27) farmingGeorge’s Fobbing Farm Update: Minimal farming

 farmingGeorge’s Fobbing Farm UpdateMinimal farmingOrdinarily the month of October is a busy one for farm work:  it is the time when winter wheat tends to be established, often followed by winter beans.  But what the past couple of years have taught me on the farm is the absolute necessity of flexibility, and not to be surprised when this time of year deviates from plans.  The frequency of very wet winters has severely ramped up – 2002, 2012, 2016, and now consecutively 2019 & 2020 (October 2020 is actually the wettest month ever recorded by us on this farm).With this being the case, I am actually pleased to have had a two-day window to sow some wheat.  The conditions were far from ideal, and the seed drill needed the mud unblocking every couple of runs up the field, but despite that the crop is showing green up the rows, so we will at least be guaranteed a few days harvest come summer!  I just wish I’d had the chance to put some of my heritage niche wheat varieties in…Our Cross Slot drill just about running well…as I say: just about!  I wouldn’t want any more mud on the press wheels than this!With lots of brain-time spent wishing we could be out of the farmyard putting seed in the ground, I was pleased for my building projects.  The flour mill project has been beset by legislative delays, which I am coming out of the other side of now.  Thankfully.  One particularly delightfully grimy job entailed hiring a diamond concrete grinder to take the finish off an area of smooth (power-floated) concrete to provide a key for the epoxy-resin floor coating to be applied to.  Quite the incredible way to make a lot of dust!The concrete grinder!Oof!  That is sure a lot of dust.Towards the end of October, just before #lockdown2.0 kicked off, I was fortunate to be able to have a day baking at Flor in Borough Market with my friend Helen Evans.  Flor is a beautiful restaurant-cum-bakery which opened in the summer of 2019, and has tackled its way through covid cooking up some sensational take-away pizza.It was super to see the routine of the bakery and to really get stuck in – I was no mere observer!  Starting at 5:30am (having gotten up at 3:20am!) was baking off the previous day’s loaves (all naturally leavened sourdough).  The ovens are programmed to come on before anyone is in so they are fully up to temperature to get the day flying.  Whilst each bread batch was in the oven, we were downstairs in the kitchen mixing up the next batches of dough (utilising a complex spreadsheet of Helen’s design based on quantity of wholesale orders and expected in-house sales).  As a newbie, it was certainly nerve-racking to be left in charge of measuring out these flour mixes.  Especially since the consequence of any of my mess ups might well only be determined the next morning (when I wouldn’t be there to know!).Next there was lots of portioning up dough, and learning how to shape.  Shaping was something I have never been particularly good at when attempting my own loaves at home.  So it was great to have the chance to practice continually for a period of time (rather than just once) and begin to get the hang of it.  Although Helen did correct a lot of my mistakes!It was a really super day, but truly exhausting.  Not just due to the early start, but due to the frenetic routine of the day.  Still, I can understand now why someone would love being a baker.  From a personal business point of view, it was also great to get my hands on lots of different types of flour, and hear from the horse’s mouth what qualities a baker really desires.  Now I just have to learn to replicate that with my own flour mill…easy right?At the start of October, Henry Matthews, lecturer from Writtle Agricultural College, came on his annual trip to the farm with a group of students.  Much as though my available time on the farm is becoming scarcer, I always believe these student visits to be really valuable and worth the investment.  They were a particularly fascinating and diverse group, and I was pleased that they weren’t afraid to ask the probing questions.As a bright spot in this dreary season, we have some new permanent members to the farming family here in Fobbing.  Cows!  And not just any cows.  These are Red Polls.  I have bought 11 animals, all in calf, so come the spring that number will double.  The cattle have come from the Ladlers herd that graze a large portion of the year in Hatfield forest, and have only been grass-fed their entire lives.Aren’t these Red Polls just absolute beauties?!Red Polls are a hardy, native East Anglian, heritage breed, that are naturally ‘polled’ – this means that they don’t have horns!  What’s more, they are a dual-purpose breed.  Most modern cattle are bred either for meat or for milk, but not many are designed for both.  The exciting thing for me is that the bull (male) calves can be grown for the meat market and should be able to fatten on grass within 30 months (necessary to keep slaughter costs down), while the heifer (female) calves can be used to grow the milking herd.  Just the small matter of purchasing a milking bail with which to milk these animals now, and learn all about that!This girl might be my favourite.  Well, there is no ‘might’.  She is definitely my fave!Having the livestock on the farm is really key for my agro-ecological farming system moving forward – to revitalise my soils ecologically with their dung and hooves.  And also to fertilise my ground.  Using animals naturally to spike fertility and biodiversity is critical to my ability to farm without artificial inputs, so this herd really represents quite a lot!Contact details:George Young07792 508 611George@FobbingFarms.co.uk@farmingGeorge