Farming Talk: First calf born and lambing is under way

This week sees the start of the lambing at Strefford. This year's first calf was born earlier this month, perfectly healthy and we hope that all the cows and ewes have similarly healthy offspring.

As I type, I can hear the beautiful sound of rain lashing against our bedroom window. My wife Kim loves the sound of rain, which reminds her of their childhood in Africa. I love it because our ground is desperate for it.

The arable crops are starting to green up now that the soil has warmed slightly. The oil seed rape is quite thick on the whole. We hope that most of this rain will soak in down through the soil structure, so that it' s available to the crops and to top up ground water levels.

I have put some fertiliser, including early nitrogen on the grassland, oil seed rape and second wheats. First wheats don't have a nitrogen dose until this week; there should be a good reservoir of nutrients following the beans.

We are coppicing some of the trees which line the brook. Tony Davies has been making a nice pile of timber ready for splitting.

We are also tidying an old hedgerow which has spread and become very untidy over the 50 or so years since it was last looked at. In places the hedge was over six metres wide, so it will gain us some useful ground. We are careful to rotate wildlife areas around the farm, growing hedgerows up for a few years then coppicing or laying them. This creates a diverse wildlife habitat.

I have just completed an emergency first aid course supplied by our machinery ring, Sastak. My last first aid course was back in 1994 at Walford; the memory needs jogging from time to time and this certainly did that. Perhaps I should not wait so long between reminders.

Kim and bump are doing well, 30 weeks and getting tired more easily. She is head of the art department at Moor Park School, so she has been running around getting art portfolios ready for year eights this term. Only a couple of weeks until Easter break, then a few weeks' rest.

Mother's Marmalades are officially some of the best in the world. At the annual Dalemain Marmalade Festival, we entered Strefford marmalade and were very pleased with the results. Our Medium Cut Seville Orange Marmalade was awarded a silver award. Seville Orange & Ginger

Marmalade and Three Fruit Marmalade each received a bronze award. Mother had her picture taken with marmalade connoisseur Paddington Bear, who she hadn't met before.

David Morgan, Strefford Hall Farm, Craven Arms.