A Month on the Farm - September
by Libby and Lisa Buchanan
September is one of the most beautiful months of the year. There is a soft gentleness to the days with long shadows and a tranquility amongst the animals lying contentedly in the fields with good grass and fewer bothersome flies. This doesn’t mean things have been quiet for the two-legged Black Ven team!
We began the month with our annual Soil Association and Red Tractor inspection - a day-long event, but with hours of preparation. It is the administration to prove we are farming in a proper way and with high standards that is the burden - we must have records for everything, for every bag of feed or seed, for any training we have undertaken, for mortality rates, antibiotic usage and even complaints (which fortunately we haven’t had, but we need a file to prove it!). We have to have a livestock management, biosecurity and manure management plan. We don’t begrudge it - if we expect consumers to pay more for food with an organic and/or red tractor label, it is our responsibility to prove we are doing it right, but it is somewhat stressful! The good news is we passed with a clean bill of health!
September is also the month for filling the barn with straw for the Winter. Thankfully, it is all in and, together with our record silage crop, we are feeling blessed as we begin to think about the cold, wet months to come when the cattle will be nestled in the barns. To give you a sense of the difference in silage yield compared to last year - in 2020 we only harvested 279 bales. This year, on a like - for-like basis, it is 800. It shows the difference rain can make and the frightening impact of climate change. Silage in bales lasts two years so, should next year be like 2020, we will be able to manage a second Winter. Sadly, we are going to have to adapt fast if we are to cope in these new, more extreme conditions.
September is one of the most beautiful months of the year. There is a soft gentleness to the days with long shadows and a tranquility amongst the animals lying contentedly in the fields with good grass and fewer bothersome flies. This doesn’t mean things have been quiet for the two-legged Black Ven team!
We began the month with our annual Soil Association and Red Tractor inspection - a day-long event, but with hours of preparation. It is the administration to prove we are farming in a proper way and with high standards that is the burden - we must have records for everything, for every bag of feed or seed, for any training we have undertaken, for mortality rates, antibiotic usage and even complaints (which fortunately we haven’t had, but we need a file to prove it!). We have to have a livestock management, biosecurity and manure management plan. We don’t begrudge it - if we expect consumers to pay more for food with an organic and/or red tractor label, it is our responsibility to prove we are doing it right, but it is somewhat stressful! The good news is we passed with a clean bill of health!
A downside of September is our lambs going off to the abattoir. It is always a dark day when they go, but we know they have had a happy life and the good news is we are able to “pay” our generous neighbours from whom we “rent” land!
September also holds one of the high points of the year - blackberry jelly making! There is something so remarkably special about harvesting these beautiful, shining berries in the warm sun (with beloved Goddaughter and her new husband) and through some alchemy turning them into what we believe is the best possible accompaniment to toast. The delicious smell the jelly makes as it boils envelops us in a purple haze of happiness. Nine jars later and the Buchanan contentment factor is quite high!
Please don’t forget Harvest Festival on 3rd October when we can give thanks to God for all his bounty!