Farming Matters: Will Case - 'I'm excited to get our positive message into schools'
Although it feels like winter is approaching, temperatures have remained warm and grass has been growing at a pace.
We have applied a dressing of fertiliser to give our pastures a boost at this important time of year.
The priority is protecting the grass from the damage caused by cattle.
The saying around here is that ‘they have got five mouths’, as so much can be wasted under hoof.
We brought the first cattle in last week and if there is no improvement in the weather it will not be long before they are all in.
On a more positive note, our tup sales are now all but done.
We have had our most successful year to date. We sold to a top price of £3,000 and averaged up at £750 for 35 tups sold, and have our very good regular customers to thank, as well as quite a few new ones.
Buyers seem to be looking for bigger Texel tups, for their speed of growth and muscling.
Read More
It seems after experimenting with other breeds, farmers are back looking for powerful, good quality Texel tups. It is pleasing to see.
Last month, we hosted a meeting for the Farmer Network.
It was focused on beef cattle and there was an excellent line-up of speakers giving thoughts on grazing techniques, cutting costs and the state of the beef market, which faces some challenges at the moment.
A number of people mentioned farming needs to do more to get our positive message into schools.
I could not agree more. We need to educate young people about British food production in order to make sure our great industry is a source of national pride.
If you’re of a similar opinion, it is worth thinking about giving ‘Face-Time a Farmer’ a go. It is a brilliant idea which connects farmers with schools all around the country.
It involves a monthly FaceTime session of about 20 minutes, where children can ask questions and we can do our best to answer them.
I have just been paired with St Hugh’s school in Scunthorpe. After speaking to teacher Tom Thatcher I am excited to get started.
Currently there are more schools signed up than farmers. If more of us get involved it might make a big difference.
You can find out more and sign-up at www.leafuk.org/facetimeafarmer
Most Read
Farmers Guardian and FarmersGuardian.com are trademarks of Farmers Guardian Ltd, a subsidiary of AgriBriefing Ltd.
All material published on FGInsight.com and FarmersGuardian.com is copyrighted © 2019 by AgriBriefing Limited. All rights reserved.
