Good afternoon,
I hope the sun is shining where you are. We’ve had a good full week, with new calves landing in the yard every day. We’re a third of the way through them now and look forward to greeting the rest over the next few weeks, and turning them all out as soon as it is dry enough.
We pregnancy tested the cows due to calve in the autumn on Tuesday, and 90% are in calf. You’d hope it to be higher but the wet weather last summer meant the grass wasn’t calorie & nutrient rich enough to keep the girls in tip top conceiving condition. We’ve also noticed our beef cattle are taking longer to fatten and finish than usual, and put this largely down to last year’s grass quality. We’ve upped their finishing ration but excellent beef can’t be rushed, which means our supply has been struggling to keep up with demand since the start of the year. We’re starting to catch up now, and the shop fridge has plenty of tomahawks, fillets, flat irons and mince for tomorrow.
Our water harvesting kicked into action this week, with a slightly superfluous filtration and UV sterilising system. It collects all the rainwater that lands on the barns, and feeds into the water troughs and our pressure washer, which we use to clean the trailers and yard. There is an issue with water shortage with all of the building developments in the area, so it’s good to get our cattle off grid and reduce water run-off from the yard.
It’s also time to start pruning the orchard, now that the ground is drying up. If anyone fancies some time with the secateurs in the sunshine, let me know. We sent 6,000L of 2023 cider base to Somerset to be blended with Ringden Farm apple juice and packed into kegs & bottles on Wednesday - so we’re looking forward to pouring, delivering and drinking the fresh batch soon.
That’s pretty much all from me today - Rosie is running the yard shop & pouring the pints tomorrow, whilst Patrick fires up the grill & serves burgers from 11am to 4pm. Rosie’s sheep have been looking lush and she has plenty of lamb joints, cutlets & chops to sell alongside our beef. Make space in your fridge and come fill your boots with something delicious for the weekend.
Hope to see you in the sunshine soon,
Rachel
Spring Morris Dance - 22nd March, 11am-4pm, more info here
The Trenchmore Table ft. Spiced Sussex & Michael Notman-Watt - 4th April, 6pm-10pm, menu & booking here
Spring Market - 26th April, 11am-4pm, more info here
Silly Moo 7 fun run - 14th June, 12pm start, booking & info here
