Farmer's - a question

SusieT these animals are hill animals bred to live out on hills, why on earth would we build sheds for ewes in case it ever happened to snow to these extremes ?! Lots of us were completely caught out by the drifts! It's not like we left them out intentionally to die cause we couldn't be bothered bringing them in.
 
lachlanandmarcus said:
or add to the stresses of the whole scenario and lead to twin lamb disease where the ewe wastes away giving all their nutrients to the lamb (normally only seen with older poorer ewes).
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That's not entirely accurate. Preg tox usually affects fatter ewes and is caused by a lack of nutrition and/or water which causes the ewe to mobilise reserves quickly, resulting in a sharp rise in levels of toxins in the body.
 
SusieT said:
If it were horses left in a field with no shelter because the owners didn't have enough money to build/rent a shed things would be different. Keeping an animal means you can provide for it in all weathers-not just the good times. If you can't and cannot afford to upgrade your facilities you need to be rid of the thought that is is a 'right' to farm those animals and sell enough to be able to afford the rest.
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TBH I have yet to read anything you post SusieT on this forum that did'nt get on my wick, but I have to say you have surpassed yourself with this drivel. Have you not read the thread or are you too daft to understand .
 
SusieT said:
If it were horses left in a field with no shelter because the owners didn't have enough money to build/rent a shed things would be different. Keeping an animal means you can provide for it in all weathers-not just the good times. If you can't and cannot afford to upgrade your facilities you need to be rid of the thought that is is a 'right' to farm those animals and sell enough to be able to afford the rest.
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What a lovely simple little world you live in!

Good luck finding anything to eat when all the farmers decide to stop farming because they can't afford it.
 
Snowdrop said:
What a lovely simple little world you live in!

Good luck finding anything to eat when all the farmers decide to stop farming because they can't afford it.
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Farmers won't stop farming as we all know, they will get a hardship payment due to the snow on top of their annual subsidies. I feel for the hill farmers and for the buried sheep especially so close to lambing but having a hillfarm will always be a hard way of life in this country.
 
SusieT said:
If it were horses left in a field with no shelter because the owners didn't have enough money to build/rent a shed things would be different.

Horses ARE left in fields without shelter, and often without feed. Have you given any thought as to the reasons for this?

Keeping an animal means you can provide for it in all weathers-not just the good times. If you can't and cannot afford to upgrade your facilities you need to be rid of the thought that is is a 'right' to farm those animals and sell enough to be able to afford the rest.

Such excellent advice, I feel certain that there are those on here who having not previously considered your wise words, will now do so, and mend their ways! ;):rolleyes:
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Love it! :D

Alec.
 
SusieT as I said before, sheep are not horses, two completely different set of requirements, as several people have pointed out sheep do not thrive on confinement.
It is still breaking my heart that despite people's personal accounts of all the hardship, others are still making ignorant comments.
 
BWa said:
SusieT as I said before, sheep are not horses, two completely different set of requirements, as several people have pointed out sheep do not thrive on confinement.
It is still breaking my heart that despite people's personal accounts of all the hardship, others are still making ignorant comments.
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I think one of the problems with complaining farmers is that a lot of people would gladly swap places with them !
 
I'm not sure a lot of you understand quite how far some of these sheep stay from farm buildings or how high up they are either.
I know that this snow has also cause a lot of problems at low land ground as well due to drifting.
There are some posts on this thread that show how little the general public understands about farming and farming lifestyle.
The majority of us are devoted to our stock and spend more or less every hour of the day trying to make sure they are all fit and healthy and keep them safe when we have to.
 
Gosh! Why is it always the farmers fault! Judgemental or what!!! Try leading the lives they do and then come back with something constructive and sensible to say. Because so far some if the comments just suggest that some people have nothing better to do! For those if you that 'live' in the areas affected, instead if slating the farmers, why not get your shovel out and go and help!!!! I, for one, would if I was anywhere near them!!!
 
bonny said:
I think one of the problems with complaining farmers is that a lot of people would gladly swap places with them !
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Do you really think so? I'm not convinced.
I don't think farmers here are complaining, just giving accounts of how it is going at the moment and defending their actions, explaining the practicalities etc... and getting a lot of flak for their effort.
 
I suppose if we expect farmers to always provide and prepare for extreme weather then they should stop selling hay to horse owners. :D Hill farmers will often have to buy in all their hay/silage as their land isn't suitable for it's production. Do some seriously think they should buy hundreds of bales every year just in case? Stock will also be eating much more in this weather.

Farming is business it isn't a hobby. Do we really want all meat and dairy produced from mega factory farms? I shudder at the thought from a welfare point of view personally.

ps. I would only swap places with a farmer if I won the lottery and could afford to do what I wanted and have a wonderful hobby.
 
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Bonny- I think a lot of people who 'think' they might want to swap with the 'complaining' farmers, actually live in la la land. Many wouldn't manage a day with the physical work, knowledge and experience required, the highs and lows and all for very little at the end of the day.
Another one who thinks that farmer's have it easy, great...
 
amandap said:
I suppose if we expect farmers to always provide and prepare for extreme weather then they should stop selling hay to horse owners. :D Hill farmers will often have to buy in all their hay/silage as their land isn't suitable for it's production. Do some seriously think they should buy hundreds of bales every year just in case? Stock will also be eating much more in this weather.

Farming is business it isn't a hobby. Do we really want all meat and dairy produced from mega factory farms? I shudder at the thought from a welfare point of view personally.
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They won't stop selling hay and feed for horses because it's profitable ....horse owners pay alot more for feed than farmers would ever do....same for grazing.
 
martlin said:
nd then get a bloody shovel and dig yourself out, rather than impatiently waiting for somebody else to make sure your road is black
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Why do you so arrogantly assume that I am sitting waiting for other people to dig me out? We have spent many hours out in some vicious weather digging our way across the fields so that the snow blower could be used elsewhere with people who could not get out at all. The only thing I am waiting for now is access by road so that I can stop bouncing my brain on the roof of our beaten up old Hilux (not, not the Range Rover Evoque that you were probably thinking of) just to go and get a pint of milk.


Farmers are not the only people who are losing money due to this weather. A friend of mine runs a cafe, neighbours run two pubs. Both have had no revenues for a week. A third has holiday cottages and a 5 room B&B (and sheep) and not only has this cost them Easter bookings, but it will reduce their revenues for years to come until people forget about it. Haulage companies, many of them with owner drivers in leased vehicles have lost a fortune. It's a nightmare for many businesses. It's probably cost Stobarts millions.

None of those are any different from a sheep farmer having to pay more to feed their sheep (and there are plenty of those around me too). You choose to farm sheep. The world will not end if we do not have lamb to eat.

I am sorry that you are having a hard time, so am I. I am feeding and having to care for a horse that was due to be shot on Tuesday and the hunt won't now be able to get in and take him until after Easter. I hope ALL of us have some better weather soon.
 
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amandap said:
Do some seriously think they should buy hundreds of bales every year just in case? Stock will also be eating much more in this weather?
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You write as if sheep feed goes off. Hay can be used the next season, and bagged feed keeps. It's not having to be bought more than for the one year that it is used. What else do you propose - let the sheep die of starvation?
 
Bonny your still not getting it- hill farmers don't make much hay as most of their land is fell and they don't provide much grazing for horse owners as I doubt you would want to walk several miles, up steep hills to catch and turn out. The ones your thinking of such as farmers like us in the lowlands have got it much better. However the thought of doing livery makes my blood run cold. I'm not sure I would want to share the farm with some of the posters on here!
 
cptrayes said:
The world will not end if we do not have lamb to eat.
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No, but it will end a lot faster if we all stopped eating meat, eggs and dairy and relied soley on crops,veg and fruit.

I too hope we all get better weather soon, the incessant, biting wind has been the killer. :(
 
martlin said:
Sheep feed does actually go off, just the same as horse feed, it has about 6 months shelf life.
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You know as well as I do that it is the vitamin levels that go and not the calorific value. Sheep also eat neat sugar beet pellets unsoaked, and they last in the bag for a year until the next harvest is available.
 
amandap said:
No, but it will end a lot faster if we all stopped eating meat, eggs and dairy and relied soley on crops,veg and fruit.

I too hope we all get better weather soon, the incessant, biting wind has been the killer. :(
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How on earth do you work that one out Amanda? The world will end if we all turn vegetarian? I don't think so :D

No one suggested not eating diary or eggs, by the way. Those cows and hens ARE almost all still indoors and not eating much more than they would be if the sun was shining.
 
As I said, with my SMALL flock, this weather means 4 bags of feed a day, for lets say 4 weeks, that over 100 bags on top of our normal supplies for winter, which isn't THAT bad to find a storage for, but for extra 30 bales of hay and 30 bales of straw... well, I could put it in the lambing shed, oh no, hang on, the sheep are in it, packed like sardines in a tin.
 
I'm totally flammergasted at some of the ignorance/offensive attitude and impractical suggestions that have been banded about by what I can only assume are "townies" who have maybe 1 horse on full livery and haven't the faintest idea what they are talking about.

Rather than spending your time in a warm (hopefully) house/office spouting drivel on here, go and see if you can help some of these sheep you are bleating! about. I'm just in, frozen, soaking, hungry and depressed having been helping my neighbouring farmer struggle with his lambing. I haven't slept for over 24 hours, farmer? don't think he can remember when he last slept.
 
cptrayes said:
How on earth do you work that one out Amanda? The world will end if we all turn vegetarian? I don't think so :D
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I said end faster. If we stopped eating meat how much land will be needed to provide enough to eat? How many more chemicals will be poured onto the earth etc?

No I realize no one said eggs etc. but I was extrapolating. Look at the welfare issues caused by intensive factory indoor farming. Still, I suppose they are tucked up cosy and warm. :( Not a world I want to see for all farmed animals.
 
silu said:
I'm totally flammergasted at some of the ignorance/offensive attitude and impractical suggestions that have been banded about by what I can only assume are "townies" who have maybe 1 horse on full livery and haven't the faintest idea what they are talking about.

Rather than spending your time in a warm (hopefully) house/office spouting drivel on here, go and see if you can help some of these sheep you are bleating! about. I'm just in, frozen, soaking, hungry and depressed having been helping my neighbouring farmer struggle with his lambing. I haven't slept for over 24 hours, farmer? don't think he can remember when he last slept.
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At the end of the day nobody is forced to be a farmer....if you have sheep then this is always going to be a hard time of year when for a few weeks long hours are called for. The snow has made things worse but it is much worse than most years and the weather is out of anybodies control. I'm speaking as some one who lives on a farm and used to do night shifts in lambing sheds so I'm not a townie !
 
amandap said:
I said end faster. If we stopped eating meat how much land will be needed to provide enough to eat? How many more chemicals will be poured onto the earth etc?

No I realize no one said eggs etc. but I was extrapolating. Look at the welfare issues caused by intensive factory indoor farming. Still, I suppose they are tucked up cosy and warm. :( Not a world I want to see for all farmed animals.
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You need to do some more research Amanda :D

Animal protein is a very inefficient way to feed the world, and we could feed a lot more people if we grew plant protein instead. Eating animals is a resource hungry luxury, not a necessity.

For those now wondering, no I am not a vegetarian.
 
Bonny ~ I am a hill farmer and you are more than welcome to come up here and spend a week in my wellies at lambing time. A 17-20 hour day isn't unusual, and a sandwich for dinner as you haven't the energy to cook for yourself!

We cannot make our own hay, our land is too hilly and we cannot afford to buy the machinery to make hay even if it was suitable! We are paying the same price for our hay that the horse owners are paying. Our land is defined by DEFRA as severely disadvantaged. We don't get any 'hardship payment' and our subsidies are less than half our feed costs. I don't want sympathy because I love my life and I will farm in these hills until I am no longer able, but easy it isn't!
 
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