Exploring Shropshire’s Agricultural Charm at Moonrise Lodges
Summer spent under a parasol in the garden looking out over the hills surrounding my house, and the stunning south Shropshire countryside couldn’t get any better. The fields are now a patchwork of different colours, green to yellow. Over the coming weeks, when the weather is dry and sunny we will be busy silaging. Now I am a farmer’s wife but I didn’t come from a farming background and didn’t know the difference between silage and slurry, so here is my idiot’s guide to silaging!
Silaging Unveiled: A Guest’s Comprehensive Guide to Understanding this Farming Practice
Many farmers grow crops like wheat, barley and maize.
We grow grass. Lots and lots of it!
Why? I hear you cry. Well the grass we harvest now is put in a large pit, ensiled (preserved) and then fed to the cows through the winter months when they can’t go out in the fields because of the whether.
First job is to mow the fields! This has to be timed to perfection and means that Farmer Jon looks at his whether app every few minutes! Ideally a stretch of five dry days is what Jon is after, this can sometimes prove tricky! Shropshire is beautiful but the weather can be temperamental at times.
We mow over 200 acres on our farm. This job takes many men, tractors and the mowers. After the mower finishes one field it heads onto the next one until late into the night. You can see the fields he’s done already in the distance.
Next, probably the next day and after the grass has wilted a little, another man on another tractor comes and rows up the grass. This puts the grass into neat rows ready for the forage harvester.
Finally the process of getting the grass back to the hub of the farm and into the silage pitt. One man, his tractor and forage harvester drive along the rows, sucking up the grass and shooting it out into a trailer that is travelling alongside in synchronization with the forage harvester. Once the trailer is full the tractor takes this to the pit and dumps the grass. As soon as he leaves another tractor and trailer takes his place so that the harvesting never stops.
Back at the farm another man and his tractor take the dumped grass and spread it evenly across the pit. Sounds like an easy job but that’s 1400 tonnes of grass that needs to be evenly distributed!
And finally the pit party!
Sounds like fun? It’s really not!
Farmer Jon likes to call it that but in reality it means covering the pit with a huge sheet of plastic and then carrying and placing hundreds of tyres on top to weigh it down. I’ve been to a few pit parties but I now try and find something urgent that needs doing, such as writing a blog!
This process is repeated every six to eight weeks depending on grass growth.
Behind the Scenes: A Captivating Farm Tour Experience at Moonrise Lodges
When staying at the lodges you might be here during one of our harvest times. If you are and want to come and find out more just let me know. Always happy to show our lodge guests around. Many families enjoy coming and having a farm tour during their visit. We show you the young calves ( we calve all year so there are always cute animals around!), feed the older cows, check out some tractors and then see the afternoon milking. Farms are fantastic places for children and adults alike to learn a huge range of things but they can also be dangerous. If you are thinking of bringing our family onto the farm during your stay then reading this leaflet with them will help to keep you all safe. To learn more about our family and the farm check this page out on our website.
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