Livestock Farmer Focus FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: Gravity-fed water boosts grazing block supplyAs we see yet another prime minister quit their post, and with change at the helm of Defra, can it get any worse? I suspect it will, as we appear… FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: Strong grass growth prompts early ewe purchaseI am writing this sat by the pool in Sardinia, and what a lovely place it is. June has always been the time for a family holiday for us, and… FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: Cereals wowed this Welsh hill farmerThe closest I usually get to arable is our annual wholecrop harvest or complaining about the price of straw. But I was drawn to attend the Cereals event at Diddly… FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: Tough times for herds on less than 30p/litreWe consider ourselves fortunate to have our Arla milk contract. It has delivered a good milk price and provides opportunities – not quite the protection of a full supermarket contract,… FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: Spares fill pickup for daily cattle checksGrazing on the Salisbury Plain, our cattle can be quite far from the farmyard, so being prepared for all eventualities is key when we go out and check round. The… FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: Fine silage weather kept tedding to minimumAs usual, there has been plenty going on. May saw us inseminate 384 cows in the first three weeks to give us a submission rate of 95%. Heifers were all… FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: Spot-on forecast sees silage safely clampedThere’s nothing like the sound and sight of your neighbours mowing grass to get you phoning the contractor. We still share a set of double mowers, even though we gave… FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: Westerwolds crop of choice on pig groundThe recent hot weather will have been a challenge for farmers across the board. I was very grateful that we had only just taken piglets into the indoor units. And… FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: Talk to a neighbour – it could save a lifeWhat a year it’s been for grass growth. We've had a bumper first cut with more than 1,000t in the clamp already – that's 50% of what we need for… FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: Highs and lows of bull sales test resilienceMake hay while the sun shines, as the saying goes. The clamps are half filled with lovely dry, high-quality clover and herbal leys. I look forward to seeing how they… FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: Burden of risk in cattle trade must be sharedWe have a brief respite before the summer workload of silage, hay and breeding begins. It’s a time to reflect on the spring just passed and work out where it… FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: Rotational grazing - go on, you might enjoy itThe cattle were turned out on 24 April and, hopefully, they will stay out for longer than they have been in. Weanlings are grazing where cattle have not grazed for… More articles
