Hi, yep that would be me....... but this will be the first of a few blog catch-ups to bring you all up to speed! First to round off 2023!
LEAF Open Farm Sunday
So, our 3rd LEAF Open Farm Sunday (back in June 2023) came and went with 251 visitors enjoying some beautiful weather, delicious treats, stunning walks and the chance to talk to the team about what we do and why.
Our friends from Cheviot Alpacas returned for their 2nd year, always a huge hit, as did The Tray Bake Fairy who was kept very busy providing the catering. We were delighted that the lovely Kirsty from The HandyCraftShed agreed to run some felting sessions using our own Blue Texel wool to create wee felted sheep brooches whilst surrounded by our bags of wool from clipping just a few weeks earlier. The wonderful Merlin joined us from Hay Farm Heavy Horses and made everything else look so small, especially our old pony! All in all, a very enjoyable and successful day.
Mother Nature
Following the busy run up to our open day, you'd think it would quieten down for a bit...... We managed to make some hay at the beginning of July which was just as well as it was one of the wettest summers I can remember, there didn't seem to be a day without rain for months! This also impacted harvest as grain struggled to ripen with the lack of sunshine and then the actual cutting dragged on and on with Mother Nature making sure that we all knew that she was still firmly in charge!
Showing Season
In between the "catchy" harvest, sheep showing was in full swing with an outing almost every weekend. It takes time and effort to have your stock "show ready" but it's one of my favourite times of year, you're happy with your sheep, you just hope the judge is too! A rewarding season was had!
Kelso Ram Sales
A huge day in our farming calendar, the world famous Kelso Ram Sales where we offer somewhere between 40 - 60 Shearling Rams for sale each year. And 2023 was a busy one with each selling ring timings coinciding for our Suffolks, Texels and Blue Texels, so it was all hands on deck to make sure it all went off as smoothly as possible on the day following the weeks of work that goes into preparing our prized rams. Another good year with 100% clearance and many repeat customers!
Tupping Time
And just like that, it's time for the breeding cycle to start again, It seems to come around quicker each year! Our rams start running with the ewes around the 20th Sept.
Our ewes are split into their tupping groups and our rams are harnessed up with a red colour for the first 10 days, followed by a blue colour for the next 7 days. This covers the first cycle of the ewes (approx 17 days in length) and will let us know which ewes are due to lamb first. The full second cycle (the next 17 days) will be marked with a black colour on the suffolks and texels and a green for the blue texels. This will show any "repeats" (a ewe which hasn't held a pregnancy to the ram in the first cycle) and also any ewe which wasn't cycling when the ram was wearing the red or blue colour. Fingers crossed for pregnancy scanning results!
New Additions and Summer at last!
Some October heat was most welcome and it saw many farmers taking a late cut of silage. We were lucky enough to do the same with our 2 fields of GS4, a herbal ley containing red and white clovers, plantain, chicory, birds foot trefoil and lucerne amongst other species in a diverse mix which benefits the soil, insects, birds and livestock - what's not to like!
Kitchen table conversations...... where all the best ideas start, over a glass of wine of course! We added a new breed to the farm, 2 Swiss Valais Blacknose crosses and a pure Valais Blacknose Ram, an exciting project pending......
Land Based Students visit for Pregancy Scanning
Towards the end of the year, I invited schools to book a lambing visit during our 2024 lambing. The advertisement received a tremendous amount of interest and our slots filled up very quickly. Off the back of this, we have made a potential long term connection with our local secondary school who visited for the first time during a mornings scanning. The sun shone after days of heavy rain, the sheep pens were deep in mud but not a word of complaint, they were all happy to be here gaining some hands-on experience to complement their Land based studies. Looking forward to further visits in 2024!
Stay tuned for 2024 blogs, I promise you'll be up to date before 2025!
Commentaires