Categories: From the Farm This Week
      Date: May 16, 2012
     Title: 16 May 2012
STOP PRESS - BEATE HAS HER FULL VISA - we now have another New Zealander ........
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WE HAVE STARTED LAMBING
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I am on the Radio with Jodi Roebuck about AVONSTOUR this Thursday and Friday 9 pm and 7 am 104.4 FM Access radio
and repeated next week same times.
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PLEASE FORWARD THIS FAR AND WIDE
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WELL the week started with sorting sheep back into the respective paddocks. This was urgent as we have started lambing with the Dorset Horns. We have about 12 lambs to date all very good despite the extreme wet weather. In fact the Makuri stream has broken its banks and has flooded the next farm. Luckily we don't get that problem, Ruth was very firm when we looked for a farm "no Flooding". The other thing that gives us great survival rates with lambs and other stock is the great shelter we have and great old breeds.

Autumn has come with a rush. The fejoas ripe and falling 4 weeks after most places. Ruth and Beate are collecting buckets full every day for the pigs along with tree strawberries,........gonna make some mighty fine pork. The trees are fast losing their leaves and its cooling down. The grass is slowing up but no worries we have a large acreage of sabbatical fallow.
I have mobbed all the donkeys together so they are running behind the main ewe flock to clean up the rotation.

Drove to New Plymouth for a meeting with Dee, spent 2 and a half hours sorting dates and content of our next courses on the grass next to the Library. We have just about crunched the year and we have an impressive line up. Dee is great to work with as she gets the paper work done.
Talked to Dave as well .....Ross, Dave and I are going to have a meeting and may start a small venture, keep ya posted on that.

Talking of Ross, he's back from Aus with a full tank of ideas. He came to the pig sale and his trigger finger had been well oiled. I have seen some images he got.

O yes the National Pig sale and show. For those who don't know this is where the top pedigree breeders sell their stud pigs. We have sold many pigs here at previous sales, but have taken a back seat for a few years. But next year we intend to get into it again as we are going to combine this day with the Rarebreed show and sale. Its going to be a good un.
Anyway back to the sale.... prices were up on most breeds and bidding was stronger this year. You know these events are a bit like Coronation Street, with all the characters - men, women, young people, children, dealers, lookers, rouges, stirrers, along with genuine breeders and lovers of pigs..... Man she's a great event........ Iv'e been told i should write a book, no shortage of material here.
All breeds were represented bar Tamworth's.......... But.

I was picking up beef from the abattoir and there parked outside was a large trailer of pigs for dropping off - all Tamworth and Tamworth X.... Belonging to Bert of Te Rata Family Farm in the Far North who, like us, market their own meat. Bert had been on the road all day. We stopped and talked about the trials of doing what we do... exchanged email addresses. You never know what these contacts lead to. With the massive pork imports, hundreds and hundreds of tons in fact, we need to stick together. And even more so now with the risk of Purrs being imported. Blooming heck one Fruit Fly and MAF is in panic yet the Government is going to let Pig foot and mouth straight in. Wheels within wheels i think.

The Farmers Market was very slow this week due to the weather and Mothers Day. But it was great to have people young and old buying good food to cook for Mother.
I hope all the Mothers had a great day.

Book of the week is........... Green Lanes and Kettle Cranes by Dominic Reeve. Lent to me by Robin. A book about a Gypsy from my home town Bournemouth. I'm loving it.

A dog's a barking ....Got ta go, Jodie is here for my Radio Interview. See Ya Sunday.