Today is International Rural Women’s Day, which led me to write about my partner Sue, by day Sue is one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors but to me on the farm is my rock, truly a Farmers Daughter, Sue is phased by nothing that stands in her path, we recently and quite successfully treated an abscess on one of our pigs, to say the pig was a willing patient was an underestimate at best, but determination led to a successful treatment by testing the abscess, drawing off the fluid, followed by opening up the area, irrigating with saline solution spraying with antiseptic spray and treading every couple of days to a full recovery.
In addition to the pigs on the farm we have a growing flock of sheep, we work together in handling foot treatment and dagging out none of which are pleasant but all are necessary to ensure our yearly crop of Lambs have a good life on the farm before reaching their final destination.
Sue’s attention to detail, patience and determination cascade into all areas around the Farm however her love of Gardening allows each and every one of these skills to be used to make our garden and kitchen garden flourish.
During Lambing on the Farm these skills again come to the fore when helping lambs to suckle for the first time, persevering with a weak lamb to get its first colostrum, to seeing it stand for the first time and then to feed on its own is truly rewarding to see.
Working together we successfully run our Luxury Farm Stay in the Heart of Shakespeare’s England helping guests gain a wider understanding of where their food comes from.
For all of these reasons and many more, I dedicate this article to my Rural Woman Sue Crawford of http://oaksbarnfarm.co.uk
