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MENDIP TIMES
A winter day in the life of a dairy farmer
AT this time of year about the only farm animals seen out in the fields are sheep. Dairy cows are tucked up nice and warm in their winter quarters 24/7. Other than the odd tractor and hedge trimmer managing the miles of hedgerow on Mendip the passerby doesn’t see much farming activity at this With NICK time of year. There might not be much GREEN happening in the fields but it is a very different story in the farmyard. Typically, dairy cows are milked twice a day. Cows are creatures of habit and like their lives to follow a regular routine. Regardless of the time, as long as it is the same each day the cows will be awake and ready to be milked every morning. They leave their living quarters and walk to the parlour. After a short wait in the collecting yard, they make their way into the milking parlour and are milked. In the meantime, someone is in the cow houses cleaning the cow beds off, cleaning the yards and putting fresh feed out for the cows. It’s always a race to try and get the yard work done as quickly as possible so the cows don’t have to stand around waiting before returning to their houses and have something to eat and drink. Once milking is finished, the milking parlour is cleaned
Roe deer
out and washed down and more often than not calves will need to be fed. With the early morning routine finished it is time for breakfast and a cup of tea before the daytime work. This might be feeding and bedding up other cattle on the farm, checking cows’ feet to make sure they are all ok, servicing and repairing buildings and equipment and all the other things that need doing on the farm. In no time it is time for afternoon milking, scraping out, feeding cows and calves and washing everything up again. You don’t see much action from the road but this goes on seven days a week to make sure everyone can have their daily dose of dairy products.
Nick Green is Farms Director for Alvis Bros Ltd based at Lye Cross Farm. He is responsible for the farming and estate business and is passionate about British food and farming. As well as the business, he is involved with a number of local and national farming charities.
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PAGE 10 • MENDIP TIMES • JANUARY 2022
