Summertime on the farm

The weather seems to be a constant topic of conversation for farmers and no wonder given the extremes we seem to get nowadays, though suiting this farm with its damper soils I do have great sympathy for the lighter soiled farms further down towards Brampton who have desert like conditions at the moment ! Cattle and sheep are thriving in the heat wave. The sheep are nearly all clipped and back on the fells, though a careful eye needs to be kept on the water supply for them to drink as sheep and cattle often get stuck in bogs if the streams don’t have enough in for them to drink ! We have just made some hay for the first time in several years and silaging will be done very soon with crops looking not too bad given the dry summer. IAN BELL - RSPB Geltsdale tenant farmer