A Month on the Farm

by Lisa Buchanan

~ July ~

One of the loveliest things about looking after such a beautiful farm is being able to share it with others, especially the younger generation. Last month we hosted 94 youngsters from Cumnor House as part of their Green Week celebrations. Apart from being delightful, extremely well-informed and great fun, I was struck by how much the land and Nature meant to them. I walked them through a wonderful meadow, with an abundance of butterflies, pollinators, ox-eye daisies, knapweed, self-heal, birds’ foot trefoil and glorious grasses. I asked them what they felt, and their response was so heart-warming. One little lad said, it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen!

Feeling emboldened, I walked them through the woods and asked them not to speak at all, but to listen, touch, smell and feel. It was only about five minutes and when we came out the other side. I asked them to give me just one word to express what they experienced. “Serenity”, “calmness”, “peace”, “tranquility”. I told them when I came home feeling frazzled and out of sorts, I walked across the fields (with Freddy of course!) and felt Nature giving me a huge hug. With that, one little girl came up and threw her arms around me. That brought a lump to my throat! But doesn’t this show the power of Nature, of the land and of animals to heal?

Sometimes it is easy to take our countryside for granted. It produces so much for us - food on which we all depend, a home for Nature, one of the most effective ways of absorbing carbon and, crucially, a place to recharge our spiritual batteries.

Saying all that, the weather is trying our patience just a tad. We have eight acres of hay we are desperate to make, but that depends on at least five very dry days! At this rate, we may be making it in October! We will make a little more silage too. The wet weather means the grass is growing well and while we have enough silage for this year, a cushion in case of a drought next year seems a good idea, even though it will add to our costs. This is just another example of how we are having to adapt to climate change.

Meanwhile, we have taken Louis, the bull, and five of his lovely young sons with their mums out of the herd to avoid the young heifers getting pregnant. And we have finished off the annual yard cleaning exercise. They have all been power-washed, disinfected and limed - the best way to reduce any risk of bacteria surviving and keeping the next batch of calves healthy.

Please do come to the annual Nature church service at Black Ven on 8th September. And the day before, we will have the hedge laying competition again. All welcome! You will find it if you follow the public footpath.