FARMING
Voice Of A Farmer
Silaging on Rawston Farm in the 1960s. Image: James Cossins Silage has been replacing hay-making on British farms since WW2, becoming the main form of conserving grass to produce feed for the over-wintering of cattle.
with James Cossins, a 5th generation farmer in the Tarrant Valley.
In last month’s article I mentioned that we farmers did not enjoy any useful rainfall during the whole of April and that we, and other growers, could do with some in May. But last month we’ve had rain almost every day! So far the totals amount to 150mm or 6 inches. This has led to the rapid growth of our
meant that the silage making process of providing winter feed for cattle has been severely delayed. At least when the weather does improve we shall have a good crop although may be lacking in quality. Much of the farming politics has been involved with the trade talks with Australia. The result of the Brexit Deal has led to the United Kingdom being able to negotiate trade deals with countries outside the EU.
with Australia may be a bad deal for the farmers. With a tariff-free deal being on the table this could mean food being imported produced at lower standards to those expected in this country. This would put the UK producer at a disadvantage and unable to compete on price. Let’s hope there will be better labelling in place soon so that consumers have accurate information of how and where the food was produced, and hopefully will support local producers where possible. With the weather now improving we have been able to get on with our silage making providing feed for our cattle next winter.
Silage making in 2021
grass and crops which has Image: James Cossins
The trade deal being agreed
It’s always an exciting time of year bringing in the first harvest of grass especially when you are relying on various bits of machinery not to break down! 47
