LAMBING MANAGEMENT WILL NEED TO BE ON THE BALL

The calendar says spring but winter still very much has us in her grip, writes Ben Robinson who farms near Alresford.

The last of the ewes were housed as the snow blew in. We have now started lambing; this year’s increase in flock size means management will need to be on the ball to ensure optimum lamb survival. The first 50 ewes have lambed smoothly. Vaccinating for enzootic abortion this year seems to have lessened the issues which often used to affect the start of lambing.

Our new shed was finished just in time for lambing. The building has made good use of an under-utilised area of the yard. It should enable straw to be kept under cover in the future, as well as providing space to increase the cattle numbers and lamb more ewes.

Unlike many areas of the South East, we are lucky to have supportive and understanding neighbours who have had no objections to our various farm construction projects over the past few years. I told my neighbour across the road that construction was finally going to start shortly so there might be a bit more noise than usual for a month or two and his response was: “Great news, I bloody love sheds!”

This is always a busy time of year; an annual whole herd TB test in mid-February followed by selling cattle and mucking out sheds which are then immediately filled by in-lamb ewes. The 14- to 18-month-old cattle, all sourced direct from nearby dairy farms, sold exceptionally well at Salisbury.

There seems to be high demand for Angus, Blue and Hereford stores driven by the strong finished beef price, although some of the heifers were bought for breeding. It is good to see my closest market doing so well. In both the weeks I was there selling, over 600 head of cattle were traded.

In addition to our own stock, we have taken on contract shepherding work for a nearby flock of 1,200 ewes. This flock lambs outdoors at the end of April, which means their peak labour requirements shouldn’t clash too much with those of the home flock. The arrangement will provide extra labour for them at busy times while justifying my employment of a local ex-Sparsholt student who approached me for livestock work a couple of months ago.

We drilled grazing herbal leys in late August. I thought I had best try something a bit more ‘regenerative’, seeing as there was so much positivity surrounding them in the farming press and online. The herbal leys established well through the autumn, but as it currently stands the fields with old ryegrass and clover are romping away despite the cold temperatures. Meanwhile the new herbal leys seem stubbornly sluggish to get going. The jury is out but I can’t say I’m wildly impressed so far.

I drilled the herbal leys with half an eye on ELMS and the Sustainable Farming Initiative. The shifting sands on these have been hard to keep up with for all but the most ardent DEFRA watcher. After being in a Higher Level Stewardship agreement for 11 years we are currently farming outwith the confines of any agreement. I must admit it’s wonderful.

I am in no great rush to enter a new agreement. Being outside an agreement gives us flexibility, so that if I need to pick up stock from one of my many landlords at short notice I have somewhere to put them that isn’t subject to restrictions on grazing, either by date or head of stock.

Furthermore, the idea of DEFRA paying for schemes only by ‘income forgone’ is insulting. Essentially they are saying that at best a farmer should aim to recover costs, with no profit incentive, and at far greater management hassle than simply drilling another acre of wheat or keeping another 20 ewes.

I would argue that bringing livestock back to our previously all-arable farm has had noticeable benefits for insect and birdlife. It may be unfashionable to say so, but whether I have four or six pairs of lapwings on the farm doesn’t really get me that excited. I have other things to worry about; my family, paying the mortgage, rent and wages, Southampton FCs ongoing relegation battle, whether or not the truck will pass its MOT…

Wildlife is lovely but I am not going to spend large sums of money improving it for no reward. Businesses don’t run on warm fuzzy feelings and ‘likes’ on Twitter. If the Government and population really values wildlife and biodiversity then they should fund environmental schemes to the extent that it is a sensible business decision to enter them, with scope for potential profit at a much greater level than ‘income forgone’.