September has arrived with a bang but we welcome the cooler weather & rain after such a hot summer. Our boys are back at school & now it's just the two of us on the farm.
We have been busy drilling 6 hectares of stubble turnips & forage rape for the winter, we are now keeping our fingers crossed it grows well as the cows adore it & it also means they can remain outside which keeps them so much healthier over winter. We are still hoping to plant a few more hectares once the sun shines again and we've finished cutting and baling the rest of the sorghum. The sorghum has done really well & this last bit if rain should enable it to grown to a good height.
Over the last week we've had a few messages from curious folk asking what sorghum is and why we grow it on our farm. Firstly we grow it to feed our cattle during the Winter months, it has a high protein & starch content which provides a fabulous source of energy for the cattle, it also contributes to a better quality of meat (low linoleic- and polyunsaturated- acid-content) and has low sensitivity to mycotoxins in the field. It's a fabulous crop to grow here in France as during the hottest part of the year it's drought intolerant & grows fast. We direct drilling it therefore don't turn over the soil & this helps to preserve the carbon within the soil. Once we have cut the sorghum it is left to wilt for 48 hours depending on how hot the weather is, then it's baled & wrapped to preserve and cure it.
This week we are busy in the butchery getting all the September orders cut and ready to go out to customers. We are Now taking orders for October, November a d if course Christmas 🎄 We will be doing a Christmas beef box again for anyone interested as well as all the usual cuts apart from rib eye steaks for Christmas as all the rib goes into Rib-joints & côte de bœufs!!! Please do get in touch if you have any questions or would like to place an order.
Many thanks again for your continued support.