University of Oxford Zoology Department
It has been some weeks since the last Farm Diary before Christmas and it is already the end of January! Events on the farm over the turn of the year have been dominated by water and ‘man flu’, two of the winter challenges.
The Thames burst its banks in mid-January and the residents of west Oxford held their breath. We were fully prepared and the flood meadows did their job in holding the waters, which have now largely subsided. ‘Man flu’ was more of a challenge and no fun for the sufferers!
On the farm itself the stock are all doing well. The cattle are housed and, having acclimatised to their indoor quarters and the change in diet from grass to silage which always ‘checks’ growth, are growing well and looking healthy. On sunny days like today the benefit of the bark yard really comes into its own: giving the animals access to fresh air and sunshine seems to make both stock and humans perk up.
In the next two weeks we will go through all the young stock to identify those replacements we want to add to the herd for breeding, the breeding heifers to sell, and the remainder which will be finished for beef by next winter. Two of the best male calves were kept entire, and they will be judged for the potential as bulls to sell for breeding in the spring sales - always provided the movement restrictions resulting from the Blue Tongue outbreak allows the sales to take place.
The pigs have been particularly difficult to market. The restricted trading conditions resulting from the movement bans last year have left a backlog of stock in the UK, which some industry experts estimate will last until the end of February. Of course, trying to hold stock in peak condition is impossible, and the double whammy includes reducing quality and additional feed.
Fortunately we have been developing opportunities with a small local abattoir for our Gloucester Old Spots where the excellent eating qualities are recognised in the regional market place. We are also seeing increased interest in half and whole pigs for the home freezer with customers collecting on the last Saturday of the month, direct from the farm.
Lamb sales have also picked up after Christmas and, with exports flowing again, the markets have improved. Within the next couple of weeks we will scan the pregnant ewes and split them into groups carrying single lams, twins or triplets, so we can adjust their nutrition accordingly.
All the media activity on chickens has had a most interesting effect on the market with increased demand for both ‘standard’ and ‘welfare friendly’ birds. The greatest challenge is getting birds to their finishing weight in winter weather and where anyone is going to get supplies of organic feed. The impact of global trading on the farm is only set to increase.