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Things can tend to be a bit gloomy for a week or two after the festive period as our lives return to some sort of normality.
Our heads and stomachs are too big and our wallets or bank accounts are too small. But once we get a week or two of the security of routine over, I quite like this time of year.
The anticipation of a good spring and summer, unfortunately, is often a much more pleasurable experience than the reality of what we actually get
By mid-January a small stretch in the evenings is usually apparent and my thoughts always start to turn to springtime and getting stock back to the fields.
As I’ve said before, the anticipation of a good spring and summer, unfortunately, is often a much more pleasurable experience than the reality of what we actually get.
But before we start to look forward, we must spend a minute looking back at the end of another year and indeed another decade.
What were the highs and lows of 2019? Personally, from a farming point of view, one of my highs was finishing my own bulls.
It probably wasn’t the best year to start as prices were low
This was the first year that I did it and it definitely was a worthwhile thing to do. It was satisfying taking my own stock the whole way to slaughter and seeing how they killed out.
It probably wasn’t the best year to start as prices were low but there still was a slight financial reward over selling weanlings or stores.
I have continued with the same system this year.
Weather wise, we had a good spring. The first of my cattle went to grass on 24 February, which isn’t normal for up here.
They were rehoused for a short period due to bad weather, but not for long. By April, more or less all cattle were at grass, which is still early for the northwest.
When August came in so did the rain and there’s been a fair bit down since
The first half of the summer wasn’t bad either. Up until the start of August the weather was more good than bad.
Unfortunately, when August came in so did the rain and there’s been a fair bit down since.
Last year was also by far the best grass year that I can remember. I didn’t spread a kilo of fertiliser for almost two months but grass just kept growing – it was unbelievable.
The beef protests that followed, I suppose, can only can only be described as a low point
One of the low points was the price of beef from mid-June on. It got steadily worse and hasn’t really recovered since.
The beef protests that followed, I suppose, can only can only be described as a low point but they did at least highlight the situation that farmers find themselves in and hopefully in the long term, they may have achieved something.
Things are looking a little more positive at the minute, although that is not reflecting back into the price as of yet, but here’s hoping.
Happy new year folks. Let’s all look forward to a more profitable 2020.
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