Letter from the farm – November 2025

 Hi there,

How have you been the last few weeks? I have to say that I’m feeling pleased with myself for writing back so quickly! My letter from the farm in October feels like it was only written a few days ago!

On the farm we have been busy making lots of bales of hay and just finishing the job of carting the hay off the paddocks now. We have started our main joining of rams with ewes with some changes I’m looking forward to sharing with you. Also, shearing all our ewes is set for the last week in November and with a bit of luck we are hoping to have that finished before December.

November has felt a little like the calm before the storm in terms of family life. We have enjoyed our weekends without the additions of the kids extra-curricular Christmas performances and rehearsals, Christmas parties and more. I especially have enjoyed the extra time at home in the garden nurturing the vegetable seedlings and orchard trees. It won’t be long now before the tomatoes, beans and basil are more than I can handle and the stone fruit are sweet and ripe! Until then I am enjoying the asparagus spears and strawberries all to myself while pottering in the garden.

Avalon farmstay has been similar and again it feels like the calm before the storm. School holidays are always our busiest time and December is not far away! We are excited to share that we have been nominated for the Lockhart Shire Business Excellence Awards in the Small Business category. The awards dinner is the end of November and we are looking forward to sharing the evening with local business owners as the winners are announced.

The rainfall we received in late winter and spring has allowed us to cut hay from a few of our lucerne paddocks. Thankfully we had enough feed in other paddocks to lock these off and harvest the surplus pasture for when we need it. This was not a job we could do on our own and shared the work with my uncle and cousin that live and work on their family farm next door (where mum once called home). The last part of the job is finishing moving the hay into hay sheds and strategic positions over the farm. It’s a big job and taking up lots of time, but we are getting it done one load at a time. I just remind myself of the saying ‘How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!’

November is the month we commence our main joining of rams with ewes and this year we are trialling using teaser rams prior to joining. These rams have been vasectomised by a vet and are therefore infertile but stimulate a powerful hormonal response known as the ‘ram effect’. This should result in the ewes being stimulated to cycle earlier and more consistently therefore improving fertility. We believe this will lead to a tighter lambing window and a more even line of lambs (consistent growth) at weaning and sale time.

Another change to our joining is the investment of new genetics from Glen Iris Poll Merino Stud. We met the owners through producer education days run by Gundagai Lamb and were impressed with the growth performance and wool traits of their animals. As a result we purchased 4 new rams at their sale in October and have joined them to our best performing ewes. We are excited to see what the outcome of this joining delivers and will be measuring weights, wool and carcass data of the progeny closely.

There is always lots happening in life and on the farm, I am sure it is no different for you. Enjoy the last of November and increase in momentum as we head into December and all that comes with it. Look after yourself, maybe a little more than usual to balance the December busyness. If your December is looking anything like mine, just remember – one bite at a time!

(Think of me this week during shearing as the juggle gets real! I will be trying to add full days in the shed while not compromising on everything else I do to fill my days!)

Until my next letter,

Sending my love from the farm, Em.