Our farming year
Work on Kehoe’s farm goes on all year round when the Irish weather allows us. That same Irish weather which brings us rain and occasionally sunshine too, allows us to grow a wide diversity of crops in the rich South Wexford soil here near Foulksmills.
Dammann spraying
In spring it’s a waiting game as the sun inches a little higher each day leaving winter behind. We are looking for a dry spell of clement weather to get out in the fields again after the winter break. We need to finish ploughing the stubbles left over from the previous year and fertilise the meadows and new leas in preparation for the growing season ahead and prepare seedbeds for our tillage crops.
Once the opportunity arrives it’s a race to get things done before the life giving rain returns to germinate our crops and provide the vital moisture to the crops that keep our country so green and productive.
Early Summer
Baling Haylage
The weather during the Summer growing season can vary widely, it can dominate our days. Farming tasks continue on dry days, tending to the tillage crops that we produce our bedding products from and looking for sign of pests and disease.
The main farming event of early summer is haylage / silage making, harvesting the first crop of grass from our meadows is a busy time. It is critical to save the grass quickly and at the correct moisture content in order to provide quality horse feeds for our customers.
Modern techniques and machinery make the task much easier than it used to be, however the weather can still alter the timing of the harvest.
Late Summer Autumn
Haylage / Silage making continues through the summer, however our main focus now is on the tillage harvest.
Harvesting the wheat, barley and rape crops and their straw, which is used in several of our animal bedding products keeps us busy now both day and night as long as the weather permits. Harvesting can go on late into the nights when the Summer breeze blows keeping the early Autumn dew away.
Saving the crops at the correct moisture is key to quality feed and bedding production. Any dust is extracted from the straw later in the bedding production process.
Harvesting Maize
Late Autumn Winter
The nights begin to draw in now and the leaves on the trees are falling as the growing year comes to an end. Re seeding older leas takes place by mid September to keep the grasses in the meadows fresh and productive. Ploughing the stubbles is also done weather permitting, making one job less for the following spring.
In the machinery sheds our tractors, tillage and grass machines are stored for the winter in readiness for the next growing season.
The Kehoes have been farming now in Foulksmills for several generations seeing many harvests in all weathers and always looking forward to the next farming year.