The saddleback sow has produced 14 piglets, some of whom have perfect markings. They are all in perfect health, which is surprising considering the amount of work required just to get a hold of a teat. The squealing of the little piglets is almost deafening as they fight for food. Meanwhile the sow adds to the cacophony with her contended grunting.

Our Cumberland White bull has been performing his duties with such vigour that the farm is becoming over-stocked. We now have well over 100 head of cattle, including the Wagyus, which is more than a farm of 155 acres can support, what with the sheep,the pigs and the other livestock, so the time has come to sell off the surplus. Which is why we are at the Borderway Auction Mart in Carlisle at a sale of rare breed cattle with twenty of our Galloways and Aberdeen Angus on offer. It’s worth the trip just for the entertainment value of the auctioneer. Each head of cattle takes no more than two minutes to sell, to the sound of a torrent of words from the auctioneer, of which not more than one in twenty is intelligible. As this video shows.ButiIt does the trick. All our cattle find buyers, at prices which made the expedition worthwhile. A good morning’s work, if rather baffling at times.

Sometimes an itch just has to be scratched. This Middle White sow has been lying on her side for the last two weeks patiently allowing her litter of nine new-born piglets to feed. On her first taste of freedom there was one thing which she just had to do- scratch that itch. No-one would say that the Middle White is a handsome beast but there was something beautiful in the look of pleasure which spread over her face as that itch got scratched.

5 months ago, George, our resident Boar, became the proud father of 58 piglets in 48 hours (see posting of 7th October, 2009). George has been up to his old tricks again, but this time the 5 sows have produced a scarcely believable 62 piglets. Because George is a cross between a Saddleback and a Gloucester Old Spot the offspring of the Red Tamworth Sow are multicoloured – ranging from pure white to pure black with speckles in between. This video shows Sara holding one of the day old Middle Whites, followed by a clip of the Middle White sow with her litter and of the Tamworth sow with her multi-coloured brood.

Several years ago, completely independently of each other,  Ifor Humphreys and I both had the same idea- to breed Wagyu cattle.  Wagyus are the Japanese breed whose meat is uniquely marbled, making it more succulent and tender than any other meat- and also much more expensive.  The Japanese are fiercely protective of their breed; they will not allow any cattle to be exported so Ifor and I had only one choice- to use frozen embryos and surrogate cows. I have decided to raise a herd of pure-bred Wagyus, which is a painfully slow process.  Ifor has taken the more practical, commercial and certainly much speedier route of cross-breeding by using a Wagyu bull on Limousin cows.
The first ever  tasting of Wagyu meat from one of Ifor’s bullocks took place  today in Powys College in Newtown, Wales.  I was honoured to be among 40 guests and the only English farmer present.  We were treated to no fewer than 9 courses, all of them of Ifor’s Wagyu meat, cooked to recipes devised by the College’s catering faculty. It was a brilliant occasion.  The meat was well marbled and every course was  utterly delicious.  
Ifor has researched Wagyu’s extensively in Australia, which reflects to some extent the research which I’ve carried out in Japan.  Afterwards, at Ifor’s farm (of which I was privileged to be given a tour) we were able to compare notes and had a most useful chat.

It was touch and go whether we would reach the farm this morning. It had started snowing at 7 (by the way, the sixth heavy snowfall of this winter) and when we set off at 9 in the Warrior, which is a 4×4, the snow was settling on the road- an ominous sign. But we wanted to battle on, partly to make sure that the animals were OK but mainly because our youngest, Sara, had sneaked her sledge onto the back of the pickup and would not be denied her fun in the snow.

When we arrived Jean and Tony’s children were already sledging on the steeply sloping field in front of the farmhouse. The pigs weren’t having so much fun; I found twenty of them huddled together for warmth on the straw next to an old black sow. But the Highland cows were out and about about, shrugging off the conditions in their long shaggy coats. This Flip video captures a few of those moments on this invigorating morning.

Not for the squeamish.  These video clips have been taken by Jean who, sometimes with her husband Tony, and sometimes alone, attends the animals on the farm when they give birth.  The first part of the video is of Jo-Jo, our Jersey cow giving birth to Jasmine.  All dairy cows have to produce a calf every year if they are to continue producing milk (an obvious fact,  but one of which many people are ignorant).  The second part is of Pinky Pie, one of our rare breed sows, on her way to producing a litter of 16 multi-coloured piglets.  Below is a picture of Pinky Pie with her full litter of 16.

The farm is frozen solid, which is not surprising after 20 consecutive days of sub-zero temperatures. Some of the consequences of the cold are serious, not least the fact that there is no running water to the farmhouse as the pipes which run underground from the spring to the farmhouse have frozen. Jean and Tony and their three children are relying on bottled water and buckets carried from from the yard. Because of the ice it is impossible to drive down the one mile long track to the main road, so the children haven’t been able to get to school. But they are more than happy looking after the pigs, which are shown here enjoying the morning sunshine with some Herdwick lambs.