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Spring has been a challenge

 To say that April has been rainy would be an understatement.  we are really behind schedule now for spring planting.   The weather remains unseasonably cold, and our high tunnels continue to need heating at night.   I have no idea what other farmers are doing, too busy dealing with ours.   There is one thing for certain, drought will not be a problem this year.  Every single reservoir or river is full to the rim, and the ground is saturated as we have never seen it.  

On the bright side, at least for farmers, revenues are up.   I have no idea what the government's game is anymore.  The additional control for perishable goods is only making prices rise in the UK.   I have no idea what they are trying to prove, tomatoes from Spain remain unchanged for the past two decades.

One thing we did notice is the average size of tractors being sold in the UK is rising, which tells me that average farm size is also rising.  You need a bigger tractor to pull heavier implements.   Both the corn and the wheat we planted have started to germinate, which is a reassuring sign that we were very lucky with our planting schedule.   We planted both crops over a three-day span when we had dry and warm weather.   The population is very good, and the cool weather is actually good for both crops early on.   The corn (for sillage) will need warmth and sun later on, but right now cool weather is good for the plants/ root system.   

Our neighbour who planted the wheat said that this was a new type and the planter was brand new, both he and us had a very good run.   


We"'ve added a lot of feed to the pigs because they have been very successful at rooting the forest.  We knew that in wet weather the pigs would clean up more quickly.   If we can have two or three days of clear weather (maybe next week) we will move the two pig groups to a new forest.  We have 28 in all.  The piglets are putting on weight at a tremendous rate, and some of the larger boar will be culled in the next few days.    


On the other hand, a bit of sun would be nice...


Note:   The workload this spring has been heavy for all of us, we underestimated the high tunnel production levels and so are operating a bit short.   Things should get better as the new staff joins over the next few weeks, but right now it's all hands on deck, including both my wife and I (mostly me) my wife is still very busy with all the other businesses were own.

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