It has been an event filled fortnight here! On the 6th we hosted the SCBS AGM, and on the 7th we hosted the West Midlands Shetland Sheep society – and had our Shetland flock inspected. Thankfully they passed muster! On the 10th we hosted an RAU visit (Royal Agricultural University, Cirencester), and we were pleased to learn that they have a Professor in Biodynamics on their staff. They are in fact leading a Biodynamics Research conference in September which we might be able to combine with another farm visit here, and the filling of the cow horns. You may recall we had a biodynamics group with us last year for the filling of the cow horns, and when we dug them up earlier this summer, we had some of the best 500 we had produced in a little while. Finally, we host the Inkberrow Horse Show this coming Saturday. Jumps are in place, water troughs are being readied, and the field for parking will be topped – and thanks to this sudden heat, the ground will be firm.

The lambs and ewes are looking good, in spite of the two cases of flystrike, and the 2 cases of Orf. Last week we weighted them, and the 21 lambs that were underweight were wormed. The rest of the flock are doing well.

Across the farm, we have topped the fields where the animals have come out, and where the thistles, nettles and docks are high above the grass. We have continued our muck spreading when we can. There is still very little ragwort spotted, but all plants seen are being pulled. We have been fortunate enough to have a baby Hare cross our paths, and we see a Kite swopping over us every day now. There were plenty of mayflies this year, but very few butterflies have been spotted. A real treat was that on a walk, a Buzzard’s nest was seen with two chicks, both looking ‘semi-fledged’.

We managed to cut for hay in fields 13 and 2. Interestingly, despite the quality of the cut being good, field 13 produced half the bales we took from it last year. Field 2 similarly had only 28 bales taken from it. No doubt this is a consequence of the spring weather. Of course, the rain fell between the cut and turning, and during baling, so we actually have haylage. We still have plans to cut 5i and 5j as soon as the weather is right, and the contractors are available.

For the cattle, this has been a fortnight of more cases of the New Forest Eye infection, specifically targeting the Young Stock. We have noted field 5K seems to be a troublemaker for the cows. It is also possible that the long, wet grasses can also harbour ticks, so we are on the lookout for them now as these might be a reason why the cattle are succumbing to the eye infections.

Either way, we have now brought the young stock into the barn for ease of treating, and in the hope that whatever might be aggravating them in the fields is removed.

For a long time, we have been told that the infections stem from a trauma – a thistle jab for example – and the flies then infect that wound. However, things aren’t adding up quite that simply. We were also under the working hypothesis that once an animal has been infected, they are offered a level of immunity. This was born out in the fact that cases are in the Young Stock, not the older animals in the Suckler Herd. Except, this year, the animals in the young stock are reinfecting, some more than 4 cases this year alone.

We are talking to the vets, we are reading farming almanacs from the past to glean hints and tips, and we are researching all possible preventative measures. We are also talking again to the homoeopaths, and, will spray the cattle with 501 to strengthen their systems. One new angle is to test for IBR, a bovine respiratory disease which causes runny noses and eyes in the cattle. If this is found to be present in our cattle, it might be our cause. Better yet, there is a vaccine for this infection. So, we wait for those results, and in the meantime, continue to do all we can for the animals.

Looking ahead, there will be various members of the farm team and family away, turn by turn, over the next 6 weeks, therefore it seems prudent to pause our notes during that time. We will be back with you at the end of August with a full late-summer round up and wish you all a very happy summer ahead.

‘Moo Cow Moo’ by Edmund Vance Cooke

My papa held me up to the Moo Cow Moo
So close I could almost touch,
And I fed him a couple of times or so,
And I wasn’t a fraidy-cat, much.

But if my papa goes in the house,
And my mamma she goes in too,
I keep still like a little mouse
For the Moo Cow Moo might Moo.

The Moo Cow’s tail is a piece of rope
All ravelled out where it grows;
And it’s just like feeling a piece of soap
All over the Moo Cow’s nose.

And the Moo Cow Moo has lots of fun
Just switching his tail about,
But if he opens his mouth, why then I run,
For that’s where the Moo comes out.

The Moo Cow Moo has deers on his head,
And his eyes stick out of their place,
And the nose of the Moo Cow Moo is spread
All over the Moo Cow’s face.

And his feet are nothing but fingernails,
And his mamma don’t keep them cut,
And he gives folks milk in water pails,
When he don’t keep his handles shut.

But if you or I pull his handles, why
The Moo Cow Moo says it hurts,
But the hired man sits down close by
And squirts, and squirts, and squirts.