August '07

The month began with some autumnal, cool nights and heavy dews in the morning. It is not hay making weather, so we have opted for haylage. We had a window of just two fine days, with hot sun and a helpful breeze. Our contractors did a wonderful job, not leaving a mark on the fields despite the heavy machinery, and left us 72 big bales of winter feed, which should just about last from October/November until the grass gets going again and the fields dry out next April.

The great news has been the arrival of a first calf, then a second, and in just over a week all three mums had calves at foot. They have demanded lots of attention, to see that the calves suckle from all quarters, which involves hand milking oversized teats which the calves cannot suckle. Milk production, which is prodigious from our Welsh Blacks, takes a few days to get into line with demand; our cows could easily suckle two calves, but organic calves are not readily available just when you want then.