New Life

March brings the arrival of many new lives onto the farm, with calving, lambing and farrowing to hopefully co-inside with some spring like sunshine and grass growth – fingers crossed. It is always a tense season as so much of the year is at stake and round the clock care required.

We are delighted to have the help of Emma, Eilidh and Callum this year to give Cameron and Ewan some assistance in the maternity wards.

Spreading farmyard manure onto grass and land destined for cereals, we are building the fertility for the coming season and replacing any lost nutrients from last years grass harvest. Within days, some of the land will be ploughed and sown with Fava beans, heritage wheat, oats and rye.

Works to the new food units at Bowhouse are progressing at speed and the changes to the café are really impressive. Baern will open their doors at the march Bowhouse Food Weekend for a taster of what is to come. Meanwhile, we are hoping that the three new units being created will have new occupiers in time for the May market weekend. The change to the courtyard will create a much more active production and retail space which explains the purpose of the site.

Rural crime continues to be on the increase and we are delighted to have such a close knit community here, where not much goes un-noticed. On three occasions, with a little help from the social media network, thefts, vandalism and attempted theft were swiftly dealt with by the police. However, it is a timely reminder that we need to double check security.

With the world watching an un-nerving situation in Ukraine and the political and financial turmoil adding to the human impact, it is hard to imagine what a Ukrainian farmer could do to re-locate with the crops and livestock. Ukraine has over 25% of the worlds “black soil” (most productive) and is the largest producer of Urea fertiliser – Food inflation is inevitable if it does not end well.