butchers (hopefully) or the supermarket is what we call ‘dead weight’ or ‘kill-out weight’. This means that the internal organs, hide, bones etc (basically the bits you wouldn’t want to buy) have been removed. Usually about 45% of an animal is usable. Therefore, typically a farmer would get about £650 for a 650Kg beast that he has raised for two and a half years. I’ll talk about the price of lamb another time but that gives you some idea of the mark up by the time you buy the meat prepared for cooking. It should also give you an idea of how many animals a farmer needs to keep, in order to earn a basic wage after he has paid for animal feed, fuel and all the other expenses of running a farm.

Hopefully we will get a good price for our cattle tomorrow; I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed! I guess I'm lucky that John is a pretty good farmer and knows how to raise good stock! See you soon,

Rachel.

Hi Everyone,

It looks like I'm getting the hang of this blogging software now! I feel like it's been my first day at school, as I have had so much to learn that is totally new to me! However, I'm getting there

Today has been a frustrating day for me... Rural World has taken up a lot of time over the last few days and John can't seem to understand that I can't constantly be working on the farm!

It's a busy time for us, what with lambing being three quarters of the way through and we have an awful lot of cattle to sell. Ordinarily, we would keep our cattle until they were between 26 and 30 months old but with the new threat of blue tongue, we are having to sell a lot more at the beginning of the summer.

There are two basic reasons for this:-
1) Blue tongue is a disease carried by midges that are common in the hot summer weather. If our herd becomes infected, our herd would certainly loose condition and some valuable animals might suffer and even die.
2) If Blue tongue comes close to our farm, movement of animals will be restricted. Once cattle become 30 months old, they become less valuable (due to the BSE regulations) as they can enter less areas of the food chain. If movement restrictions prevent us from selling cattle that are approaching 30 months of age, we could lose a lot of income there too

Our flocks and herds are a major investment for us, as is our pasture crop of hay and hayalge(and the arable crops and other crop types farmed elsewhere in the UK). Basically, if we lose any of our crop, either animal or vegetable, we loose that entire investment and our income for that year and possibly for subsequent years. I guess people don't think of farming as being a high risk career but ask any farmer and they will tell you just how scarey investing in farming can be.

The really worrying thing is that we are so incredibly dependent on the weather. If a season is too wet, too dry, too hot or too cold, we can lose in major proportions. I wish that more was known about global warming and the effect that our wasteful life styles has on our environment. So much seems to depend on it! it isn't just the farmers in third world countries who lose crops because of freak weather.

Well there you go - my first proper blog and I am sooo typically British that I end up talk ing about the weather! Best go now, still loads to do! See ya!