Thank you!

A quick and inadequate thank you to everyone who came to Strickley on Saturday for the AGM and judging day. Thank you for coming so far (Devon, Ireland, Scotland and all points inbetween).

Thank you to Henry and James for all the tidying of yard, gardens and cows and to Michelle for sorting out all the tea and coffee (who knew farmers drank so many cups? A good job we had a tank full of milk down the yard).

And if you're passing and want a quieter look round, just let us know!

Don't forget!

Bales, bales and more bales

Having looked at the weather forecast, and not really believed that we would get another sunny haymaking day, we took the "safer" option and made big bale silage, and big bale hay (unwrapped).

Coming up

Mowing, scaling and baling - different shapes and sizes, depending on the weather, but we have booked contractors for small conventional hay bales, big bale wrapped silage, and large unwrapped hay bales (I think). But don't take my word for it - keep an eye on the fields across the road from Strickley.

And then, on Saturday 28th June its the Dairy Shorthorn Society's AGM at Strickley. Not only an AGM, but a judging day and farm walk. And - a homemade lunch. Everyone is welcome, and more details can be found if you click   here

Forty years ago today . . .

. . . James Edward Robinson made his first appearance. It was Fathers Day (a Sunday) and in between milkings (so Henry could be there for the birth than get back to work) and a week earlier than expected. Other than that, I don't remember much about it.

But, here's a few memories of a young, and older, James

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAMES!

Twitter

Are you following on us on Twitter? It's often more up to date than this Blog!

For general Strickley news (but really what I write) and the weather follow @StrickleyFarm

And for an alternative - and younger view on farm life and life in general - follow James on @JRfromStrickley

First cut may be in, but we're still busy

Grass is in the pit and muck is on the fields and they're gradually changing from brown back to green. It's quite amazing how much more silage we have this year - maybe 20% more. I'm not sure where the next cuts are going to go. We keep some fields for hay (depending on the weather) and rough estimates of the number of small bales that we'll get is quite alarming. Maybe we had better plan to be on holiday that week!
We had our Soil Association inspection yesterday, so now all the files and stacks of paper can go back in the relevant files and boxes in the office. I sometimes think the practical farming side of Organic is the easy bit, it's the paper trail that can wear you out. But if we couldn't prove what we've done (or not done), what would be the point?

On a sudden whim last week (well not too sudden, it's been long in the pipeline) Henry and James knocked down an old shed (known here as the Sawdust Shed - though it hasn't held sawdust for some time). It was full of a lot of "stuff" - all useful (so I'm told). This is now in the winter calf pens, so whatever we decide to do, there is a deadline. The plan is to build a new workshop, but now that we've got this lovely wide open space in the yard, the powers that be are wondering if they really want a workshop there.

And finally Henry and I did something last night we've never done - went to see a group at The Brewery that we had never heard of. I usually plan nights out well in advance, buying tickets as soon as they're available. But see this girl group advertised on the Brewery website, I clicked and bought tickets on a whim. Maybe it was the name that swayed me - The Henry Girls. And a good time was had by all. If they come your way, go an see them. There next appearance is on the Accoustic Stage at Glastonbury. Click here for their website.And on Twitter - @TheHenryGirls.