We are now well into our turkey harvest and the growth of the birds is quite impressive. We have processed some birds already weighing in at over 45lbs and I will not be surprised to break the 50lbs barrier this year. It seems the quality grain harvest over the summer has led to better quality feed this year and also the mild weather meaning less energy used to keep the birds warm has resulted in some good growth weight conversions.

The wet weather has turned our farm tracks into sloppy mud trails and the fields are starting to become boggy so we have now bought the cattle indoors for winter. Our cows are very quiet and happily walked in behind a bag of feed into the barn, the only problem being so did 50 sheep who thought they deserved the food too. So splitting them up and returning the sheep to the field was the next challenge. They will stay out and just come in briefly at lambing, as they have much less impact on the ground and protective woolly coats.

We are always looking at diversification projects on the farm and have just launched a new wedding venue taking bookings for next summer, this offers people the chance of a proper country marquee wedding at an affordable cost, and works well within our farm business. For the benefit of guests our livestock offer an up close and personal country feel as well as some fantastic views and scenery. This is aimed at spreading the risk of the farm business as a whole without impacting on the farm workload too much.

We have also been busy with the farms hog roast business this month selling at the Christmas lights switch on in Dorchester and Brewery square. This week we will be at Blandford Yuletide festival an Wimborne late night shopping so come and visit us there.

For more updates on the farm please visit our Charisworth Farm Facebook page.