Good morning everyone,
Whilst the weather has been pretty horrendous over most of the North Island over the weekend we have had a “wonderful” few days of rain, which was really welcome. On Saturday we received 90mls of rain in one day! Whilst that’s pretty severe, our farm can handle it – and it is welcome! So much for Super El-Nino! The weather today is also looking good – although rain is forecast for later in the day.
Still 4 cows to calve – c’mon girls!
Yes, it is a pain, but we just have to wait. I believe 2 are due on or before the 12th of November. Both have very good breeding, so we hope the girls have no issues. They are second calvers, so there should be no problems unless the calf is not presented correctly.
The other two are black/whiteface cows – Minnie and Bryar. Minnie got her name from “moaning Minnie”. She is always the first to call out that they need to shift paddocks. Bryar is our very special girl, and I am a bit mystified as to why she is so late. I guess we just have to be patient!
A weed infestation on the farm
When we pulled out all the old hedges, we actually opened up a “can of worms”. Hidden in the soil were seeds that could have been 30 or more years old, and many (but not all) paddocks have become infested with a weed called “Hedge Mustard “. Before we knew it, these weeds were up to 18” high, and with yellow seed heads. There are too many to pull individually, so we have spent most fine days spraying.
From my AI searching, whilst the plant dies from the spray the seed heads aren’t killed by the spray, so we have to look forward to another year of these terrible plants growing back. Apparently to get rid of then permanently, next year we have to spray them in their “winter rosette” stage. I am very motivated to get rid of this awful weed, so I will work hard on it next year.
Thank you Vera!
Vera is on our mailing list, and most weeks she responds to our posts, with pertinent comments. It was Vera who believed the weeds were hedge mustard, and this (and her other comments) were very useful. Thank you Vera!
Spotlight on Wallace
Introducing our young bull
We are still devastated over the loss of our special bull (and buddy) Mt Vernon. He was such a cool dude but also made sure all the girls got in calf. To lose such a special guy was heartbreaking but as it was also just before the breeding season it has put a huge amount of pressure on us.
With this in mind, its a good time to introduce to you one of our special yearling bulls, who we hope will replace Mt Vernon (although he will struggle this year, being so young).
This guy is WALLACE and his mother is actually the same mum as Mt Vernon – our extra special PHOEBE. His dad is The USA Bull HART NETWORK – so is differently bred, but still, genetically, as good as Mt Vernon. Now that he is out with some of the girls, I have noticed just how docile he is. Just like Vernon, he enjoys a head rub, and scratch, although his responses are not as quiet as Vernon. I will have to work a little bit on his manners. He is a little more aggressive (but in a nice way). He doesn’t yet know his own strength. Just like our old Tristan, he loves chewing on my arm.
Wallace – we are relying on you, buddy!
That’s all for this week.
We would love to hear from you, with your comments! It’s what keeps our blog going!
Colin and Keryn