17,18,19 December 2014

Wednesday

Root Crop & Field Veg Production - root crop and veg Christmas quiz!!!
Farm Habitat Management - an introduction to field surveying
Farm related activity - end of term module catch-up

Thursday

Business Management & Business Planning - business Christmas quiz! communication games and exercises, and an introduction to a business plan!
Estate Skills - woodwork class - completion of my tool box!!!

Friday - last day of term yipeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Beef Husbandry - livestock Christmas quiz!!!
Learner Support - personal study time
Combinable Crops - quick quiz (for the two of us that turned up) then home time!
Investigative Project - the Christmas break starts here!?!?!?!?!?!?! :-) hohoho happy christmas

10,11,12 December 2014

Wednesday

Root Crop & Field Veg Production - field trip to watch Hammonds sugar beet harvesters in action at a farm in Morton
Farm Habitat Management - how humans have intervened with uk farmland wildlife
Farm related activity - a trip to the pheasantry brewery at Tuxford to see how this farm has diversified

Thursday

Business Management & Business Planning - today we looked at company structures
Estate Skills - woodworking session in the workshops

Friday

Careers conference

3,4,5 December 2014

Wednesday

Root Crop & Field Veg Production - I missed today
Farm Habitat Management - I missed today
Farm related activity - I missed today

Thursday

Business Management & Business Planning - today we watched each other's presentations on agriculture in the economy!
Estate Skills - course meeting - no lesson

Friday

Field trip to the east of England Smithfield livestock show at Peterborough

26,27,28 November 2014

Wednesday

Root Crop & Field Veg Production - sugar beet, from sugar cane to beet production.
Farm Habitat Management - farmland fauna, a look at the various farmland habitats; grasslands, margins, hedgerows, pods, streams & rivers and stonewalls.
Farm related activity - a field trip to Branston Ltd - huge potato company! we looked at the potato storage facilities

Thursday

Business Management & Business Planning - how much does it take to run a tractor? per hour we worked out the costing's to run a tractor on a typical farm.
Estate Skills - a prep session for our upcoming woodworking sessions...

Friday

Beef Husbandry - the inside of a ruminant!!!!
Learner Support - personal study time
Combinable Crops - winter wheat part two
Investigative Project - finalising my three project options

19,20,21 November 2014

Wednesday

Root Crop & Field Veg Production - tomatoes, their origin, commercial production, growing, water requirements, nutrition, defects and disease and the market.
Farm Habitat Management - CAP reforms - what the latest proposals are for a CAP reform including the three crop rule, compulsory 'greening' and payment structure.
Farm related activity - Presentation day - in pairs (if our partners were at college) we presented to the class our grain project.

Thursday

Business Management & Business Planning - personal study day
Estate Skills - personal study day

Friday

Beef Husbandry - Feed for beef cattle - a look at forage, concentrates, succulents, liquids and micronutrients.
Learner Support - Today was about the semi-colon and the comma!
Combinable Crops - Winter wheat, about, planting, harvesting and looking for disease.
Investigative Project - continued to work on task one!

12,13,14 November 2014

Wednesday

Root Crop & Field Veg Production - the carrot! its history, its family and relations, planting, harvesting and storage.
Farm Habitat Management - a look into the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP), when and why it started, the advantages, the disadvantages and what it means for todays farmers.
Farm related activity - presentation preparation and library research work.

Thursday

Business Management & Business Planning - personal study day
Estate Skills - personal study day

Friday

Beef Husbandry - an introduction to rationing suckler cows and calves, how food is calculated for energy which is utilised for maintenance and growth, or lost as heat, methane, faecal and urinary energy
Learner Support - referencing
Combinable Crops - how to identify cereal crops including wheat, barley and oats as well as some grass species such as blackgrass and ryegrass
Investigative Project - research work continues..

5,6,7 November 2014

Wednesday

Root Crop & Field Veg Production - the humble potato! we learnt about the history, the plant, planting, harvesting, fertilising, irrigation and the market
Farm Habitat Management - the Agricultural Act 1947 - promising farmers an assured market and guaranteed prices for their produce!
Farm related activity - site visit to phoenix speciality oils - manufacturers of cold pressed rape seed oils, incorporating the borderfields brand (really interesting trip)

Thursday

Business Management & Business Planning - changed to combinable crops. in our first session we worked on our grain presentations (Barley to Beer for me). We then looked at seed certification.
Estate Skills - changed to library work (for me as it was an assessment and my partner was not in)

Friday

Beef Husbandry - we continued to look at the cereal beef platform, looking at the Fat Class and confirmation grading and the feeding and rationing requirements from 5 weeks onwards.
Learner Support - employability seminar
Combinable Crops - changed to business - we carried out a swot analysis following our visit to woodborough farm
Investigative Project - changed to business - in this session we investigated the various farm assurance schemes including red tractor, organic farmers & growers and leaf - linking environment and food.

22,23,24 October 2014

Wednesday

Root Crop & Field Veg Production - field trip to watch Hammonds harvesting potatoes in nearby Kelham
Farm Habitat Management - an introduction to the corn laws - how they were passed to protect prices and how they were overturned to protect the people!
Farm related activity - in teams of two we had to design a poster based on our field trip this morning

Thursday

Business Management & Business Planning - a 'business field trip' to nearby Woodborough Farm (604 acre arable) where owners jackie and john discussed their farming business plan, budgeting and the gross margin of their operations
Estate Skills - changed to injecting some of the in-calf Lincoln red cows with a vaccination - Trivacton 6 which is used to prevent diarrhea in calves when born (it stimulates serological and colostridal antibodies against rotavirus and coronavirus antigens and against K99, y, 31A, F41 antigens of EColi). We then herded in the fat lambs for butcher selection separating for lamb packs and market.

Friday

Beef Husbandry - changed to sheep husbandry - raddle changing on the rams
Learner Support - head of course discussion on how the course is going!
Combinable Crops - an introduction to wheat and mycotoxins - toxic substances produced by fungus
Investigative Project - continued working on project

15,16,17 October 2014

Wednesday

Root Crop & Field Veg Production - a look at world wide vegetable production - china being the dominant produce; onions & garlic, cabbage, cauliflower, potato, tomato and cucumber!
Farm Habitat Management - our first look at historical legislative acts - the enclosures act
Farm related activity - Farm walk reviewing 3 fields giving an account of weed and pest occurrence

Thursday

Business Management - we were given an industry sector and researched the companies, groups and organisations that we would deal with in that scenario.
Business Planning - businesses fail if they fail to compete! Today we looked at how enterprises have to compete to stay at the top of their game!
Estate Skills - we continued with brick laying practice, from mixing the mortar to using a trowel to using half and full bricks to get the right structure.

Friday

Beef Husbandry - a little further discussion regarding the cereal beef production system
Learner Support - tutorial with dom
Combinable Crops - combinable crops and the zadocks growth stages!
Investigative Project - time to carry on with investigative project research

8,9,10 October 2014

Wednesday

Root Crop & Field Veg Production - in the absence of our lecturer we did a hypothetical supermarket veg shop advising what we would buy and how we would buy it! We then watch one of the 2013 harvest videos, focusing on the potato harvest.
Farm Habitat Management - we carried on with the time line of agricultural development through the different ages from the romans to the present day - 20th century farming.
Farm related activity - herded the sheep in and prepped them for tupping (removed dags) put raddles on the rams and turned out. Herded in some of the Lincoln red cattle for weighing and turned back out again.

Thursday

Business Management - an introduction to UK agriculture, its role economically and where it fits in globally. rather surprisingly the UK is approx. 72% self sufficient! but agriculture only contributes to 0.7% of the total GDP (gross domestic product).
Business Planning - a look at a performance indicators within a business and how these are affected and what you can do to alter them.
Estate Skills - following an introduction to bricklaying, we had a go at laying an english garden wall bond wall today! first we mixed a lime and cement mortar mix, on a board adding splashes of water to ensure it didn't go 'too far' then had a go at laying (much harder than it looks).

Friday

Beef Husbandry - a more in-depth look at cereal beef production and a 4 day old calf scenario.
Learner Support - changed to tutorial with dom
Investigative Project - worked on assignment work

Brack Ags Back In Action

So, after a rather looooooooooong summer of farming - haymaking, chicken husbandry and orchard cultivation & maintenance, we are back at brack!!! Slightly different timetable structure, and some key farming topics removed including advanced workshop and dairy! Our college days remain as Wednesday, Thursdays and Fridays and week one has gone as follows:-

Wed
Root Crops & Field Vegetable Production
An introduction to roots, legumes, brassicas, other... Legumes consist of peas and beans; Brassicas consist of brussel sprouts, cabbage and cauliflowers; Root Crops consist of carrots, parsnips, onions, beetroot and turnips and Other agriculture crops include asparagus, leek, celery, lettuce, rhubarb and watercress.

Farm Habitat Management
An introduction to the history of agriculture incorporating legal developments, mechanisation, crop variety, animal husbandry, wars, farming systems and social influences. We started to look at the early stages of agriculture from Neolithic (5000BC to 3000BC) to the Bronze Age (2500BC to 800BC) to Iron Age farming (800BC to 100AD). Very interesting lesson.

Farm Walk/Visit
This afternoon we visited a local crop and vegetable farm - Carr Banks Farm, Farnsfield. Primarily growers of carrots, potatoes and parsnips, we were given a tour of the different vegetable fields and had a look at some of the cultivation and harvesting equipment specific to root crops with lots of information from manager Lawrence about each veg, how it grows, when harvested and end product destination.

Thur
Business Management In Land Based Sector
An introduction to what it takes to hold a managerial position within the agricultural industry.

Business Planning In Land Based Sector
An introduction to the business planning and accounting requirements for managerial positions within the agricultural industry.

Estate Skills
An introduction to estate skills and how these practices are used within farming practices. Our first task will be to build a simple brick wall structure, so we practiced working out a right angle using the 3:4:5 principle (where the measure of 5 from corner to corner is the exact distance between the corners of 3 and 4).

Fri 
Beef Husbandry
A recap on the different beef producing systems - Cereal, Silage, Maize, 18 months and 24 months and a look at the different animals used within the systems including native and continental bred animals.

Learner Support Session
A visit from Sue Sutton who will work with the class over the coming weeks to improve maths and English skills for better use within the agricultural industry.

Combinable Crops
No teacher - so free time to start one of the five assignments already handed out!!!

Investigative Project
An introduction to our investigative project that we will be required to work on during this year.

... its tiring being back!!!!!!

Friday May 30, 2014

Day 86...

Soil, Plants and Crops & Grassland
The day began with an identification task - we had a list of pictures and had to decide which crop they were before using another set of product pictures and identifying which of the crops goes into producing them! We then watched a video on harvest timings and by-products - answering a question sheet as the video went on.
We then were split into groups and given hand outs on various topical issues with regards to crops, global growth, markets etc. and had to devise a set of questions that we would then ask the other groups and visa versa - this was a strategic task for those who thoroughly read the articles and devised questions accordingly!

Tutorial
This, for the three of us who turned up, was about whether we needed to come in next week - unfinished assignment work is to be completed in class time during next week. Luckily I will not need to attend (as long as I complete my last assignment in the library this afternoon!), however, I am coming in on Wednesday for a last preparation teleporter session before attending the telescopic handler test on Monday and Tuesday 9th & 10th June.

Extended National Diploma in Agriculture Year One - Complete!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Its been a roller coaster of a year and a not so pleasant experience being a mature student in a group of mostly young others, I started off learning a great deal of new things whether in theory lessons or practical sessions and gained lots more confidence carrying out machinery tasks and animal procedures (Its a shame some people hindered the learning of its full potential, anyhoo..) Lets see what year two brings...

Thursday May 29, 2014

Day 85..

Machinery
Practical

Our morning practical turned into another teleporter handling session - practice for those soon to be doing the test! And today we had the bucket attached and headed off to the muck heaps for some joystick and boom action! The more compact your muckheap is, the easier it will rot down and the higher the temperature will be so that any parasites, eggs or larvae are killed off before it is spread back onto the fields. A muckheap that has been shaped into different levels or steps makes it far easier for a tractor to come in and remove it one level at a time, but for farmers this is time consuming, so the idea behind 'pushing-up' is to compact the muck and make more space for new muck to be stacked. It is quite difficult to move the teleporter forward whilst grabbing muck with the bucket whilst tipping the bucket the right ways so not to spill anything whilst extending the boom whilst moving the boom up and down!!! But great fun!


Livestock
Theory

This lesson turned into a coursework review lesson with Dom going through all our grades and modules. One assignment to do and I will have completed all the course work for this year! (excluding any resubmission work that I could have to do!) Here's to one more day!!!!!

Wednesday May 28, 2014

Day 84..

Another day out of the office! Today we visited Househam Sprayers at their two sites; Leadenham - head office and site of first assembly, some fabrication work, shot blasting and paint spraying and Woodhall Spa - where the second stage of fit happens (to full build), where second hand/trade in machines are refurbished and where they facilitate a parts, sales and services store!
Househam Sprayers Ltd are the UK’s leading manufacturer and supplier of agricultural sprayers, crop sprayers and amenity sprayers - specialising in self propelled machines.
There are three models of the sprayer, the AR range (Air Ride), the Merlin and the Spirit (the most basic model starting at approximately £90,000). As we walked round both sites we were able to see the whole production process from the steel as it arrives to the boom wiring to the tank and cab installations. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable about the Househam products with hands on experience of working in various department around the company. They have a dedicated engineering team that not only cad designs every model, but who also research and develop and utilise the very latest technology so that it can be incorporated into their sprayer designs.
Housham has developed sprayers to suit any crop or soil type from lightweight models such as the AR2000 litre to the more heavy duty model - the AR6000 litre.  They can also work with specialist machines such as the extra high ground clearance Cotton Boss as well as the Veg Boss, Strawberry Sprayer and other bespoke machines. Househam's most popular machine in the self-propelled range is the AR 3000 litre.
A great look round, a great host and a great lunch! 
 

Friday May 23, 2014

Day 83..

Maths (extra tuition)
A good lesson today working out the fertiliser application rates as per my recent crops assignment! We then moved on to dimensions as per my latest livestock husbandry assignment working out the square metres required for my chosen housing systems!

Plants & Crops
No teacher today so this time was spent in the library doing assignment work for this lesson!

Grassland
Post-assignment feedback session today where we individually got the results for our grass growth and establishment assignment.

Tutorial
Today we had a visit from Pam Ellis (head of FE) to provide us with our course review feedback, following the meeting we had with martin (pam's assistant) to discuss the points of the course we did or did not like! Roll on year 2!!!

Thursday May 22, 2014

Day 82..

'Back in class'

I started off the day with some actual machinery operating! While Dom set off shearing all day, Andy was providing a JCB refresher lesson - for those who are doing their teleporter handling tests in the next few weeks. We went over the safety checks before operating the machine and then started with some basic handling operations - and safe stop / start procedures etc. For example, every time the machine is put into reverse you must check over each shoulder before travelling. We then practiced some lifting and dropping off! Quite difficult when you cant see the end of the forks but, here what you should do is stop the machine and then get out and check! Enjoyed the session, finally got the gist of the joystick operation - left = up - right = down!!! (fork toe). And, feel better for having had another go in the machine before being faced with a test in two weeks!

The afternoon was spent down at durdham farm shearing sheep - well, those that were not too wet from the heavy rain in the night. I had a go doing a couple of sheep, although it felt really hard to do today! my legs just aren't long enough (or strong enough) for some of the manoeuvres required to keep the sheep in the correct position! The aim was to get those doing their blue seal certification up to standard, and although I enjoy doing the shearing - I'm just not sure I can do one without some assistance - so maybe I'll just keep practicing for now. I did however wrap quite a lot of fleeces up so hopefully I've mastered that technique now!

Wednesday May 21, 2014

Day 81..

'School trip'

Today we went off to the grassland and muck event at stoneleigh park, for live demonstrations of all the latest tech, from tractors and hay rakers to combine harvesters and bale wrappers! All the big name brands were on hand to show off their big and shiny agricultural machinery including jcb, class, massey ferguson and krone, with plenty of stands to walk round too!

There was also a live forum area with various talks throughout the day, and I enjoyed the 'getting more meat from grass talk' presented by an eblex representative and a beef producer from somerset! Basically, the longer you retain the best possible grass the better for the animal and the pocket!!! It's all about grassland management and the importance of it!

No shopping for me I'm afraid, I'm one of those poor farmers ;-) - but did manage to acquire a few new pens!

Friday May 16, 2014

Day 80..

Soil Science and Crop Production
Today we completed a p5 criteria test!!! This was on plant processes. We each selected a crop that we then needed to provide a six month action plan on incorporating planting, growing and cultivation. Within this plan I discussed the plant processes and plant husbandry such as fertilising, irrigation and weed control for my crop of potatoes!

Grassland Management
Today we looked at interpreting a silage analysis, which is carried out to identify any problems in the silage, provide the nutritional qualities and fermentation qualities. We then looked at some samples bought into class and had to work out their order of dry matter content:
Carrot 11% DM
Grass 18% DM
Potato 20% DM
Hay & Straw 87% DM
Grass nuts & Alfalfa 90 % DM

Tutorial
To the computer room for some more assignment work!!!

Thursday May 15, 2014

Day 79..

Machinery Morning
We hitched up the topper and the tipping trailer and went off to sheepwalks for some machinery operations!!! Grass grown for grazing is like no other crop as the swards need to produce as much vegetative growth as possible throughout the season - without heading! And a topper is used to help maximise productivity. Pasture toppers are more widely used by farmers for grassland weed control, especially to control thistles, but can also be done for pasture maintenance and cosmetic measures. We used an agrimaster 280 topper attached by three point linkage and driven by the PTO set to 520 (I think) for operating. We set the topper going to see the results!! Unlike a mower, topping, leaves the grass chopped up and spread out on the ground ready to be utilised as organic matter back in the ground.

Animal Afternoon

the fleece of a sheep's back... we looked at the wool side of shearing today, as this also has a price in sheep production. Dom explained that originally some sheep were bred for their wool, were kept for 6/6 fleeces and then went to the meat market as lamb - whereas these days we breed for the meat and the wool is a by-product! Breeds of sheep are graded according to the type of wool they produce: Fine (Rambouillet, Merino) Crossbred - Fine x Medium (Targhee, Corriedale, Columbia) Medium - Fine x Long (Suffolk, Hampshire, Dorset, Cheviot, Montadale, Southdown, Shropshire, Tunis, Polypay) Long - Course (Romnay, Border Leicester, Lincoln, Cotswold) Carpet - Double Coated (Scottish Blackface, Karakul, Icelandic) Hair - Shedding, not sheared (Katahdin, Dorper, Barbado).
We also had an introduction to BSE - or mad cow disease as it was more commonly known! Although this have virtually died out now, there are a few cases still recorded in Britain over the last few years.
We finished to day with two tests!!! A breeds test - Animal and its purpose (e.g. Dairy or beef) and a written test with regards to understanding and promoting animal health! fingers crossed for some more p grades met!

Wednesday May 14, 2014

Day seventy eight..

principles of land based machinery
we began the lesson with an introduction to the milking parlour - as this does form part of farming machinery! we looked at the different types of parlour / milking systems including herringbone (the most common), rotary, robot, abreast, auto tandem, milking bale and the traditional bucket and stool!!! we then entered into individual tutorials to discuss our pass criteria achievements for our machinery and land based machinery operation modules!

livestock practical
An afternoon of sheep shearing! After our introduction at the show at the weekend, we now have to attack the rest of the college herd! We worked in pairs with one on the power string at all times and in turns had a go at shearing a whole sheep! Dom was on hand to guide us round the sheep, telling us what lines to take with each blow. Luckily I had a really quiet sheep this time, with only a little wool on her brisket (chest and belly area). As she was young too, care needed to be taken around her teat area, as these were quite small! Once the fleece is shawn, it needs wrapping up by pulling in the sides alternatively then rolling up as tight as possible. It is then bagged ready for selling to the wool board or privately. Money is knocked off though if the fleece is not held together very well or is dirty (so remove any poops before wrapping up!)

Nottinghamshire County Show

Sheep Shearing

First sheep shearing demonstration of the day by me!

Dom carried out a demo first (to the small but enthusiastic audience) with a live sheep shearing explanatory show, then it was my go. The belly and first few neck blows were started off by dom then I stepped in to hold the sheep up with my knees and using the hand shears to carry out some long blows (cutting the wool away in continuous moves following the contours of the body).
half way through the sheep started wriggling and I lost grip, so we ended up laying her down and holding her there for me to finish the side and reach the back bone. I completed the shear and got the fleece off in one piece, so I am really pleased with my first attempt!!! blue seal here I come....

Friday May 9, 2014

Day 77..

plant, soil and agricultural crop production
first we were split in to groups to go off and research a specific harvester (combine etc) and my group were given a maize harvester. once back in class we gave a talk to the rest of the groups on our findings. we then watched one of the BBC's harvesting programmes from 2013 in which they followed a number of vegetable growers throughout their season - and we had to answer a question sheet along the way! we then had an introduction to good grain storage followed by selling grain on the different market places (yep, we have been given another assignment to do!!!)

grassland management
good trip today to sharmans dairy farm to have a 'field' walk to discuss grazing and field management. ian had a measuring tool and took field readings as we walked around and compared them to the analysis sheet for the previous week. The grass is measured on a weekly basis and the details entered into a computer program that works out where the cows need to be turned out after every milking. tracks have been put into reach almost every paddock as this enhances the welfare of the animals (less chance of slipping over) as well as better maintained fields (less poaching).

tutorial
access to computer facilities to carry on with assignment work!

Thursday May 8, 2014

Day 76..

Machinery practical..
today we carried out a maintenance/pre-season service check on the grass mower. this involved greasing, checking the blades and changing any that were worn out or chipped (in pairs so that one isn't weaker than another), checking the belts and referring to the manufacturers guide to ensure the right tension was applied (we had to slacken them off slightly), checking the frame and PTO shaft were in good working order (there was a snap in the frame that would just need to be welded back on - but should not affect immediate use), and we then had to check the oil in the gearbox - this overflowed when the drain plug was removed so we ran off the excess to the fill level. the curtain was in good condition so with that we stored it back in the barn for later use.

Livestock theory..
this afternoon we helped Dom take the sheep fencing and supplies to Newark showground ahead of the agricultural show at the weekend. there are a number of us having a go at sheep shearing as part of a demonstration display at the show and there will be a shearing trailer set up where the sheep are herded onto and the shearing can take place and be watched by the public.

Wednesday May 7, 2014

Day 75..

Farming Theory - today we were split into two groups the first investigated mowers and my group investigated toppers. We created a cross sectional drawing on the board and labelled the main parts before talking through the functions etc. We were then set the task of discussing the current legislation and codes of practice that influence the agriculture sector, for example, the health and safety at work act 1974 - affecting employers and employees, LOLER - lifting operations and lifting equipment regulations, PUWER - provision and use of work equipment regulations and COSHH - the control of substances hazardous to health. (Forms part of the D assessment criteria). Finally, in small groups we had to draw and label the main parts and components of a tractor and discuss the materials each were made out of and why, for example the cylinder block is made out of cast iron as this is durable, has a low melting point, good fluidity, castability, exceptional machinability and is ware resistant!

Farming Practical - this afternoon we had to relocate the set of later lambing ewes and their lambs to middle meadow but first we had to worm and ear tag the lambs! We herded the sheep into one of the lambing yards at home farm (eventually - after some of the ewes went one way and their lambs went another) so that we could separate them into two groups (one to keep one to go to market). The lambs received two oral solutions today: zermex - for the control of internal parasites such as gastro-intestinal round worms and lungworm and helps to prevent and treat external parasite psoroptic manage (scab). provides persistent action against scab mites for - 4 weeks, preventing infection or reinfection. Persistent action against stomach worms for up to 5 weeks. And, vecoxan - to treat and help prevent coccidial infections in lambs caused in particular, by the more pathogenic (infectious organisms) Eimeria species: E. crandallis & E. ovinoidalis. All the galway lambs were also ear tagged and recorded as this will remain on the farm or form part of lamb packs later!

Friday April 2, 2014

Day 74..

Plant & soil science and agricultural crop production
With a whole load of printed material and reference books and help from charlotte we worked our way through the remaining questions on our plant structure and function assignment. Part of this was handed in last week however there were still a few questions outstanding so we set about completing these. Various tasks included the processes of plant water uptake, water movement and loss, respiration and photosynthesis. I'm afraid this is my weakest subject so far!!!


Grassland management
Gill today discussed how to make good grass silage.. the key processes to making silage are cutting, spreading, wilting, picking up, filling the clamp (or baling) and sealing the clamp. Get all these right and the following stages are more likely to result in the best possible silage:- 1) the Aerobic stage - this takes hours and oxygen levels are reduced. 2) the Fermentation stage - occurs over a few weeks where the pH level drops to between 3.7 and 5.0. 3) the Stable stage - happens over 2-3 days where the pH stabilises at around 3.8 to 4.3. 4) the Storage stage - keeping the silage airtight until it is to be used during winter feeding. Clamps may benefit from additives being introduced to help the above processes and include inoculants, enzymes, acid based additives and sugar sources (including sugar beet pulp). Additives help to preserve the silage so that it maintains as many of the nutrients as possible for winter feeding.



  

Thursday May 1, 2014

Day 73..

Machinery - Outdoors
Today we hitched up two tractors and very different trailers, 1 passenger trailer and 1 dumper trailer, and went off to Durdham farm to practice manoeuvring around a farm yard! We had to drive through and around gates and entrances and then reverse through gates, entrances and in to barns and up hill in to parking bays (made by straw bales). This was a really fun task and driving the two tractors really made you think about your driving skills as there was a very different turning ability to each. My instruction was to go in the lowest possible gear when reversing in to more tricky places in order for me to stop 'riding the clutch' - controlling the speed of a vehicle with a manual transmission (gear box) by partially engaging the clutch plate, using the clutch pedal instead of (or as well as) the accelerator pedal! Its a habit but I was able to drive the tractor just as well not doing it!


Livestock - Classroom
We started the session with an introduction to pig production - the second largest meat consumption in the UK (chicken being the first). Bacon occupies 41% of the market, followed by Sausages and Pies 37% and Pork 22%. However, pig production is significantly influenced by market forces - people enter the market and the price goes down, people leave the market and the price goes back up and so on. A pig averages 2.4 litters based on a gestation period of 3m 3w 3d, weaning 1m and on heat (oestrous) for 1w - rolling in to 5 months from service to service and the number of piglets born can range from 8 to 18!
We then watched some dvds on sheep shearing - as we will be required to carry this out as a demonstration at the upcoming Newark and Notts agricultural show! Electrically powered hand shears were used and the idea is that blade glides across the surface of the sheep's skin removing the wool in one go! We will have to see how well we get on with that!  

Wednesday April 30, 2014

Day 72..

Machinery & Land Based Operations Theory
Combines and combine harvesting! That was our subject today. We were split into groups and with a picture of either the outside of a combine or an internal picture we had to label the parts that we already knew. These were displayed and then we talked through the various components and their function. Setting up a combine takes into consideration whether you are collecting straw for later baling or whether you are using the straw chopper in the machine and letting it disperse with the intention of ploughing it back into the ground as organic matter. Once combining you also need to keep an eye on your losses - taking a count of the amount of seed dropped on the ground after the pass and if the corn spans the width of the header then it is usually a header or reel setup issue and should be adjusted accordingly. Where the loss of grain is found under the swath (row of straw) it is coming out with the chaff and so the main grain pan should be investigated. Where the grain is mixed in to the swath can identify a threshing issue and the threshing cylinder investigate!   


Livestock Husbandry Practical
This afternoon we had an introduction to sheep shearing - the process of removing the fleece off the animal. For the purposes of our demonstration and practice we were just concentrating on the daggy bottoms of the sheep today. Machine shears, aka handpieces, operate in a similar way to human hair clippers in that a power-driven toothed blade, known as a cutter, is driven back and forth over the surface of a comb (reciprocating) and the wool is cut from the animal. Once the hand piece was set up it was connected to the generator for power via an on/off hand pull - this is for safety when shearing and cuts power to the blades immediately. The shears are placed in to the sheep's fleece and with a downward motion used to cut away the fleece. It is easier to get in to the cleaner wool nearest the skin as the blades do not work well through dirty, clogged up wool - you just have to be careful when moving the shears around not to nick the sheep! We continued to dag some of the really dirty sheep bums as the weather was really muggy and there were flies about and we managed to see maggots just starting to appear on a couple of the sheep.

*** Bombshell dropped - college is trying to increase our hours next year - from three days to four!!!!! Outrageous considering I have committed to a three day course (and the fact that we do not even attend for three full days at present!!!) BTEC are to blame - they are insisting on more teaching hours apparently. Not sure what else they are going to teach us (if I can sacrifice my job, and afford the petrol to come for the extra day that is!)

Friday April 25, 2014

Day 71..

Plant Science/Soil Science & Agricultural Crop Production
Lab coats on and ready for a session using the microscopes!!! This forms part of our plant structure and function assignment and we were looking at the differences between monocots and dicots. We cut up a bean seed first, to get a cross sectional view, and then compared this to a sweet corn seed. Monocots only have one seed leaf inside the seed coat, whereas dicots produce two seed leaves providing food for the new plant. We then cut the stems of a bean plant and wheat plant to provide a cross section that we put under the microscope to have a really close up view. Whist doing the same for the leaves of these plants we were able to get a really close up look at the parallel veins in the dicot leaf (the bean) and the random, fuller shaped veins of the monocot veins (in the wheat leaf).

Grassland Management
.. Turned into a class test on operator settings on land based machinery!!! We had to discuss the engine, transmission and hydraulic systems, how these can be altered and what happens if altered, as well as modifications made by manufacturers and then what and how these systems are used in a farming scenario, for example going spraying!!!

Thursday April 24, 2014

Day 70..

Machinery Operations - Practical
Calibrating a sprayer. We hitched up to the 12m Hardi sprayer in the yard via three point linkage and filled up the tank with water to enable us to carry out a nozzle check. Using the recommended nozzle output guidelines the pressure was adjusted accordingly and using a jug we collected water for 30 seconds from each nozzle. Each collection was measured and x by 2 (to take a per minute reading). The average was then worked out for the 24 nozzles and any that were over or under 5% from the average (or 10% from the guidebook) were checked. We had one that was borderline, removed it and gave it a clean. We then took the tractor off road to carry out a speed test - we put cones out at 100m apart and using the speedometer grid in the cab tried to work out which gear we needed for our recommended spraying output - this is to ensure that you are travelling at the right speed to output the correct amount of chemicals per acre. And with that, you are ready to go spraying...


Livestock Husbandry - Theory
We started off by looking at the different types of grazing systems used for sheep; continuous, rotational and intensive. Continuous means that all of the ewes and lambs will be turned out in one field, ensuring that it is big enough that the grass does keep growing ahead of them. As a guide 12/13 ewes and lambs per hectare should be adequate. Rotational grazing means that you use a system of slightly smaller fields so that the livestock can be moved from one to the next and so on. This utilises extra grass growth by keeping sheep off a field and conserving the grass for winter feeding. Using this method 15/17 ewes and lambs per hectare should be ok. You can also introduce creep feeding into this method allowing the lambs through to new grass before letting the ewes on. Paddock grazing is more expensive in infrastructure - more paddocks require more fencing and water supply etc. however, it produces a more intensive grazing system. The livestock is moved every 3/5 days onto the next field utilising the fresh grass growth and allowing the grass from the previous paddock to grow again ready for its next rotation.
We also had a health and safety in the work place presentation this afternoon in preparation of work experience placements during the summer break!

Wednesday April 23, 2014

Day 69..

AM - Machinery Operations Theory
This morning we carried self surveys with regards to certain practices that take place in or around a farm workshop, for example using the right tools for the right job and how to service a baler and the procedure for gas welding. Our marks we recorded on the board and then each of the tasks was given to 1 or 2 students who then needed to devise an assignment style question relating to the subject. these questions were then judged for the better of the two and then we took it in turns to answer the questions as a group before re-scoring ourselves now that we had been thinking about the topics in more detail.
We then had an introduction to calibrating sprayers which is an important job before setting off to spray your crops. All sprayers, big or small, trailed or self propelled, must be calibrated according to the application rates of the chemicals that are being used. Therefore, it is essential for a user to know how to calibrate a sprayer. You are most likely to need to adjust your sprayer according to the current spraying conditions along with volume rate, driving speed, nozzles and spray pressure. We will carry out calibration during practical tomorrow.


PM - Livestock Husbandry Practical
Today we re-visited the pig farm of Andrew Baugh near Wellow. One of our new assignments is about animal housing systems so the idea was to look more closely at the different housing systems in place both at the outdoor rearing unit and the finishing units at the farm.

Thursday April 17, 2014

Day 68..

Land based machinery operations practical

Rolling, harrowing and measuring a hectare!!! Today we practiced some farming on Sheepwalks East - a permanent grazing field. First I had a go at harrowing - this is a heavy frame implement that has tines or discs inside it that are used to level the ground, stir the soil, break up clods, and destroy weeds. This implement was mounted onto the back of the tractor by the drawbar and care had to be taken going round corners as it was a metre bigger than the tractor either side. Next was rolling - a heavy cylinder type implement that is pulled by the tractor and used to help the establishment and growth of crops in the early stages, usually just after drilling for the best effect.

Rolling consolidates the soil around the young seed which helps make moisture and nutrients more available to the young plant.
While it was not our turn in the tractors we used a trundle wheel to work out the size of one hectare - which is the metric measurement of an area which is 100 m by 100 m (10000 square metres). An acre is approximately 0.4047 hectares and one hectare contains roughly 2.47 acres!


Livestock husbandry - extra practical

This afternoon we ear tagged the first set of lambs. These tags were identification tags for farm use and ran in numerical order from number 1 onwards and recorded in the lambing book. Ear tags are a legal requirement when keeping livestock and depending what animal you have there are different rules, so you must be aware of your responsibilities. Registration, identification, and accurate recording and reporting of sheep movements is used to ensure their traceability, and to minimise the risk of disease transmission and maximise the possibility of controlling the spread during an outbreak.
Rules according to DEFRA (the department for environment, food and rural affairs) state:-
You must identify your sheep within:

• six months of birth if housed overnight
• nine months of birth if not housed overnight
• whenever they move off the holding of birth if this is sooner

If they will be kept for longer than 12 months you must apply two identifiers (typically ear tags). Both will bear the same unique individual ID number. For sheep one must be electronic.
If they are intended for slaughter within 12 months of age you have the option to identify them with a single ear tag (showing only your flock/herd mark).

Wednesday April 16, 2014

Day 67..

Land Based Machinery Operations - morning lectures
As the season moves into spring one of the farming jobs turns to making silage and although it can be hard to think about winter feeding it is crucial to get it right now. Silage is a form of conserved grass (or other crop) that is fed to livestock during the winter months.
The first process in producing silage is mowing - cutting a grass crop at approximately 60cm tall. The mower width will vary according to field sizes but all mowers cut the grass into rows - swath, which can easily be picked up by a forage harvester (a machine that picks up the cut grass). Mowers are drum or disc driven - drum from the top and disc from the bottom.
Forage harvesters have a series of rotating tines that lift the grass from the ground before feeding it into a chopper. The chopper cuts the grass to a predetermined length before blowing the chopped grass into a trailer for transportation to the clamp. In the farm yard the grass is deposited in a heap (the clamp) and pushed up by a handler into a large pile and then driven over to remove as much of the air as possible. Most silage clamps are then covered with black plastic sheets making sure that air and water cannot get into the clamp, either from the top or around the edges. This sheeting is then weighted down usually with old tyres until the silage is ready to be used in winter.
With lots of machinery operations happening around the farm yard we also looked at tractor safety for example prestart checks, and being aware of safety while hitching up an implement, such as making sure the tractor is to the right specification for the intended job, and operating in a field, checking for obstructions before you commence work and making sure the machinery is set up and operating correctly.

Livestock Husbandry - practical afternoon
Today we were in charge of worming and foot bathing the first set of lambs as they are now happily turned out to graze and are growing quickly! The lambs are wormed to help them fight parasite infections - worms build up resistance to particular drenches so it a a good idea to change each year. The three main types of wormer are: Benzimidazoles (white drenches), Levamisoles (clear drenches) and Avermectins/Milbemycins (also known as the macrocyclic lactones, ML, and endectocides). There is also a herbal wormer from Verm-X, suitable for organic farmers. 
We set up the race and formed a 'conveyor' type system of lamb, drench 1, drench 2, foot bath dip, counted (<-I was responsible for this bit, 122!). The foot bath was made up of a water and a formaldehyde based solution which is designed to prevent foot scald in lambs - A non-contagious infection. Foot scald causes lameness, most commonly on the front feet, and lesions are found between the hooves. The tissue between the toes may be red and swollen, or totally white in colour and will cause some discomfort. 

Lambing Live

Shifts three to five..

Friday March 28, 2014 (2pm-10pm)

A really busy shift for myself and Fraya! We started with the routine chores, feeding round the ewes in both yards, the nursery, the field and new mums and then feeding the orphan lambs x 10!
Earlier in the day two ewes had been treated for twin lamb - a disease that occurs during late gestation when the energy requirement of the ewe exceeds their energy intake as they try and support the babies last growth stages. We needed to keep an eye on these but as the night progressed we had another two ewes go down rapidly - the problem was, the earlier administration of a glucose solution and energy supplement had been recorded using the sheeps' herd/holding number - not the individual identification number so we couldn't tell what had/had not been treated. It was therefore decided to dose these two with glucose and energy supplement anyway!
After this we discovered that a previous lamb had gone rapidly hypothermic and so we needed to intervene and inject a 20% dextrose solution into the lamb (due to rapid lose of glucose, energy and health) at a rate of 10ml/kg body weight (approximately 100ml) - injected directly into the abdominal cavity intra peritoneally (IP Injection). This lamb was then put straight into the hot box in a bid to warm it back up to a safe temperature. (She survived!)
We then found a lamb with watery mouth - a bacterial disease affecting newborns. This lamb had become lethargic, dull, not interested in suckling. We striped the mum of some milk and tube fed the lamb to see if this would encourage the passing of faeces and perk the lamb up. But by the end of our shift the lamb remained lifeless and salivation around the mouth was now present - this poor thing died a few hours later.


Friday April 4, 2014 (2pm-10pm)

There was just one ewe and her lamb in the bonding pens - however this ewe was not supposed to be pregnant! Last years ewe lambs were out grazing when one gave birth!!! Upon further investigation of a fully castrated ram that had been turned out with these ladies, it was discovered that he was only half! castrated - and had therefore managed to produce some cheeky seamen!!! Consequently the 24 ewe lambs have been brought into one of the straw lambing yards and are being monitored for anymore surprise births!!!
We went about our routine checks and feeding and some yard tidying up! Monitoring the second batch of lambing ewes, one showed some mucus discharge but never actually showed any other signs of labour - but as a precaution (due to the length of time from the mucus showing) we decided to bring her into a pen just to make it less stressful for her to begin the proceedings.
Not born on our shift.


Monday April 7, 2014 (6am-2pm)

6 sheep and their offspring in the bonding pens (so the second batch did start to lamb over the weekend) and all seemed to be doing well. 9 orphan lambs in the lamb gang and nothing else showing any signs of giving birth whatsoever! Checked and cleaned all the waters and made sure all beds were clean and dry. Fed round at 9am of all the ewes - inside, straw years, nursery and the field before bottle feeding the orphan lambs. Swept up the yards and cleaned feed troughs out. We helped Neil bed down the Lincoln Red cows and their calves, before replenishing the silage in the straw yards for the expectant ewes. We then bedded these down on fresh straw. Kept up regular monitoring of the ewes but still nothing!
No new lambs on this shift!

Friday March 28, 2014

Day 66..

Plant Science - today we worked through a question sheet with regards to water uptake in different environmental conditions. Our sheets had various activities that needed to be completed by watching various video clips or class discussions or tests!

Crop Production - during this lesson we were split into groups and asked to research topical influences affecting agricultural production. We were given various forms of information and asked to devise a flow diagram that we then presented to the rest of the class.

Grassland Management - a trip to a local farm to hear a representative from BOCM Pauls (Feed merchants) discuss the qualities and properties of silage and to give us a demonstration of taking a silage sample using a core sampler. This sample was then tested for the pH reading and the remaining results will be utilised in further class lessons.

*** EASTER BREAK (very much required!) ***

Thursday March 27, 2014

Day 65..

This morning in workshop practical we had two brand newly punctured tractor tyres to repair! We started off by using bead breaking equipment to remove the tyre off the rim. We then had to deflate the tube so that it could be removed from inside the tyre - from the valve end first!
Once removed the tube is blown back up to discover where the loss of air is coming from and this area marked with chalk. We then deflated the tube again so that the area could be cleaned with some sandpaper - to remove any debris that is clinging to the surface, before preparing the area with a buffer lubricant. A layer of vulcanising glue was then applied ready for the patch to stick too. The tube is then reassembled inside the tyre and the tyre reassembled onto the wheel - when it comes to seating a tyre you will need to apply lubrication so the bead will slide and seat correctly on its rim and not fold under itself. The wheel is then stood up and using a compressor, air is used to pump the tyre back up - taking care to stand to the side at all times! Hey presto job done!

We sat a 'class test' in livestock husbandry with regards to sheep breeds and stratification - whereby particular breeds that have been occupying specific environments to which they have adapted too are then connected by the movement of lambs and older animals from higher, to lower ground to produce the best end product. In upland areas there are again specific breeds, these and older draft mountain ewes are crossed with the longwool breeds. The cross results in a half-bred or mule. Male lambs are generally sold as stores for fattening in the lowlands whilst the ewe lambs are transferred to the lowlands to be crossed with a lowland breed. In the lowlands, the mules and half-breds are crossed with lowland sires to produce lambs that can be fattened on summer grass. Slower growing lambs join the store lambs that have arrived from the hill and upland areas to be fattened on root crops over the autumn and winter months.
We then discussed the mammary gland - in cattle. The mammary gland is a highly modified sweat gland and the lining of the teat and ducts is essentially modified skin. Milk is produced by cells lining the alveoli - small structures deep within the udder. The alveoli are surrounded by muscle cells and when the stimulus for milk let down occurs, the muscle contracts and squeezes the milk into the ducts that lead to the gland cistern and the teat producing the milk for a calf or for a human to collect!

Wednesday March 26, 2014

Day 64..

AM  Maths test revisited!!! We arrived today and were re-directed to the computer room to re-sit the maths test that we took at the beginning of the year (but did not have enough time to finish!). Sprung upon us again but at least I got a far better result today (not as good as I could have achieved by any means - so here's to some extra maths revision). Maths is extremely important within the agricultural industry, from calculating fertiliser rates to correct weight loads of a tele-handler.
Back in lesson we played a matching pairs game with picture and written descriptions of sprayers and fertilisers and associated equipment. With a matching pair we then took it in turns to tell the rest of the class about our cards and elaborate where necessary.

PM  We started off with some lamb administration - weights, tails ringed and if they were little boys then their bits were ringed too! Each lamb then marked up with the next number and the number applied to mum with a corresponding number of dots for the number of lambs! We turned the nursery pen out to the field and the day olds to the nursery pen.
We then took a risk assessment of our next task.. Condition scoring some Lincoln red heifers using a cattle crush (handling system). We looked for all the potential hazards from the animals to the pen to the crush before rounding up the girls.
The body condition is assessed on a scale of 1-5 (1 being too thin and 5 being too fat). The tail head is assessed by standing directly behind the cow. The trailhead is scored by feeling for the amount of fat around the trailhead and the prominence of the pelvic bones. The loins and ribs are assessed from the side of the cow. The loin is scored by feeling the horizontal and vertical projections of the vertebrae and the amount of fat between them. The ribs are scored using the flat of the hand and fingertips to feel the amount of fat cover. Our best heifer was 368 scoring 3.5!.

***First smiley face sticker received!!!! (as part of our brand new class discipline regime)

Lambing Live

Shift 2 (2-10 21.03.14)

33 ewes still left to lamb from the early batch of lambers - and a few were looking promising!!!

We started off with a successful twin lamb birth, mum and babies healthy and moved to the bonding pens, navel's dipped in iodine and then left to enjoy each others company.

Another twin lamb birth followed shortly afterwards, this time the second lamb was much smaller than the first lamb. We monitored this little girl because she was getting quite chilly and shivering and not being licked by mum to warm her up. Later in the shift we decided to try and suckle the lamb onto mum as we had not seen it properly have a drink - it would head for the teat area but then just stand there! Unfortunately when suckling on the little lamb still didn't want to drink, so we resorted to striping some of the milk off mum and stomach tubing the lamb with this essential colostrum that the lamb would need for energy, warmth, antibodies and to make it have its first poop.

The third ewe to start lambing had passed her water early on in the shift but she was taking an absolute age to start the pushing process. After about an hour and a half someone decided to have a feel and see if there were any complications with the lamb. The lamb was really far back but seemed to be in the normal presentation (front feet forward followed by the nose) so we left for a little longer. After about another hour we brought mum in to a pen to alleviate any further stress being caused and it was then decided that we would intervene and help baby out... it took three people to pull the first lamb out - it was a big lamb and a very small hole!!! But it came out alive, followed by a sibling just a few moments later.

Six more springy spring lambs! 

Friday March 21, 2014

Day 63..

Plant Science & Crop Production... We started off by discussing ESS - environmental stewardship schemes and how there are different levels according to land farmed - els (entry level stewardship), hls (high level stewardship), oels (organic entry level stewardship) and uels (upland entry level stewardship). Land owners receive a certain amount of money per hectare, along with a number of points, upon commitment to maintaining certain criteria for an agreed number of years on their land.
Then Another assignment was given out! So we were given some input with regards to some of the tasks relating to field walks / observations required around brack! I was a little lost with all the information here, from record taking, fertiliser recommendations and some sources as i couldn't relate all of it to the assignment brief, but let's see how it goes...

Grassland Management... Analysing silage, why it is important, when to do it and how to do it!

It is important to analyse your grass silage in order to assess the actual feed value of the roughage during the winter months when you have to calculate winter feeding programs.It will also enable you to see if there are any nutritional deficiencies that could have an impact on animal health and production during winter months when they are housed and / or being fed silage.

Sampling should take place at least six weeks after harvesting, as this will have allowed the fermentation process to take place.

To ensure that the sample is a true representation of what is going to be fed to the livestock, it is essential to take the sample directly from the farm. From a silage clamp it is recommended that three ‘core’ samples are taken from the top of the clamp in a diagonal direction. Additional samples are then taken from 15-20cm behind the face of the silage – to avoid damaged and mouldy areas, in a ‘W’ pattern, taking a variety of horizontal and vertical samples. All of the sample are then mixed thoroughly providing a true sample. Where possible send the sample off at the beginning of a week!

Thursday March 20, 2014

Day 62..

Machinery / Workshop Practical
Today we worked on the cultipress in the workshop yard. This machine carries out three actions in one pass - cultivating, levelling and consolidating the seedbed ready for drilling. Cultivation at speed is provided by leading tines, either Pro-Active sprung tines (fitted as standard) or shearbolt protected rigid units. Some of these tines can be broken when working the land and there was a section in the middle of this machine that had been snapped off. Our job was to detach all of the tines on the front section and remove the casing that these attached too!
We then continued to service the baler in the yard as this job is not yet finished and we added a few more bits to the list of requirements including a new casing for the electrical power cables running the lighting.

Livestock Theory
1. Marketing Prime Lamb
Customers of prime lamb (finished lamb) include the buyer for the abattoir or processor who buys it from the farmer; the retailer who sells it to the public and those who eat the meat! Each customer has different requirements and you must be target specific when finishing your lamb:- Supermarkets 16-21KG carcase, EUR confirmation & 2, 3L fat classification; Local butchers 16-25KG carcase, EURO confirmation & 2, 3L fat class; Exports 9-21KG Carcase, EUR confirmation & 2, 3L fat classification.
2. Heifer Rearing
The management of a dairy heifer up to first lactation has a significant effect on potential milk yield, fertility, potential calving difficulties and longevity. Calving at 2 years old has the following benefits; fewer replacements are required, less land needed, feeding, housing & labour costs are reduced, faster genetic improvement within the herd, longer lasting heifers producing more milk and earlier return on capitol!
3. Animal Diseases - Recognition & Recording
It is a legal requirement that all livestock farmers record all veterinary medication administrations. Single farm payments can be affecting if these records are not up to date. We were split into groups and given a list of symptoms and then had to identify the animal from a picture wall with that symptom, as well as the medication it would need and then write up the treatment on a vet med recording sheet.

Wednesday March 19, 2014

Day 61..

Land based machinery - in today's session we covered the topic of all-terrain vehicles (ATV's) and in depth the quad bike. Most ATV's are not fitted with a differential gearbox - which means that turning is difficult and requires the loss of traction on the inside wheel - one of the main reasons that an accident can happen. The operator must be able to shift their weight to maintain the correct centre of gravity and compensate for the forces experienced when turning and operating on slopes (hence no seatbelt). You should never carry passengers on the quad or in a trailed vehicle and you must be 16 or over to operate an adult machine. The two most important safety checks before setting out on your quad are brakes and tyre pressure - which should be between 2&7 psi and should be taken by a low pressure gauge!

Livestock husbandry practical - this afternoon we had a move around of some of the sheep with lambs - nursery pen went to the field and older bonding pens relocated to the nursery pen. We then moved all the first lambers into one straw yard as we needed to fetch in the next batch of 80 sheep due to start lambing in the next two weeks. These were still out grazing at sheepwalks east, so this meant taking the sheep race down to the field and herding them in for a health check before loading them onto the cattle trailer and being moved to home farm. Once back at the lambing pens, a recent mum of one was selected to see if she would take one of the orphan lambs, so to do this she was brought to a new pen and put inside a 'yolk' a wooden device that holds the ewe in the corner of the pen by restricting movement with her head in a 'brace'. This allows the orphan to come in and suckle the mother without it being bullied off where after 24 - 48 hours the ewe should accept the lamb as her own! If not, the lamb will go back into the 'lamb gang' (holding pen for orphans) awaiting another new mum!

Friday March 14, 2014

Day 60..

We started off today looking into plant reproduction, pollination and germination. Identifying the different strategies plants use to reproduce; sexual and a sexual. asexual reproduction requires only one parent. Since there is only one parent, there is no fusion of gametes (male and female parts) and no mixing of genetic information. Therefore, they are genetically identical to the parent and to each other. Asexual reproduction in plants can take a number of forms. Many plants develop underground food storage organs that later develop into the following year's plants. Potato plants and daffodil plants do this, for example. Some plants produce side branches with plantlets on them. The spider plant, Chlorophytum, does this. Other plants, such as strawberries, produce runners with plantlets on them. Sexual reproduction occurs when two cells, each with half of the DNA needed, combine and create a living cell.
We then moved onto Single Farm Payments - An agricultural subsidy paid to farmers in the EU that have eligible land (excludes woodland/forestry land). The Single Farm Payment is linked to meeting environmental, public, animal and plant health and animal welfare standards and the need to keep land in good agricultural and environmental condition. Other schemes in farming - and can form part of receiving a SFP include GAEC - Good Agricultural & Environmental Conditions, which focuses on; overgrazing, Public rights of way, control of weeds and hedgerows, and SMR's - Statutory Mandatory Requirements, which focus on; NVZ's (Nitrate Vulnerable Zones), Habitat protection, sewage/slurry control, welfare of animals, disease control and the risk & use of PPP's. These schemes, and similar, have been designed to help with the environmental effect and sustainability of farming today and into the future!

Our grassland teacher was not in today but set us a task to do in her absence with regards to grass silage analysis.

Thursday March 13, 2014

Day 59..

Machinery & Workshop Practical - not many in the group today, but we started off by fixing two broken tines on the 'cultipress' cultivator - A trailed machine that combines several elements to complete three actions in one pass - cultivating, levelling and consolidating the seedbed to leave a weatherproof finish that is often ready for drilling with no further cultivation. Usually more suitable for use on heavy ground. We replaced two broken front tines with new ones before farmer Neil went off to middle meadow. We followed him down to the field and each had a go at a pass up and down the field. The idea is that the top soil is being broken down just enough to get the seedbed prepared for the drilling off spring beans in the next few days. The field had recently been sprayed with round up on account of the weed black grass, which stripes the crop of vital nutrients and spreads rapidly.
Back at the yard we hitched up the passenger trailer and went off to look at weir close, another field where the cultipress worked yesterday - to compare the difference between the fields. This field was much more cloddy - bigger particles left on the surface, and had not broken down as well as middle meadow. This means that there is less soil particles for the seed to attach to when drilled and can have an effect on yield. This can be cultivated again, but will depend on your tillage method. 

Livestock Husbandry Theory - we began our lesson looking into calf rearing in a dairy herd.. Once a calf is born it is essential to check the vital signs; that it's airways are clear (a prod with a stick of straw up the calfs nose can assist with this) and that it receives the first drink of colostrum off mum - for energy, laxatives, protein and antibodies. A calf is born germ free but is born into a germ filled environment so the antibodies are essential along with dipping the navel in iodine. Raising a dairy calf means that it should be taken away from mum as soon six hours after birth! Although this sounds harsh, this is the best way to remove any bond forming between cow and calf for two reasons 1. So that the cow can return to the parlour for milking without fretting for her new born and 2. So that the calf can be taught to fed from a bucket. A cows milk cannot go in to the milk tank for 4/5 days after being milked so this will be diverted into containers and used to feed the calf for the first few days but it is important to offer roughage and solid food from 1 week to stimulate rumen development - the better the rumen works the better the calf will eat and the quicker it will grow!
This lesson finished with a visit from someone in the further education department to discuss the course, positives and negatives from the agricultural program, lecturers, facilities etc etc! Not sure this was the best use of my lesson time!!

Wednesday March 12, 2014

Day 58..

Machinery & Workshop Ops:- today we had a presentation on 'Agricultural Vehicles On The Road' by Gary Chance of the Lincs Police / Road Safety Partnership. As a crash investigator, Gary has dealt with numerous incidents involving farm vehicles on the road and through this talk he discussed many aspects of the law and what farm and agricultural vehicles need to do to comply (despite getting away with quite a lot). AMV stands for Agricultural Motor Vehicle and this is how the police describe such vehicles. Most accidents are caused by careless driving;
1. without due care and attention and 2. without reasonable consideration. However, accidents that are fatal usually end up being the result of dangerous driving; Falls far below what is expected of a competent and careful driver. Gary also cleared up a few misconceptions - Amber Beacons are only required by law to be activated if an AMV is travelling along a dual carriageway and it is not a requirement that an AMV driver should pull in to let traffic pass if there are 6/7 cars behind - it is the responsibility of the driver to drive with due care and attention - so should traffic be building up behind then he should at the earliest convenience pull over/in to allow the build up to move past! Really good talk with lots of useful and interesting information.

Livestock Practical:- today it was back to the lambs to do the next batch of weighing and tailing and castrating! The weights of the lambs are recorded in the lambing book which helps with the administration with regards to collating the lambing figures for this season. Tailing or docking is a routine practice that is carried out once the navel has dried up (as the lamb will be a few days old by this point) and the tail is shortened to prevent faecal matter from accumulating on the tail and hindquarters of the animal. The easiest and most common method of tail docking is to apply a rubber ring (or band) to the tail using an elastrator tool. Banding is a bloodless method of tail docking. The band cuts off the blood supply to the tail, causing the tail to fall off in 7 to 10 days.
Castration is when the testicles are removed or their function is inhibited. Using the rubber band method again, this time placed around the neck of the lamb's scrotum. Care should be taken not to place the band over the lamb's rudimentary teats. Banding will cause the scrotum to shrivel up and fall off in two to three weeks. Care is needed to ensure both testicles are below the placement of the band - the lamb is able to 'suck' them up when you are handling this area, and if one or both of the testicles is missed, it will be retained in the belly cavity, resulting in a "bucky" lamb.
We then turned out some of the older lambs and mums in to the grass paddock and because this was quite an open area we then erected some wind breaks in the centre of the field. Using some small steak posts and boards we made zig zag shapes meaning the lambs can get shelter from bad weather from any direction!

Lambing Live

The lambing rota is in full swing and on Friday I joined a team of three others for a two till 10pm shift, heres how it went:-

We began by replenishing the silage feeders and bedding down the straw yards where the pregnant ewes are housed during lambing, and straight away our first two lambs arrived:

The lambs and mum were moved indoors into the bonding pens (individual pens where the ewe and her lamb/s can bond without the complications of mismothering). Here is also where the lambs are recorded into the lambing records and their navels dipped in iodine (to prevent infection) and are then monitored making sure they have their first drink of colostrum (first drink of mothers milk) and no issues arise. It is important to monitor the temperature of the lambs to ensure they do not become hypothermic (one of the biggest killers) - The normal rectal temperature for a new born lamb is between 39oC and 40oC - anything lower and one must consider putting the lamb in a 'hot box' - a heated environment that will gradually elevate the body temperature.

Then it was triplets (one breeched (came out backwards) but absolutely fine! and two normal!:

And finally it was a single!!! However, this poor ewe - a gimmer, meaning it is aged between its first and second shearing and a first time mum was having a problem getting the lamb out. She had been trying on her own for approximately 40 mins, when farmer Neil decided to step in and assist with the birth. Ordinarily you can leave a first time lamber to try for up to an hour before intervening, however on this occasion it was apparent that the ewe was struggling and starting to get weak and tired:

The lamb, as it was so big, was helped out by the use of small, disinfected ropes wrapped around each front leg and a tugging action every time the ewe pushed. Once out, the lamb was placed near mum but she appeared disinterested. Some of the birthing fluids were rubbed over the lamb to encourage the ewe to lick, but she remained disinterested. We got them both into a bonding pen where the ewe wanted nothing to do with her baby. At this point we intervened for the second time, to 'strip' the ewe of the first milk into a jug (the lamb needs this first colostrum for energy, protein, laxative and antibodies). This was then tube fed directly into the lambs tummy. Tubing is an alternative method to bottle feeding, where there is more chance of the lamb being able to suckle from a ewes teats at a later date. We then left the pens, giving the ewe and lamb a rest and some time together alone, where upon our last checks before handing over to the overnight shift - we saw the mum finally licking her lamb and the lamb was up and about searching mum for milk!

Friday March 7, 2014

Day 57..

Wellies on and ready for a walk about the farm...

Today Charlotte had devised a field map and instructions about what she wanted us to find in a number of fields across the Brackenhurst campus gathering information such as; field name, crop type, weed identification, soil and field characteristics. We gathered samples of the crop and any weeds and used a weed identification book to establish what each weed was. The most common issue in all the fields we visited was water logging - simply due to the amount of recent rainfall. It was also visible the difference in poor quality soil and nutrient rich soil where some crop plants were yellow in colour and not as well established as better off crops that were green in colour and well rooted. This was a good introduction to field walking and getting used to looking at the plant and other plant species that could affect growing conditions and ultimately the final yield!

In grassland we looked at the different ways to feed conserved forage to livestock including ring feeders, trough fed, floor or loose feeding. The way you feed usually depends on a number of factors such as housing, efficiency, animal, location and aim. We focused on feeding cows a Total Mix Ration - TMR, which is the method of feeding the cow all it needs in one feedstuff. It is made up of a mixture of forage and concentrates to make a complete diet that will be fully utilised by the animal; by means of a constant and balanced supply of feed that has been formulated to a specific nutrient concentration with the added benefit of forage - which helps keeps the rumen in good working order making the digestion of food easy. There are disadvantages to TMR such as the expense of the machinery that mixes and distributes the feed and the fact that individual feeding is not easy unless you divide by different feeding groups and plan groups for optimum performance!

Thursday March 6, 2014

Day 56..

Practical morn - today our task was to service the John Deere 590 round baler! First we changed the pickup hitch to a drawbar on the massey ferguson tractor to enable us to re-locate the baler from the farm yard to the workshop. Using the manufactures guidebook we then began to look at what routine maintenance the baler needed starting with lubrication. With a grease gun and grease that worked! we started greasing all the major moving parts at the designated 'grease nipples' - a metal fitting used in mechanical systems to feed lubricants, usually lubricating grease, into a bearing under moderate to high pressure using a grease gun. the PTO shaft formed part of this task and was quite awkward to get to so it is advisable to have two pairs of hands for this job. We then moved on to the chains which require a liberal application of SAE 30 - we used a spray can of a similar oil and applied to the chains on either side of the baler, turning them half way through to ensure we had covered all of the chain. We then ran out of grease gun oil and couldn't carry on, but as we were working our way round the baler we kept a log of items that needed to be repaired/replaced, for example one of the back light boxes was broken and the bulb blown!

Livestock afters - this afternoon we looked further in to the tasks of lambing from the importance of the ewe/lamb bond to natural colostrum verses artificial colostrum. Ordinarily the ewe should have a straight forward birth and bond with her lamb with very little shepherd intervention. However, things can go wrong and the lamb may need support during the first few hours of its life. Colostrum is the most important requirement of a new born lamb as it provides antibodies, laxative, protein and high energy. Keep an eye on the lamb to see that it gets around 250ml in the first hour (it will drink approximately 1 litre in the first day). If a new born lamb has not been seen to drink that first colostrum from mum you should intervene and try attaching the lamb to a teat - encouraging it to suckle, alternatively you might have to milk the ewe (into a jug) and then stomach tube feed the lamb. As a last resort you would use artificial colostrum.
We quickly looked at parasites - the warble fly - a nasty fly that attacks cattle, deer and sometimes horses. It enters the animal via the hock and works its way through the muscle components, making its way to the oesophagus or spinal column. This movement leaves 'tracks' through the meat and when the fly bores a hole and leaves the animal (after a dormant winter period) it leaves nasty marks which significantly downgrades both the meat and the hide.     

Wednesday March 5, 2014

Day fifty five..

A trip!!! Today we went on a trip to the 'precision farming - technology' event at the Peterborough show ground.

Trade stands included Cleveland crop sprayers (Arag Precision) - gps guidance systems, Garford Farm Machinery - robotic mechanical weed control, HGCA the home grown cereals association - providing information and research on improving field variation in nitrogen fertiliser requirements and cereals all round needs and tec5 uk ltd - providers of state of the art products for detector array based optical spectroscopy (?).

In addition to the trade hall various seminars took place throughout the day such as 'precision nutrient management - a practical viewpoint' whereby agronomist Ian Matts discussed the trials and product development at Yara uk ltd whereby today's farming techniques are incorporating precision farming in to everyday agronomy practice.

Perhaps a show for those with a specific interest in this sector of agriculture!

Friday February 28, 2014

Day 54..

Plant Science:- in todays lesson we learnt about respiration and the compensation point of different factors affecting photosynthesis! In green plants both photosynthesis and respiration occur. In relatively bright light photosynthesis is the dominant process (meaning that the plant produces more food than it uses during respiration). At night, or in the absence of light, photosynthesis practically stops, and respiration is the dominant process and the plant consumes food (for growth and other metabolic processes). The compensation point is the stage at which the plant does no longer utilise o2 and co2.

Crop Productions:- here we looked at what plants need to grow and what helps them to grow - for example fertilisers. Organic manures include pig slurry, cattle slurry, broiler litter, layer manure, 'old' cattle FYM and 'fresh' cattle FYM (Farm Yard Manure). Using fertilisers helps to target specific areas for example Nitrogen - good for leaf and stem (better photosynthesis), Phosphorus - targets the flower and fruit (for a better yield) and Potassium - is great for roots (establishment and growth).

Grassland Management:- today we continued looking at the storage of conserved grass - clamps verses bales. In groups we researched the pros and cons between the two methods and discussed further according to our findings.

Thursday February 27, 2014

Day 53..

Dual wheels - that's what we fitted to the big Massey Ferguson tractor this morning! A dual wheel is an "extra" wheel, which has the same height as the original wheel but not necessarily the same width. One of the benefits of Dual Wheels is the reduction of ground pressure and improvement of the soil structure, especially on soft surfaces, as the surface that touches the ground is twice as large. Thus, increasing traction and reducing compaction. 
We started off by driving the tractor on to wooden blocks (the side that the dual wheels were being fitted too) then to fit there is no need to rotate the dual for alignment with the tractor wheel because the tractor was already fitted with eyenuts (these replacing the original nuts) so we fitted a hook end to the eye nut and an over-centre clamp to the dual wheel power rail, securing the tension with two metal tubes that fitted over the clamp handle for better torque. Once the clamps were correctly tensioned, we locked them in position with 'R clips' for additional security. The tractor was then driven around the yard turning the steering wheel severely in both directions before re-checking the clamp positioning. A couple of the clamps were not entirely in-line - which means extra pressure would be placed on the system and could cause the clamp or a nut to break, therefore, we undid the clamp and repositioned to ensure these were on squarely. Once completed,  we used the air compressor to make sure all the tyres were the same pressure (measured in psi - pounds per square inch) where in this case they all needed to be 14psi. Using the compressor gage we either inflated or deflated the tyres accordingly. Incorrect tyre pressures mean tractors can waste 20-40% of engine power through tyre slip and rolling resistance!!
 
Animal lecture afternoon.. this was started with a dvd - a guide to lambing. Lambing is divided into several phases. In the first phase, the cervix dilates and the birth canal is prepared for delivery. This phase lasts for approximately 12 to 24 hours. At the end of this phase, a clear-whitish discharge will appear. The presence of the mucous discharge means that lambing has begun. In the next phase, uterine contractions will increase. As labour progresses, the ewe will spend more time lying down on her side with her head turned in the air. Eventually, a large "bubble" or water bag will appear, break, and expel the water. At this time, the tip of the nose and front feet of the lamb can be felt. The lamb is expelled. As ewes often have multiple births, the same sequence of the rupture of the water bag and expulsion of the lamb will be repeated for the delivery of each lamb. Ewes will vary in the time taken to complete lambing. The last stage of lambing includes the expulsion of the afterbirth or placenta. The placenta is usually expelled 30 to 60 minutes after the delivery of the last lamb. If the placenta is not expelled after 24 hours, there may be a problem. The ewe will eat the placenta because her instincts tell her to hide evidence of lambing to protect her offspring from predators. The placenta should be discarded to prevent the spread of disease and scavenging by dogs.
We finished off the lesson discussing endoparasites - a parasite, such as a tapeworm, that lives within another organism.

Wednesday February 26, 2014

Day 52..

A machinery morning, or should I say a mash up of a morning! First we reviewed the risk assessment taken at Broadberry's farm workshop and discussed the hazards in further detail - it is easy to get hazards and risks mixed up so we looked in to the actual hazard and the risk a hazard can cause and consequently the correct precautions and procedures that should be taken when making a risk assessment.
Next we had another LAMMA presentation - this time sprayers and sprayer technology. There are three types of spraying a farmer can carry out; mounted, trailed and self-propelled - where there is no need for a tractor as the sprayer operates from its own engine. The nozzle on a sprayer is quite important - providing precision spraying that is designed to distribute the liquid over a desired surface, increase the amount of liquid distribution and create an impact on a solid surface.
Finally we were split in to groups and given a topic and a tablet and required to research the topic for a presentation to the rest of the class. Our topic was the safe operation of telescopic handlers in agriculture. The most significant factors include controlling the risk, hazards, training and competence and safety. Operating a telescopic handler requires a lot of concentration, to avoid overturning and electrocution - being aware of surroundings and power cables is a must. As is never carrying a weight that is beyond the capacity of the machine - as you will lose the centre of gravity and be liable to tipping over!

This afternoon we had our lambing induction as lambing starts at college next week. We looked at the record keeping - logging which ewe has what lamb/s, at what time and weight, and if there were any lambing difficulties. There is a separate medical log for recording any administration of vaccines and / or injections. In the wash room - it is important for people to stay clean as well as any equipment used, various equipment, such as thermometers, is stored along with supplementary colostrum and other equipment that may be required.
We then went to check on the ewes already in the straw lambing yard where one was suffering from a prolapse from the vaginal area.. A pinky / red mass hanging out of the ewes vagina. Dom set about dealing with this promptly, as although the ewe shouldn't have been in too much pain, she was starting to strain and was in need of going to the loo. With warm water, that ideally has a splash of antiseptic in it, dom cleaned off the projecting structure. Then using plenty of lubricant (J-lube, etc.), he gently forced the prolapse back into the animal. After the prolapse is put back in the animal, some type of device or surgical approach should be used to keep it in place. In many vaginal prolapse cases, a plastic paddle-shaped device is used. The prolapse loop or paddle Is placed horizontally in the vagina, and the curved end of the loop or paddle fits against the anterior (forward) end of the vagina or against the cervix. The loop or paddle can remain in place during and after the birthing process. The loop or paddle is held in place by using two wisps of wool and ties - tying the loop in place with the wool itself. 
We finished off by catching a dragging the really poopy bottomed ewes! 

Monday February 24, 2014

Farm Duties..

Today was mine and Phoebe's scheduled day of farm duties so we arrived at Home Farm and started by helping Neil and Simon herd two Lincoln Red heifers in to the cattle crush so they could receive an injection (not sure what for - but they had not long given birth to some really cute calves!). We fed the next batch of Lincoln Red mums in the next barn with a concentrate feed and Neil went off to feed the cows at Durdham.

Our main task today was to prep the old parlour collecting yard ready for the lambing pens. There are two straw lambing yards constructed just outside the building and this is where the ewes will start to give birth before being brought in to the lambing pens with their lambs. Of the first lambing batch around 55 of the sheep are already in one of the straw yards - these are the triplet and twin lambers, so that they can begin their creep feeding regime. However, this may have to be rationed slightly to ensure that the lambs do not grow too big and cause problems at birth. The ewes will then be given an increased feed when the lambs are born to ensure she can produce enough milk and feed them.

Preparation including sweeping, tidying, fetching, carrying, relocating, binning, moving, cleaning, stacking etc etc basically the building and surrounding area is used as a store during the rest of the year and therefore needed to be made back in to a lambing shed!

After lunch we bedded down the Lincoln Red cows at Home Farm, new hessian bales were brought in and we moved the cows along the pens while we split the bales up leaving big slabs for the cows to rough up when they were let back in.

We then carried on in the lambing shed and started to fix the pens - but there were a few gates and pins missing - so we went off to the workshop to make some new pins! Neil cut up some lengths of metal and we used a bending machine to make the handle parts which was groovy and the ends were filed off so there were no sharp edges. Hey presto! these fitted perfectly and we put as many pens up as gates would allow before finishing for the day!