Smallholder news, Smallholder for smallholders, keeping animals, poultry, buying a smallholding

Eastern European power

4:50pm Tuesday 22nd March 2011

Cheap and cheerful old Zetor tractors have a lot to offer says Jonathan Whitlam.

Getting started in a farm machinery career

10:30pm Monday 21st February 2011

An apprenticeship can be the first step towards a rewarding career in agricultural engineering A landbased engineering apprenticeship is the entry route to a worthwhile career in agricultural engineering, says the Institution of Agricultural Engineers during the UK’s Apprentice Week.

Winter Driving Tips for Smallholders

12:53pm Tuesday 14th December 2010

Not surprisingly, for many motorists in Britain, the generally mild weather means that every seriously cold winter we forget much of the essentials about driving in tougher conditions. For this reason it's all the more important for us to make sure we've remembered all of the useful tips and provisions that ensure safe and hassle-free driving in the coldest weather. This check-list should do as a good start:

Making hay while the sun more or less shines

8:41am Tuesday 9th November 2010

Although it’s happened to me for many years, I still find the shock of the clocks going back quite significant. One moment you are clinging on to autumn and literally the next day you are in winter – or so it seems to me. There are compensations in winter – not having to water the garden and greenhouse, getting indoors before 10 pm at night, log fires and feeling its that its ok to eat filling winter stews, but the downside of the normally wet and cold short days is not appealing. One way to make it a bit better is to plan ahead and make sure that buildings are ready to take livestock, that chickens have dry day time housing of sufficient size and that all the winter feed is sorted. Mine nearly didn’t happen, by end of August our hay field was still merrily upright and the rain was still merrily falling.