Once again, it is the weather which is our major tormentor. Last year it was drought - this year rain.
You may have seen on BBC Countryfile last night that the South East of England has experienced 3 x the normal amount of rainfall for this time of year, causing extensive crop damage, whilst the rest of the country is experiencing below average rainfall. In one 24 hour period we had 2.5 inches of rain- which is 3/4 of a total months' rainfall for this time of year!
It has been a glorious day and I hope that you too are enjoying the fine weather. Spring really is here - finally!
I hope that this newsletter finds you surviving the stresses of yet another lockdown, and that you are still managing to enjoy your garden birds.
Many of you will have noticed that there have been some significant changes to our business since December. The two main ones being the move away from our previous courier APC, and the fact that you are now receiving your goods in cardboard boxes.
The farm is nearly wrapped up for the winter, however, we are still very busy with our bird food sales and we hope that this blog finds you safe and well.
Whilst the amazing weather of the first lockdown period meant that we could all be outside enjoying nature, our gardens and the great outdoors, this second lockdown has a different feeling. The short days and the wet weather are making everything seem more challenging.
We had a very lucky escape on the evening of August 8th - when our combine harvester caught fire.
Harvest time is nearly upon us! For me, it is the most exciting and enjoyable time of the farming year; the culmination of a year's work for Richard. It can also be an anxious time; will it all go well? Will the weather stay dry and warm? Despite thorough servicing and a lot of pre-harvest preparation, a combine seems to be an unknown entity until it starts working! We had some mechanical trouble last year (and the year before!) so we are really hoping this year will run smoothly, and if we have some long, dry summer days with evenings like these (photos were taken last year), that will be much appreciated too.
Cleaning jobs have been completed; the grain store, combine and grain trailers are all ready for action, and we have had a chance to do some painting and general maintenance around the farm.
These last few months have been very stressful for many people as we have had to adjust to dramatic lifestyle changes, some of which have been incredibly tough, and we are hoping that easier times are around the corner for us all.
Our farm crops are all suffering the stress of this long drought period, and they are all trying to save water the best way they can. The hot weather, combined with many days of really high winds has really reduced the relative humidity of the air. The wheat is showing significant 'leaf curl' - an ingenious way to reduce the plant surface area and hence evaporative loss but we are really hoping rain is on it's way. It is incredible to think that those are the same plants that survived drowning during the severe flooding we had in the Autumn! The real extremes of weather that seem to be becoming 'the norm' are certainly a challenge and no two years are ever the same.
We left behind 6 months of the wettest weather ever and last week the ground was baked dry after all the amazing recent sunshine we have had. One extreme to the other!
Some of our wheat on the heavier clay drowned and died, but there isn't much we can do about that now; just nurture the surviving crops in the best way we can. Those who follow my news will know what a torrid time Richard was having with cabbage stem flea beetle attack on our oil seed rape. I can now show you the effect that a cabbage stem flea beetle infestation has on a rape crop!
Our rape field after an attack
