Echo Country column by Richard Tory

I STARTED last month making reference to harvest and this month it's logs! The phone has been very busy with log orders as fires and log burners are being started up now the temperatures have dropped. We have a number of managed woodland areas on the farm and seasoned hardwood logs have been one of our diversification lines.

In line with the winter theme and some downtime on the arable side, the hedges are now being cut. We are not allowed to do this between March 1 and August 31 due to EU legislation to protect nesting birds. Therefore we now hope it doesn’t rain too much before this task is complete so as to protect recently sown crops.

The sheep are currently running with a Dorset Down ram, so all being well in five months' time and the onset of spring we’ll have the sight of lambs leaping around the field. My ewes are mainly charallois crosses, which are renowned for being an easy lambing breed, and the cross with Dorset Down (reputed for early maturing lambs) gives me reason to feel optimistic about a stress-free lambing season. Sheep are hardy animals and will be outside for the winter content with a few nuts and the winter grass so are quite low maintenance in this respect.

We have been looking at the calves' feeding regimes as we head into winter. They carry no fat and young calves have an ‘under developed rumen’ (large stomach -which is what helps keep mature cows warm), so we need to ensure that they have enough calories to both keep warm and maintain condition and also continue to make daily weight gains. We have been looking at modifying the milk replacer so that the optimum concentration is fed in order to achieve this. Housing is a big factor in helping keep them warm. It's not as easy as closing the doors as fresh air and ventilation is vital in the prevention of respiratory diseases such a pneumonia so it’s a case of achieving a fine balance between warmth, calories and ventilation!

We have been having a tidy up and now the pigs cleared the main scrubland around my garden they have moved into their new pens. This Saturday I’m heading to the Wimborne food festival with Golden Pig Hog Roast so do come and say hello if you’re heading along.

Christmas continues to loom and I think we are ‘home’ to the luckiest turkey in the country. Esme escaped the table last year and is now a farm pet. Lets hope she doesn’t have a chance to chat with the Christmas turkeys and share any tips!