The Farming Year - By Farmer Jack

The cows are kept in the barn during winter and fed on the hay which was made during the previous summer. They are also given wheat or barley straw for their bedding and a salt lick to give them extra minerals. The manure from the cows is removed from the barn, piled up and composted in readiness for spreading as fertiliser on the grassland. The cows calve indoors in the spring and are then turned out to graze the fresh grass of early summer. By May and June the grass is growing quickly and the cows can produce plenty of milk to feed their growing calves.

The sheep are kept outdoors in the fields all year except at lambing time. As the grass ceases to grow in winter we begin taking hay out to them in the field . Six weeks before lambing the pregnant ewes are given some extra higher energy feed as well, perhaps some oats and barley. Eight weeks before lambing starts a man comes with ultrasound equipment and scans the ewes. The ewes carrying twins and triplets are separated from the ones with singles so they can be fed extra concentrate feed. Lambing takes place indoors during March. This is a busy time as the ewes are checked regularly through the day and night in case they need assistance.

The ewes and newborn lambs are turned out into the fields to hopefully meet the early spring grass growth. The cows are calved down in the barn during April and then turned out onto the spring grass.

By May the grass is growing strongly and the ewes and cows are able to produce plenty of milk to feed their growing offspring.

In early summer the grassland is harrowed to aerate it and the fields which will be cut for hay and silage are rolled. Livestock are excluded from the hay meadows to allow the grass to grow long before cutting. Many small mammals, amphibians and invertebrates are able to feed and breed in the long grass before it is cut.

The sheep are sheared in June and then, if the weather is good and dry, it is hay making time. The grass is mowed, turned to allow it to dry and then baled. A team of helpers gather the bales and help to cart them off the fields to the barn where they will be stored for winter. During the hay making the seeds of the grasses become dry and fall to the ground and this provides lots of food for the birds.

By July the clover in the grassland is growing well and this provides extra protein for the grazing calves and lambs. After the hay meadows and silage fields have been cut the composted manure is spread on the fields. The manure gives vital nutrients and organic matter back to the soil and ensures the grass grows well in the future.

By this time of year the spring born calves are much bigger and the cows are ready to be put to the herd bull.

By the end of the summer the lambs are weaned from the ewes and separated into groups. Some will be kept as future breeding stock and some will be finished for meat which is sold over the autumn and winter period.

The calves are weaned from the cows naturally at around 7 – 9 months of age. Some of the young stock will be kept for breeding and some will be reared for beef and kept until they are around 24 months of age.

As the days become shorter in the autumn the ewes come into season. During October a ram is introduced to the ewe flock.

Gradually the grass begins to die back and the ground becomes wetter so the cows are brought into the barn during November; and so the winter routine of feeding the cows and bedding them down begins again- until the spring!