Village Voice December 2012/January 2013 | Page 14

FARM DIARY
Goscombe Farm, Gundleton 2012
At the time of my previous report I was awaiting
an imminent calving; thankfully, calf arrived
safely during the early hours of the Friday
morning prior to Alresford Show.
The first three weeks of September were like
déjà vu with show fever in full swing; my
executive decision to transport the show
animals on the Friday evenings for a sleepover at the show grounds paid off: easily ready
for their first class.
For this to happen I needed to overcome two
obstacles:
1) Convince Harriet & Andy it would be brilliant
fun camping: “There is quite a party
atmosphere I understand”. The word party did
the trick! “Oh, and do not forget to make
regular nightly checks on ‘Showboy’, ‘Harper’
and ‘Romeo.’” We did laugh when Harriet said
they had been kept awake at Alresford by the
older generation partying until 3.30am, only
stopping when the generator ran out of fuel.
The Hereford cow and calf mooing did not help
- best erect the tent further away from the cattle
lines for Romsey then!
2) Obtaining an isolation certificate from
Animal Health allowing me to move cattle
within the six-day standstill period (20 days for
pigs) as set by DEFRA. This rule was enforced
after the Foot and Mouth outbreak which
means: any cattle that come onto your holding,
even your own stock moved from a site not
included within your holding, cannot be moved
off again until the standstill period is over. To
be exempt from this rule, my vet was required
to make a farm visit, completed a detailed form
including a drawing showing the farm isolation
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facility, form returned to Animal Health Office
to be examined and certificate issued. Thank
goodness the application went smoothly with
the added bonus of Animal Health paying my
vet’s bill, good result.
Alresford Show went exceedingly well with all
three animals coming 1st in their individual
classes and ‘Showboy’ winning Breed
Champion with ‘Romeo’ awarded the
Perpetual Challenge Trophy.
Romsey show was a first, with ‘Showboy’
again winning his class but only achieved
Reserve Breed Champion, rather frustrating
when the judge pats the competition on the
back while saying ‘Well done Colin’. Think I’d
best get to know the judge better by next year!
Newbury show, again a first, was very
professional with commercial herds from as far
as Herefordshire, I am now competing with the
elite, and I would liken it to Alresford football
club playing the Premier League, little hope of
winning but a great learning curve.
Everyday farm business continued throughout
September with just two new calves and one
litter of piglets, all overnight of course. Eleven
large store bulls were taken to Frome
Livestock Market. Why Frome, not Salisbury?
Frome attracts more buyers for these types of
animal, therefore maximizing my return. In fact
they sold extremely well, with a mention in the
market report, always good PR. Polly made
her big move to the farm, having outgrown her
patio sty, the excitement and happy smile on
her face when she realized she was not the
only pig in the world, priceless. Not forgetting