Thursday 13 June 2013

The next job on the list.

That is the first lot of forage silage done on the far end of the farm - cut and collected up.   Now time for the next job.  Slurry spreading to encourage the grass to grow for second crop!

Every cattle farmer has by law to have a slurry tank (those big round tanks you see on farms these days) and into it goes all the washings-out from cattle sheds and milking parlours - so basically a mixture of cattle poo and water.   Of course the tank needs regular emptying otherwise it would overflow.   Hence the farmer is off today spreading it all day.

Environmental bodies here in the UK do keep a careful eye on what farmers do these days.   We all have licences for various things - for example we have a licence to clean out the beck which runs through most of our fields, put the cleanings out on the sides of the beck to build them up (and throw back in any fish the farmer sees as he is carrying out the operation - (we have small trout and bullheads and they are difficult to see) and keep the area tidy.   We also have a licence to store an amount of rubble to fill in gateways during the wet Winters when gateways tend to get very muddy.

The weather here is damp and cool today, so for once the farmer is happy - just right for spreading and making that good, healthy smell.

7 comments:

Thickethouse.wordpress said...

I don't comment often, but want to thank you for your wonderful blog. There is something so sane and balanced and happy about it in a world which desperately needs more sanity!

Heather said...

Kristi's comment is very pertinent to your blog.
Every time I smell the pong of muck spreading, especially on a hot and humid day, I remind myself that it is a good healthy country smell!

Cloudia said...

Wish we had sensible regulation. We allow huge corporate farms to spoil groundwater. Oh, and we're eating in labeled GMOs too!

Aloha wiser English friends!

Dave King said...

I knew Big Brother kept a watchful eye on farmers these days, but hadn't realised the extent of it.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Thanks Kristi. A compliment indeed and I am truly grateful for it. I wish I could visit you.

Dave I agree that Big Brother is watching farmers but it is better than letting these farmers who leave a mess everywhere get away with it.

Thanks for calling.

Rachel Phillips said...

Farmers do not leave a mess everywhere. If they did you would not have had lovely pictures of rape fields in Norfolk.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Rachel - I would qualify that by saying MOST farmers do not make a mess. There are one or two round here who have yards to be ashamed of I am afraid - and we did see one or two on our holiday also. There will always be one or two, just as there will always be exceptions to any rule.