Farming

Autumn report...

As autumn takes hold, the dry days of summer, the heat wave and drought seem a distant memory.

Further east, the dry weather meant farmers harvested their cereal crops in record time. However when it’s so hot the machinery becomes a cocktail of hot, dry, straw dust and grease which is so easily ignited. Combine fi res subsequently caught many unharvested fi elds alight which is devastating. Some crops also became too dry and farmers had to wait to harvest until dew formed. We managed to get to a few local shows this summer. I judged the Whiteface Dartmoor sheep at Totnes Show In my childhood, I’m sure we had loads of long, hot summers with water short on the farm and vivid and although the family got a bit bored as I pondered over woolly exhibits, it was a lovely day. Chas and Dave memories of being scolded by mum showed our team at Okehampton or dad if a tap was on too long! Two Show as we were away, and Gem weeks of hot weather this summer and the boys helped me at Chagford did seem to send the sensationalist Show. We didn’t win much, but were media into apocalyptic mood – in the running in some strong classes. however it was hot and the animals The main thing was the boys both did not enjoy the extreme heat. got a rosette in the classes and in the The lack of grass was ok as animals young handler contest. don’t eat loads when it’s hot, but Our Great Gather event was a real water was a major issue. Greenwell success; 40 members of the public is watered by two springs: one rises joined us for this historic spectacle. and falls with the seasons and usually I, various family members and my provides plenty of water; the other is neighbour Bill walked the large slow and consistent, but never stops. group about a mile into the centre of Only on the driest years do we lose our common adjacent to Greenwell. the main one - this was one of those years. There was From the high ground we watched my brother Neil, the plenty of water for the house, but with cattle and sheep lads helping on quads, my niece Bryony on her horse drinking it and watering the garden, it runs short quickly! Lady and eight sheep dogs at work as they gradually Fortunately, most of the young cattle had running water encircled a huge area, gathering the fl ock of hundreds. near the river and the cows on the common had plentiful At the same time my family team of helpers and Bill water. But we couldn’t use lots of fi elds for grazing, and gave a running commentary on how a gather works; grass earmarked to be cut just didn’t grow. So, we will how the common works, the way the sheep, cattle and be short of winter feed, although there is still time as the ponies sculpt the iconic Dartmoor landscape; the history ground is warm and the rain has come - it will just be of commoning and the archaeology. Usually being in late. the actual gather, I struggled to juggle talking to people and instinctively tried to give instructions to the eager but inexperienced helpers – mostly to slow them down so we could keep up! However, we achieved a mutually workable pace, everyone spread out and we brought the fl ock in safely. We’ll defi nitely do it again next July. n Mat Cole, Greenwell Farm

Winning rosettes at the Chagford Show

The Great Gather event