Farming

Farming Dreary days and blustery days when

Family Law Advice

We realise talking about divorce or separation is very personal and so we are offering virtual appointments by Zoom. As an alternative, we offer a one off FREE telephone appointment for initial advice on Wednesdays 9am – 1pm

To book an appointment please call us on 01747 852377

Country Diary with AJ Selby

Dull November brings the blast, then the leaves go whirling past.... November is a month

TYRES AROUND LTD Mobile Service

Agricultural Specialist Over 35 year’s Experience

NIGEL MARTIN 07921 929891

We provide a friendly, local service at competitive prices. Based at Redlynch near Bruton, we supply Car, Commercial, Agricultural, Plant & 4x4 tyres and offer a 24hr breakdown service. We won’t be beaten on price.

Call us on

01749 813957 or

07971 012628 or find us at that does its own thing; it can offer us brilliant blue skies as the sun rises, to leave a hoar frost across the landscape, or it can blow the very last leaves out of the trees and turn umbrellas inside out. Winnie The Pooh’s Blustery Day. The stunning autumn colours are still visible but the leaves are falling with the same regularity as the chiming of the church clock, the ticking time that moves the days inexorably towards the close of the year. In open scrub a myriad of spider webs are strung across shrubs and tall grasses, each thread glistening with moisture in the weakening sunshine. This month also brings its share of dreary days, when the sun fails to smile at us and the sky is as grey and still as the heron on the lake. The poet Thomas Hood captured these melancholy days in verse: No sun – no moon! No morn – no noon –No dawn – no dusk – no proper time of day. No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease, No comfortable feel in any member –

Dangers of acorns and sky lanterns

By Alice Miller of Friars Moor vets As a farm vet, I get to admire the beautiful golden and red colours of the many hedgerows I pass. Whilst it is lovely to take in the autumnal scenes it also reminds me of some of the hidden dangers, we may face on farms this time of year. We are lucky to see so many ancient oak trees in our fields and meadows, however, their abundant acorns are a real risk to ruminant animals. Ruminants include cows, sheep, goats and deer. They are herbivorous animals who have four stomach compartments, the rumen, reticulum, omasum and abomasum. Food such as grass and hay pass through each chamber to get digested. Acorns contain tannins, and when digested in the rumen produce acids that are highly toxic. These acids can cause ulcers in the gut which leads to colic and diarrhoea, but they also cause damage to the kidneys. The functioning www.southwestyreservices.co.uk

kidneys remove other toxins from the blood into the urine, but with acorn poisoning this function is impeded which leads to further toxin build up, blood poisoning and eventual death. It is best to graze them away from oak trees at this time of year as they may be tempted to find these alternative food sources. If acorn poisoning is suspected, offer fresh water and hay, and call your vet. Another problem many farmers encounter this time of year are sky lanterns. They can have a disastrous impact for animals and the environment. We have had to operate on cows to remove these wires from their stomachs, after they have ingested them, but sadly, often the damage is irreversible causing trauma and infection to vital organs before anything can be done. On some farms the problem is so bad that farmers have to routinely administer magnetic boluses to their cows. The magnet sits in the rumen and any ingested metal then sticks to it rather than passing through the digestive tract. Pleasingly many councils across the UK have already banned the use of sky-lanterns.

Independent veterinary services for livestock in Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire

Collection points for livestock medicines and supplies at Sherborne, Sturminster Newton, Blandford and Shaftesbury Please call the office on 01258 472314 www.friarsmoorvets.co.uk

November blows in

No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees, No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds –November! Walking into the old wood on one of those still, dull afternoons, the silence is almost deafening. Not a sound comes from the trees so the other senses are enhanced; the smell of the decaying leaf mould and the sight of small

CLASSIFIEDS

3 ton tipping trailer, good condition, £800, call 07816 536788.

Young friendly flock 23 CharollaisX breeding ewes running with Charollais ram from 27.09.20. FABL. HeptovacP. Blandford 01258 860107.

Pedigree black non-short Dexter cow with 16mth dun steer calf at foot. Kings Stag 01258817988

Caravan removal service, old unwanted caravans, cars, vans etc. Metal, yard, garden, garage removal clearances undertaken. Please call 01935 873169

WANTED – yard or area of land to rent in Dorset. With or without a covered area, please contact Tony on 07415198735.

WANTED Sheep Grazing, Tisbury/Shaftesbury area. Anything considered, suitable for 20-200 ewes, Can electric fence if necessary - 07968 049218

Muscovy Ducks, Ready for new Homes, call 01963 362 936 details that are missed at other times of year. The wren busying herself in the undergrowth, the contrasting greens of moss and lichens on tree bark, the bracket fungi jutting out of tall trunks, and the activity of small insects in rotten branches, scattered about like so much driftwood. As dusk falls, the light fades fast in the forest and as you are enveloped by the blackness so the sounds start again. The call of an owl, the barely audible activity of an invisible creature in the near undergrowth, the rustle of leaves as a breath of wind whispers across the forest floor. When the moon peeps from behind a cloud the branches stand out as bare blackened fingers reaching for the night sky. Leaving the wood behind and heading for home along the headland of an old pasture you may be lucky to see the ghostly silhouette of a barn owl sweeping the rough turf looking for prey. This quintessential English farmland bird is still a sight to behold however many times you have seen it.

Roofing Sheets, New Boxed Profile, Galvanised Steel, Heavy Duty, Extra Wide Cover, Most Sizes Available also Clear GRP Roof Lights, Ridging, Fixing Screws, Delivery Possible. Please contact 01823 674414 or 07766 898886

POL HYBRID Pullets for Sale. Started to lay 07545 468 700

Wanted to rent long term, barn 10 mile radius Stour Provost contact Maureen email maureen469@ yahoo.co.uk or 01747838079

Mob: 07966 244536

Hydraulic Hose Specialists and Stockists to the Agriculture, Forestry, Automotive and Transport Industry

Pneumatic fittings Quick release couplings Air brake fittings Pressure wash hoses + lances Hose clamps Up to 1 ½ “Hose stocked Hydraulic Hoses Variation of oils Mobile service available

Cote Farm Works, Kilmington, Warminster, Wiltshire BA12 6RF Email: hoses@ardiesels.co.uk

Pedigree polled Hereford Bull, 18 months, well bred, suitable for heifers. 01963 220620 Flail Hedging, Hedge Laying, Haulage. Please phone Andrew 01747 855198

WANTED dead or fallen trees, NOT rotted, ash, oak or beech - anything considered. Taken away and cleared. Tree felling service also available. Call 01935 873169

Silver Bantam also Black Bantam ducks £10 each 01963 250240

Portland ram lambs, 3, friendly and quiet, for sale. 07947474317

Grazing land wanted in North Dorset to rent for sheep. Call Kieran on 07548 171553

Two Pedigree Ryeland White Ram Lambs. 9 months. Docile, very friendly great grass cutters. £120 each. 07511 748344

Sheep Keep wanted for small flocks of sheep. Anything considered, 15 mile radius of Wincanton 07564277083

BWM Shearlings from Est Registered Flock for sale. Level lot bucket trained.01725518356

7 Store lambs @ £75 4 Zwartble Ewe lambs £110 each Zwartble Ram lamb @ £125 07736 425211 85

Farming We’ve scrumptious lockdown treats

Ruth Kimber’s Farmer’s Diary

Colours of Autumn are still delighting us, but a sharp frost and a windy day will fetch the leaves off the trees, however the starker beauty of winter still holds visual pleasure. Brisk walks with the thought of hot soups, casseroles and Sunday roasts are some of the compensations of winter. Covid-19 delivers more challenges, our kitchen café and Somerset Trading Barn will be closed for walk-in customers. However, The Kitchen at Kimber’s will be offering a take away service: To begin with, The Tiffin Club Wednesday evenings. Breakfast take outs Fridays and Saturdays, takeaway menu Friday nights. Phone 07864 466867 or the shop for details and bookings. Our chef will also be making some ready meals which will be available in the farm shop. Life on the farm follows much the same seasonal routine as usual. Calving is still underway, we have a mixture of dairy heifer’s calves, the future milkers, a few dairy bull calves, which will be grown for rose veal and the remainder are Aberdeen Angus, of which the heifers (females) will supply the farm shop and Kitchen, while the bulls (males/steers) will be sold as store cattle. The turkeys are growing well, still enjoying the pastures when the sun shines, but are quick to decide to keep inside when it rains! The geese don’t seem to mind the rain so much. Orders are coming in well and we are quietly hopeful that the great British public will find a way to celebrate Christmas. The land is beginning to take on water and care must be taken to prevent damage to next year’s crops. There is always the inevitable treading around gateways and feeders, to which there is no solution on wetter claybased soil. As with all things a compromise has to be made. If we bring in the animals early, they leave behind valuable feed (grass) in the fields which in turn stifles next year’s spring growth, adding to winter feed costs, not to mention 1animal health... most cattle keep healthier outside in the fields, as long as they have a dry bed and shelter, so we keep ours out as long as sensibly possible. But depending on the weather we bring them in for the winter. The cows in particular soon tell you when they would prefer to stay in the barns with a dry bed and food laid on! And again, in the spring the opposite is true, when they reach over the gate and smell the young spring grass growing. Hedge trimming has been done on the farm for the time being, taking care to leave enough food and habitat for the wildlife, some insects rely on second year growth for their caterpillars, so again it’s a balancing act to maintain stock proof hedges with a variety of plants to keep a thick barrier and at the same time provide for the wildlife we share the farm with. We are guided by law when we can trim the hedges which is 1st September –28th February, which helps protect wildlife, but it can be tricky to do before the land becomes too wet for a tractor to work without making ruts and damaging the soil. So many aspects to cover in this job alone, there is still a little more to do but the land is now too wet, we will wait till after Christmas and see if we can finish then.