The farm through the seasons – November

As we write the farm is snow-covered! The weather station in the village has seen overnight temperatures drop as low as minus 9.4C and wintry showers look set to stay for a little while.

As winter unfolded on the farm, November was a time to concentrate more on our livestock to ensure they were warm, well fed and watered – the grazing fields will have stopped growing and freezing temperatures can cause water troughs around the farm to freeze. Our shepherd put in many miles checking on our outdoor sheep flock. One job the whole farm team got involved with in November was the weighing of our sheep.

Keeping livestock well fed is a priority for all farmers and year round we offer our oilseed rape meal to farmers in the area. Making a popular feed, it has good levels of protein and is a useful supplement for those animals with a low protein diet. The rape meal is a by-product of pressing our seed. As the seed is gently pressed it leaves behind a small amount of oil along with the husk.

There’s no doubt that the snowfall has made for a stunningly beautiful landscape, but this does have an impact on the farm team, including rescuing stranded drivers on the hillside roads around the farm! Before the show showers arrived, there was plenty of crop walking to check on the stage of growth – indeed checking that the crops can survive such a winter of snow cover and freezing temperatures.

Maintenance continues to be a priority – whether that’s machinery, or lagging pipes in our farm sheds to stop them freezing. There never seems to be a let up for the team.