Farmer Focus: Spring lamb sale a welcome cash injection

The first bunch of our spring lambs have been sold – always a very welcome boost to our cashflow after months of outgoings.

I went to watch the grading of the lambs. I find it beneficial, gaining feedback straight away and helping to get your eye in for the season ahead.

Lambs were an average weight of 19.3kg, 0.2kg heavier than the first draw last year and also improved grades. The only lamb to fall out of spec was a lamb weighing a very annoying 21.6kg.

It was also encouraging to get a base price 35p/kg more than last year, but 82p/kg less than in 2014.

See also: Read more from the Livestock Farmer Focus writers 

May has been a very busy month catching up after a dismal April. Nineteen acres of whole crop silage has eventually being sown in good conditions and is growing well. 

Silage turnout was later than normal and fertiliser has been spread. 

See also: Welsh border farms bottom of RPA pile

All lambs have now been drenched and dosed with fly strike protection. Hill lambs have been marked and we are very pleased with how they look. Next job will be shearing.

We recently hosted a Farming Connect grassland focus event looking at damage after a wet winter.

It was a very interesting day with the added benefit of having grassland consultant Charlie Morgan give advice on our grass leys and soil structure. Looks like a subsoiler will be the next big purchase.

We all had a very exciting afternoon when the BBC came to interview Mark on why he thinks it will be better for agriculture if we stay in the EU. 

They filmed some using a drone, the crew were a very friendly bunch who very much enjoyed the Welsh countryside. For them it was two days of filming for what would amount to only a three-minute clip.

Thankfully the dog worked perfectly for the cameras, so there will be no need for any sound editing.

Congratulations to everyone who participated in our young farmers rally. The sun shone and it was a very enjoyable day.  It is always great to see the effort, teamwork and enthusiasm flowing. 

Mark and Helen Williams run 1,000 ewes and 40 suckler cows across 283ha of part owned and rented land.