As the weather worsens the last of our heifers have come in from the fields for winter.
We walk them back to the farm where they are housed in cubicle buildings and fed silage and concentrate feed until the spring, when the weather improves and the grass had had chance to grow! These heifers are around 1 year old – we don’t buy in any cows, all are home-bred so these will be our future milking cows!
Our milk cows came in during October – in summer they graze the fields closest to the farm as they walk to the fields each day after milking and then back again in the afternoon. The milk cows are fed with home grown silage and brewers grains, mixed together in our tub mixer with a small amount of concentrate feed during milking in the parlour.
As the cheese we are making is unpasteurised, there will be seasonal changes in the milk, from the variation in the cow’s diet; we’re looking forward to seeing how this comes through in our cheeses.