Categories: From the Farm This Week
Date: Dec 14, 2012
Title: 14 December 2012
The start of the week we had the high tech team out with the surveillance cameras to watch the hemp crop. The crop has sort of stayed static since it came up and we are thinking it may be sending down its tap roots and then start growing. I must stop looking at it all the time and I may see a change.
Beate has been busy making her gift cards to send to her family and guess what its about pigs - Her pigs O yes did you know her pig was reserve champion. On the pig front Greta the Canterbury blue sow has had a litter of 8 nice blue pigs.
We have been carting a lot of pigs in for bacon and hams and yesterday took Spit pigs in as we are going to start marketing them.
Ila is still staying in the house truck and we have had a constant supply of goats for dog food. For those who know the farm the fence that all the local hunters hang the pig skins on has now got quite a few goat skins from Ila and Daisy so that may start a new trend. Yesterday they mustered all the straggler and stray/bushy sheep. The Bushys as we call them are sheep that go bush and hide when we muster or move the main mob. A few of these run back to the original wild Arapawa sheep we farm (well I say farm they sort of farm us and the land). This is a hard job but the girls had it sorted on their horses with Ila's dog Abbey the red kelpie bitch. The mob is now on the flats looking very daggy as some have not been in for 2 years. I have to say both girls are looking very well and I think that the break has done them both a lot of good.
Hayley the woofer has been a great help and fitting in very well. She is now training a donkey to tie up and lead and we will get him into the cart soon, but that will be for driving on the farm, so Hayley is looking for a cheap run about car not flash but a good runner if anyone knows of one.
Hayley, Jamie and I took the stand down to Fielding market doing a delivery on the way down. The Fielding market was a wash out, heavy thunderstorms and rain, our takings were so low it only covered 20% of the costs, but that's markets and we will be back as we really need to get the Rarebreeds out there.
The Taranaki Farmers Market on the other hand was brilliant, great weather, great stalls and great public can't wait for the Christmas market this Sunday.
On a sad note we are all thinking about the loss of a long standing friend and Rarebreeder in the south of the South Island. Ross I will miss your phone calls and talks.
So my sister is down from the Far North and we had tea with her.