How has farming been for you in 2020 ?
- Thread starter Henarar
- Start date
- Location
- Lincolnshire
There has been aggravation aplenty and I didn’t get much drilled yet again but really we have ended the year a damn sight better off than many so mustn’t grumble.
Dead Rabbits
Member
- Location
- 'Merica
Had an ok year. Two months of 20p/l equivalent milk price were unhelpful. Summer got dry early and stayed dry till September. Also unhelpful.
Not too bad though. Always happy enough to be alive every day.
Not too bad though. Always happy enough to be alive every day.
That’s because you have a good reputation . I see a lot of your adverts on FB and it comes across that you are very straight in your advertising .
Dave W
Member
- Location
- chesterfield
Thank you. Very kind of you to say.
- Location
- Cei newydd
The best year iv'e had since i bought the place 24yrs ago. Lambs and cattle selling very well.
Not rushing around like a blue arsed fly trying to do jobs before going somewere.
Actually done things id ment to do for a few years.
Not rushing around like a blue arsed fly trying to do jobs before going somewere.
Actually done things id ment to do for a few years.
organicguy
Member
- Location
- North East of the south west
Family all fit and well and no-one died so that is good.
Longest drought on record, and wettest autumn on record so rainfall will turn out above average. Had one third of our annual rainfall in two rain events, nearly 4in in one day in August and 3in in 2 days at the beginning of October to give a total for the month of 192mm.
We have been lucky that a neighbour sold his cows so we have harvested half his grass to get us close to enough forage. Straw yields only 25% of normal so spent a lot of time chasing bales.
Organic beef price has been excellent this autumn.
Milk price had taken a brexit hit last year so has improved this year.
Highlight of the year has been selling a bull into A.I.
Instead of a cycling holiday in Vietnam we spent a week between lockdowns cycling 250 miles in a triangle going coast to coast in Devon which was awesome!
Longest drought on record, and wettest autumn on record so rainfall will turn out above average. Had one third of our annual rainfall in two rain events, nearly 4in in one day in August and 3in in 2 days at the beginning of October to give a total for the month of 192mm.
We have been lucky that a neighbour sold his cows so we have harvested half his grass to get us close to enough forage. Straw yields only 25% of normal so spent a lot of time chasing bales.
Organic beef price has been excellent this autumn.
Milk price had taken a brexit hit last year so has improved this year.
Highlight of the year has been selling a bull into A.I.
Instead of a cycling holiday in Vietnam we spent a week between lockdowns cycling 250 miles in a triangle going coast to coast in Devon which was awesome!
Crops
- Location
- south norfolk
Not the best here.late drilled crops were just appalling and at harvest some full of bindweed which made ploughing entertaining.barley not quite as bad and only harvested 1/3 of drilled rape after flea beetles had a good feed averaging 625kg acre from harvested area.machinery costs were low amounting to a broken bolt on transmission of my 7710 which took some removing,on outside of gearbox.and a couple of burst pipes under cab but not bad for a 23 year old tractor.nearly lost my oldest collie due to some womb infection which really upset me as did loosing 3 friends to cancer.another couple locally have passed this week due to COVID.hopefully next year will improve
nick...
nick...
- Location
- East Sussex
I would describe the year as a Rollercoaster which has come to a good ending financially.
The Spring was fantastic and store cattle were still cheap to buy. Hoggets were nearly all sold to local butchers when demand went off the clock with lockdown.
Lambing/Calving was fantastic with good numbers and virtually no losses and plenty of grass.
However after stopping raining in early March it didn't rain again until September.
Forced to sell lambs as Stores from July, but the trade was ok and others finished incredibly well with no feeing and no worm burdens to worry about.
Having no grass meant we fed the cattle and finished most of them on the grass for a very good price.
Draft ewes were a great sale price and we cleared them all.
Straw is difficult and Hay is short but the grass has kept growing until this week so providing winter ends on time we should last out.
Sadly my old Mother died a month short of a century but she was at home and never lost her faculties, also my Brother who had fought cancer for some time went at the end of April.
I just hope that the coming farming year won't be the Big Dipper when we start at the top and tumble to the bottom, I genuinely hope I am proved wrong over Brexit.
We do still have plenty of lambs left to sell!!
Happy New Year everyone and may we all stay healthy.
The Spring was fantastic and store cattle were still cheap to buy. Hoggets were nearly all sold to local butchers when demand went off the clock with lockdown.
Lambing/Calving was fantastic with good numbers and virtually no losses and plenty of grass.
However after stopping raining in early March it didn't rain again until September.
Forced to sell lambs as Stores from July, but the trade was ok and others finished incredibly well with no feeing and no worm burdens to worry about.
Having no grass meant we fed the cattle and finished most of them on the grass for a very good price.
Draft ewes were a great sale price and we cleared them all.
Straw is difficult and Hay is short but the grass has kept growing until this week so providing winter ends on time we should last out.
Sadly my old Mother died a month short of a century but she was at home and never lost her faculties, also my Brother who had fought cancer for some time went at the end of April.
I just hope that the coming farming year won't be the Big Dipper when we start at the top and tumble to the bottom, I genuinely hope I am proved wrong over Brexit.
We do still have plenty of lambs left to sell!!
Happy New Year everyone and may we all stay healthy.
Non-aligned milk producer here so always sh1t, just the depth that varies
Hilly
Member
- Location
- Scottish Borders.
Always room for improvement but could be so much worse .
Hilly
Member
- Location
- Scottish Borders.
Farmer1001
Member
Went down with TB, but went clear again! All in all average farming year but a healthy family. Seriously looking forward to 2021. Best wishes to everyone, we don’t always agree Steve but are in it together and richer for it. 
its been a funny owd year. cattle have done us well , but thought to dear to replace oops! no winter barley so late start to harvest only 35 acres of wheat so no big heap , but had a big heap of spring barley but it dosnt weigh like wheat and worth £ 50 a ton less. biggest downer we usually sell 5 or 6 loads of osr to give cover till new year , 2020 gave us 1 and a half. rotation gone to ship. it just gets worse but we are all healthy and keep waking up. went clear tb test last week straws agood trade grain price picking up fat beast up for next week, on wards and upwards, good luck for 2021 to everyone.
- Location
- Near Beeston Castle
3 nights of hard frost in late May took nearly all my crop (apples)
Covid has taken all my customers (pubs, coffee shops, restaurants).
Found out I can buy apples cheaper than I can grow them, not only that I don't need any pickers and someone else pays for chilled storage.
On the domestic front, major house restoration is difficult at the best of times but covid makes it an awful lot harder to source tradesmen and supplies. (eg. ordered a new front door early July and still no sign of it)
Ne'er mind, plenty a lot worse off.
Covid has taken all my customers (pubs, coffee shops, restaurants).
Found out I can buy apples cheaper than I can grow them, not only that I don't need any pickers and someone else pays for chilled storage.
On the domestic front, major house restoration is difficult at the best of times but covid makes it an awful lot harder to source tradesmen and supplies. (eg. ordered a new front door early July and still no sign of it)
Ne'er mind, plenty a lot worse off.
- Location
- North Wiltshire
Arable rubbish 
Entered stewardship and been paid
Hay challenging.
Sucklers ok.
Bull hurt his back leg, lovely chap, but had to let him go.
Barn/ holiday let conversion was total nightmare with lockdown
Harvest quick, spring planting was usless.
Openfield after 20+ yrs of good service are making me look elsewhere.
Nothing planted again this autumn
Family all alive and well
Entered stewardship and been paid
Hay challenging.
Sucklers ok.
Bull hurt his back leg, lovely chap, but had to let him go.
Barn/ holiday let conversion was total nightmare with lockdown
Harvest quick, spring planting was usless.
Openfield after 20+ yrs of good service are making me look elsewhere.
Nothing planted again this autumn
Family all alive and well