This year has been a very different one to say the least. It started off very normal with new modules that I was enjoying, such as Agronomy and Farm Management. This year the modules are now a lot more focused and I have been on a few more farm visits. This was to help see different livestock systems for sheep and cattle.
However, the coronavirus came along, which led to the university giving electronic lectures and pubs closing which led to me heading home. Once at home, it was straight to work helping a neighbour who recently had his tractor driver leave for another job. He gave me the opportunity to drill his spring crop. As I had never drilled before I was slightly anxious especially where keeping the tramlines straight as I was not using GPS. By the end I was getting confident, and for me this was a good learning curve, and it ended up with me drilling 200 acres of spring barley and wheat.
After finishing the drilling, I headed home where Dad had decided to grub a couple of orchards, due to the possibility of a lack of foreign labour for picking. This let me loose with a 13-ton digger. Having no experience of driving a digger let alone grubbing trees, it took a couple of days to get to know the controls and the techniques of taking the trees out, but by the end I managed to double my speed. Loading of the fires was great fun. And in the end, I grubbed and burnt 8 acres in 11 days.
With the current situation I am just trying to keep busy on the farm and help Dad out, as the farm does not stop. All end of year exams have now moved to online assessments and this will then lead to the end of this academic year.
For this coming summer, I will be working away from home for the first time. I will be heading up to Norfolk where I will be working for a co-operative to harvest vining peas.
