Harvest 2013

We're reaching the end of a calving bonanza!...A blissful, unattended calving patch which has caused Dad undue worry as another calf appears in the field, but as they were all planned, we say bravo to easy calving. British Food Fortnight has gone back to it's roots and is celebrating Bringing Home the Harvest, so we're joining in with a long awaited Harvest 2013 Round-up!  And this year, you get to see the Mighty Mercator in action.

The Mercator's friendly Silverback Gorilla emerged from hibernation and roared into action...

..and the Mercator glid gracefully into the fields like it wasn't a day over 30.

That is, after the damage caused by LDF's bionic mice - who eat and line their nests with copper wire, was sorted out. Well'ard mice.

This year we were able to take advantage of the perfectly timed spells of fine weather to complete the harvest in record time relative to the past few years.Despite being short on horsepower, all was gathered in safely and Hallelujah! Praise the Heavens!, the bales were beautifully stacked in a high heap to avoid the horizontal formation of last year...and the year before.  Sometimes, I like to think He listens to us.

With the Mercator tucked safely into bed, we were on to bale hauling, multiple calvings (more about those soon), with Dad subsoiling, hedge cutting and prepping everything to start all over again!   Plus, the start of the Christmas orders in the farm shop!  But best of all...the milkstand is back!

Bring on Harvest 2014!

Watch out...

...there's a Dodo about.  It is the only explanation, and my use of an average chicken egg proves it.  So, twitchers, come and discover the Stour Valley's best kept secret: the Island Nation of Wiston's Dodo Colony.

NB. Please refrain from calling the dodos 'oversized pigeons', it makes them angry.

Name that cow!

We're keeping this lovely Hereford for breeding and think she deserves a name...

As part of the 'Carpet Dynasty' (Rug, Teppich, Alfombra, Axminster), all floor covering suggestions welcome!

The first name drawn from Humphrey's hat receives a gift voucher for the farm shop. Happy carpeting!

Back British Farming Charter

British food supplies would run out on 14th August if all the food produced in Britain in a year was stored and eaten from 1st January onwards.

But our farmers are determined to reverse this trend and produce enough food for the needs of generations to come - but we need politicians, supermarkets, retailers, food processors, restaurants and cafes to play their part to let them do their job.

The National Farmers' Union have created a charter calling for a commitment to put British farming at the heart of the challenge of feeding us all in the future.

Sign the Back British Farming Charter and show your support!

The Madness of The Stour

The Stour Valley has not been very quiet for the past few days.  The replacement of portage points on the River Stour has kept the valley ringing with the sound of pile driving, or 'Wiston fracking', and we've all been driven a little bit mad.

To share this momentous occasion - and what can only be the arrival of the QE2, the portage points are so big, we bring you a brief history of pile driving in the valley.  Are you sitting comfortably?  Then you're not in the Stour Valley...earplugs in, and I'll begin.

Sadly, not a bowler hat and cane, or non-fluorescent waistcoat to be seen today. Standards are slipping.