A Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from all at Rush Farm! Plus a busy week on the farm.

Here we are, the final blog of 2025! How fitting that it should coincide with the winter solstice. As we balance on the cusp of the year, now is the time to reflect back on everything that's happened over the last 12 months, both good and bad, and think about what we've learned from these experiences. It's also the time to look forwards and envision what we hope to achieve in the new year. As a farm team, we will take the downtime over the holidays to have a meeting to reflect on these aspects, and also discuss our "blue sky" ideas - metaphorical goalposts for things we really want to be achieving in 2026 and beyond. You will more than likely be hearing about these ideas in the first 2026 blog!

Stunning winter sunsets over the farm...

Since the last post, we have had another 2 calves! Both just as bonny and bright as the previous ones. The cows really fell into a natural calving block this year, and it's lovely to see so many young calves all bouncing around together. Since we don't scan our cows normally, we never really know when they'll give birth, but in theory there will be a bit of a lull now until closer to spring, when we often get another flurry of calves. It's been a year since Nanhoron Victor (aka Colin) joined the herd, and we can certainly say that he's done a marvellous job, and we're very pleased with his offspring. Colin is a proper old fashioned Traditional Hereford, from an AI straw that was taken in the 1970s, so it will be interesting to see what the calves look like when they're older, compared to the previous batch who were from a modern, non-traditional Hereford bull. 

Two new calves, bonny and bouncing!

On the sheep front, the rams are now officially out. They went in on the 5^th of November, so hopefully that has been ample time for them to successfully woo all of the ladies. Reintroducing rams to each other requires a degree of caution. They're still jacked up on testosterone, and feel a need to assert their dominance. 100kg of muscle and solid skulls can result in broken necks, so they are all penned up individually, but next to each other - this will allow them to get reacquainted but without the risk of serious damage. That being said, the hurdles separating them have taken a real beating these last couple of days! In a few months' time we will scan the ewes and see how many lambs we can expect in April. While April is still a long way off, it will go quickly so we are already casting our minds forwards to think about what we will need to do in order to prepare for lambing. Luckily, we already have 2 vet students lined up to learn about animal husbandry, and extra hands are always helpful!

Peekaboo! Bryony was fascinated by the camera...

Last week we were pleased to welcome a cohort of students from the Royal Agricultural University, who are currently studying Agroecology. We talked about biodynamics and the way it shapes our farming practices, had a look at the fields and livestock, and also discussed our unique ownership style with the Community Benefit Society. They were a fabulously engaged group, who asked us lots of questions, and hopefully took something useful away from the experience. Certainly, we were very lucky as, after 24 hours of deluge, we suddenly had gorgeous, crisp sunshine and blue skies, which certainly makes a farm walk a bit more enjoyable.

We also managed to harvest and plant 123 willow whips into a new hedgerow. Hopefully they will bed in over the winter and be ready to grown in the spring! A very kind gift from our wonderful milk suppliers Wicton Farm was a freshly harvested oak sapling from their farm. We have planted it in the new hedge where we hope it will cast welcome shade for the animals of Rush Farm for many generations. Thank you Wicton Farm!

We didn't get any pictures of the RAU visitors, so here is a picture instead of a pair of soggy pups. Thistle was not impressed!

Finally, Brendan and Alice made a whirlwind trip to Devon last weekend to drop off some Shetland wool at the Natural Fibre Company to be washed and carded, and then stopped off at another farm on the way back to collect more unprocessed Shetland wool from some like-minded friends. We'll sort through it over the next couple months, then send it down to be washed and carded as well. All part of our journey to add value to our wool, something which has lost much of its value since the 1950s. For a sheep farmer before the 1950s, half of their income could come from wool alone - now, we're lucky to make £150/year off our wool. There are a lot of reasons to love wool, and we're excited to be a part of a growing movement that's bringing wool back to the forefront. More on this in the new year! 

We'll end here by saying thank you to everyone who has supported the farm this year, by volunteering, patroning our new shop, or investing in the CBS. We're incredibly grateful to you all, and we hope that everyone has a restful and joyful holiday season. See you in January!

Until next time,

The Rush Farm team

Misty mornings have been plentiful this week. Happy Christmas to all!