LATEST ARTICLES
Viewpoints
Nitrogen vs clover
Matt Dempsey
Weather conditions are ideal for aphids, the same conditions also seem to favour slugs.
6 November 2024 Viewpoints
Home Farm: changed routine in a changed early winter
The crops are a glorious verdant green, though the latest sown crop, the gluten free oats is slower to emerge than I expected given the mild conditions.
30 October 2024 Viewpoints
Home Farm: focus on cattle
We now have about one third of our cattle in the sheds, with the rest still outside finishing off aftergrass and some paddocks with good covers.
Home Farm: Sowing the last of the autumn crops
While this autumn has been a huge improvement in being able to get crops established, it had been an expensive summer.
23 October 2024 Viewpoints
Home Farm: beans harvested but badgers noticed
With all the wheat, barley and oilseed rape safely sown, there is only the oats left.
16 October 2024 Viewpoints
Home Farm: the hardiness of our dairy beef cattle
I explained the symptoms, to be told that there was a vet in the area and within half an hour, he was in the field.
9 October 2024 Viewpoints
Home Farm: weather panics from last year
Last year's difficulties with weather delaying harvesting and sowing has over-influenced our decision-making this year in rushing us to harvest.
18 September 2024 Viewpoints
Home Farm: some cattle in, mole ploughing in tillage
We have ended up housing the most forward cattle and will probably aim to finish them for the pre-Christmas market.
11 September 2024 Viewpoints
Home Farm: Will we have to house cattle this week?
I would expect to have the silage aftergrass growing vigorously at this stage, so that we could spread the cattle out across the place, but it’s too soon to let stock out on it yet.
4 September 2024 Viewpoints
Home Farm: a tale of two enterprises
Never have we sown oilseed rape so early, but the expensive lesson of late sowing, followed by a wet autumn, has left a mark.
28 August 2024 Viewpoints
Home Farm: Catching up over the weekend
We may also have to accept that we may run out of weather in the autumn and simply be prepared to leave some land until the land dries out in spring.
21 August 2024 Viewpoints
Home Farm: August - a critical month
We have learned a bitter lesson this year, when the crops of oilseed rape went in too late and got much too much rain for the young plants to deal with.
7 August 2024 Viewpoints