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Farming Calendar

Over the last three years, our NSAT students have been lucky enough to visit farms and the wonderful outdoors in the areas of the Nidderdale and Yorkshire Dales AONB.

We have learnt that there is no such thing as a ‘quiet month’ in the farming calendar.

Farmers work with the weather and the seasons.

Below we’ve listed some key jobs in a typical agricultural farming year and an insight into what our students have experienced on their fascinating visits throughout the months.

January is when farmers do a lot of general maintenance: hedging, tree planting, ditch and drainage clearance.

On livestock farms, sheep are brought inside for shelter against the winter weather and pregnancy scanning. Their diet will be sugar beat and sheep nuts.

Calves will be weaned towards the end of the month and fed concentrates and sugar beet.

Slurry is spread in preparation for hay or silage.

Jan

NSAT students working the land at Fellbeck Farm

February sees the slurry spreading stepped up as the temperatures (hopefully) improve. 

It’s time for early seed drilling, particularly peas and beans.  Any crops which didn’t survive the winter will need to be resown now.

The calving season begins towards the end of the month.

Feb

NSAT Students learning about silage, slurry and dairy farming at Castilles Farm.

Feb 2Feeding Calves at Heber Farm

 

Calving really gets underway throughout March, and it’s the busiest time of the year for many farmers demanding 24 hour monitoring. It’s not just the cows though; the beginning of March is lambing time too. 

Sheep will have been vaccinated and their feet trimmed to prevent foot rot. 

Crop spraying and fertiliser will be applied while potato fields will receive liquid fertiliser.

March

March 2

Looking after sheep at Fellbeck Farm

April is when the daylight hours get longer. 

Calving continues until May with the new-borns having their ears tagged and passports applied for movement purposes. Farming requires admin work as well as practical.

 The farmer has to remain vigilant in the fields with the lambs vulnerable to predators.

April sees fertiliser being spread on grazing fields to aid spring growth, which will be cut for hay and silage later in the year. Potato crops are planted, and drilling starts on oil seed rape and vining peas, while cereal crops will be top-dressed and sprayed, usually with fertilisers or pesticides

April

NSAT students at Corn Close Care Farm

May is the time to crop the lambs’ tails to prevent parasites while grazing fields are fertilised to promote spring growth. 

Potatoes are planted, drilling for oil seed rape, cereal crops are top-dressed and sprayed with fertiliser or pesticides.

May

Planting at Jamies Farm

May 2

Feeding the chickens at Jamies Farm

June is hectic with sheep shearing and the animals dipped to prevent worms. 

Spring calves have their horns removed. 

It’s time to start haymaking to feed livestock in the winter while potatoes are irrigated or watered. 

The end of May and early June marks the start of the show season so some farmers will prepare their best stock for display.       

June

NSAT students spreading hay

July is a big month for livestock auctions so there’s a lot of animal movement and trading.  It’s a busy month for arable farmers with haymaking and silage collection. 

Potatoes will be sprayed with pesticides.

It’s also time to gather in cereal crops like maize and barley so combine harvesters become a common sight in the fields.

July

Making cream at Castilles Farm

August sees more crops being harvested but it’s already time to prepare for the next year with ploughing and cultivation. 

Spring lambs will be weaned and grazed on grass after the sileage process has finished; this is called ‘aftermath grazing.’

Aug 2

Bird watching at Lime Tree Farm

September is the traditional start of the farming year, particularly for arable farms because this is when fields are prepared for the following year.

Harvesting continues apace and it’s the month of ploughing matches. 

Gimmers (a term for female sheep) and ewes (sheep that have given birth to two or more sets of lambs) are prepared for auction.

Sept

NSAT students at Heber Farm in September

October is the start of tupping – or mating – for sheep.  They will be dipped and clipped around the tail in preparation. 

This year’s calves are weaned and put into barns to shelter them from the colder weather. 

Winter wheat is drilled and crops such as sugar beet and potatoes are harvested. 

It’s also time for hedge-cutting, both on farms and roadsides; this has to be completed by March to avoid disturbing nesting birds.

Oct

NSAT students clearing woodland and hedging at Jamies Farm

November is when grass stops growing and declines in quality, so the diets of grazing animals need to be supplemented. 

Animals will be brought inside as the temperature falls and the male calves will be castrated. 

Wheat drilling continues on arable farms.

Nov

NSAT students understanding how cows are milked at Castilles Farm.

December brings the really cold weather and, as temperatures drop, fields will be ploughed in preparation for the next year.  With daylight time getting shorter, a lot of work is now carried out by floodlight or torchlight. 

Cereal crops will be sprayed throughout the month. It’s also time to repair or build any dry-stone walls. There’s no outdoor grazing so it’s hard work keeping animals fed through the winter.

Dec

Learning about dry stone walls at Lime Tree Farm

Dec 2

NSAT students keeping warm at Whitewoods Welling