It can often feel like Cumbria is a forgotten corner of England, that we live in a slightly calmer time dimension that kicks in somewhere between M6 J34 – J35, over the last couple of years I have also noticed that the weather gods seem to be on our side too (I’m not suggesting this has always been the case) we’ve been looking to avoid the worst of the winter floods over the past couple of years, and whilst other areas were in drought last summer, we had one of the best summers since I (saw the light and) moved to Cumbria.
This year is of course shaping up to be another hot one, and so I thought I would take this opportunity to share the hot weather guidance from NFU Online, which covers everything from protecting your skin when working in warm weather, to crop fires. Hopefully the weather gods will continue to smile upon us and it won’t be needed (though skin protection when working outdoors is essential) but, I think the general consensus amongst the wise (a group from which I exclude myself) it is better to be prepared…
Hot weather guidance for farmers – NFUonline
The Future is Now
I recently went along to NFU Carlisle’s farm walk which was hosted by the Workman family at Ellerton Grange, Southwaite. It was a fantastic night, with over 150 members coming along to see the farm and hear from Lely about the variety of technologies that have been installed there; from the Lely Vector – an automated feeding system, to milking robots, to slurry robots. It’s easy to think with that much automation there’ll be nothing left for a farmer to do, but in reality there is no replacement for a good stockperson’s eye and the technology was more about saving time which can then be spent on the important tasks of running the business.
We were also joined by NFU Deputy President Paul Tompkins, who was quite green with envy and went off back to Yorkshire with a headful of ideas of what they could change on the farm at home, but before he did he spoke about the reasons why he got involved with the NFU initially (he read something in the paper he didn’t agree with and picked up the phone), and how – despite the fact he has been involved with the NFU for a number of years, including as the National Dairy Board Chair – being one of the top three officeholders, and seeing behind the curtain of the NFU he is amazed at the power of the NFU and the doors that it opens and he urged all members to come along to events and get involved locally – as you never know where it might take you to.
And finally…
Don’t forget that there are still plenty of opportunities to see the teams from your local branches at the county shows over the summer, at the time of writing Penrith Show is speeding towards us, but of course there is also Cockermouth, Dalston, Ulverston, Westmorland to name just a few.
And of course, as always, if there is anything I can help with, or you have ideas for an event or would like to host a farm walk please do let me know.