Mechanised mucking out at last!

Image: Jon Haylett

Last year it took three days to clear out the compacted manure in the sheep house using a muck graip and a wheelbarrow. If you remember I did have help , "Dude Crofting" helped out but this year there are no dudes in sight.

I've moved on, into the 21st century. Hughie and I with the mini digger and his dump truck did the job in and hour and a half. This valuable stuff is now piled up in a midden to rot down over the next 12 months after which it will fertilise the hay park adding N, P, K and organic matter.

In the absence of  a muck spreader Gillespie came in with his big green tractor and bucket  yesterday to dump heaps of year old muck at intervals across the field which were then spread by hand as far as we could throw it.  If it ever dies up the chain harrows will spread it a bit further and help if to break down.