Haymaking in full swing.
KEEPING BUSY OVER THE LAST YEAR.....
Early 2008 was unbelievably hot and dry as it has been so far in 2009 but the situation quickly changed for the better and last year was one of the best seasons ever here with above average rainfall and some huge storms. We kicked off with a very successful Beef Week in March 2008 which saw over 40 visitors on the day with plenty of new faces as well as a number of old clients of Stuart’s who wanted to see where we were up to with our rehabilitation of the stud. Several of these clients came back in September to purchase bulls and in the end demand out-stripped supply as all of our 32 bulls for sale were gone by late October.
In November we opened the garden for one of the local schools and had over 300 people pass through the gates (Not recommended for the faint-hearted!). Throughout the year we had visits from several Angus breeders and we had a great time showing them around and getting to know them. It is always valuable to hear about other operations and to get a different perspective on your own. A big thank you to all our visitors and buyers in 2008/9 and also to those people who welcomed us to their studs during the year.
Our AI program continues to expand with some interesting young NZ sires used for the 2009 calving and 2008/9 has seen a major re-build of the main Glengowan yards to accommodate the increase in AI work and the number, recording and handling of the cattle in general. Although it is not yet finished, the roofed race, crush and weighing area has had a serious workout over February 09. It proved a god-send in the hot weather and has cut our time in ‘the real office’ by at least half.
Hay-making was massive in December 08 and at last the sheds are full of large square bales ready for the next dry spell which is now part of our planning for every year. At the other end of the spectrum, we had six falls of snow last year and two already this year but through it all the stock survived well and as usual we lost very few cattle through the year. However, we did nearly have some human casualties as a result of reckless tobogganing down the steepest parts of 'The Dummy'.