From LEAF Farmer Duncan Farrington
June Newsletter
The year seems to be flying by rapidly,
as we head towards the longest day, and yet the weather still seems unseasonably cold. A recent heavy frost has certainly tickled up some of the tender leaves and blossom on several plants that are not used to a frost so late in May, from potato plants to young leaves on trees. Any fruit grower would certainly not welcome such frosts on the blossom of their crops.
In general our crops are looking pretty strong and healthy as we go into the last few weeks before thoughts turn to harvest again. There will be plenty of work to do before we will be ready for this. However in the mean time we have been carrying out maintenance work for the offices, as we have laid new kerbing and a concrete entrance, to replace the muddy verge and pot holes that have increased over the last few years. It is always interesting to see what footprints end up imprinted in the concrete for all to see, as they invariably do. The range to date has been the usual culprits, from children – young and not so young; to cats, dogs, chickens and pheasants. May and June are good months to carry out such work, with it being a case of little and often to keep things in good order from year to year.
We will also be busy getting everything ready for Farm Sunday on 13th June. The yard will be swept, the grass cut, and hopefully everything will look just right. The day will kick off at around 10.30am, running through to around 3.30pm. We are getting together with local farmers and food producers. Tractors will be cleaned and on display; there will be animals to stroke; local meats cooked on the Barbeque; homemade cakes to enjoy; with cups of tea and local beer to wash it all down. No doubt other activities will be going on, from bird box making to welly wanging. Hopefully the sun will shine, and there will be a little something for everyone. So if you would like to get your boots on, come along as we would love to see you. Any money we make from the day will go towards LEAF and the Air Ambulance.
Other than opening the farm gates to the public, other work going on this month will be the final dose of fungicide for the wheat to keep any disease under control. Then getting the combine and grain stores ready for harvest. On the combine we have already found the tell tale signs of hungry mice or rats playing havoc over the winter months, as wiring circuits have again been eaten, and will need to be repaired and replaced where necessary before it will be useable. This is both an annoying and increasingly expensive problem as machinery becomes more dependant on electronic computer controlled systems to make them work. The only trouble is the more plastic coated wire, the more fun these pests have in gnawing through them. But there again, I don’t think many of us would be happy going back to using a scythe to collect the harvest in.
