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I'm now back at Newcastle after an enjoyable Christmas break although it seemed to be just as hectic as Uni is. I started the Christmas with good intentions; picking up 500 pages of biology to try and revise for my genetics and animal physiology exam. However, my enthusiastic start was short lived as it seemed going shooting was a far better idea.

New Calf for Christmas

It wasn't all fun and games as there was still livestock to look after and I did spend quite a bit of the break working. It was a nice surprise on Christmas eve to check the shed and to find one of the cows had calved. Calving isn't supposed to start on the farm until February however this cow in question seems to have been caught by the bull early on. Nevertheless, she’s produced two Angus x calves which seem to be thriving. Another cow calved this month and others look like they are about ready too. 

Just after Christmas we had to bTB test; something which is an ongoing fight for many farmers around the country. Luckily, we went all clear and had no reactors. We also managed to PD some cows too and, with only one not in calf, they don't seem to be doing too badly. All we need now is the price of feed to drop and sucklers to be more profitable...or is that wishful thinking?

OFC and that debate

I had the great pleasure of attending the Oxford Farming Conference earlier this month thanks to sponsorship by NFYFC. 'This house believes that British agriculture could thrive outside of Europe' was the topic and was the subject of much debate over the three days. There were good points put forward by both sides of the debate. However, despite delegates voting for the motion, I do not believe for one minute that the UK could thrive outside of the EU. We get vast amounts of subsidy from the EU and although we do have a trading surplus with the union, this more than compensates for the amount of money farmers can claim.

Coming into the industry at this time is exciting and I look forward to seeing what further progress is made. But farming needs to become more efficient, streamlined and sustainable if we are to thrive without a Single Farm Payment (SFP) and all of the other monetary benefits we can claim. Volatility will remain a big issue for 2012 and for the forthcoming years but farmers who know their costs of production for each ton of wheat or each kilogram of beef going off the farm will certainly be one step ahead to running a profitable, sustainable business than those who don't.

Exams, Panto and Ploughing

Back at university, I am in the middle of exams. Animal Physiology didn't seem to go too badly however we shall see if the revision paid off in a month or so. Some more of my time seems to be taken up with the Young Farmers Club pantomime. I always end up agreeing to do it although when I get to this stage, a couple of months before the performance when I actually need to learn my lines, I often wonder why I do it. I look forward to Harper Adams Ploughing Match this month, not to mention the NFU Conference which I will attend.

Happy New Year. 

Click here to read Matty's previous article.

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