Our flock of 450 Suffolk cross ewes and their growing lambs were brought down from the Eversfield meadows this morning to begin the annual spring shearing, filling the farmyard with a chorus of bleating throughout the day!

How do you shear a sheep?
A team of 4 shearers and 2 handlers under the management of our farm manager in our woolshed started the first ewes at 7.30am at the start of a very long day which finishes around 7pm.

The ewes and lambs are first moved in small groups into the catching pens where the lambs are separated and given a basic health check before being allowed out into the yard – we bring them back in late summer to shear the soft lamb’s wool.

Each ewe is then moved down into a small holding area, and taken out one at a time by the shearers to receive their haircut!

The wool is removed efficiently in under 3 minutes using machine operated shears. The shearers expertly restrain each ewe during the short procedure which is completely harmless, starting in the belly area first then around the legs and entire body to completely remove the fleece in one piece.

Each ewe is also given a health check with particular attention to their feet before being reunited with her lambs and a chance to show off her new ´look´ to the rest of the flock.

The fleece itself is thrown flat onto a sheet to be checked, trimmed and graded before being rolled and packed into large bags for transportation. Our Eversfield Organic wool is sent to the Wool Marketing Board where it’s processed and sold as a raw material.

Good things come to those who wait. . .

Whilst most farms are frantically cutting their first silage crop up and down the length and breadth of Britain, here at Eversfield we work with nature to provide the very best silage crop, in order to give our livestock the very best winter feed. How do we do this? It’s simple. . .  we leave it to nature, and then we wait. Non organic farms will spray and fertilise fields to stimulate grass growth and minimise weeds and wildflowers.  At Eversfield, our silage is 100% organically grown without the use of chemicals, this allows nature’s wildflowers and grasses to grow and proliferate unhindered, giving a rich and nutritionally balanced silage crop. Many farms will cut silage in May and June, before the seed heads develop on the grasses. They do this to minimise the fibre content of the grass thus aiding digestion.  However, at Eversfield, we know that our beef cows benefit from an increased fibre content – WHY?  With a higher percentage of fibre in the grass, the cow’s digestive system takes longer to digest the grass so it sits in the stomach for longer. Whilst it’s sitting there, it gives the cattle’s digestive system more time to extract nutrients from the silage. This means our cows get the maximum nutrition from the silage.

Our Farm Manager Malcolm Light keeps an eye on the silage fields at this time of year to carefully assess the growth of the grasses, wildflowers, clover and other nutritional plants which grow in our organic pastures. Only when the time is right will Malcolm call in the contractors to begin cutting.  Each meadow enjoys different growing conditions – drainage and moisture levels, differing soil variations, sunlight, exposure to winds and so by assessing each meadow individually, Malcolm can plan to cut the silage when he feels the meadow is ready. Our silage fields are therefore cut at different times to suit the conditions. During the silage cutting, the silage is rolled into bales and stored where it matures through the summer in time for winter feeding.

Good for our cows and good for wildlife. . .

There’s another happy benefit of our approach to making silage.  Whilst most farms cut silage in May or June before the grasses and flowers have flowered and seeded, our Eversfield Organic meadows are allowed to proliferate with wild flowers providing a spring habitat for insects, birds, bees and butterflies creating a vital food source to support the bio diversity of wildlife around the farm.

So whilst others may be rushing to cut their silage crops, we wait until July – better for our cows and better for nature!

The spring hedgerows around Eversfield are blooming and blossoming with colour and life. Foxgloves, honeysuckle wild strawberries are all in flower attracting the birds and bees and all manner of crawling life providing food for young birds and mammals.

Wild Flowers in our Organic meadows