Gallery

Ok so who remembers David Attenborough showing us the dung beetles rolling elephant poo balls away in Africa? Did you know we have dung beetles in the UK too? This is a Geotrupes Spiniger. This one has come to the end of their days with us, but I thought I'd show you this one and tell you how important they are. So they drag bits of cow pat down into the soil where they lay their eggs, so tunneling into the soil helps aerate the soil, the much gets buried where it can break down and be used by the plants. But also in the last couple of pictures you can see phoretic mites on the underside of the beetle. These mites use the beetles as a taxi service between pats and when they get there they eat fly eggs and larvae reducing the number of nuisance flies we get around the cattle and sheep. However wormers and insecticides can have a really devastating effect on dung beetles. It's one of the reasons we don't use pour on insecticides on our animals. The beetles are also an important food source for lots of birds and bats too. So I'm really pleased to have found this beetle yesterday, because it suggests to me that we have a really healthy ecosystem working on the farm, where the sheep and cattle are a vital part of it. #SoilHealth #DungBeetles #RegenerativeAgriculture #HealthyFood #HealthyEcosystem

The story of most of our day in pics. (I missed Flash and Meg when we were moving the sheep, but it was really wet then.) But we found an Easter egg. Bob had a warm up and dry off with Flash after getting the ram lambs moved, we found a cool little dock eating weevil, and later I moved the electric fence and Dexter group with Bob and Fly. What a brilliant day. #FarmingIsAHappyPlace

Lovely to be moving some of the cattle onto some fresh grass in the sunshine. It's really important for us to try and keep some of the cattle out all year round. We are working hard to improve the biodiversity on the farm, and key to that is insects, and insects love having cattle out. We couldn't manage the habitats we have here for wildlife without the cattle and sheep. They're an important part of our farm ecosystem.

I recorded this Tuesday and haven't had a chance to post it yet. Little video of the cattle and the handling system. #DexterBeef #100%PastureFedBeef

So today has been a sheep day, pretty much all day. weighing and sorting lambs, and then a footbath for the ewes. The rain was absolutely smashing down by the end. I think the sheep were as wet though as us. But then Bob got to see a big rainbow, and you can't have a rainbow without the rain. How was your Sunday? #Sheep #WelshSheepdog #EasycareSheep

There's something brilliantly photogenic about the Herefords when they're grazing the front of the farm. Not to be outdone though, we were joined by a couple of shiny black Dexter's too. They've all been making the most of the dry weather today.

Are you having people over for Christmas? I just wanted to give you an update for Christmas deliveries. Please read right through to the end. 100% Grass Fed Lamb and Mutton. At the moment we have one lamb and mutton delivery booked in which will be on the 19th of this month. Currently we think we have sold out of Mutton, but there is still some lamb available. We will probably be able to get some more booked in before Christmas, but not guaranteed. 100% Grass Fed Dexter Beef We currently have three delivery runs booked. They are the 2nd, the 16th and the 30th of November. They are all Dexter beef. Fillets are sold out on some runs, Rib joints are nearly sold out. These will probably book and sell out early. We are on a waiting list at the butchers if they get a cancellation, but it's probably unlikely we will get another run in before Christmas. Turkeys We are teaming up with our neighbour to bring you their delicious Turkeys again this year. We don't know exactly what the price will be yet. Last year they were £11:90 a kilo. This year is likely to be a little bit more. We've ordered a few more this year, so we still have some available, but let us know as soon as possible, if you'd like to order one for delivery. They'll be delivered fresh just in time for Christmas.

We've got some new cattle, if you want to say Hello. #DexterBeef #PastureFedBeef #RegenerativeFarming

Day 2 at Abergavenny Food Festival come and see us. It's just rain, you'll be fine. 😁

It's just started to rain a bit, but it won't last, come and see us at Abergavenny Food Festival. We've got Beef.

It's stopped raining, come and see us at Abergavenny Food Festival. We are in the Priory section. It's free to come in and see everyone in this section.

Phwoar getting exciting now. If you're going to Abergavenny Food Festival this weekend. Come and see us. Tickets still available I think for both days. #aff2024

It's back British Farming day today. Here's some of the cows out grazing the Parkland boosting biodiversity, helping sequester carbon and producing nutrients dense food. Yes please. #BackBritishFarming

Multitasking at its finest. Yesterday I had an afternoon down on the Gower with my grassland discussion group. To give me enough time to travel down, we combined walking the dogs with moving the sheep. Also it gave Flash a little unplanned work experience. #RotationalGrazing #KeepTheHoovesMoving

Last week we had the vets out for scanning, we had a fantastic set of results in the traditional Herefords with 100% in calf. The Dexters were more of a mixed bag, some only a couple of months off calving, others only a few weeks in calf and one empty. But overall very pleased with the results and looking forward to getting them back out soon with some grass under their feet. #GrassFed #BritishBeef #GrownInWales #TraditionalHerefords #DexterCattle #DexterBeef

A little update on our all grazing winter sheep flock. No hay or concentrate feed all winter and they're looking pretty good. Lambing is still a couple of months away, so we're running the ewe lambs from last year and the hopefully pregnant ewes as one mob to make grazing management easier. Footpaths are fenced out now to hopefully lessen the risk of any dog attacks. Looking for a better year in 2024 with the sheep than we had in 2023. #RotationalGrazing #GrowingGrass #Sheep #Sheepdogs #AlwaysGrazing

Lovely clear views off the hill today. I used to draw horizons that looked like this when I was a little kid. Now I work here and can see it every day. Magic 🪄

Right at the top of our farm is a field called The World's End. It's tiny and needs a load of fencing doing and the access to it from the farm has been blocked off as long as we've been here. (Although we could access it off the road.) Today we finally got around to opening it up. We'll be fencing and tree planting in it over the next few weeks and that should give us a couple more grazing cells. Stand by for more pics and updates. #RegenerativeFarming #TreePlanting #WelshFarming

So yesterday was our TB results day. All the cattle were injected on Friday and the vet came back to look for any reactions, and we were all clear, which means we don't have to do another test for 12 months. And we can buy in some more cattle, to keep building our numbers back up again. Happy days.

How we save a naturally seeded tree sapling from our grazing sheep. #NatureFriendlyFarming

Our last morning walk around the orchard with the full litter of Pups. Will be sad to see them go, but glad we've found good working homes for the ones that are going so far. #WelshSheepdog #HerdingDogs #Sheepdogs

Lovely frosty morning for a walk out with the puppies. They had vaccinations, chips and a general health check, with the vet, yesterday and are starting to go to their new homes from tomorrow. Have to say I've thoroughly enjoyed having them here. What an experience! #WelshSheepdog #Puppies

Not one for you if you're arachnophobic, but check out the hitchhikers on Ruby's fleece.

What's your favourite beef roasting joint? Now the colder weather is here, we're looking forward to a good roast dinner when we finish for the day. But which one is your favourite? Top Rump Topside Silverside Slow Roast Brisket Sirloin joint Rib Something else Only two more deliveries before Christmas, drop us a message if you would like to order anything for delivery before Christmas, the order book is filling fast. Next fresh Beef delivery after Christmas won't be until the start of February.

You can't hide away when you make a mistake. And I can't hide this one, it's on our front field. I thought after a couple of dryish days I'd get away with it. Anyone else had a Halloween horror today?

For the first time in a long time I've been to a sale and come back with an empty trailer. Today was the EasyCare Sheep Society sale at Worcester, and after last year, where both our rams were compulsory slaughtered after a TB test, I was in the market for a replacement. I got there before the sale started. I had a sale catalogue and checked the pens marking out a few nice ones that I wanted to bid on. Sadly for me, but great for the sellers, the ones I'd marked went for over 1000 guineas each. Some for a lot more. Chatting with the fella next to me by the sale ring, we seemed to be looking for exactly the same thing. I decided to hang on for the senior rams. Again the ones I liked went for well over my budget. The ram lambs were my last hope. There were four and the first three all looked like they would do a job for us. The guy next to me clearly thought the same and bought all three and the final one didn't sell. One of the challenges of having a small flock is trying to buy a good ram at a reasonable price. You can't spread the cost over so many lambs, so it makes it hard when the prices are good. However I would say a massive congratulations to everyone who sold there today. The shedding genetics seem to be very much in demand at the moment. #EasyCareSheep #StillNeedARam #SheddingSheep

For the first time in a long time I've been to a sale and come back with an empty trailer. Today was the EasyCare Sheep Society sale at Worcester, and after last year, where both our rams were compulsory slaughtered after a TB test, I was in the market for a replacement. I got there before the sale started. I had a sale catalogue and checked the pens marking out a few nice ones that I wanted to bid on. Sadly for me, but great for the sellers, the ones I'd marked went for over 1000 guineas each. Some for a lot more. Chatting with the fella next to me by the sale ring, we seemed to be looking for exactly the same thing. I decided to hang on for the senior rams. Again the ones I liked went for well over my budget. The ram lambs were my last hope. There were four and the first three all looked like they would do a job for us. The guy next to me clearly thought the same and bought all three and the final one didn't sell. One of the challenges of having a small flock is trying to buy a good ram at a reasonable price. You can't spread the cost over so many lambs, so it makes it hard when the prices are good. However I would say a massive congratulations to everyone who sold there today. The shedding genetics seem to be very much in demand at the moment. #EasyCareSheep #EmptyTrailer #StillNeedARam

I have been getting our books back up to date for our vat return and having just done August, I would like to say a massive huge thank you to everyone who ordered our beef or stayed with us in the holiday cottage. We've had our best month ever. It's been really hard work especially for Julia, but we've also had help from our brilliant neighbour Anne, my Mum, Julia's Mum and Dad and Jessica through the summer holidays too. I'm feeling very grateful for all the support we have from family, friends and our customers and supporters. Thanks everyone for the shares, the likes, the comments. If you have ordered from us again, we will see you on the 23rd. #GrassFedBeef #GrassFedCattle #FarmToFork #SupportLocal

The calm and easy way our traditional Herefords move around the farm is brilliant. They are so chilled out we don't use the dogs to move them, because they just plod along and take whatever comes in their stride. #TraditionalHerefords #OPHerefords #EasyCattle #GrassFedBeef #PastureFedBeef #GrassFedCattle

I'm hoping these will be visible when I post the video up. We moved the sheep onto a fresh gazing paddock yesterday, and the swallows descended to take care of all the flies that were kicked up. At one point there must have been 25-30 of them circling above and diving through to feed. So much nicer than using chemical insect control. #NatureFriendlyFarming #Swallows #InsectControl #ChemicalFreeFarming

Rainy day today. Smokey and the chicks have got the right idea. #chicks #chickensofinstagram #WetWeatherIdeas

After the wet weather, the tipping trailer has ended up sitting with a load of water in one end, and a load of dead leaves too. Apparently just the job for this great diving beetle. I can't believe how big they are. We get little ones in the water troughs from time to time, but this guy/girl was absolutely huge. It was like Jaws, breaking the surface. I have left it in the trailer for now, but we may have to relocate it when I start clearing the barn out. We're going to need a bigger net. #greatdivingbeetle #NatureFriendlyFarming #LifeFindsAWay

I appreciate this may be a little niche but, we spend a lot of time and effort trying to encourage insect life at Ffynnonau. If we have plenty of insects, we get plenty of birds and bats. Which help control our nuisance flies which means we don't need to use chemical control on the sheep and cattle here. This is, I'm pretty sure, a Giant Alder Sawfly, or a hornet mimic fly. It was huge and until recently thought to be extinct in the UK. There was one spotted about 10 years ago in Suffolk, but prior to that it hadn't been seen in the UK since 1904, as far as I can see. Anyway we have them in Monmouthshire now too. #NatureFriendlyFarming #Insect #Bats #Birds #PastureForLife

Just a little update on where we are with our rotational grazing this year. It's been a good year for growing grass, not so good for making bales. But for grazing we've had a better year than last year so far. #regenerativeagriculture #RegenerativeFarming #GrassFedBeef #GrassFedLamb #WelshSheepdog

The chicks have been out of their run for an adventure today. They've been all round the yard and the garden, and thoroughly investigated everything. All under Smokey's protection of course. #chickens #FreeRange

Today we took Meg for her second visit of the week to Chief. So fingers crossed we'll have some exciting pics in a couple of months time. #welshsheepdog #PennyHayesMeg #sheepdog

I went to pick up our new bull today Danny. When we got back, the girls are all out on the front field. Stampede! Everyone wants to see the new boy. #dextercattle #dexterbeef #newbull #danny

New arrivals at Ffynnonau, as we restock again. The grass is getting out of hand in places, but these will definitely help.

The start of the new water system, kind of. We're TB testing this week. So it's a bit of a limbo week, but we've got the first of our mains water troughs back in. So the sheep are ok for water without me having to take it to them. #tbtesting #water #sheepfarming

April 15th 2023 and we've got the cows back out on the fields. Time to continue regenerating those soils! Really pleased with the early spring growth this year. Things are definitely improving. #regenerativefarming #welshfarming #dexterbeef #dextercattle #grazing #rotationalgrazing

Our project to get water around the farm has begun in earnest. The prices of the fittings and pipe are just eye watering, I reckon this project has more than doubled in price from when we started looking at it a year or so ago. Flyboy has dug some good holes whilst searching for rabbits too. All in all, it's been a good day. #plasson #water #farminvestment #soilhealth #regenerativefarming #welshfarming

Part 2 of our sheep update. Part 1 was posted yesterday, or you can see the whole thing in one on our Facebook page. #familyfarm #lambing2023 #pasturefedlamb #grassfedlamb #naturefriendlyfarming #hillsidebeefandlamb

Can't post the whole video as one, so this is part 1. I'll do part two tomorrow. 🫣 Or you can see the whole thing now on our Facebook page. A little sheep update just before we start lambing. Thought a quick video might be better than pictures and a load of explanation. #easycaresheep #outdoorlambing #pastureforlife #pasturemanagement #rotationalgrazing #regenerativeagriculture #pasturefedlamb

A big thank you to @south.coast.systems for coming out today and getting our new weighing scales and label printer set up. After handwriting the labels out for years, I think this will make a big difference for us when we're making up our boxes. I can't wait to pack our next boxes. 😂 #averyberkel #southcoastsystems #farminvestment #beefboxes #farm #lambboxes

A big thank you to everyone who had Beef, or Lamb or Mutton off us this weekend, we really appreciate it. Today I noticed we have a new little homemaker at Ffynnonau Farm, this pair have been back and fore all day, with moss and leaves and bits. Jessica is a bit disappointed with the blurry photo, but it is just off my camera phone. #birdsofinstagram #bluetit #nestbox #naturefriendlyfarming #spring

It may be a dull wet day, but our apple and pear orchards have just started to blossom, it doesn't last long, and once one starts they all seem to burst into flower faster and faster. If you'd like to see them I would say book a stay in the next two/three weeks at https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/53841106?preview_for_ml=true&source_impression_id=p3_1678962999_5s0ed2zQW7bkkZKI #orchard #appleblossom #perry #holidaycottage #farmstayuk

We're out doing electric fencing today, it's Red Nose Day. What's your favourite joke? #rednoseday #favouritejoke #dadjokes

Well it was a nice old morning to put a couple of new gate posts up. This afternoon....... Not so much. Good to get a job done that we've been trying to sort for ages though. Lots more to do this year. Need to find my fat drill bits now for gate hanging and fitting the box strut tomorrow. #lamborghinitrattori #lamborghinir6 #wragpostknocker #wrag #rotationalgrazing #regenerativeagriculture #newgates #welshfarming #grazingisamazing

Had to take some hay out to the ewes and hoggets today. There's actually some pretty nice grass under that snow, but with just a few weeks until lambing starts, I want to keep those tums full. #farminginthesnow #lambingseason #pasturefedlamb #pastureforlife #welshfarming

Yesterday we had Richard Lloyd Evans come out from the brilliant Project nestbox to put a barn owl box up in one of our trees. We have had barn owls raise chicks here before, so I'm hoping we will have a pair move in soon and start calling it home. If anyone locally has somewhere you think might be suitable to site a box give Richard a shout, he also does boxes for other birds too, and bat boxes. Best of all the barn owl boxes are completely free of charge for anyone who can have one. So no cost, no effort and ongoing organic pest control. It's a win win win. Thank you Richard #barnowls #naturefriendlyfarming #projectnestbox #welshfarming #familyfarming #sustainableagriculture #sustainablefood #pastureforlife

Happy Saint David's Day, from Wales. #welshsheepdog #welshfarming #welshfood #stdavidsday #welshlamb #welshbeef

So how did we get on with TB testing today? #welshsheepdog #dreamteam #topdog #workingdogs

Sheep all in and just waiting for the vet now. They're a bit delayed with people lambing and calving all around us. I was hoping not to have them in too long as we are not far off lambing ourselves now. #pastureforlife #pasturefedlamb #tbtesting

Just about to bring the sheep in for the TB test results. Anyone who has seen Clarksons farm series 2 will know what it's like to try and deal with and what we are up against. Horrible time. #bovinetb #clarksonsfarm

This is why our rotational grazing is so important for the farm here and the wider environment. When we came here, three years ago now, we received the soil test results that had been carried out just before moving in and it was noted by the tester that despite the farm being certified organic, there were unusually virtually no earthworms. We did our own counts in the spring and in some fields we couldn't find any worms at all. The soil had a layer of compaction that roots couldn't pass through and in heavy rain, the water all washed off the surface and ran away without getting into the soil. By rotationally grazing, we are bringing the soil back to life, water is starting to get down into the soil. The regular muck from the animals grazing and then long rest periods is feeding the soil microbes and fungi. The earthworms are coming back. We haven't dug a pit, to do a count yet, but this is the first year we've had casts on the surface, so they are there and hopefully starting to break through the compaction layer. Roots can get in deeper and sequester more carbon into the soil. We will hopefully be testing again this year to see how much carbon we have sequestered. #savethesoilsavetheplanet #welshfarming #familyfarm #grassfedbeef #pasturefedbeef #localfood

We have our remaining sheep mobbed up as one group for the week this week. We have some ewe lambs that are on a quicker rotation because we're trying to get them to grow quickly. So they move normally daily, sometimes every 48 hours, but we also have our in lamb ewes, who we are moving every three to four days now. If we move the in lamb ones daily they will get too big before lambing and we will have too big lambs that the sheep will need help to get out. But tomorrow we are TB testing the sheep again, so it's easier to bring them all in as one group. Then we are reading on Friday so they'll stay together this week and we'll split them again on the weekend. #regenerativeagriculture #rotationalgrazing #welshfarming #pastureforlife

I decided today was the day to start our muck spreading. The weather has been dry enough for us to get on the fields without causing any damage, there's a bit of rain in the forecast which should help wash it in and the temperatures are good and the grass is growing. So time to crack on. Weirdly it rained everywhere else on the farm today, but the field I was working in. That should give the earthworms something to go at. #lamborghinitrattori #newholland #skidsteer #grassfedbeef #muckspreading #flemingagri #naturalfertiliser #wormfood

Step one of our project to get mains water around the farm is to remove all the old temporary stuff we put in. It's lasted three years but needs doing properly now. Less than 50% of the farm has running water, so that means in the summer we have to cart water around in the tractor, and in the autumn we have to bring the cattle in early, because even though there may be grass in the fields we can't get water to them once the ground is wet. Our biggest cost is wintering the cattle inside, so we need to try and do what we can to shorten that as much as possible. #grassfedfarming #pastureforlife #pasturefedbeef #sustainableagriculture #sustainablefood #welshfarming

If you're expecting a delivery today. The girls are on their way. Julia will be messaging people as they make their way around the route. Local Monmouthshire deliveries this morning. #ladieswhodeliver #grassfedbeef #dexterbeef #localfood

Bit of late night feeding and bedding up now the mighty Massey is all fixed up. #masseyferguson #strawchopper #grassfed #hayforwinter

This is Megs favourite thing. She just loves barking. On our top field there's an echo, so when she barks, she hears another dog barking back. So she barks a bit more. She loves that field. #happydog #welshsheepdog #workingdogs #risingstar

Well there's been some lack of updates on here! We've been posting on our FB page but it seems the posts haven't been coming over. For the first time since 2020. We've had to take some hay out for the sheep this winter. We have been able to keep the grass going for the last couple of winters. But extra lambs about on the farm this year, after the dry summer, means we're getting through the grass a bit quicker than its regrowing. It's a shame we couldn't sell them as store lambs back in the autumn. #welshfarming #sheep #hilux #grassfedlamb

Not many lambs left now, so we are down to really small paddock sizes to try and get a decent level of grass utilisation. We've halved our usual grazing cell size, but to be honest we could probably halve it again. But I like them to have a hedge or cover on one side at least 2 days on 50 off at the mo #rotaionalgrazing #sheepfarming #welshfarming #easycaresheep

I don't know if I can bring myself to burn this log. He's already having a bad day by the looks of things.

TB testing results day. Cattle all clear again. Not a good result for the sheep flock though. #bovinetb #tbtesting #farmingchallenges #sheepfarming #welshfarming

It's TB testing day. The cattle are basically all in now for the winter anyway, so they're easier. But the weather is shocking and it means we will have to do the sheep outside. #tbtesting #dexterbeef #grassfedbeef #grassfedlamb #pastureforlife

Cows are coming in

This is what pasture fed and regenerative agriculture can deliver. Cattle out in November on a thick bed of vegetation that's protecting the soil and providing high quality wildlife habitat, while keeping costs down, and still producing amazing quality food. #grazingisamazing #pastureforlife #grassfedbeef #pasturefedbeef

How's Ted getting on with his ewes, and why do we have so few this year? Well it's the things you never plan for. #sheepfarming #welshfarming #bovinetb

A day late but Ted has finally gone in with his ladies. He's got a busy couple of weeks, then rest of the year off. #sheep #easycare #sheddingsheep #welshfarming #tuppingtime

Flyboy was a bit sad to see us leaving for deliveries today. Big thank you to everyone who bought Grass Fed Dexter Beef from us this weekend. We are taking orders now and they're filling fast for Christmas delivery, the first week of December. #grassfedbeef #pasturefedbeef #pastureforlife #weregonnaneedabiggerfarm

The new chickens have braved it and made it into the garden. I wonder how long it will be before we have to close them into a run for the winter because of avian flu. England have announced theirs, I'm sure Wales won't be far behind. #chickens #chickensinthegarden

One of the reasons we think Dexter's are such great cattle. At this time of year we can have them out grazing what is basically a standing hay crop. The ground is getting wetter, but because of their smaller size they do little damage to the soil, and because we haven't had to bale the crop and bring it in, we don't have the additional costs of baling, hauling, bedding and then clearing out and muck spreading in the spring. Plus all that vegetation has provided fantastic habitat right through the year for all sorts of wildlife. #allwintergrazing #naturefriendlyfarming #pasturefedbeef #pastureforlife

It's taken three years and even then I finished in the dark, 😂 but we have proper water going to the river fields at last. No more carting it there in the tractor and nice fresh water, always available for the cattle. Only possible because of our customers support, so thank you to everyone who has bought from us #welshfarming #farminvestment

This old boy is absolutely shattered after his walk this morning. Don't want to disturb him really now. 😂 #welshsheepdog #oldguys

Autumn colours coming through at Ffynnonau as the seasons change. The trees have produced a lot of seeds this year, probably as a result of the hot dry summer. #autumn #welshfarming

We brought our ewes and ewe lambs in for weighing and checking and we had a surprise helper. #welshsheepdog #oldguys #teamwork #welshfarming #sheep #pastureforlife

It looked like we were on the coast off the top of the farm this morning. #mistymorning #autumncolours #welshfarming

The cattle are on their final rotation of grazing before they're housed for the winter. A quick look at how we manage the grazing area. We leave the grass a bit longer than in the spring, to give the sheep something to eat through the winter, and to protect the soils from any heavy rainfall which may be about to come. #pasturefedbeef #pasturefedlamb #grassmanagement #growgrassgrow #welshfarming

Cattle are back on fresh grass after the driest summer I've ever known. They've stayed out, but we've been feeding bales since June. That's longer than we have to feed them some winters! #climatechange #grassfedbeef #pastureforlife #welshfarming #drysummer

The truck has gone in for a service today at Marshall Toyota, so I've had this Yaris hybrid as a courtesy car. I've never driven anything electric before, and I have to say, I'm really impressed. #toyota #yaris #hybrid #marshalltoyota

We've got some grass growing back, and we've moved the lambs and the new ram Ted up to get a belly full. Their first time in a long time with electric fence. #grassfed #grassfedlamb #welshfarming #naturefriendlyfarming #pastureforlife

Look at our handsome new big fella! (On the right 😉) sadly we had to let our last ram go after he reacted to the TB skin test. It's taken a while to sort out a license to bring another ram in. But after a bit of a drive today, I brought this guy home. Hopefully all being well we will have a few lambs about again, come springtime. Welcome to Ffynnonau, Ted #grassfedlamb #grassfed #pastureforlife #sheddingsheep #easycare #welshfarming #bovinetb

We had an absolutely storming evening last night at @farmco.wales The food had been supplied by local producers and was showcasing pasture for life, we had supplied Lamb and Beef, expertly cooked by Billy from @motley.pie Other suppliers who had contributed food were @sooogoodorganic @gowermeadowbeef @penbancpasture and @sanclerorganig It was absolutely brilliant. I fully planned to photograph everything that was brought out to eat, but I ended up taking a picture of some of the starters and then I was enjoying the food and the company so much, I didn't get the phone out again. But based on last night, I can thoroughly recommend all the people mentioned above. Looking forward to seeing them all again.

Nice afternoon for a bit of bale hauling. Still a lot to come in though. #grassfedlamb #grassfedbeef #pastureforlife #welshfarming

The boys are just chilling while Julia finishes off the holiday cottage ready for new guests this afternoon. #welshsheepdog #holidaycottage #farmholidays

With the dry weather causing a lack of grass growth we are feeding, some of our cattle, bales already. These are bales we made ourselves from start to finish on our fields. While rolling today's bale out I noticed something on the ground where I had rolled yesterdays out. An empty drink can that had been thrown into the long grass, I presume from one of the footpaths through the field. It's obviously been through the mower, it has sharp edges and it's not all there. We lost our bull after he ate a foreign object in a bale about two years ago. It's a worry now where the rest of this can has gone. #keepwalestidy #takelitterhome #abitrubbish #welshfarming

Our little fly controllers, have had a cracking season so far. I think this is the third hatch just in this nest this year. Hopefully a warm autumn will keep the insects going, and they can have a good feed before embarking on their travels, and fingers crossed they'll be back for us again next year. #welshfarming #workingwithnature #swallows #grassfedbeef #naturalfood #pastureforlife

Just ignore the background noise 😂 We've been mowing our floodplain meadows. We mow and bale this area late in the year, it gives all the wildflowers a chance to flower and set seed before we mow it. Absolutely teeming with wildlife, insects, spiders and even some ground nesting birds. Not the best feed quality by now, but our suckler cows will make good use of it this winter. #naturefriendlyfarming #pastureforlife #welshfarming #familyfarm #hillsidebeefandlamb #lamborghinitrattori #lamborghinitractor

The results are in and the cattle are all back out, we've had a cup of tea and a think about what it all means. Thanks for sticking with us for the videos this week. It's been a tough old week really. Hopefully next week, we can get back to some pictures of some good stuff going on around the farm. #bovinetb #btb #Bobthesheepdog

Sheep are all done. Not what we were hoping for. Cattle to be checked next. We won't really know what the full implications are for the sheep, and the farm business until next week, after the bank holiday.

TB testing results day and already we've had our first problem and we haven't even started yet. 😂

The final video from yesterday with Fly and Meg joining Bob to put the last group of cows back. It was a long old day, but everyone worked really hard together as a team and we got everything done without anyone getting hurt. Friday we will have our local vet come back to do the readings and then we'll know where we are. I think I've got a rough plan of what we may have to do depending on results. #btb #bovinetb #welshfarming #familyfarm #Bobthesheepdog #SupportSmallBusiness

So this was how the sheep were tested. Julia recorded but didn't explain on the video. It's similar to the cattle skin test, with two injections, but the sheep have one either side of their neck rather than one below the other like the cattle. Once they're done they get a red dot so we can see who's left to do.

So this was how the sheep were tested. Julia recorded but didn't explain on the video. It's similar to the cattle skin test, with two injections, but the sheep have one either side of their neck rather than one below the other like the cattle. Once they're done they get a red dot so we can see who's left to do.

I'm going to do a few little quick videos over the course of the day. We are tb testing today, it's our annual tb test for the cattle, but we are also having all our sheep tested, as we have had a confirmed case in our sheep back in June. This is really rare and unusual. If you have any questions, put them in the comments section and I'll try and answer them in the later videos, if I can.

Feeding hay out to the cattle because the lack of rain has stopped our grass growth dead. We haven't done any pics or vids for a bit, because I've had a torn muscle in my shoulder and a damaged nerve in my neck and no one wants to hear about that for weeks on end. Physio and tablets seem to be bringing it to an end, but it's taking ages. A big thanks to Julia and her Dad for doing one of the delivery runs when it was really bad, and Julia for generally keeping everything together at the farm for the last few weeks. So what have you all been up to?

Not the usual delivery team out today, big thanks to Julia's Dad for taking over driving duties while I'm nursing my shoulder. If you're expecting a delivery from us today look out for a message from Julia. Thanks all take care. #pasturefedbeefdelivery #familyfarm #pastureforlife #teamwork #dexterbeef

Nice evening to move the cows across. We should really have been mowing and baling this week, but what I thought was a shoulder injury and has turned out to be a neck injury, is limiting the amount of tractoring I can do. #familyfarm #rollwiththepunches #pasturefedbeef #pastureforlife

We've done a little bit of sponsoring for the Raglan Primary school fete. I don't think I'll be able to make it sadly, but go along and enjoy the rides, support the ptfa and have some fun. #supportlocal #summerfete #fundayfriday