June - Cullimores Organics Farm News

June continued to be hot and dry which suited us well because we had a lot of hay and silage to make. We are only allowed to cut certain fields in June as part of our ongoing commitment to the Countryside Stewardship Scheme and to the nesting birds. This is often difficult to manage but we feel that the advantages to nature far outweigh the need for intensive farming methods.

We cut around 60 acres of grass for hay and silage during the month and this made approx 400 round bales of feed for the cattle and sheep when they are in their winter quarters. It was an absolute luxury to just keep going all day everyday without thinking about heavy downpours and the floods of the previous two years. We possibly made some of the best feed this year that we have ever made. We are incredibly lucky with the type of land we farm because whilst other farmers grass was not growing, we have natural irrigation from the river Severn which means the grass keeps growing and growing.

Elsewhere on the farm we managed to footbath all of the sheep, this is where they walk through a footbath that contains a special solution to stop sore feet, it creates a balm around the hoof to stop any infections getting in. Lambs also need to be sorted, to select enough to go for meat and to market, they need to come into the pen every two weeks to remove any that are above a certain weight.

Grassland topping (mowing) continues throughout June, rushes are a real problem on our wet ground but the machine that we bought last year coupled with our new larger tractor really does get on top of the job.
Meanwhile we clean out cattle sheds at the farm which are full of manure from the winter and take it out into the field ready to spread on the land in September, to give the ground a boost of nitrogen ready for next years growth.

By the end of June, things are starting to get a bit more up together, and we look ahead to July and hope the weather continues in the same vein and we can make more crucial winter supplies.