the price of llamas

I have found another brilliant read, this time about llamas, by Matthew Parris. What he writes about llamas can be applied to farm livestock and quite a few breeding stock sales, especially those sales specifically for traditional native breeds. Apparently prices are significantly down from last year. It is a strangely converse fact of farming that in some years when the prime stock [ready for the butcher] prices rise then the price of breeding stock prices fall.

This Farmers Guardian report on the recent Native breed sale held at Melton Mowbray Market  says many of the entries went home unsold. One farmer who attended the sale told Jethro that “the prices had fallen out of bed.”

Strange fact I learnt today while perusing the internet – it says it is possible to be married at Melton Mowbray Market, and then I found by looking at other websites you can do this at other markets too.  I wonder if is this just for the party afterwards or the whole ceremony? I think the former is fine [lots of car parking] however if it is the latter it all sounds far too much like the hiring fairs of my first lifetime and I advise prospective brides to look out for the falling of the auctioneers gavel, just in case.

 

 

 

almost in

It is great to be able to report that at long last we have had a completely rain free week, and in the last two days some welcome sunshine which has lifted our spirits somewhat.

By tonight the corn that has remained standing in the fields should finally all be in, and in the garden the onion crop has is lifted and is now drying outside in the sun.

Today, everyone is working on the land, ploughing, combining and carting corn and the animals are relaxing in the sun.