August 2010
How time flies and the seasons change. After an unusually cold winter, and equally unusual dry spring, summer is turning out to be a real mixed bag. The first cut of haylage was a low yield compared to last year, but second cut has boosted the stores considerably. We have also taken a completely new step (for us) and baled up the spring barley with the intention of keeping it for emergency fodder for the cows and bulls. We are looking into the research that has been done on grass-fed beef quality, and will probably not feed this to the fattening cattle if it affects the health benefits of our beef.
We have almost finshed calving for 2010 and have started choosing which calves will be kept for breeding. A difficult task now we run two bulls with very different qualities.
The latest addition was the smallest calf we have ever had. We nick-named him Pocket. He is most definitely a short-legged Dexter, as is his mum and this sort are in great demand for their size, excellent temperament and beef quality and flavour. Perfect for any environment.