Spring has officially sprung here at Tynefield Farm, the bluebells in our woodland are now coming thick and fast!
Our sheep have returned from their holiday in Kent, where our friends Chris and Zoe had kindly taken them off our hands for a while. Some headed off to market (we took advantage of the unusually high lamb prices), and the rest returned here, looking in great condition after some TLC and good grazing. The sheep we brought back were gifted to Noah before he was born by friends James and Tara; we’re hoping to breed from them later in the year.
Our goat herd has grown after welcoming a herd of 16 Boers onto the farm. We might breed some of them but most will end up on our online shop.
The butchery unit is slowly being set up. Rob (Nikki’s dad) has been doing the plumbing and interior and our friend Liam will be doing the electrics in due course. Our neighbour Blake has been doing any digging needed with his digger to save us from using shovels! We are excited about getting that all up and running soon!
Other updates from the last few weeks include:
- We’ve got new huts for the pigs which will allow us to split sex the groups and have the sows farrowing (giving birth) in individuals huts, reducing mortality of piglets.
- The pigs have been moved to new paddocks now the weather is drying up. They continue to be very effective ploughs and muck spreaders.
- The barley seeds Flavian threw in the pig paddocks have finally germinated! We’re excited to see how the paddocks will look as they grow. (We haven’t seen any wheat or beans yet)
We are also looking forward to our first market of the year at Trenchmore Farm’s Spring Market in Cowfold, Sussex on the 27th April, with some of our pork and goat produce so if you are local, please come along and say hello! If you’re not local, a cheeky road trip wouldn’t go amiss…
