Up Horn – Down Corn

Bowhouse held its first February Market since we normally open the year in March, but with demand from both customers and traders, we have extended the season with a bustling February, offering both the normal high quality food and drink stalls, workshops, demos and of course the Butchery hosting the BBQ.

Alterations to both Baern and Stocks Cooks Shop are well underway with a few more technical issues to solve than we had anticipated – how projects grow arms and legs…. However, we are on target for Easter opening for Stocks and almost complete at Baern. These changes will keep the site fresh and as Bowhouse evolves, they will keep up with changes in producers.

Storm Eowyn came in with a bang as was forecast – in the morning we thought it had been over exaggerated, by lunchtime, it was clear there was a “stiff breeze” and by 6.00 pm we wondered if anything would be standing the following day. Luckily we came off pretty unscathed in comparison to others. As expected many roofs had some slates missing, farm sheds lost some roof sheets, the odd door was buckled and sadly, we lost yet more old veteran trees – this time, mostly beech. Reuben and Patrick have a thankless task of clearing windblow, a dangerous and laborious job, but one which provides logs for future years.

To plough or not to… A question being asked in farming circles. Ploughing has some bad press, it releases carbon and disturbs soil microbes, worm populations and can cause erosion. Not to plough relies on chemicals to remove green cover and weeds or intensive cultivation. So as and organic farm, producing human consumption milling crops, we need a clean start with no chemicals. Our mitigation is to plough shallow in the right conditions as late as we can, with the tractor sitting on-top of the land and not in the furrow (where it would compact soils deeper). Within our rotation we may only plough two years in 10, so the ambition is to replace the lost carbon in the subsequent years by more than the loss in the few ploughed.

Up horn – Down corn, an old adage which has been proven true again this year. When cereal prices are high, cattle and sheep make little profit, when the crop values are low, livestock returns improve. 2025 is no exception, other than the demand for red meat has outstripped supply, with fewer breeding cattle as a result of many years of poor returns. Worldwide, the story is the same and its not a quick turnaround to redress the balance. A decision to breed more today will take 3 years to turn into beef. Perhaps the increase in red meat values shows to some extent inflationary rebalancing. Recently, while chatting to a fellow farmer in the pub (where the best conversations happen) we calculated that if beef had tracked inflation, it would still be worth three times what it is today.

“Data fog” – a new term coined for the masses of data we collect which is now so complex, we cant see the information as a whole. We are working with several platforms to try and bring the historic data gathered together in a way which is accessible and useful in a time when data has never been more important to quantify success, but is increasingly difficult to access at the touch of a button.

Mental health – much discussed and regularly a topic in news, but the dark winter months can be particularly difficult for people who struggle with negative thoughts. Isolation is a critical issue and one which is common in a job where there are few people engaged. Regular visits to the market or village pub are now unlikely and a feeling of guilt is common for people when they are not “nose to the grindstone”. A moment to work out what your own signal is that you have reached capacity or are fed up and knowledge of what your relief valve is healthy – 30 mins in your favourite place or a pint with someone you know will be in a similar situation – the world will still be functioning and won’t miss you for that 30 mins.