Soggy Pastures, Summer Calving & Pavlov’s Jacket: a Catch-Up with Darren

“Out on the land, I like to take the road less travelled. It was the same principle on mountains for me. I was an old-fashioned, purist mountaineer – more difficulty and fewer people equals more satisfaction. Take rolling out a bale. I’d rather do it by hand and avoid using tractors. It’s a fitness thing too. I lead from the front and roll out a bale with the guys.

“It can get tough out there with weather and the monotony. But I love the banter and I enjoy British humour. A farm should be a community and we work hard and play hard. There’s a balance for me between doing the admin and being outside. Running things should mean getting hands-on and learning what’s practically possible outside.

“I want happier staff who want to stick around. I empower the guys, plan with them, ask their views and get their input. You can’t be successful on your own and they need to be able to make decisions and report back. I want everyone thinking critically and learning as they go.

“At the moment, we’ve got Louis, 21, Jack, 18, and the new guy, Drew, 20, on the dairy side. He’s cleaning up the milking facilities and getting ready for calves and areas of the business that will need Lincoln Red milk. It’s good for us that they’re all young and open to learning new ways. They’ll grow with the farm and vice versa. If they enjoy coming to work, they’ll stick around.

“We’ve changed the calving system as we don’t want calves to be born in the coldest months. This year, we’re looking at an 80% pregnancy rate. The vet came over, did some scanning and gave me the predicted date range. We’re looking at a May-June calving season. That’s a safe weather window and should give them plenty of grazing time before winter.

“A big part of the job is tracking: documenting lineage, picking out stronger ones for future breeding, correctly pairing calves and mothers and generally keeping track of who’s who. We also keep a close eye on average daily weight gain. Our Reds are currently growing at 750g per day, which is good for grass-fed cattle. We monitor the grass they eat to make sure it contains enough protein and minerals.

“Caring for the cattle also involves the basics. We keep an eye on appearance and behaviour in the course of our daily jobs. If calves are growing too slowly, we take a closer look. Looking after someone else’s cattle, I have a keen sense of responsibility.

“The regenerative model is working and it can work indefinitely. I arrived in July 2023 and I’m looking forward to closing the loop on a full year and getting a deeper understanding of how it all fits together. After this winter, I’m curious to see how some of the grass will recover. Each paddock has its own personality and I’ll factor fresh insights into the grazing plan.

“There’s one little tactic I’m quite keen on; I always wear a colourful jacket. We walk the cattle between grazing areas. It’s a nice, low-stress way to move them about. They get used to walking, through the woods, sometimes on the road. You get a senior animal in front and the more they do it, the less chance there is for problems. There’s a Pavlovian thing going on too. They see my colourful jacket; they know they’re going to get a nice bit of haylage and they follow me.

“I love a stress-free environment with cattle and Reds are quite a chilled breed. Calm as they are, they’re really inquisitive. When the collies met the Reds, there was a lot of curiosity to go around.”

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