We managed to get the main of our harvest into the shed in good time, with crop results mirroring what seems to have happened across most of the UK: some crops yielding exceptionally well and some surprisingly badly, mainly due to the atrocious weather we have had all year.
Richard has a rain gauge in the garden which measures rainfall with a fair degree of accuracy. A 'normal' year's rain here on the farm (although the concept of 'normality' is something far removed these days!) would be around 33 inches, but from 1st October 2023 to 30th September 2024, we had 60 inches of rain - an incredible 5 feet!
With water comes slugs, and LOTS of them. Because we have had a wet spring, summer and autumn, the slug challenge has been immense this year. We now use ferric phosphate slug pellets, which are kind to the environment and also do a pretty good job.
On 17th September, it stopped raining (finally!) and we managed to cut our field of buckwheat. We then followed that up with the canary seed on the 18th.
The millets were not ready to be harvested at that time, so we had to sit and watch them being battered by high winds and another 4.5 inches of rain! The red millet was still standing afterwards, but much of the white millet was on the ground. Richard did an amazing job last Thursday and Friday managing to lift the flat millet, whilst not putting a flint through the combine.
And that was the end of harvest 2024 - one of the wettest on record.
After much consideration, we decided to plant some oil seed rape this year, but delayed the planting until early September (which is late) to try to avoid the flea beetle migrations. So far so good - while it was hit by one migration on the two lovely days when we were combining the buckwheat and canary seed, it seems to be pulling through and is looking OK.
When it stops raining, we will hopefully start planting our winter wheat and oats for next year. Our Triton drill (pictured at the top of this page), which is a wet weather specialist, is ready and raring to go!
We have recently taken on more acres - are we mad, I hear you ask?! - as this will help us to keep rotating our bird seed crops. We are exceptionally lucky in that much of the extra acreage neighbours our farm or is only a few miles away, so not too much road travel involved.
It is quite exciting taking on new land. The views are new and always give a different perspective on the countryside, and it's interesting getting to know new fields and doing lots of soil testing to determine soil indices. I have no doubt there will be new challenges ahead!
We recently travelled to a couple of Hampshire farm auctions (which were very local to us) and saw some amazing farm machinery being sold. There is currently a very strong market for second-hand machinery since the price of new machinery is so high, and farmers are canny people. It was good to meet up with fellow farmers whom we don't often see, all trying to find a bargain and mostly not succeeding. Both days were tinged with sadness, however; the auctions were the result of two farmers losing their battle with cancer, and it did make me reflect on the fact that we are merely custodians of the land.
All sale lots are out on display and are 'sold as seen' The auctioneers move with exceptional speed from one lot to the next - if you want to bid, you have to be ready and standing in a place you can be seen by the auctioneer. The auctioneers start with the smallest, cheapest lots and work their way towards the big-ticket items, tractors and then finally combines. Many of the bids come in online and on the telephone, so the little mobile auction hut is a hive of activity.
I was mindful to keep my eyes down and my hands in my pockets. Years ago, I attended the Kelso Ram Sales which was held at the Border Union Showground in Kelso, Scottish Borders. Kelso Ram Sales are renowned for selling the highest quality tups for big prices. On this occasion, I was standing at the auction ring, when I spotted a friend of mine across the ring and - without thinking - gave her a wave! The bidding was up to around 11,000 guineas at that time, and I was very grateful that the auctioneer did enquire as to whether I did indeed want that Border Leicester Ram? I was highly embarrassed and I am still, to this day, reminded of that faux pas.
One of the lots at the first auction we attended was this HUGE articulated New Holland tractor, which (of course) both Richard and Merv took a fancy to. However, it would have presented us with quite a few logistical problems, the main one being we couldn't get it down the road!
It attracted a lot of interest and bidding was fierce. In the end, it sold for in excess of £70k and was destined for life as a workhorse in the big open fields of Lincolnshire.
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That's all for now - enjoy your birds!
Best wishes and thank you for your business,
Lesley
