Open Farm Sunday drew 3,000 visitors to Rawston Farm, but the shadow of TB returns with fresh tests ahead for James Cossins
At Rawston Farm we have some goods news to report and also some bad news.
Firstly the good: the Open Farm Sunday event we hosted on 8th June was an amazing success. At Down Barn, we welcomed nearly 3,000 people to the farm – and we took 1,212 of them around the farm on tractor and trailer rides.
All images: Courtenay Hitchcock
Our aim this year was to show our visitors what foods we produce here on the farm, and how we produce them. In the grain barn my wife (and also a BV columnist) Barbara had organised many local food producers to show what was produced here in Dorset. We had stands for honey, rapeseed oil, milk and milk products, preserves, cider, sausage rolls … and so many more products.
We also had on display some of our farm machinery, ranging from our seed drill to the combine. During the farm tours, visitors learned about the life cycle of a milking cow while watching them graze in the paddock.
We spotted plenty of hares out in their favourite grass field – many people on the trailers had never seen so many gathered together. Later in the day, guests watched the cows being milked and discovered how the milk gets from the farm all the way to the shops.
We also had beef cattle, sheep, pigs and baby chicks on display, and we were also joined by representatives of our local Damory Veterinary Practice. I hope everyone had an enjoyable day – and, just as importantly, came away having learned something new about farming. My thanks go to all the local farmers and volunteers who gave their time and helped the day run so smoothly.
The TB
The bad news is that one of our beef TB reactors was found to have a culture-positive result for TB. Many of you will remember our loss of 47 animals, including a bull, at the start of the year. That was about 15 per cent of our entire adult cattle herd.
This latest result means that not only do we have to carry out a skin test but also a gamma blood test at the same time. Although the milking cows were blood tested last November, we have been requested to test them again: we have to hope that further infection has not been picked up since then. None of us at Rawston is looking forward to the last week of July, (comma) when the testing will be taking place.
Our cereal harvest is likely to start in the first week of July, which is about two weeks early. We are currently busy getting the combines ready and cleaning out our grain stores ready for the harvest. It is difficult at the moment to predict the anticipated yield, after such a dry spring and summer but with the bonus of extra sunshine. I will report back at the next time of writing, hopefully with positive news … on both the harvest yields and a clear TB test.
