I met a local farmer at our vet premises recently and he said " What a plitter, it ’ s been rainin ’ near every day since hairst ", “ PLITTER ” is a fine Doric word for a wet and muddy mess! That very well summarises the state of the fields so it was a relief recently to see some being ploughed and prepared for crops. In our case, if it hadn't been for a very generous neighbour, who came with his baler, our straw would still be lying rotting in the fields. Our lambs are mostly two months old now and eating lots of swedes and creep feed, we usually start selling them in May. Those farmers who have been selling "hoggs' (last year ’ s lambs) have benefited with the high prices, but feed to have kept them over the winter is expensive so every pound extra is needed. Our spring calving got off to a bountiful start with three sets of twins, however things can change very quickly if all starts trouble free!! All our calves are double tagged, each farm with its own herd number, we tissue tag every calf, this sample is sent to a laboratory to check for "Bovine Viral Diarrhoea" this disease can compromise a herds fertility and infect the embryo in the first few months of gestation. Our aim is to continue with results BVD NEGATIVE status which is vital for a healthy herd and important when selling our stock.
Better days lie ahead we all hope, now we see the grass growing and the oil seed rape about to flower, a beautiful golden glow, but not welcome for some people with allergies. There are many areas in the country that have been far worse affected, their fields totally covered in water so we have a lot to be thankful for. This unusual picture of the
bemused calf in a truck cab was taken by friends in County Offlay, Ireland, who had just recued it from a flooded muddy field. Perhaps we will be shouting for rain to make the swede seed germinate!!! Information and pictures for this article provided by Isabel Birse at Cairndaie.
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