What happened on the farm in December?
We received over 150 primary and secondary school children in three visits to the farm and dairy in December, visits organized and run in Basque in all three cases. The first visit was by children from the local primary school in Karrantza and, once again, after the visit they drew pictures in school about what they had seen and learnt. |
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| On the 14th a group of Secondary School students came from Muskiz |
| and on the 21st 73 primary school children from the Balmaseda Ikastolsa (an independent parent run type of school originally set up when Basque was not taught in state schools). |
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We went to the Farmers’ Market in Bilbao every Saturday and coinci- ding with the first Saturday of the month we also participated in an event nearby in which the general public was invited to try the different products on sale in the market. In our case we organized a small cheese tasting event. On the 21st we went to the big yearly Santo Tomas fair in Bilbao.
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Two bull calves and a she calf were born in December. The one in the photo was born on the 14th and by the time we had taken it to the big barn it was standing up! |
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Flower of the month. Viola odorata Violet. |
| This flower has quite a few different common names in English, as it does in other European languages, for example it has over 20 different common names in different parts of the Iberian Peninsula. Although it is one of the earliest flowers to show itself in spring, it is clearly not frequently spotted in December and the unusual weather conditions might explain why we have seen it already under one of two hedges around the farm. The species is native to Europe and Asia and was extensively used in traditional medicine for breathing and digestive problems, to reduce swellings, fevers and bruising. |
Recipe of the month: Potted cheese
Makes about 400g of potted cheese.
2 eggs
200g mature cheese, grated
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons mustard (optional)
4 tablespoons single cream
Pinch of cayenne and salt
Beat eggs thoroughly. Mix the cheese, butter, mustard, cream, cayenne and salt. Put the mixture in a saucepan and heat to simmering point slowly. Add the beaten eggs stirring continually and cook very gently until the mixture thickens. Turn into a chilled container or small pots and cool quickly. Cover.
The potted cheese will keep in the fridge for two to three weeks. Can be served as a sandwich spread, as an after dinner savoury or as canapés.
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What was the weather like?
| The start of the month was cold and rainy, with hail and snow on the hills and occasional frosts. The middle of the month saw a few sunnier, drier days, but also days with strong north winds and others characterized by mists. Towards the end of the month the rain and hail returned with persistent high winds. Over the month we collected over 377 litres of rain in the rain gauge making December one of the wettest months we remember (although not the wettest, in March 2016 for example we collected over 400 in the rain gauge). |
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We try and maintain a balance between the needs of the farm animals and the need of wildlife on the farm, although this sometimes implies damage…. the photo shows the damage done by one or more wild boar as they rootle and dig for insects and worms. Basically they remove the upper layer of vegetation and this means disturbed grassland and loss of pasturage in our fields. Fortunately this is not a frequent occurrence on our farm.In rainy weather it also exposes the underlying soil to erosion.
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The 9 minute video explaining the changes we have undertaken on the farm during the last 20 years. The video has been made in the context of the EU Eurodairy Project that aims to facilitate links between dairy farmers involved in any sort of innovative action or project and thus to encourage exchange of ideas, information and experience. |
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Visual contact with the cows during milking provides an excellent and regular chance to check their health, for example to check their hooves for any signs of cuts or to see if the hooves need trimming. So, periodically, we call in the vet to trim and, if necessary, treat hooves. |
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What did the cows eat? | Given the very wet weather the cows rarely grazed in December. We fed them grass silage and hay, dried alfalfa and peas and a small amount of feedstuff. |
We have once again provided the Bizkaia Food Bank with dairy produce in their Xmas drive for food for the needy. (Our apologies for the poor quality of this photo).
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The quality of our milk
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Parameter
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Optimum result
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Farm result
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Fat content
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>3,70
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4,13
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Protein
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>3,10
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3,23
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Bacteriology
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<100.000
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10.000
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Somatic cell count
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c.150.000
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158.000
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Presence / absence antibiotics
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Absence
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Absence
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