Welcome to our January newsletter (Sorry it's a bit later than usual!) |
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January has been a little different on the farm this year, normally we’re lambing but this has been pushed back to February to give us a bit more time to get things straight after Christmas. Each year the turkeys seem to take up more and more space as the numbers gently grow. It’s not just the night time shed space that takes up a lot of room but also the equipment and associated paraphernalia. The turkey sheds have been cleaned down, we now have to get all the other equipment cleaned and disinfected ready for the summer - which will be with us sooner than you think! |
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Last week we had the sheep in for a routine health screening. Sheep can suffer from a viral disease called Maedi Visna or MV and many farmers now do periodic blood sampling for this. The vet’s time and accreditation membership isn’t cheap but it adds significant value to our breeding stock when they’re sold. Many buyers would spend 10% more knowing the sheep is disease free. If your flock is MV free you have to keep them apart from un-tested sheep and this is why sheep at agricultural shows are split into 2 sections. And we’ve just heard they are still MV free so we don’t have to re-test for 3 years. Lambing begins in just 2 weeks! Lindsay and Colin (the dog) will soon be moving in to the campervan which is parked in the lambing shed so that the ewes can be monitored easily day and night. We are expecting 5 sets of triplets, which will need a bit more hands on care as a ewe only has 2 teats so would ideally only have 2 lambs to rear . These ewes have received a bit more supplementary feed than the others to ensure they have sufficient milk. We have had several ewes in the past happily rear 3 lambs themselves, they just need to be kept under very close observation and will be topped up with powdered milk from a bottle if needed. We always try and leave the lambs with the ewes so they know that they are a sheep! |
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Pork - Available to order now for collection on Saturday 29th January |
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Each year we rear a very small number of pigs. We started doing this as we wanted pork for our own freezer as we only eat meat we rear ourselves. Although we can't rear the pigs as totally free range due to our wet land in the winter, they are kept in our old bull pen which has a big airy sleeping area and outside court yard (!) so they have chance to sunbathe if the sun decides to make an appearance. They are kept busy with lots of straw to make nests and snuffle in and our north meadow hay which they love eating. They are also fed windfall apples and have lots of toys to play with. They are very happy pigs! This year’s pigs are large blacks. These are the only native totally black pig and as the name suggests they are quite large! They are well known for their exceptional flavour. Individual cuts and joints will be available to purchase as well as pork selection boxes which can be pre-ordered and collected from Park Farm on Saturday 29th January between 9am and 10am (sorry no full pop up shop) this month. If you can’t make it on Saturday 29th and would like to try some of our pork we are more than happy to arrange another time for you to collect or we can pop it in the freezer. |
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This week we’ve weighed all the cattle. Yes, we actually do get each one to stand on the scales and we note down the weight. It’s a 2m long set of scales that fit in our handling system, the cows walk down the race (an ally the width of a cow) and step onto the weigh platform. As soon as they’re still we record the weight and ear tag number. As we do this regularly, the cows all get used to the procedure and mostly file through in a calm orderly fashion. The weight helps us plan which order the cows are selected to go the abattoir. It’s not as simple as just picking the heaviest, we study the muscle definition (which is known as confirmation) of the loin, which is the area along the back between the shoulders and the rump. This area is what will make your sirloin steaks so yield in this valuable area is important to the profitability of the animal once butchered. We also study the fat cover, beef that is too lean won’t be as tasty. The fat also protects the meat during the 30 day aging process by preventing it from drying out. Heifers tend to be lighter and fattier than steers (castrated males) which will be larger with better confirmation but leaner. Selecting the best beef animals can be tricky, there are lots of factors to consider and it takes a bit of practice. Our next beef is available to order now through my brother Andy's website for collection on Saturday 5th February. |
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I try and keep my ramblings here positive and cheerful but I thought I should share that it isn’t always fun and laughs. On New Years Eve we spotted 2 men and a large lurcher dog nowhere near a foot path. I’ll spare you the gory details but they were hunting our wildlife which makes me furious beyond belief. The police were called and we nearly got them but they escaped. I was however very pleased with the police response. If you do see any suspicious dog activity that you think may be hare coursing or deer hunting never approach them, they are not nice people, just call the police. It sickens me to think we’ve had people on our land doing this to the wildlife we have. |
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The final tally of bird species spotted on the farm last year was 86, a couple down on previous years because we didn’t seem to have as many of the birds that I only spot occasionally. We only had one new species last year but I suppose as the list gets longer it’s harder to add more to it! Whimbrel was the new species, I thought it was a Curlew when I saw it fly over but my expert friend said due to the time of year when I saw it that it was almost certainly a Whimbrel rather than Curlew. A swan has appeared this week (See photo) and decided to make our farm pond which is just outside our living room window his home. The Farm bird list is now at a very respectable 98 species. As we edge closer to the end of January, I’ve spotted a few snippets of spring - catkins on the hazel, collared doves with nesting material, marsh marigolds in flower and the beautiful notes of the song thrush. Song thrush are easy to identify by their song once you know that they sing a phrase, repeat it normally 3 times then onto the next phrase, this is normally performed from a prominent position. I feel we’ve been spoilt with this cold dry weather and can’t help thinking we may get some more challenging weather before spring proper arrives. |
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We hope to return to having our usual pop up shop at the beginning of March. Keep an eye out on our Facebook page and website for up to date info. For those of you who haven't been before, the photos above are a small selection of the things we stock and includes: Bread, lardy cakes and sweet treats from Marshalls bakery in Pewsey, a selection of British in season fruit and veg, Preserves and chutneys from Brinkworth, Eggs from Sherston, Milk from Purton, Butter & Yoghurt from Wroughton, Crisps in compostable packets, British Grains & pulses plus more! We do of course have Pork and Beef available before the next shop so if you are needing a freezer top up between now and then please do get in touch. Thanks for taking the time to read! Best wishes Chris & Lindsay |
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