New Year 2012

Happy New Year to all.
The Christmas break was enjoyed on the farm. Work wise it was completely different to last year when everything was frozen up for a couple of weeks. This year the water flowed well, but still in short supply and we continue to tanker it up to the animals. The daily chores of feeding and checking take about 2 hours, the fresh air is really refreshing along with the exercise!
Good news before Christmas, those who may have read earlier bloggs will remember the TB tests, all went smoothly and proved to be all clear. Thankfully in our parish it is only 4 year testing, I can only imagine the stress on those with annual testing and some as frequently as every 2 months fearing the next tests. More decisive action needs to be taken to reduce this unacceptable toll on animals and farming families.
Today, missing the heavy showers and strong winds we managed to get all the ewes scanned for the number of lambs they are carrying. The results are down on the exceptional year last year but better than I was expecting due to the lack of grass throughout the year. We have achieved 173% a good average for us and the ewes are in good order too. This includes 25 triplets and 1 quad! We will see how this turns out in March