August 2025

We’ve experienced the driest spring and summer Ben has ever seen so far this year. As a consequence, the grass growth across the farm has been reduced massively. We are so thankful for the wetland meadows we have along The River Tern. In wet winters and times of plentiful rain the meadows often flood and can be inaccessible by quad bike for much of the year. Yet this summer they have saved us! When the top sandy fields like Banky and House field have burnt up and turned yellow, these lower meadows have kept grass in front of the herd. Our pasture fed cattle are the backbone of our offering from the butchery, but the lack of precipitation and prolonged high temperatures has meant growth rates have slowed.

We’re now already feeding hay saved up for winter months as the ground is so dry and the pasture depleted. It’s the headache of being purely pasture fed across our sheep and cattle, but helps reduce pressure on the little grass we have in the water meadows. We are reliant on mother nature providing just the right conditions for the grass to thrive and our farming system to function. We like to be optimistic, and if we have a nice warm autumn we will see a flush of grass and hopefully a late hay crop can be made to boost winter feed supplies.

One piece of good news is that the birth rate across the pig paddocks is flourishing. After a couple of disappointing litters in the spring we’ve now got a healthy number of young pigs scattered across the pig paddocks.

Two breeding sows gave birth to a combined 22 piglets over the space of a couple of weeks which has evened out the few failures of the past couple of months. Healthy established apple trees placed in and around the pig pens are now bountiful with fruit have not only provided a food source for pollinators earlier on in the year and will now also give our pigs a source of food as apples drop from trees during the end of summer and the start of autumn.

Did you know that the Gloucester Old Spot pig was nicknamed the ‘Orchard Pig’ as it was often used in orchards to clean up debris and fallen apples that may attract bugs and bacteria that may end up affecting the surrounding trees. Folklore even suggests the spots on their coats are from bruises caused by falling apples!

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