UK Agriculture four seasons
Month - October
October
As the weather and days draw in, dairy herds will be housed indoors. This prevents damage to sodden fields and ensures that the stockman can keep a close eye on his stock during the dark winter months. Indoors, dairy cows will live on a diet of conserved fodder (in this case grass silage) and concentrates. Fodder is always available ad-lib.
October
A beef cow with calf at foot. Known as suckler herds, these extensive farming systems are now common place with the animals spending most of the year outdoors. This can be achieved where the stocking density of the cattle is low and the risk of damage to pasture minimised.
October
Effluent from a muck pile on a pig farm is collected in a sealed lagoon prior to spreading back onto arable fields as a fertiliser. Plenty of storage capacity is required at this time of year when heavy rain is common.
October
Drenching sheep with a wormer prior to their moving onto fresh pasture keeps the worm burden low and the sheep in good condition. In the autumn months as the nutritional value of grass declines, grazing becomes more extensive with sheep moving to pastures further afield, often on other farms.
October
The period between late September and early October is generally regarded as the prime time for drilling winter wheat. By late October the crop should be reasonably well developed having two full leaves.
October
A well established crop of oilseed rape. Getting oilseed rape off to a good start is critical to avoid pest problems during the winter months - particularly damaging are wood pigeons which can decimate a weak crop. Pigeons will flock in their thousands to feed on a crop of oilseed rape during the winter months, however they do not like mature crops that have large leaves and a well developed canopy.
October
Miscanthus is a relatively new alternative energy crop that can be harvested and chipped for fuel. Miscanthus (also known as Elephant Grass) is now being grown more widely throughout the UK - it produces high yields of dry matter and is resistant to pests and diseases which makes its management easy.
October
Pears are in season but as October draws to a close, fruit is either windblown or damaged by frost. Fresh UK fruit will soon only be available from store.
October
Fresh apples can be enjoyed ripe from the tree but windfall, frosts and pest damage are causing loss. In the past little went to waste. Windfalls were made into cider or fed to the pigs whilst the better fruits were either stored in cool conditions or dried. Nowadays carefully monitored stores ensure that locally grown fruit can be enjoyed well into the winter months.
October
October half term is a good time to visit The Eden Project which explains the importance of plants to mankind and provides a good forum for better understanding the origins of agriculture.
October
A badger makes its way towards spilt grain in a farm yard. After rain the grain has become soaked and started fermenting - consumtion of which leads to drunk badgers! The badger population has grown rapidly in the last decade and is implicated in the spread of TB in cattle.
October
A Red Admiral in flight late in October. Red Admirals migrate to the Northern parts of Europe each spring and can be seen in flight late into November. Recent sightings of the butterfly in the early spring months suggests that with warmer winters it may now be successfully overwintering in the UK.
October
A corn flower persists in a barley stubble - the subtle blues have inspired many a colour scheme. Cornfield annuals have greatly declined with the use of herbicides and the rotational switch from spring to winter cereals. However, there is a growing resurgence in their occurrence as farmers are now creating "conservation headlands", a cropped habitat particularly favourable to such annuals.
October
Old Man's Beard is an invasive climber of hedgerows that has to be cut out if the hedge is not to be swamped. Known in the past as "traveller's joy" it is a particular problem on light alkaline soils.