OFFLEY HOO

Good bye to Offley Hoo

2011-08-10T11:26:00.007+01:00

It will be good bye to Offley Hoo on 31st August 2011 as Jon and Sarah are off to new pastures in Kent. Jon will be the Farm Manager for Horton Park Farm near Ashford. The packing and sorting is well under way and the whole family including the house cow and her two calves, the pony, hens, and sheepdog will all be making the crossing over the Dartford bridge to settle in their new home before

2011-06-13T20:43:00.006+01:00

This picture sums up yesterday.900 stalwarts braved the cold and the rain to come to our Open Farm Sunday.The band Rock, Stock and Basil were fabulous, the food and drinks great and we couldn't have done it without our marvellous band of intrepid and wonderful helpers.Thank you everyone for coming and for helping.More pictures and reports will follow later this week however this remains a very

Farmers Market stalls

2011-06-10T16:47:00.005+01:00

Even the garden is wonderfully tidy as everyone has mucked in to put on a good show for Sunday.Here is a list of some of the stalls at the Farmers Market:Offley Hoo Traditional quality beef, pork and lamb in the MEAT ROOMSuzanne Hartley's plants, flowers and herbs Hitchin LavenderJames Parish with his farm grown wild bird foodSimon Mead and his oil seed rape oilLeno and Gloria with their

Farming Today Radio 4

2011-06-10T07:09:00.004+01:00

Good morning We've just been on the radio. Here is the pod cast It is only a few minutes half way through the programme. Farming Today is always very interesting and can always be listened to via a podcast or BBCiplayer.We have kindly been lent another people carrying trailer for Sunday so we will now have 2 trailers operating on the day for the tractor and trailer rides. We'd like to thank

sneak preview

2011-06-09T17:55:00.008+01:00

Here is a sneak preview of 'Murial', taken by Jon on his phone. Murial tells the story of Farming in the Chilterns. We need lots of visiting children to help complete the picture. How they do this, will remain a secret until this Sunday.We are now putting up the rest of the displays.Tomorrow, Sarah and Philippa will be pricing up some of the pork, beef and lamb, and the butcher will be on hand

'Murial' is ready

2011-06-08T20:10:00.009+01:00

'Murial' is finished -and next we have to prepare all the parts for the collage including the wool which has been specially machine washed in a pillowcase for health and safety reasons.The photos show how I gathered the wool from a self shedding Wiltshire Horn sheep earlier this year into a bag. The sheep was shedding naturally and I just pulled it off into a sack.Put into a pillowcase for

the preparation goes on

2011-06-08T13:26:00.002+01:00

The brilliant thing about Open Farm Sunday is not only do we get to meet lots of people who want to learn about how their food is produced but also the farm has an annual clean and tidy up.As I write this Darek is painting the inside of the educational buildings, now the next stage of renovations are almost done. I am off to the Cash n' Carry to get supplies for feeding and watering all the

Adam Henson on Open Farm Sunday

2011-06-06T17:50:00.001+01:00

Here is Adam's video all about Open Farm Sunday.

some useful rain

2011-06-06T07:56:00.007+01:00

10 mm rain overnight so far and still raining. Hopefully enough to persuade the grass to grow and the game cover to germinate. It is colder than we are used to and Gig the pony was shivering at 6.30am. Half an hour inside his warm stable with some hay and a rug on and he is much recovered. Meanwhile we must plan what to do with the 35+ ladies from the WI who are coming on a farm visit at 10.30

The publicity hots up

2011-06-05T11:35:00.005+01:00

As we continue to prepare the premises, and keep up with all the routine farm work too, the national promotional campaign run by LEAF is well under way.It is very exciting as LEAF have even listed us as one of their farming heroes.As well as our radio slot next Sunday I have just had an email to inform us that Offley Hoo is also featured on Page 16 in the Sunday Telegraph Life supplement in an

On the radio - next Sunday 12th June

2011-06-04T10:56:00.005+01:00

Yesterday Elinor Goodman and Emma, the producer, came to Offley Hoo. They interviewed Jon in his role as BBC Farmer of the Year and asked us both all about Open Farm Sunday.A fifteen minute programme called 'On your farm' will be broadcast early 06.35 on Sunday 12th June, or use the 'listen again' button later on.This photograph of some former arable land reverted back to grass was taken by

MUSIC!

2011-06-03T08:15:00.006+01:00

We are very grateful to Rock, Stock and Basil from Baldock for agreeing to play for us on Open Farm Sunday.The play list looks great and will be guaranteed to get all the children dancing in the barn.Update on the ewe which was attacked by an unknown dog in Kings Walden park. She is recovering well after a lot of careful nursing and modern veterinary medicine. The cost to the farm about £100.00,

DOG ATTACK

2011-05-26T19:39:00.005+01:00

Apologies for the brutal photograph of a sheep which has been the victim of a dog attack.This ewe, with a lamb aged about 3 weeks old was attacked by a dog today in Kings Walden park. The ewe was found in a very distressed state in the field beside the Village Hall, called Church Meadow, where the footpath runs. She is now back at the home farm with her lamb and receiving veterinary care. It is

Back to reality

2011-05-22T16:39:00.004+01:00

We are back from a lovely break in Cornwall and already the holiday seems long ago.Jon injected a lame calf this morning for suspected joint ill and we have been planting out brassicas in the garden and weeding the carrots.Tomorrow morning we host the first of three planned visits by Hertfordshire Women's Institute.The weather is so dry with blustery drying winds and we have had several

More udder trouble

2011-05-12T16:31:00.000+01:00

Jon fetched in Brookfield Ginnie again as the front left teat had swelled once more to enormous proportions with milk. The calf is so full he just wants to lie down and sleep.The single unit milking machine was used to take a gallon off the cow, and hopefully the calf will manage to keep pace with production now.Jon wonders if he is the only person in the country to use a milking machine on a

5am start

2011-05-12T07:15:00.000+01:00

An early start today at 5 am to send pigs and lambs to the abattoir.The butcher is making a start next week on all the sausages and burgers for Open Farm Sunday. They are made in advance and frozen otherwise the workload is simply too much the week before with fresh meat to prepare to sell on the day.We only have 3 lambs left from last year now, two are already reserved for a good customer and

Offley pre-school playgroup visited today

2011-05-11T18:23:00.000+01:00

The local Pre-School and Playgroup visited the farm today to see the lambs out in the fields and a new calf. We hope a good time was had by all.Photo by Jon Birchall.

Udder trouble

2011-05-10T17:41:00.009+01:00

A spot of udder trouble for Brookfield Ginny, a pedigree Longhorn cow with an Aberdeen Angus cross calf born this week.One of her 'quarters' from her udder was seriously swollen with milk and too large for the calf to suck. It is the front left teat and out of camera view.The only cure is to walk her in and for Jon to milk her out by hand to relieve the pressure of the milk and prevent mastitis.

The first Angus calves born this week

2011-05-10T14:16:00.003+01:00

The first two Aberdeen Angus cross Longhorn calves were born this week.Pictures will follow. We are still very busy lambing and calving, and there is a lot to do in-putting all the lambing records and individual ear tag numbers into the computer.On the arable side of the business a legume mix has been planted for arable silage under the Stewardship options, and the wild bird seed mix will be sown

Hovis farmers racing!

2011-05-05T13:01:00.003+01:00

Sadly Jon was not asked to run, maybe just as well seeing what happens to some of the contestants!

Busy times.

2011-05-03T12:00:00.006+01:00

Twins just as they should be on spring grass and suckling well.Species rich chalk grassland.New born on a Sunday evening.Some of the new electric stockproof fences going in this year under the new Higher Level Stewardship Scheme.30 kilometres is the target!This lamb had a helping hand into the world by Dan the Kiwi.Spring wheat variety: A C Barrie is grown for seed this year for Premium crops for

the new arrivals

2011-04-20T10:08:00.005+01:00

First lambs. A Wiltshire Horn triplet born yesterday. One will be taken off today and fostered onto a single ewe.The first Longhorn calf this year in Kings Walden park. The picture was taken when he was a few hours old, and before the regulation ear tags were inserted.

The busy season for livestock keepers

2011-04-12T12:01:00.002+01:00

Yesterday, we turned the cows out. I hope to post pictures soon.Calving has started and the lambing is due to start this weekend.

Your food from our fields

2011-04-08T09:31:00.007+01:00

The milling wheat grown here at Offley Hoo is sold to Hovis who turn it in to bread flour and or bread.Offley Hoo wheat.This year Hovis have asked Jon to grow their seed wheat. This will mean a better price for the seed and if all goes well Jon will produce enough A C Barrie [ the variety of wheat] of seed for other farmers to sow on an area the size of Epping Forest.Home baking with Hovis wheat

Thanks to all our helpers & sponsors

2011-04-08T09:10:00.005+01:00

Preparations are underway for the annual OPEN FARM SUNDAY event.In order to make the day successful for all our visitors we rely heavily on help from family, staff, friends, neighbours and a whole host of other agricultural professionals and national sponsors.To date, we'd particularly like to thank WARBURTONS and WEETABIX for agreeing to send us products to display and use on the day to tell the

Nature Friendly Farming - guaranteed

2011-03-18T09:37:00.005Z

The farm had a visit and inspection yesterday from Brin Hughes and Shelley Abbott from the Conservation Grade organisation.We are now accredited producers of conservation grade wheat to supply Allied Mills for Allinsons bread.This is great news and shows that the modern sustainable farming practice is best for both business and the environment.Read what Allinson's bread say about Nature Friendly

The vet is here

2011-03-17T10:45:00.005Z

The vet is here this morning to see to a lame yearling steer and another young steer with a bad eye. Both should recover well.The lameness is non-specific so treatment and rest has been prescribed. The eye was found to have a foreign body - a piece of chaff - stuck under the eyelid. This has been removed and antibiotic cream applied to the eye. We will apply more cream again in 3 days time. The

Cutting edge - 21st Century precision farming

2011-03-14T10:02:00.005Z

A working weekend spring drilling.Red Wheat for Hovis is currently being planted on 400 acres. The variety of wheat is A C Barrie. The tractors rolled all weekend.Jon filmed the tractor and drill working at Oughton Head. It is an innovative drill, designed by Jon and built on the farm.The machine uses variable rate treatment maps, and GPS technology to farm the land according to soil types. This

Disappointing results

2011-03-02T09:37:00.003Z

We had disappointing results for the scanning yesterday. The sheep flock scanned with an average of 125%. After we subtract the barren ewes the figure improves to 146%. This is lower than we hoped for but the combination of a lot of young sheep to breed from, called shearlings, and the terrible weather in November & December has lowered our percentage considerably.Four weeks of snow and ice in

Sheep scanning today

2011-03-01T12:40:00.006Z

Today we are scanning the ewes with an ultrasound machine to make it easier at lambing time. They are checked by Bob the scan man [on the right with the black hat] with his very expensive machine and marked with a colour spray as having one, two, three or no lambs.We will then sort them out into groups and at lambing it will be easier try to match spare triplet lambs with singles. The barren ewes

PIGS for SALE

2011-02-21T11:48:00.005Z

Pedigree registered rare breed sows and gilts for sale.5 registered Middle White gilts [Fairlady line] in pig to the Pietrain boar with their first litter.2 Tamworth young sows [Lucky Lass line] in pig to Pietrain boar for their second litter.1 registered Middle White young sow [Fairlady line] in pig to the Pietrain boar with her second litter.5 registered Middle White sows [Fairlady line] in-pig

Signs of spring

2011-02-16T15:23:00.004Z

This was some of the Longhorn cattle on the way back from Kings Walden Park to the farm before Christmas.The same cattle can now smell the grass and are looking hopefully at us to be turned out again. It is far too early to consider this for a number of reasons and the fact that we may yet be caught out with some more wintry weather.However signs of an early Spring abound. Partridges and other

2011-02-07T11:29:00.003Z

Jon checking some of the Longhorn cows in their winter quarters.Last night's edition of Countryfile made us all unbearably sad as the programmed highlighted the tenth anniversary of the devastating foot and mouth epidemic of 2001.I lived through the trauma at very close quarters in my previous farming life in Northumberland and documented the epidemic in a diary for a national newspaper as Sarah

Drifts at 12'C

2011-02-05T16:50:00.008Z

Yes that's right drifts, but not as one expects. Out on the Hertfordshire lanes last night found us awed by huge leaf drifts, as perfectly formed as snowdrifts. The dry leaves from over four hundred oak trees, growing on one hundred acres of parkland had been swept into the country lanes after three days of unrelenting gale force winds.We returned this morning with the camera but a damper

The view from the pony

2011-01-26T13:57:00.005Z

A view from the pony on a wet morning gathering sheep in for weighing.Here are the remaining lambs on their way to the farmyard.This is a small camera and I need to practice taking clear pictures while riding to show you what is going on on the farm. Some of them were much too fuzzy.We have 3 lambs and a pig going away this week for our meat box customers. The rams are back in their bachelor

Happy Christmas Eve and good wishes for the morrow!

2010-12-24T22:35:00.002Z

To all our friends and followers of the blog and website we wish you a very Happy Christmas wherever you may be.We shall be enjoying turkey at lunchtime in between feeding and watering the animals. We have asked Father Christmas for a THAW as soon as possible please. Four weeks of breaking ice and carting hay and water is really quite enough.Have a lovely time and more pictures and news soon.

An eventful day !

2010-12-22T17:10:00.005Z

Today has been very busy, but then Offley days are always busy!Jon got the water bowser stuck this morning on the way round with the water for the livestock and despite emptying 2000 litres out he still couldn't move the Manitou so he had to detach the bowser completely and pull his way out with the front spikes and use the pick up hitch as an anchor to stop the machine sliding backwards.This

3 tonnes of water today

2010-12-21T12:10:00.003Z

The battle to keep everything fully fed and watered continues. This morning Jon has taken out 3 tonnes of water (three thousand litres) to all the outside livestock. Rations for both men and beasts have been increased and Jon was mixing additional pig meal in the farm mill until well after dark last night.A two trolley trip to the supermarket yesterday morning has increased our supplies in the

Three men in the snow

2010-12-19T14:21:00.010Z

Today it took 3 men to feed and water all the livestock properly this morning. We are now taking hay out to all the sheep as the deep snow and continued frost means it is hard for them to get enough bulk to eat.All the stock including Gig [pictured here this morning] will paw at the ground to clear the snow and then eat.Mallards Wood Gigolo is a native New Forest pony and he has grown a very

Time to wean the calves

2010-12-14T12:33:00.007Z

Today is the day we weaned the spring born calves from their mothers. This job has been slightly delayed this year on account of the run of treacherous ice that gripped the farm for the last 2 weeks.The dozen oldest calves from the Offley Hoo based herd have been vaccinated against respiratory disease (IBR - a type of pneumonia) and will be housed until the spring. The herd based at Kings Walden

On the radio

2010-12-14T12:24:00.003Z

Jon was on BBC Radio 4's Farming Today again today. He was asked about our educational access visits under Higher Level Scheme visits and the cuts to the visit payments for new HLS applicants.Click here to LISTEN. This link will work for 7 days from today.

Calling all amateur bakers

2010-12-13T21:08:00.004Z

I have been asked to publicise this second series of the Great British Bake Off.If you can bake and and are passionate about food then be brave and apply.