The Country Smallholder Magazine - Spring 2023

In this issue

Expert advice on Watery Mouth disease
You can prevent this happening to your lambs.

Property
Nottinghamshire has more to offer smallholders than Robin Hood.

Eco Living
Look out for early nesting birds. How you can help spot mammals..

Time to grow your own cup of tea for a truly British cuppa!

Michael Wale reaches for his allotment shed kettle and reports on home grown tea

4 mins

Gardeners invited to help the RHS solve the mystery of the giant willow aphid

The RHS is calling on gardeners to send in sightings of the giant willow aphid (Tuberolachnus salignus) to help learn more about this elusive species and the ways it interacts with garden plants.

1 min

Cost of living to hit farm business margins in 2023

High inflation and the impact of the cost of living on consumer demand will continue to impact farm business planning in 2023, according to the latest AHDB Agri-market Outlook.

1 min

Fancy a career change?: Free practical forestry training courses made available

Coppicing is just one of the skills you could learn on a free course

1 min

Cold snaps have not been enough to remove fluke risk for cattle and sheep, warn industry experts

Although, as forecast, cases of disease due to liver fluke have remained relatively low so far this winter, there are reports of both acute and chronic disease in some areas of the UK.

1 min

Planting The First Seed

Could you be involved in the Wildlife Trusts recently launched scheme?

2 mins

When the going gets tough, the smallholder needs to pause and take stock

Jack Smellie shares her secrets on surviving the difficult days and living your dream

3 mins

Harvesting rainwater

Last year saw the UK's highest-ever temperature only a few miles from us at Coningsby, Lincolnshire 40.3C!

7 mins

Preparing Goat-Kids for Life

Tamsin Cooper considers techniques based on natural behaviour

5 mins

Native Breeds for Modern Needs

Rare Breeds Survival Trust Chief Executive Christopher Price examines the place of rare breeds today

2 mins

Breed Focus: Ouessant Sheep

Helen Babbs finds out about the world's smallest sheep breed

5 mins

How to avoid bringing infection in to your flock or herd from incoming stock

Sophie Cranfield, Westpoint Vets, Horsham discusses managing the risks when buying-in animals to add to your existing livestock

3 mins

Watery Mouth Disease in lambs

Lamb Health Report from APHA

2 mins

Pets or pests?

Continuing her series for novice shepherds, Liz Shankland explains the highs and lows of playing foster parent to motherless lambs.

4 mins

Taking stock of your flock in the spring-body scoring and shearing

Joy Whitehead also prepares for the Show season during this busy time of the alpaca year

4 mins

Nottinghamshire is not all Robin Hood but is also usefully situated in the middle of England with much to offer

Welcome to our regular column all about the best places to buy a country smallholding

3 mins

Successful Hatching in an Incubator

Fiona & Hugh Osborne guide you through how to get the best hatch rates from your incubator.

6 mins

Spring into hen keeping

Lisa Mancell, National Coordinator from Farmgate Feeds, gives her advice on how to get started with hens

3 mins

Spring into action and join our Egg Club

Are your spring chickens laying more eggs than you know what to do with? Well, that's music to our ears, and to the ears of the hens waiting to be rehomed by us.

2 mins

Building Resilience in the Gardener: A Change in Mind-Set

Extract from The Climate Change Garden by Sally Morgan & Kim Stoddart Published by Cool Springs Press £18.99

1 min

Early-nesting birds... catch the worm!

Getting off to an early start, the RSPB give you the species to look out for on and around your smallholding

2 mins

Wildlife watchers needed this spring

Volunteers needed to record garden wildlife for nationwide 'Living with Mammals' survey

2 mins

Read all stories from The Country Smallholder

The Country Smallholder Magazine Description:

The Country Smallholder is aimed at the ever-increasing UK audience interested in living a cleaner, greener, and more sustainable way of life. From people already living on a smallholding, to allotment owners; from those with a couple of acres of land, to those aspiring to get more out of their garden or even window box. With 73% of UK residents claiming to want to live more sustainably post Covid, The Country Smallholder has something for everyone.

Every issue will carry; free vet advice; helpful practical features on all aspects of smallholding, from keeping chickens to crop rotation; information on poultry, pigs, sheep, goats, cattle, and alpacas; rural crafts; property; small tractors and machinery, as well as keeping readers up to date with all the latest news and innovations.