Skip to main content

20 hectres more




After many, many months we have finally had the go ahead that we can rent 20 hectares of pasture land. This has taken many meetings with the owners of the land, the farmer who was renting it and now retiring although the farmers never really retire they just reduce their herd size, which i think they are allowed 6 cows, gain their pension and continue to be active as this is what keeps them going only through illness where they are forced to stop they then find life difficult missing what they have done for many years.  The farmer we will be taking the land over from is one of them, still keeping half of the land he has been and will continue to be helpful by letting farmer J use machinery and equipment and giving advice, something the French are very good at here.

Farmer J has put in many hours wading through paperwork, form filling, identifying parcels of land and who actually owns them (which all are in Farmer Pierre's head) and need to be put under our name. Meeting with the owners, sorting contracts and having our organic organisation technician come to check out the land. As it will be under conversion we can only use a percentage of the hay that will be cut this year to feed our troop. Hopefully the rest will be sold,this also goes for how much grass the cows can eat there.Rental contracts have been signed and this years rent paid. Hay anyone?

We still have to have a meeting with the chambre d' agriculture to complete more forms declaring the land and as this year paperwork has changed for farming aid its best to make sure (for a fee) forms are filled in correctly,enabling us the get our funding.

Tomorrow one of the fields will have an electric fence erected for three of our steers and one cow to go on holiday Tuesday, think they cant wait.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2ENJ093 - FRANKLIN

Eight years ago today Franklin came into our family, a rescue dog from the SPA in Rodez we drove to see if they had a dog to re home. He had been there a month after being left tied to a bin in the town centre, chosen because he didn't bark, he came to us to say hello and was completely different from the dog we had lost days before Christmas. 120 Euros he cost, a young boy still a pup, very thin but with a look of take me home please. A collar put round his neck, forms completed, cheque handed over and a kiss from the manager and he was ours. Five minutes down the road in the car he threw up. Five minutes in the house and he had weed up the settee and collected an assortment of treasures including socks, toilet roll inner tubes, tissues and soft toys all placed in a pile under the table and garded. He ate at an amazing speed, fearing he would loose it to our other dogs. Then he started to bark, he has a fine bark on him. He barks for his tea, when a visitor arrives, the ...
2 comments
Read more

Parisot lake

As it is a holiday today here in France (Bastille Day) we took the afternoon off an popped over to Parisot lake for a walk with Sorrel. It has all changed, since the lake was emptied and cleaned up this year you can now swim in it, as well as inflatable toys to play on, a life guard, bikes to hire, a new fenced in play area for small people and a total spruce up. But there is a price we were charged! 3 euros an adult, which I guess is OK if you are using the facilities but Sorrel didn't fancy a dip. The cafe is still open but that would of been too much for Sorrel to cope with being so close to people and music so we opted for a bench to sit on in the shade before walking around the lake. Sorrel opted for being Billy no mates and laying by herself, if be it for a short period of time before bikes and people went by. We are now waiting for the free firework celebrations over the chateau tonight - if we can stay up that late.😃
4 comments
Read more

Lavender

One plant that does grow well around the gites and garden and that I don't seem to be able to kill is lavender. In the summer the bushes are swarming with bees, hummingbird moths, butterflies and other flying insects, lot of holiday photos have been taken by keen photographers, some setting up chairs and waiting for ages with big cameras and lenses waiting for the right moment and right insect to land. It does give a lovely show and smell as well, its picked and placed in vases in the gites by guests. Its very tactile and difficult to pass without a rub of a flower that's if you like the smell. I think its very much like marmite you either love it or hate it, a smell of memories of grans and old aunts who use to get given Yardley's old lavender smellies for presents. I like the smell but it can be quiet overpowering, especially when this year I have finally been able to save the dried flowers. Previous years other things have got in the way and its bee...
1 comment
Read more