It's always a bit of a struggle to make sure that everything is complete before opening the gates for the new season, and this year was no exception. With the dreadful weather making our annual task even harder, we were trying to drive fence posts into sodden ground, and pump out water from the livestock pens. Ben the electrician was balancing on his ladder whilst the wind whipped around him, and Chris and Gareth, the plumbers, were paddling around in the mud whilst they dug out the old pipes. Bearing in mind that these tradesmen only normally see the wind and rain on the golf course, we are grateful that they didn't give up on us, and they completed all their jobs successfully!
For the first time in the 30 years that the farm has been open to visitors, we have had to close off the outdoor play area. This was a decision made by me after the third time I had slipped up on my  backside whilst I inspected the grounds. With slightly wounded pride, I decided that it would be far too risky to open that area up to the public.
The day before our season started the heavens opened flooding the goat pens and the pathways, so with an early morning start, we pumped away the surplus water and cleared the debris that the gale force winds had deposited around the farm. With minutes to spare we were able to open the gates. Guess what? One of our first visitors complained that the car park was very wet; I did employ the ‘customer care smile’ as I explained to her that it was something to do with the weather!
It hasn't helped our staffing situation having Dawn off for the first few weeks of the new season: whilst on holiday she managed to slip up on some rocks and break her wrist. She now has a bracket and some stainless steel screws inserted into her lower arm and is on the road to recovery. It has made all the staff appreciate just how much we all rely on her.
Our main area for improvements this year has been the seating area for eating, which has been extended by over 30 more seats. Not only that, we have really spoilt you by installing heating and air-conditioning units in as well. It hasn’t gone unnoticed that the farm staff have been creeping in there to have their lunch in comfort.
The farm is fully stocked again with over 100 small chicks, rabbits and guinea pigs, 50 new young goats (which were rescued from the floods in Oxfordshire), 20 calves, and 40 or more hungry pigs... all looking forward to being fed by our visitors. Sandy, one of Kune Kune sows, decided to produce a litter of 11 piglets on one of the first days of opening, so there will be a chance that you will be able to cuddle a piglet. In fact, it feels like a real farm once again!
Louise has returned to take on the goat area, which she will find challenging as we are expecting 250 young goats in during the next month or so. Kayleigh will continue to look after the stables, and has inherited the poultry as well, which should keep her very busy! Coner prefers the real animals, so he will continue looking after the pigs and calves. Callum has joined us to relieve the other stock people when they have a day off, and we also have employed some new weekend staff as well.  
Our season ticket promotion went very well this year with record numbers of visitors purchasing season tickets for this season. This increase is partly due to our new online purchasing facility, which we think makes life easier for everyone - although it does amaze me what time of day people are on their computer parting with their money! Despite having a 'cut off period' for our discounted season tickets, we still had phone calls from people who had forgotten to renew their tickets, giving imaginative excuses such as: "My letter had a different date on it", "My dog ate the form" , and "I thought that you were not opening until Easter".
Our thoughts go to all the farmers throughout the country who have suffered during the extreme weather conditions. Only half the story can be seen on the television: the devastation of finding your sheep floating down the river, sheds full of cattle wading belly-deep in sludge, and whole houses of chickens being drowned are just some of the cases that the farming world has been confronted with. It will take a very long time before this will be rectified. We are very grateful indeed that we seemed to have missed the brunt of the weather here in Ashurst. 
Hope to see you soon, Farmer Bryan

C C COLD WEATHER AND EASTER ANTICS

With the previous bitterly cold weather, the daily job of keeping all the animals warm has been a challenge. We’ve had heat lamps on the guinea pigs and chicks, and even the goat kids had their own centrally heated areas. Once the gates were open to visitors, it was an even larger challenge to keep our visitors warm, but we managed with electric heaters in the Tea Room and shops. These were much appreciated by the staff and visitors alike. I imagined that I could see the smile on the faces of the Electricity Board as the meters spun round out of control! Not all our visitors are under the age of seven: we have seen an increase in the older type of visitors from local nursing homes. As the guests are taken around the farm, we hear some of the same comments that we hear from the children, such as: 'Phew, it smells here" and "Wow that cow’s big!" However, the older visitors really do like to join in, and love being kids again. It is heart-warming to see how the older guests communicate with the animals - some love to hold a chick or a rabbit, whilst others just like to watch the goats play. Easter was extremely busy—the weekend beat all attendance records since the Farm opened to the public thirty years ago. Visiting families joined in with the egg hunts, with a lot of competitive dads looking for the golden eggs that I had hidden (some eggs probably hidden far too well in some cases). I even resorted to Facebook to give out further clues - oh, how times have changed in those thirty years! Stuart has taken on the role of Poultry Keeper - I call him Doctor Dolittle because early in the morning we hear him talking to the animals! We hear his voice beaming from the chicken houses: "Come on girls, out of the way. How can I clean you out when you’re stood on my spade?" We then watch him carry the chickens around under his arm as he introduces them to his duck friends. One thing’s for sure, I am convinced that we have employed someone who really does enjoy working with the poultry. The ewes decided to lamb a little later this year, which considering the weather, was a good choice. At least ours were inside the sheds and not outside in the appalling weather conditions that some of their cousins up North had to endure. I heard one farmer from North Wales quote that finding his dead lambs in the thawing snow was as heartbreaking as losing his flock to Foot and Mouth disease back in 2001. At least the weather has warmed up now, and is kinder to all the little ones. The cows, not wanting to be last, have now started to calf, geese are hatching, and even the Kune Kune pigs have decided to join in and give birth to a litter of piglets. So, at last, spring is in the air with all these new arrivals. I think we’re owed a sunny summer don’t you? Hopefully, the grass will start to grow soon, and we can put the cows back out into the fields to graze for a few months. To the astonishment of all the staff, on Saturday 6th April, Tilly decided to give birth in front of a group of visitors. It is very unusual for donkeys to give birth in front of people (let alone a group of 25) however, she slipped her foal out very quietly as the cameras clicked and astonished visitors watched. Since it was born, the foal’s long legs and equally long ears have been the talking point at the Farm, and visitors have been helping us choose a name for this little girl….. Well, that’s what I thought she was: a week after it was born, Kim and Louisa were watching the foal playing in its stable when they noticed a little extra bit! “Look at that—that little girl is a little boy!”, they laughed. We had created a fun competition on Facebook to name the little donkey foal, and it wasn't until after over 250 suggestions for a girl’s name that Farmer Bryan had to confess on Facebook that he couldn't tell the difference between a boy donkey and a girl donkey! And yes, it’s true, I should have gone to Specsavers! And no, I still haven’t lived it down!