We are bringing the cows in for the winter on Monday 10th November. We're fortunate that autumn has not been too wet following the dry summer, as the grass has kept growing and the fields haven't become 'poached' by cows’ feet. If the ground gets too wet, the cows feet make holes in the field causing soil structural damage. Not only does this damage the fields, but it will also reduce the grass yield the following year as grass roots struggle with increased compaction, and reduced aeration in...

It is great to be having a bit of rain, the grass is greening up! Hopefully there'll be an autumn flush of grass which will be lovely for the cows. We will be doing a bit of grass seeding this month, to improve the quality and yield of our grassland for next year. We will be 'overseeding' our existing permanent pasture grassland with a white clover and perennial grass mixture. We are aiming to do 70 acres, which will make quite a difference for our cows next year.    Last month, another vital...

We made some lovely hay just before the rain came! The grass was cut, then over the following 3 days it was 'tedded out' which means the grass was spread and turned over so the sunshine could dry it out. The dried grass was rowed up ready for the baler to bale it into 6ft-long bales of hay, each weighing about half a tonne. We moved them from the fields into the barn, where they'll be kept nice and dry. Really pleased to have made the hay in the sunshine and got them stored safely in the barn...