Farm Diary

Submitted by: Graeme Stratton

Farm Manager

I thought I would share a few notes about the farm.

We have 28 mature head of cattle and this includes two bulls, 6 yearlings and 4 calves.  One bull is a Red Poll crossed with a red poll mix, the other is Charolais crossed with Red Poll mix.  The double muscling trait of the Charolais shows up very well.

We also have six horses belonging to the University farm, together with 6 adult donkeys, 3 yearlings and 3 foals.  Finally we usually have on hand about 10 sheep and 10 goats.

The acreage we have to work with is about six acres plus the teaching paddock behind the Small Animal Hospital which gives us another acre and a half.

The animals because of the shortage of land are fed on a zero grazing basis, in that we assume they are getting nothing from the pasture and we feed rations accordingly.  We use a balanced ruminant ration and a premium horse ration which are fed for maintenance and this is supplemented with brewer’s grains and alfalfa hay.  If you have seen these animals you will realize they are in good condition.  They also have continuous access to water and mineral licks.

We are on a strict internal and external parasite control regime.

So that’s the farm in brief, do drop by if you have spare time, watching the animals is a great way to relax.