Country diary: The farm rolls on, regardless of day or year | Sarah Laughton

Long Dean, Cotswolds: Before dawn I'm out feeding the cattle, deep in the seasonal routineIt is the final day of the year, but the farming cycle, governed by season and not calendar, makes the significance of tomorrow almost arbitrary. Not until the herd is on spring grass, new calves "at foot", will it feel as if we have truly turned a corner. Now we are deep into winter, with its unchanging daily routine, and I am out before it is light, as I have been each and every day - Christmas included - since the cattle became dependent on supplementary feeding. They are waiting for me, just as they always are, for the most part stoically patient, but one or two with a peremptory shout. Devons are known for being vocal.The bull, true to character, stands silent. Head raised expectantly, he raises it a little higher as he scents his breakfast. I toss the bale into the ring feeder and climb in after it. A steer pushes forward, catching his hoof on the rim with jarring metallic clunk. Continue reading...