The cows in the maternity shed have been busy over the last couple of weeks and today our fiftieth calf was born. The calving, so far, has gone well. The majority of births have been uncomplicated and resulted in a healthy calf. No twins yet. An interesting fact; if a cow has twins and one calf is male and the other female, the female calf will be infertile and is called a freemartin. In terms of calving ease and stress on the cow, our preference is to have single calves.

Well done to Year 4 from Kitebrook School who experienced a very chilly farm today. Once they started to build World War 1 trenches in the den building wood, the cold toes were soon forgotten. In the morning once the health and safety talk was over, I talked about my family in World War 1. Great Great Grandfather had one son who went to the Great War and another son who stayed on the farm to help produce food for a nation under food rationing. I showed them the poppy I bought from the Tower of London display, to remember the son who never came home. From history to science, we moved on to the most important thing on the farm……soil.

Find a pine cone, put it by the fire or a radiator for a couple of days. The pine cone will open up, as it will be tricked into thinking conditions are warm and dry enough for seed dispersal. Tie a piece of wool onto one end of the cone. Little fingers can then squish dried fruit into the cone. Once the cone is full of dried fruit, smear a layer of lard or peanut butter all over the cone. Tie onto a tree and watch the birds enjoy the food. 

The 2017 calving has begun, only 249 more cows to go! A  jersey cross calf was born a few days before it was expected. At Greystone Farm we use Artificial Insemination (AI) for three cycles. If the cow is still not pregnant after the three rounds of AI then we put her in a field with an Aberdeen Angus beef bull for ‘natural service’. The bulls are known as ‘sweeper bulls’ as they sweep up the cows that aren’t pregnant. 

I hate mice and I hate rats. Over the last few weeks all my time has been spent sorting the new visitor room. Today I decided to venture back into my old classroom to clear it out, so it can be used for storage.

Little did I know that Mr and Mrs Mouse had moved in over the Winter. As I opened the door I was hit by the unmistakable smell of rodent, yuck, then a vision of bits of paper spread all over the floor and various other unmentionables.