Much to do

Tony Bracci wonders if he has taken on too much at his new shoot as the pressing tasks mount up

I spent any time that I could at the new shoot, learning my way around and getting a feel for different parts of it. I saw jobs that needed to be done. When I went to do that job I found the next thing to be done. Sometimes it felt like I had taken on too much but I really enjoyed spending my free time there.

On one of my first walks around after beaters' day, I saw the aftermath of a particularly windy storm. An oak tree had fallen through one of our release pens - this was not a one-man job to deal with. I did what I could and then arranged for a couple of syndicate members to meet me there the following Saturday with chainsaws to get it cleared.

Clean

I carried on with the other job that I wanted to do, which was to bring in all the feeders and drinkers back to the farm for a good clean. I drove around the three pens, loading up the quad bike and trailer, running it all back to the farm. In hindsight, I wish I had kept them separate or marked them up, as at the end I had a big pile of stuff to clean and no idea what came from which pen. While I was at each pen, I walked the perimeter and tallied up how many posts were needed, which meant I could get an order in ahead of the first syndicate work party.

The covercrops also needed to be dealt with. Maize had been used for many years, but this had taken its toll on the ground. To get a successful crop a good amount of fertiliser was needed, at a time when the price was at an all-time high. The landowner was keen for us to keep the use of fertiliser and chemical sprays to a minimum and not f maize its toll Dund to plough too deep and too often. So, the search was on for alternative crops.