With this blog I thought I would hand back to some of the people that we simply could not make our cheese without – Debbie and Andrew Lewis from Hartland View Farm on the edge of Exmoor in North Devon. Debbie and Andrew have a 325 strong herd of Pedigree Holsteins which supply us with some of our wonderful Westcountry milk which helps give our cheese its distinctive qualities.
So over to Debbie…………………….
September for us is a time where we take a step back from the farming so that we can prepare for our cows to come in from the fields. We turn our hand to building and repair work to make sure our cows are warm, dry and comfortable through the winter months, until they can get back out onto the pastures in spring.
In October we harvested the maize that we planted all the way back in April. The maize is then used to feed our cows during the winter. We have also harvested a small amount of Fodder Beet, which is basically a root crop a bit like a giant carrot in shape I think it probably tastes a bit like turnip (I haven’t ever tasted one myself!). The cows absolutely love it though – it’s like chocolate for cows!
The fodder beet is chopped in a mixer wagon (basically a large food processor on wheels!) and they are now eating that fresh, which is a nice transition from fresh grass during the move inside. Gradually we have been bringing the herd inside as the fields are just too muddy for them at the moment – and of course they much prefer to be in the warmth of the barn!
Debbie.
