Bure Valley Farm

The depths of winter in the Bure Valley – January / February. It’s cold and it’s quiet. The land is frozen and there is little we can do except watch a slowly ticking clock…

Of course, there’s always something on a farm that can be done – just nothing relating to crops. Instead, I use the lull in field preparation to get some routine maintenance done by taking implements down to the dealer in the snow…

… I got all the implements serviced in January so that I’d be ready when work restarted in March.

I also took the Claas front-loader down to the dealer, annoying the motorists in the process, to pick up a bale handler and a pallet fork – tools that we will need in the coming year. I also looked at flatbed trailers but didn’t buy just yet. I did take the opportunity to check how my crops were growing…

…Canola looking good as was the Barley.

There is no work to be had and when I check the lay of the land it’s easy to see why…

…Everything is already ploughed, cultivated or sown. The planting chart shows we can’t really sow anything until March…

…So we’re all in limbo and relying on the government subsides to keep us afloat, that and a small amount of income from the solar units I had installed.

Even at this time of the year, we still need to work at improving the farm though. Taking the front-loader down to the garage to refuel is not a good thing. I decided to get a fuelling station installed on the farm. They are not cheap, so I have opted for a temporary solution with a tank that sits on bare ground…

…In the future, I will replace this with a permanent structure – A bit like I’ll get a permanent farmhouse🤣 Jokes aside, it is a temporary compromise and will get replaced. In the future I will also need to have my own repair facility but that is a way off for now. And ultimately, we’ll need more storage room so that I can expand into root crops.

March is just around the corner. It’s going to be a big year ahead for the farm. I’m feeling the loss of the Fendt 515c and I know a new tractor is a high priority with just the John Deere 7810 to do the work. I’ve been doing my research and think I know what tractor I want. But I’m going to have to earn a lot of money first! In the meantime, I can enjoy the winter sun…

Expect my next report from Bure Valley Farm to be somewhat longer – even if it only covers March😂