Starting The Christmas Countdown

- Adam Henson

December really is a month of contrasts. It’s a period of frantic activity when the ‘to do’ list is never-ending. Then, by the end of the month, it’s time for a well-earned break and some peaceful relaxation. That’s true for just about everyone and it’s no different on the farm. Traditionally the winter months were the quietest season of all when farmers could take stock of the year just ending and sit at the kitchen table making plans for the coming 12 months.

For our farming ancestors November and December was a time to sell or slaughter livestock, especially pigs. Feeding animals over winter, when they were destined for the butcher anyway, was seen as a waste and in an era before refrigeration, it was easier to preserve meat when the weather was at its coldest. Out of doors, it was all about maintenance, repairing fences, clearing ditches, hedge laying and coppicing. For many of us, it still is. But 21st century farming and our modern connection with customers means that the run up to Christmas can be the busiest, and most important, time of the entire year.