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A Day In The Life
A Year On The Farm
A Year On The Farm
The day starts at 5am when the cows are rounded up for milking which takes until around 10am. They are milked in groups depending on if they are high or low yielders with the fresh calvers separately.
Whilst the milking is being done the barns are bedded down with fresh straw and the cows daily feed is put out. Their diet is especially
The day starts at 5am when the cows are rounded up for milking which takes until around 10am. They are milked in groups depending on if they are high or low yielders with the fresh calvers separately.
Whilst the milking is being done the barns are bedded down with fresh straw and the cows daily feed is put out. Their diet is especially formulated by a nutritionist who makes sure that they all have the correct balance of minerals, energy, protein and fat for maintenance of the cow and milk production.
We have a policy at Plurenden where calves stay with Cows for their first few weeks, not hours, they have a straw barn in the yard and we often find ourselves watching them all together- after which they are moved to our calf house & fed on warm milk grains and hay
During the middle of the day in the summer the cows go out to grass. This is the natural way for them to feed and make fresh milk!
Other jobs are carried out such as checking for cows that are bulling, scanning for pregnancy, routine vet visits, foot trimming & records keeping.
At the farm we grow all of our own forage feed - we cut grass 3 or 4 times a year for silage and we grow barley and maize for feed - so any cultivations or harvesting happens during the middle of the day.
The afternoon routine starts at 3pm and finishes at 7pm - the milking happens all over again and the calves are fed. Other jobs such as checking for new calves, topping up mineral supplements and general farm maintenance.
Last thing is the scraping out of the cow waiting yards, turning out the lights and saying night night to the ladies!
A Year On The Farm
A Year On The Farm
A Year On The Farm
Firstly the cows - our herd calve in all year round and are milked 365 days a year twice a day so the daily routine continues...
Outside in the fields however...
Spring time we are busy cultivating the soil - we have heavy ground here so we avoid ploughing and disc cultivate the ground, this also helps to maintain the soil structures. We
Firstly the cows - our herd calve in all year round and are milked 365 days a year twice a day so the daily routine continues...
Outside in the fields however...
Spring time we are busy cultivating the soil - we have heavy ground here so we avoid ploughing and disc cultivate the ground, this also helps to maintain the soil structures. We are also busy spreading lots of manure on the ground- recycling! The manure is full of all the goodness to make the crops grow well without artificial fertilizers.
We plant Barley to harvest as a Whole crop with the grain and the Maize which must be planted by the beginning of May.
As the ground dries up in April the cows are turned out to graze, the fields are grazed in a rotation so that the cows always have fresh grass.
At the end of May and June we cut our grass silage - the first cut has the best nutrition values. The grass is mown & left to wilt for a day before being collected with a Forage harvester which chops the grass and blows it in to a trailer. The grass is tipped in the yard and squashed to remove the air and then preserved under black sheets to ferment in to silage.
Over the summer months we buy straw from arable farmers so we are busy bailing and carting the bales home to store dry for bedding in the winter. We also fit in second and third cut of grass silage and if weather permits, a fourth!
Autumn arrives and we can start muck spreading again on grass land and cultivating the ground to sow new grass seeds - the grass lays only grow well for about 2-3 years so they need replacing. We also cut the maize with the forage harvester which we adapt with a big cutting header on the front - this chops the plants and feeds them in to the machine where it passes through a corn cracker- this as it suggests cracks the cobs on the plants so that they are digestible by the cows.
This chopped maize is then blown in to trailers and carted back to the yard again as with the grass, squashing and sealing in an air tight heap to ferment in to silage for the cows to eat.
Winter arrives and all the cows are housed inside now meaning the winter involves a lot of work in the yard keeping the cows clean, dry and well fed.
Often they are in the dry and warm and we are outside getting wet!
A family farm is not just a job, its a way of life!
Hello from all of us!
We are from left to right...
Will, Alice, Beatrice, Katherine Hamilton, Gemma, Evie Jon, Florence, Yvonne,& John, Gormley, Madeleine, Neil, Christian, Henry & Arthur Pike and Eleaner, Rosemary & William Gormley
All together we are 'Plurendenmilk!' We have all had our roots in the farming life right from our first steps!
We came to Plurenden in Kent together to take advantage of the beautiful farm in the hope that by farming together at one farm we can make it work both financially & environmentally sustainable.
We are involved in every aspect of running the farm everyday - milking, feeding the cows & youngstock, growing & harvesting the forage, mucking out & now processing & bottling the freshest milk, cream & churning butter, answering the phone and emails!
We would like to thank all our customers for their continued support and we will continue to ensure the freshest milk comes direct to you from our cows grazed here, In The Garden of England.
Staff
We also have a super team of farm staff here at Plurenden, there is always so much to do milking, feeding youngstock, cleaning beds & field work. Not forgetting that we bottle fresh milk & pot cream too!
If you are interested in joining us get in touch!
