I’m a farmer, ask me anything

[AskAFarmer]

As title! :)

Arable or livestock ?

What sort of farmer are you? Are your animals treated well?

Livestock. 900 ewes, we sometimes have store cattle (bought in to be fattened then sold on).

They're treated very well.

What's your biggest challenge?

What are your thoughts on the current crow debate? I don’t like the idea of culling them but I don’t like to think of them pecking/killing lambs either....

We also have working dogs, sometimes a couple of house pigs (for our own/family freezers) and a few hens for our own eggs.

What are your thoughts on the current crow debate? I don’t like the idea of culling them but I don’t like to think of them pecking/killing lambs either....

I’m livid.

Three hours ago I found a ewe in the field who’d been stuck on her back. The crows have had one eye and most of her tongue. She’s had lots of painkillers and is currently standing around looking bewildered at the new state of things. She has two small lambs. I’ve got pictures but won’t post them.

This isn’t a rare occurrence, but until now we’ve been allowed to control the crows. Typical situation of people who don’t understand the issue sticking their oars in.

In fact that’s one of the things that prompted me to post.

What do you think of vegans... 😉

I am so sorry about your ewe. Will she live ?
I love corvids but I know some will go for sickly or newborn lambs. I have never heard of a ewe attack until now.

Do you condone the death threat(s) against C Packham?

What do you think of vegans...

Live and let live, people should live their own lives however they see fit. I get annoyed with the spreading of misinformation though - PETA are particularly bad for this.

I am so sorry about your ewe. Will she live ?
I love corvids but I know some will go for sickly or newborn lambs. I have never heard of a ewe attack until now.

Thank you. Who knows? Crows beaks are filthy. Sometimes infection kills them, sometimes shock, sometimes too much of the tongue is gone and they can’t eat or drink. Sometimes they’ll get the milk vein (they often go for udders) and she’ll bleed out.
This one has been cleaned up and had painkillers and antibiotics. She has young lambs so she should have quite a strong will to pull through.
Makes me incredibly angry. To think of her lying there, unable to stop them....

It’s more common on ewes than lambs in my experience, they get stuck on their backs easily/ill/trapped in hole or something, and the crows will find them pretty quickly.

We had a few lambs attacked this year too though.

Do you condone the death threat(s) against C Packham?

I don’t condone death threats against anyone.

You poor thing, it must be heartbreaking. I don't agree with CP and his line on crows, was totally behind him with the Maltese songbirds but this is completely different.

There does seem to be a heck of a lot more crows and magpies around than when I was a kid. I seem to recall a 'prize' of 10 bob for every magpie killed back in the 60s (yes, I'm that old).

Thank you for your answer ☺
I am vegan (for the animals, I don't like the thought of eating meat) but I do buy from our local butcher for my DH and DC.
Yes, I know there are some information out there that's exaggerated / not true. Some of the vegan activists give 'us' a bad name too. My brother works in the farming industry and deals with a lot of small farms.

I'm sorry to hear about your ewe too, I hope she isn't suffering too much.

Are you treated fairly by the companies you sell to? We read about the big supermarkets paying a pittance for milk and meat...

I'm glad your animals are treated well 🐑 🐮

Do you have public footpaths across your land & how do you feel about them?

What do you think is the future for farmers like yourself? How / Where would you like to sell your produce? (Keeping in min the fact that big supermarket chains don't pay much, people prefer cheap meat and brexit.)

How do you feel about the numptys who think NZ lamb is better quality despite the fact that it's spent months on shipping containers frozen then thawed and sold as fresh.

Do you take steps to protect biodiversity on your farm and do you feel that there is enough support/ information out there to encourage farmers to do so?

I've seen/read that you should always help a sheep up if they are stuck on their backs. But some farmers don't like this.
(I always think it's the right thing to do!) would you mind?

Only asking as I know of a farmer that absolutely hates anyone touching his sheep

Does the price you get for your wool cover the cost of shearing?

How do you go about finding a new working dog?

What time do you get up
Can you go on holiday
Do you always have the aga on

Are you treated fairly by the companies you sell to? We read about the big supermarkets paying a pittance for milk and meat...

Kind of. We have high welfare standards and are on the Taste the Difference scheme, so we get an extra few pence per kilo for that. The price fluctuates a lot though so you can’t count your chickens.
If you’re sensible about your costs and work smart, you can still make a good living.
We also sell lots of the ewe lambs as breeding sheep, which takes quite careful planning but they are worth more.

Dairy farmers complain a lot, but they’ve been riding the gravy train and rolling in grant money for many years, which is partly why there were suddenly so many and supply outstripped demand and prices went down. The government also stopped incentivising dairy so much. Lots have given up in the last few years, and now things are balancing out and some farmers are going back into dairy.
It’s a never ending cycle of supply and demand, like most industries.

What REALLY gets me riled is that farmers in the UK have to adhere to very high welfare standards compared to the rest of the world, which costs money, making the end product more expensive.
The government however, then allows cheap imports from countries with extremely....variable let’s say...welfare standards which undercut us. Welfare is one of the reasons you should always buy British meat.

Essay sorry

Do you have public footpaths across your land & how do you feel about them?

Yes we do. I like it, everyone should be able to enjoy the countryside and it’s nice having a chat with people.
We haven’t had a dog attack for a few years though, you might get a different answer if we had.

*What do you think is the future for farmers like yourself? How / Where would you like to sell your produce? (Keeping in min the fact that big supermarket chains don't pay much, people prefer cheap meat and

People will always need to eat, and there will always be a market for quality.
Brexit might mean that we lose some subsidies, but that wouldn’t be a bad thing IMO. There are too many farmers who wouldn’t be still farming if it weren’t for subsidies, and it shouldn’t be that way.

How do you feel about the numptys who think NZ lamb is better quality despite the fact that it's spent months on shipping containers frozen then thawed and sold as fresh.

I think they’re numpties.

Do you take steps to protect biodiversity on your farm and do you feel that there is enough support/ information out there to encourage farmers to do so?

Yes, you have to, there’s lots of hoops to jump through. I think more can always be done though.

I've seen/read that you should always help a sheep up if they are stuck on their backs. But some farmers don't like this.
(I always think it's the right thing to do!) would you mind?

You should ALWAYS help a sheep on its back. The alternative is probably having her eyes and backside pecked out.
I’d be eternally grateful and so would any other farmers I know. And most importantly, so would the ewe.

Does the price you get for your wool cover the cost of shearing?

No. Shearing costs farmers and is something we have to do for welfare reasons.

How do you go about finding a new working dog?

We either breed from existing dogs if we have a particularly good one (and friends wanting pups), or more often we buy them at 8-10 months old, already part trained from breeder/producers.

What time do you get up

Lambing time - every 2 hours. Now - 5.30ish, to get round the ewes and lambs before they ‘get up.’
Usual times - 7ish. Normal really. It’s a myth that farmers have to work 24/7 year round. Some times of year are 24/7, but if you’re doing 14 hour days all year then something’s not right.

Can you go on holiday

Yes, but only at certain times of year.

Do you always have the aga on

I don’t have one! I’d love one, but they’re not v energy efficient and I’m a bit of a hippy who likes saving power.