Categories: From the Farm This Week
      Date: Nov 30, 2011
     Title: 30 November 2011
The feijoa are in flower.  Its about 3 weeks behind New Plymouth so by the time we have them for sale the market is taken.  There is lots of grass around at the moment its great as grass is money.  Grass is our main crop that feeds everything.
As i am writing this i am waiting for the bee man who is going to put more hives out here and we will sell honey at the market and other places.   Arrh the dogs are barking he's coming up the track ..........Yes im back, well its all go more bees more honey.  Its great to walk around the farm with someone who likes plant diversity and can see value in the less common farm plants/shrubs and can see the value in organic farming.
Was on the road delivering Damara sheep to Waverley, stopped and checked the load in the main street outside a glass art shop owned by Lisa Walsh.  Had a look in was very impressed with the hand made glass work.  I would recommend a stop when you drive thru.
Spent a day doing office work including the tax papers for the Accountant so dropped them in.
Worked on the ute and trailer and got a WOF on both so now i can register them.
Ross turned up hot sweaty, blood all down his back, he had shot a deer way into the bush at the back of whanganui got lots of good photos and even a video of him getting it out.  It is by far the best deer carcass i have ever seen and now its in the chiller.  Ross is out in the morning to cut it up.
The Stratford show was Saturday.  Ruth took chooks in for sale sold a few.  Got really bored and sick of people.  Samuel was chopping and chopped well but did not get any better than second he reckons he should have done better.  Ila, Ann and Andrea had a day at the show, Janine and Rod came down it was good to see them.
I judged the pigs. It was a real honor when i think of the judges in the past that have judged the Stratford show, as its a strong hold of pig breeding.  There was a line up of 80 or so pigs with some of the best examples of the breeds i have ever seen.  Both junior all breeds champion and overall champion were large blacks.  These two pigs just shone thru and glowed throughout the judging.  The junior champ belonged to longbushpork Yukon large black Jeremy and Naya.  The supreme champion went to the ferngully stud Howard and Shawn Bracegirdle.  This sow was an absolute cracking pig.  If you want more info i will be doing a report for the NZ pig breeders.
It was great to get with people who understand how hard it is out there farming pedigree pigs with the pressure from both commercial pig farming and imports. You are there for the love of farming not the money.
A slow market this week must have been due to the election.  After the market there was a trust meeting where i lost some debate and won others. All was to do with Local.  The win was we are going to allow local hand craft onto the street - yes approved local craft GREAT i will keep working on the local music.
So Andrea and Ann are working out well, proving lots of help.  It turns out Andrea is a great sheep drafter and Ann well she just gives everything a go.
Ruth has been pumping the ducks along and we take the first lot off to the abattoir next week.  So we have em at the market in a week or two.
Got a bit more done on the Shepard wagon its not far off from finished now.
Ila has been planting more veg, mostly seedlings from the Nashnui stand, man they do well and keep us in veg.
Samuel is in the workshop tonight making Ila a knife block for Christmas.  It will be so spot on.
So that's it for this week see ya Sunday.