Choose another month below:
Harvesting:
Harvesting
continues in August with first the winter wheat and spring barley and then
the winter beans. The lupins will generally be harvested later – in
September. Usually all the harvest is complete by the end of August. Once
the days start to become shorter it is more difficult to dry the corn in the
field before cutting it.
Calving dairy cows begins:
The
dairy herd starts calving in the autumn to ensure a good supply of milk during
the winter months. Each cow has one calf per year and milks for 305 days.
She has 60 days dry in which to rest and build up her reserves for the next
lactation.
The Friesian cow is pregnant for approximately 285 days and may have a pure
bred calf or a cross bred calf.
January lambing flock being prepared:
The
college has some sheep, which will lamb in January, and others that will lamb
in March. Ewes takes around five months to produce lambs and so, at this time
of year, the rams are allowed into the flock. This is known as tupping. In
preparation for this all the sheep have their feet checked and trimmed if
necessary. The college has around 400 ewes – the breeds are Lleyn, Mules
and cross bred , Mule X Poll Dorest. A number of different breeds of ram are
used – Texel, Poll Dorset, Hampshire Down, Isle de France, Berrichon
and Suffolk.
