Another month on an empty farm. |
This isn't strictly true, the place is heaving with valueless ponies and I admit the Ministry have had to test a number of stray Scotch sheep, mostly my own, which have found their way in from the common.
 | Counting teardrops instead of sheep? |
All tests have been clean, and I am heartily glad to see some sheep again (it's strange, too many sheep is a torture from hell but none at all is worse).
The big news is that we have achieved two Form Bs and a Form E (Oh you poor souls who don't have such goals to look forward to!!!). Translated, this means we can bring home the cows that wintered - and subsequently summered - away.
It also means we could have half a game of Scrabble with all the forms pinned now above the phone.
DEFRA/MAFF do enjoy sending us forms, they sent us an agricultural census form this year (how many cows/sheep/pigs/goats etc have you got?). Most years I dispatch these forms to the bin in disgust as Defra/Maff already have the information, supplied by us on various other forms - usually in triplicate.
 | How many cows? The cencus was like rubbing salt in a sore spot |
This year it seemed like rubbing salt in a sore spot. I decided to let the wife handle the matter. Strangely she will not disclose what became of this form.
I should say this is an improvement on our historical approach. My late father took great pleasure in filling in all those little boxes. He would, admittedly embellish the figures somewhat; to enliven the days of bored civil servants in some far office.
They did phone once, to ask if he really had 400 milking goats, as it was upsetting their calculations. Sadly, in this age of computer registered, bar coded, animal passports, the form is safer in the bin. Still, it supports the pulp industry, not to mention a printing works and several postmen.
Other observations on the month. |
 | Dry parts of the county will have been grateful for some rain |
The equinox storms seem, at the time of writing, to have arrived a little late, and are determined to make up for lost time. (Dry parts of the county will have been grateful for some rain, although up on the peat, we could have gone a while longer.)
It seems I'm about to turn a corner.
No stock all summer, then straight into a winter-feeding routine. I feel short changed somehow. No matter, I'll try to enjoy the enjoyable bits, and get through the rest. I'm reminded, "there is no bad weather, only inadequate clothing"!
You can comment on Anton's Diary on our Farmers' Forum and there'll be more "Grass Roots" next month. |
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