As we head towards September and welcome the autumn change, we continue to have some exceptionally wet weather.

To date, we have only harvested one field of spring barley. The winter barley harvest yield was better than we expected, however, yielding just over 3.5 tonnes per acre, which was brought into the shed and treated it with Maxammon, from Harbro, for cattle feed.

A mix of stubble turnips and rape mix was immediately drilled in its place which seems to be enjoying the wetter weather and is a good even crop. This, along with the reseeded grass, will be invaluable for sheep feed as the winter months progress.

Our bulls have had just over three weeks with the summer calving herd of cows and we have moved them around batches to ensure everything has had a good chance of being in calf. A record of the bulls and dates are kept to ensure all calves are identified correctly.

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Calves from the spring calving cows are now eating well from the creep feeders which is supplementing plentiful fresh grass. We will give them the first of two Rispoval 4 vaccinations when they are weaned into the shed.

All our lambs have now been weaned and turned out onto young grass. Ewe lambs for replacements have been selected and will be vaccinated with Enzovax, Toxovax and Footvax.

The replacements have to be at least 34kg as this should mean that they will be well over 40kg for tupping in November. All other lambs are selected on a weekly basis for the correct weight and condition for market.

Tups have been given an MOT to check they are fit, strong and healthy when they are needed again in November.

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Last year’s ewe lambs which successfully reared their first lamb, are also put onto young grass to allow them to regain full strength and optimum condition for the tup.

Our older ewes have another essential role to play and once weaned, cast ages are treated and put out onto the heather hill to help control ticks. They join the large group of Blackies whose main job is to combat tick numbers every year.

It is always surprising to see the amount of ticks on them at shearing even with our active intervention. Tick numbers also seem to be on the increase in these hot, humid and wet conditions.

We have at last been able to fill the Shandford silage pit. We had to be creative and cart silage down from the glen farm, however we are happy it is now full enough to provide us the essential feeding we require for the winter ahead. We have made a third cut in one field at Shandford and are now waiting patiently for a dry spell to get the final 75 acres complete.

Our eldest daughter has returned to school after a very long break. She has helped out with so many things that initially going back to school it was most certainly an inconvenience.

However, she has settled back in well and is now thrilled to see her friends again. Our youngest daughter is lost without her big sister and thinks she is away on the school bus ‘on holiday!’