In January the results were announced for the Northumbria Holstein Breeders Club annual herds competition , which is always judged in the previous August.
This year we were pleased with our successes.
As a farm we managed to lift the titles of Best Large Herd , Top herd on Production and also Top Herd on Inspection . It's always pleasing when a judge appreciates what we are trying to do . On the individual classes , Chloanne Webster Gracious was named Super Cow , and Ellenneff Duce Cavaliero was placed first in the Heifer on Production class. Chloanne Goldwyn Gracious 2 came third in her class for Cow on Inspection.
As I've no doubt said before ,It is always a pleasure to have a judge , or indeed anyone come along and look at your herd , they will always see things that you have taken for granted, and maybe offer you that one missing nugget of advice that spurs you on .Sometimes things are staring you straight in the face and you fail to realise it . In my case , this year I didn't enter the Progeny group , It's not a class I find easy to find entries for . Well on the day of judging , I slowly found myself admiring daughters of a bull called Kings-Ransom Duce . Slightly on the smaller side than what we are used to , these animals are quite black , but the most amazing aspect of these heifers is the shape of their udders , a real joy to see when they come in the parlour to be milked. So why didn't I put in a few of these for the progeny group ? I haven't a clue , but I will be following these girls closely over the coming months and if at all possible , I will try the class this year .
Frankham Sept Storm Ethel has had a calf , and this time , a cracking heifer calf. The sire is Ked Outside Jeeves , and is again , another welcomed member to the Ethel family.
As I've had a few of the girls calf , my thoughts are now turning to getting them back in calve again. I have bought some Cogent Twist semen this year . He seems a fairly handy bull , so fingers crossed for some heifer calves later on .
I am also considering implanting some embryo's in the near future . I have a couple of heifers that would lend themselves quite well to this , and if I can rake up a couple more , It would certainly sweeten the job with regard to price etc. .
The main herd is down in numbers at the moment , which means that the dry cow pens are positively bulging . This will reverse itself in the coming weeks as they all start to calve down and join the ranks of the milkers again. Until then though , I am making the most of the slightly easier milkings , knowing that once the numbers rise again , so does the time taken to milk them !
Wednesday, 9 February 2011
Friday, 7 January 2011
Jess
This week I had to say a final "goodbye" to my Border Collie , Jess. Old age finally got the better of her , she was 15 and a half , which by any stretch of the imagination has been one hell of an innings for a dog . As much as you know these moments are going to come , and her health was failing all the time , it's still one of the hardest moments . Jess was just one of life's constants , she was always there, usually under your feet or lying in the way . Behind a door was always a favourite so that when you got up in the morning the door would push her too !
I "bought" Jess as a pup , and she was from amazing working parents , but I have never used her as a working dog . The instict was definately there, and she did have a general idea how to move a herd of cows along . I say "bought" , because i actually traded in a washing machine for her . Best trade ever !
A better natured dog you'll never meet . She would bark at strange cars and the postman , but would be wagging behind . Wagging the tail that would touch more electric fences than she would have liked , latterly she learned to keep the tail down ! She could "header" a football better than any dog I've ever seen on the TV do , she would chase football and the kids all the time . Her skills never quite developed on the retrieval side of things . She could run after a stick , then just lie down beside it , or bring it half way and then make you go and get the damn thing yourself .
When the kids were young , Jess develped a habit of hovering around their high-chairs , just waiting on the spillages to land on the floor from the trays above . Always amazing with the kids , she always looked as if she was protecting them at all times .
I got a black Labrador about 3 years ago , not sure how Jess would react . It was the best desicion I ever made as I'm quite sure it gave Jess an extra couple of years . It seemed to give her an extra bit of zest , and above all a play mate .
As much as she was a faily quiet dog in the last few months , it's is a strange feeling in the house at the moment , and I know that Max, the Lab is kind of at a lose end , knowing something isn't quite right .
I know that I'll never replace Jess , you can't achieve the impossible .
Just a pet in a million . She is missed by us all .
I "bought" Jess as a pup , and she was from amazing working parents , but I have never used her as a working dog . The instict was definately there, and she did have a general idea how to move a herd of cows along . I say "bought" , because i actually traded in a washing machine for her . Best trade ever !
A better natured dog you'll never meet . She would bark at strange cars and the postman , but would be wagging behind . Wagging the tail that would touch more electric fences than she would have liked , latterly she learned to keep the tail down ! She could "header" a football better than any dog I've ever seen on the TV do , she would chase football and the kids all the time . Her skills never quite developed on the retrieval side of things . She could run after a stick , then just lie down beside it , or bring it half way and then make you go and get the damn thing yourself .
When the kids were young , Jess develped a habit of hovering around their high-chairs , just waiting on the spillages to land on the floor from the trays above . Always amazing with the kids , she always looked as if she was protecting them at all times .
I got a black Labrador about 3 years ago , not sure how Jess would react . It was the best desicion I ever made as I'm quite sure it gave Jess an extra couple of years . It seemed to give her an extra bit of zest , and above all a play mate .
As much as she was a faily quiet dog in the last few months , it's is a strange feeling in the house at the moment , and I know that Max, the Lab is kind of at a lose end , knowing something isn't quite right .
I know that I'll never replace Jess , you can't achieve the impossible .
Just a pet in a million . She is missed by us all .
Wednesday, 5 January 2011
Our Dairy Farm Assurance Audit
Yesterday it was our Dairy Farm Assurance Audit, an on farm inspection covering many aspects deemed to be important in the safe, clean , responsible production of food , in our case milk . This audit used to be carried out by the milk buyers themselves , who for us is Arla , but for the last 3 audits it has been an independent company carrying it out on behalf of the industry.
When these audits get mentioned there is usually a sigh from folk and the look of dread . On the whole I have always tried to approach them with a positive attitude, and would like to think that by us being quality assured that it will bring us a premium for our product . Sadly that never seems to be the case, with it being a compulsory audit anyway. Any non-compliance's must be rectified with-in 28 days. Happily , we were passed with flying colours, so big sighs of relief all round .
So what all was checked ? Well on arrival the milking parlour was checked for cleanliness ans my milking routine was discussed to make sure that no short cuts are taken during milking . In the dairy , the doors walls and lights were given the once over to check for cracks , defects and in general to ensure that the room was vermin and bird proof . We checked the cows housing , which was fine as the cubicles were all new just last year . All pens of stock were checked to see that all animals had adequate room and that they all could have contact with other animals etc . As you can start to see , all these checks are pretty common sense things which all farmers/stockmen around the country are ensuring high standards of anyway.
In the office is where the real fun and games starts with these inspections . Piles and piles of paperwork , layed out , just in case he needed to see relevant evidence of this and that .
So , medicine records , movement records, staff training records , animal transport records , chemical safety data sheets , milk quality facts , herd health plan , vet visits , feed delivery records to name but a few , were all checked , just to ensure that we operate a safe and clean operation .
Traceability is a vital element of food production and that is a major part of producers paperwork . All inputs must be traceable back to source and all sources must be "this'n'that" registered . it's a real mine field.
Well , the bottom line of all this is that we ticked all the right boxes and we live to fight another day , with a certificate on the wall to prove such a fact. It would be nice to be receiving a premium for a quality product, produced to the exacting standards that the industry sets . Maybe one day !
When these audits get mentioned there is usually a sigh from folk and the look of dread . On the whole I have always tried to approach them with a positive attitude, and would like to think that by us being quality assured that it will bring us a premium for our product . Sadly that never seems to be the case, with it being a compulsory audit anyway. Any non-compliance's must be rectified with-in 28 days. Happily , we were passed with flying colours, so big sighs of relief all round .
So what all was checked ? Well on arrival the milking parlour was checked for cleanliness ans my milking routine was discussed to make sure that no short cuts are taken during milking . In the dairy , the doors walls and lights were given the once over to check for cracks , defects and in general to ensure that the room was vermin and bird proof . We checked the cows housing , which was fine as the cubicles were all new just last year . All pens of stock were checked to see that all animals had adequate room and that they all could have contact with other animals etc . As you can start to see , all these checks are pretty common sense things which all farmers/stockmen around the country are ensuring high standards of anyway.
In the office is where the real fun and games starts with these inspections . Piles and piles of paperwork , layed out , just in case he needed to see relevant evidence of this and that .
So , medicine records , movement records, staff training records , animal transport records , chemical safety data sheets , milk quality facts , herd health plan , vet visits , feed delivery records to name but a few , were all checked , just to ensure that we operate a safe and clean operation .
Traceability is a vital element of food production and that is a major part of producers paperwork . All inputs must be traceable back to source and all sources must be "this'n'that" registered . it's a real mine field.
Well , the bottom line of all this is that we ticked all the right boxes and we live to fight another day , with a certificate on the wall to prove such a fact. It would be nice to be receiving a premium for a quality product, produced to the exacting standards that the industry sets . Maybe one day !
Wednesday, 22 December 2010
Thursday, 9 December 2010
The White Stuff !
Unfortunately , the title of this post is not the "White Stuff" that dairy farmers like to talk about . the snow is still here , and it's now packed hard on all the yards , in scenes that are just identical to the one's earlier in the year . I do however think we have coped better this time round (despite the obvious shed incidents). The forecast for the coming week is not that encouraging either , with more snow forecast . Still all our girls are inside , and apart from a few frozen pipes , it's business as usual. We have a neighbours sheep on our land at the moment , and I can't remember when they would last have actually grazed some grass. they have been living off hay and silage now , and generally raking the hedge backs for shelter and food.
The cows have been milking amazingly well considering all the upset and the cold , obvioulsy got the ration about right. We will be drying cows off next month ready for calving in March/April , so hopefully the workload in the parlour should get less for a few weeks anyway.
Today we are going to take down the remaining section of the feed passage roof , as it is basically unsafe now. This will either go smoothly or take us forever and a day. I have visions of it being like a Fred Dibnah type event and when it's ready to fall , I will sound a horn , run like hell , look up and say "Did you like that ? "
Saturday, 4 December 2010
Bad Start to the Week !
The above picture is the damage done with the sheer weight of snow on our feed passage roof this week . It's fair to say it wasn't the newest roof on the farm ,but to have it come down has just been the biggest hassle we have experienced for a long time . It took ALL day to clear up the mess , and the remainder of the shed roof is now being supported by props along the length . Today there has been a fairly hefty thaw , so long may that continue. The wintery weather of the last week has played havoc on the work load of the farm , with even the simplest task taking twice as long, not to mention the fact that there has been little or no staff around , as none live on the farm.
Hopefully we can get on better in the week to come,
On a brighter note , Chloanne Goldwyn Gracious calved this week , and she had a heifer calf , Chloanne Jeeves Gracious . It's an absolute cracker of a calf and I'll hopefully put some photo's of her on here soon.
Wednesday, 24 November 2010
Mud, Glorious Mud !
The general consensus seems to be that, according to records, this is the wettest Oct/Nov we have experienced for many , many years. Most farmers will tell you that without the aid of records and data, it's just one of those facts that you know if you happen to have to work in it day in and day out. I have never known us be so far behind at this time of year . The electric fence wire and posts are still outside , waiting to be dismantled but the ground is just so wet that it certainly wouldn't allow a Manitou forklift onto it !All the cattle are finally inside now . Again ,I have never seen them out in such muddy conditions for years . All that now remains outside are the neighbours sheep , which strangely enough , don't seem to mind the rain in the same way that Holstein cattle do. They do however make a mess on extremely wet ground , so we will need to be mindful of moving them on as soon as they start to do damage.
So, now that all the girls are inside , it is now a case of bedding and feeding for the next 4-5 months . They can all certainly eat some grub , and we have never seen the silage pit go back so fast. Hopefully things will ease off once I start to dry more cows off in the coming weeks. Milk yields have picked up a bit since the cows came in , they are now fairly well settled into their winter routine. Strangely too, the butterfat figures have been sky high, most likely down to the ration they are on . We are in the middle of a feed trial for our nutrition company at the moment , so I am constantly downloading facts and figures and taking milk samples to monitor our performances.
On the cow front , the high yielders are going from strength to strength , while the lower, staler cows are really drying themselves off. The challenge is trying to prevent the low yielders from putting on too much condition which would then be detrimental to calving. Cow numbers are due to go right down over the next couple of weeks as I dry a lot off .
Chloanne Goldwyn Gracious 2 is due to calve 1/12/10 , and she is looking great , and just starting to "bag up" now. Fingers crossed for her, however a young heifer , Chloanne SJ Gracious "slipped" her calf at just 7 months . I have her running with the herd at the moment and hopefully the milk will eventually come onto her . It really does knock the a bit if something like that happens .However , that's the realities of this job,just when you think you have things sussed and under control , there's always something lurking round the corner to kick you into touch !
So, now that all the girls are inside , it is now a case of bedding and feeding for the next 4-5 months . They can all certainly eat some grub , and we have never seen the silage pit go back so fast. Hopefully things will ease off once I start to dry more cows off in the coming weeks. Milk yields have picked up a bit since the cows came in , they are now fairly well settled into their winter routine. Strangely too, the butterfat figures have been sky high, most likely down to the ration they are on . We are in the middle of a feed trial for our nutrition company at the moment , so I am constantly downloading facts and figures and taking milk samples to monitor our performances.
On the cow front , the high yielders are going from strength to strength , while the lower, staler cows are really drying themselves off. The challenge is trying to prevent the low yielders from putting on too much condition which would then be detrimental to calving. Cow numbers are due to go right down over the next couple of weeks as I dry a lot off .
Chloanne Goldwyn Gracious 2 is due to calve 1/12/10 , and she is looking great , and just starting to "bag up" now. Fingers crossed for her, however a young heifer , Chloanne SJ Gracious "slipped" her calf at just 7 months . I have her running with the herd at the moment and hopefully the milk will eventually come onto her . It really does knock the a bit if something like that happens .However , that's the realities of this job,just when you think you have things sussed and under control , there's always something lurking round the corner to kick you into touch !
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