You thought it couldn't get worse......................

The farmer should compensate you !
The fields around here haven't been cut at all yet, because of the weather. They've usually done it about twice by now.

If they've usually taken 2 cuts by now Hywel, then it's probably silage, or at least one of them will be.
Compensation is not a word in the vocabulary of terse Yorkshire farmers , unless it's coming to them. We are just a small farm, next door is a massive one.

Oh Jane my heart goes out to you, I could have cried with you, I dont think compensations anywhere near compensates for all the hard work youv`e put in, and the worry of feeding the sheep and ponies. Could the farmer put up electrified fencing to stop it happening again. Shall be thinking of you whilst your trying to cope.

Im so sorry Jane, it must be utterly heartbreaking, you must feel so helpless ~ against the weather and now this.

Well that farmer next door SHOULD compensate you! pfft! WHat a shame :(((((( (())xxx

Thanks all. WE have put electric fencing up in the past, but it hasn't been a problem for a few years, as we've used other fields for hay, or cows been elsewhere etc, etc. Our electric fencer was for my horses, and seems to have gone walkies - typical! Really, it is the other farmer who should be using one, to keep his cows away from our fence - or what is left of it. Totally destroyed. He's just rounded the cows up and shouted over 'Eh, I'll cum 'ave word wi' 'im' Yorkshire farmers don't do business with wives, just men. Mick won't be back from work till 7 tonight, so it will have to wait.
You're probably thinking, if you knew this was going to happen, why didn't you do something to stop it?. Well, it was only last night, Mick saw the cattle in the next field and realised there might be a problem. it was 10.30 at this point, so he thought he'd ring the other guy this morning to let him know. Too late! Stable horse and bolted seem to come to mind.

Its never predictable is it? something about working with children and animals?? on holiday we were asked to keep the gates shut to prevent the sheep from next door getting in but i watched one old [well it looked old] sheep leaping over 2 barbed wire fences. nothing on the scale of your devastation but it makes you realise how difficult it all must be.

it just seems so unfair. i really hope they sort it out properly for you jane.

Oh Jane, it seems really unfair that he should get away without paying up for the damage. Can't you sneak a cow out and hold it as ransom? Sending big hugs hun xxxxxxx

Yes it's silage, but they haven't been able to do it :o(

The bloody weather eh? Jx

How terrible for you!! I don't blame you for crying, sometimes it just seems too much to bear. I hope it somehow works out.

Hi Jane.
So very upsetting to discover the cow invasion ..
I hope you get compensation.

Thanks Annie and Lil and Terra Yes, I'm sure it will all be okay in the end. Mick is thinking of selling a lot of the sheep, it's so much hard work and worry, especially when he already works a 50 hour week elsewhere. I think this will push him futher towards that decision. There is no govt help for the small farmer at all, infact they are pro active in making it impossible to succeed.
Annie. I don't want a bl***y cow. No, not even a small, cute looking one. Not even for a few days lol. The sheep, hen (note singular), cats and ponies do enough damage, the cows....................well that's a whole new ball game.
I sound a bit like a moaning minnie. Sorry, it's not that we expect help from anywhere, it would just be nice if organisations like the government, did try to encourage the small farmer, instead of trying to put him out of business.
Thanks Terra, not holding our breath I'm afraid.

Oh Jane, I do feel for you and no words can help at the moment, that sounds a lot of money to lose and as you say nothing left to feed your own animals either, I hope the farmer does sort some form of compensation out with your OH...

Shall we all come round as a mob......A few angry Goyers together might make him listen to women ;O))))xxx

I am so sorry to hear this Jane. Perhaps he will come round and surprise you!

Hi Jane so sorry about this, blooming bad luck. Have you thought about joinging NFU think they cover things like this with their insurances. I know that doesn't help now but it might just be worth investigating for future reference. In fact the farmer will be covered and you could claim off his insurance. Just a thought, it would help you with buying in bales for your animals at least. Try not to get too stressed it will only make you ill. We are having trouble with a fox at the minute killed us 70+ ducks at £3 + a duckling. It is so heartbreaking when you have to pick up dead bodies. Poor things. I hate foxes!! I know they have to live but they kill just for fun not for food. ah well that is my little rant over for today. Hope you feel better soon and that the farmer sorts things out with hubby. Thinking of you x

Ooh Olive that is really terrible. Such a damn waste of life. We are in the NFU and they do our insurance, but I'm not exactly sure what we insure! I didn't get chance to talk it through with Mick this morning.
LOL Annie, I love the picture of a bunch of 'positive' female Goyers intimidating him. He has a fairly positive wife himself - she'd have to be. I've always been a bit wary of him, as he is rather terse.
Anyway, will see what he suggests this evening. He has moved the cows, but no attempt to make good the damage as yet.
Will let you all know the outcome. Jx

So sorry to hear about this, Jane. For a while,Mum and Dad had kennels up on the moor above Oxenhope. They told me all about Yorkshire farmers...The one in the next farm dropped dynamite down his well to save paying for a bore (they weren't on mains water), completely by-passing theirs. After that, theirs dried up every summer - and froze in winter.

Oh Mel that is so typical of a lot of the farmers round here. They seem to be held together with baling twine (and yes, I have seen them use it as a belt), drive battered old landies, but have a million quid stashed under their floor boards. Wily old devils, the ministry hasn't a hope of keeping up with them. I bet the moors above Oxenhope were a bit chilly - for about 350 days of the year anyway. Jx

Oh Janey, my smpathies to you. I guess the farmer will sort it out with 'him' later on....I really hope so anyway. Thank goodness for the sheep dip hot tub eh? A good long soak in there later and a glass of something strong and you'll be 'reet 's rain' as they say! Can't say I blame OH for wanting to sell his sheep...incredibly hard work for you both. Take care....lovely photo of your house btw..I've not seen it before :D xx

We only had a few hobby sheep and they Always needed something doing to them....maybe letting them go is an idea, the cost of feed later in the year is going to be so expensive with this awful summer......
is there a smallholders association near you they were a help to us and we met some lovely people....the ones that bred the Leicestershire longwools were really helpful and the sheep were huge...and so funny with the rastafasrian haircuts......

Next door really shouldn't get away with it!........go Goyers.......

Thanks Karen and Pam. We'll get there in the end. lol. Karen, that isn't our house, I took the pic from our house, looking out over the front field. Think there's a pic of the house somewhere on a different blog.
Reet as they say up 'ere, better get that 'ot' tub fettled up.
:-)))

Jane....what a shame. I do hope that something gets sorted out for you. I know I would be crying too!!
I have also noticed that none of the fields here have been cut yet. There is very little left for me to say that hasn't been said above.
My mother's family were all farmers - and those of her generation just don't do it now.
I hope your spirits pick up soon xx

I feel so sorry for you, hope the farmer sorts everything out with you, my thoughts are with you.

Thanks Scottish and Clarice. My spirits have been remarkably bouyed by a large glass of rose :-)

How awful! Surely the farmer has to take the responsibility and compensate. Let us know how the talk turns out.

They were extremely chilly, Jane. Mum and Dad didn't last many years!! That was when I found out that melting snow to water a load of boarding dogs is not quite as straightforward as you might think! (I was only visiting, I'm glad to say) That was the winter the helicopter flew over each day and checked someone was there to wave at them! The car was buried at the side of the road some way away, with a marker so the snow plough didn't mangle it - not that the snow plough was venturing that far by that stage!

Someone with much more money bought the place when they left. It is now some sort of business - they probably sold the land attached. It was at the end of about 1/4 mile of extremely rough track, now made up, of course. In the winter my poor old Dad used to pull a sledge along to collect the milk from the road. He said he spent more time on his a*** than he did on his feet!

Are you pissed yet?

How are negotiations going? or have you had so much rose you don't give a toss?

Thick cows living next door to you Jane... Everyone knows they lay down in the rain. Mind you they would have bedsores by now !

Keep going XXX ;o))

Ha ha ha. No, just a bit tiddly. No word from the farmer at all. Mick reckons he'll just avoid us and it will be big confrontation time if we want him to do anything. We're not sure what the best course of action is. I would be mad as anything without the rose, so I'll probably be steaming tomorrow. His land backs on to ours both front and back and he has a lot more livestock than us. He can make things difficult for us if he wants to, he's on the parish council - we have planning permission in ....................... yeup held to ransom in a way. He certainly won't want to claim on his insurance and if we claim on ours, they will claim the money back off him. If push comes to shove, he will say our fence wasn't good enough, but it kept our sheep in ok.
Falling out with neighbours, be they farmers or not, is a big issue. Is it worth the hassle?
It's so wrong he takes no responsibility, but I think we do have to think carefully before we go off half cock all guns blazing. Will keep you posted.
Oh Pim, the cows were laying down on the grass at some point, infact I think they must have rolled about in it judging from the state of it.
Mel I used to live in Haworth, on the moor, so I know how your Mum and Dad felt. I lasted a year!

Yes you're right Jane, it's very diffcult and the last thing you want is trouble with the neighbours, I hope you find a satisfactory solution.

At the moment, I think it's another glass of wine hic!

Do you know wine freezes...Lil makes Vino IcePops. Keeps her ticking over... MMmm

LOL I've frozen it in the bottle before now. just a tad difficult to drink. Nice one Lil :-)

So we're sharing each others secrets now are we Pimp????? Alrighty then, gloves are off!

Lol Jane, secret is not to drink it but to suck it ;)

I'm with you on that one Lil, but it's still a bit difficult to do when it's in a bottle. Secret there is not to cool it down in the freezer and forget it. lol Jx

Love the ice pops tip Lil! I have frozen many a bottle of Rose Jane, seems like you are waiting forever for a drink then xx

Now you tell me! :)))

jane what a bugger, so sorry to read this, yes farmer need to compemsate you, after all you have fed his cows,don't give up come out fighting, if you need a hand just let me know,

Uhh, Yorkshire, we aren't sure what to do. Have explained elsewhere, he can make life really awful for us if he wants. Not least because he's on the parish council and we have some planning permission in. He said he'd come and speak to Mick, but honestly, I don't think he intends to do anything. If we kick up, it will be WW6 and I'm not sure it's worth it.
Am probably gouing to leave Mick to sort it out, otherwise I will get too stressed. Don't get me wrong, neither Mick nor I are shrinking violets, but sometimes it is wiser to let things lie Jx

I know what your saying but this farmer bloke sounds like a bit of a bully to me, or blackmailer

He doesn't sound like he should be on the parish council. I would go to a meeting and tell them all. !!!

Take pictures of the damaged fence Jane.

I've been in a situation similar to you Jane. Not regarding cows but wanting to keep the peace with neighbours. Well, I didn't and it cost me a boatload of money to move bc it just became too unbearable living next to them, so I understand what you mean :/

I also understand all you are saying, Jane. Sometimes it's just not worth it.

Have taken pics, just incase. He's been on the parish council since god was a lad and his wife plays the organ in church (not sure who'se organ - lol). Can't fight the establishment. Anyway, not over yet, - the fat lady (me) is still singing!

Well, best of luck, anyhow. And carry on singing!

Definitely a bit of a bad situation but whatever you decide to do best of luck with it .....so glad you can still raise a smile ( might surprise you whose playing whose organ ???? lol.........it might pay you to do a bit of digging!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) :o))))

LOL Like a big hole to put the farmer in.? Jx

Are there any others in the area who have trouble with him........

He owns most of the land in the area, I think folk generally avoid him. Mick will sort it out futher at the weekend when he isn't at work. :-(

let us know the end result won't you

Of course I will. Jx

I,ll be away but hope you can sort it amicably xxx

Thanks Pam. just heard some more horror stories about him in the village, so I think that is unlikely. Have a good trip Jx ❀

Jane this is an intolerable situation for you & it makes you want to spit & cry & shout & rant!!! Some people are so pig headed & think they rule the roost.
I can't imagine what you can do - I think I would have given up by now or be be in jail, because I had shot him or set fire to his barns!!!!;(
He wants bootingout of the Parish Coucil for sure.
You have such a lot of support for this & a lot of messages so I haven't read them all yet!! But I can see that you are in a right pickle. I wish you all the best & hope you can come out on top. xx
btw, I love cats - but 14??????? Wow!
We have just one at the moment. Most animals we've had all at one time was when we had 2 cats and a dog & lots of fish in the pond!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi Shirl. Yes he is horrible. Apparently once, one of his cows, whilst being walked through the village to change fields, hit a friends car so hard it shunted it several feet and the cow snaped the wing mirror off. Did he apologize, or recompense? Did he heck. So that is the sort of man we are dealing with. It is lovely to get such lovely support on here, but I think we will have to mend the fence ourselves and buy our hay in if we need more. ANYWAY, have been on market stall all day (well last 2 days) and there are 2 bottles (one white, one rosé)waiting to be liberated in the fridge. it is my duty to set them free! Jxx hic

Get in there gal!! Sup up!
Hope the stall was a success.:o))

Monday morning. Did in fact liberate both bottles, still have a hang over :-(

Morning Jane (I'm whispering) hope the head feels better soon. I'm having a break from anything alcoholic, been a week now on the Ribena! Lol. Can't say I feel any different yet but hope to wake up one morning having lost stones overnight xx

I woke up last week, with exactly the same intention. I think I lasted 2 days! Anyway, got it taped this week. Not bought any, so can't drink it if it's not there. Since my hysterectomy (Christmas) I'm putting weight on. Partly it will be because I am not as active (I had a bowel op at the same time) and can't dig the garden etc this year, but I am reluctantly going to have to reconcile my self to the fact wine is fattening, even though it is see through.
So no wine for me for a week or two either :-( (Also I'm pretty skint at the moment and it does seem like a good way to make the weekly shopping cheaper)! Grey, cold raining and miserable today:-( Was lovely yesterday. Jx

Was lovely here too hun. I am the same on the money front, it makes a big difference to the shopping bills. My fall down was Martini, especially the Rose so should drop a few Ilbs & gain £s soon. It's pouring down outside now xx

Same here. God it's years since I had martini. I used to drink it, but it ALWAYS made me cry. I got fed up of going out and coming home with mascara streaks down my face. So I turned to wine, which doesn't seem to have the same lachrymose effect. Wonder how long I'll last???? Jxx

And me???? Incentive has been added this weekend though, Oh is offering a weekend in Rome......Fitting into some clothes would be a help xx

Ooooohhh FAB a weekend in Rome. Yeup, I'd say that is incentive enough. (I'd have my damn jaws wired together for that - as long as they undid them for the trip).
There should be a great blog then coming up. Have you an idea when you might be going? Jx

Yep...3 weeks time he is aiming for! I could do with 3 months to shape up a bit xx

Oh don't even go there........................ so could I. Why is weight the opposite to money? So easy to aquire and so difficult to lose.
Just think as well, you can eat what you want in Rome, because you will already have lost a load (not that you need to I'm sure). Don't do what an aquaintance of mine did. She put her handbag down on the floor at a cafe table and hey presto it wasn't there when she came to go. Might be a useful tip. Jx

I've been before (with the other man who turned gay or died) and loved it. The people are brilliant, so friendly it's a shame about the pick pockets and bag thieves xx

Yes, but they are every where, not just Rome. I had a friend who lived there for a year, whilst she was doing her Italian degree. I went to stay for a week (about a million years ago now), but we had a ball and I just loved it too. I would love to go with Mick, and also go to Venice with him. I used to go there for work and know it well. But as ever, it's time and money. Mostly the latter.
I can't forget sitting in squares and cafés and realising just how OLD all the things round me were. Jx

That was what I loved too, every corner you turn reveals another beautiful old building. The first time I walked into the Pantheon I cried, the atmosphere and sheer age of the building is amazing xx

I know, it's breath taking. I sat in a little café opposite the Pantheon in absolute awe. Did you see the bullet holes in the walls from the 2nd world war. (think it was then, might have been a different one). Lucky, lucky you. Oh and the food...................and the wine..............! Jx

.....Sun.....attractive Italian men...xx

oh...........oh................oh I could go on, but would only be a bit repetative. Jx

Hi all. Just a quick update. I looked out this morning, to find the field next door full of cows. Quick glance at the fence and yes it has been repaired. He's only just done it mind. Mick left it on purpose to see what would happen. The farmer couldn't put anymore livestock in his field till the fence was back up and we weren't in a rush to do it. Haven't had a real good look, so can't say how good a job he's done. Mind you, the cows won't be trying to get into ours will they? They've already eaten it. lol Jx

Glad you can lol, Jane! Rude words just come to my mind!

Good Jane but he needs to provide you with hay or you are out of pocket.

Oh I don't think that will happen Pimm. His cows shunted a friend of mines car and broke the wing mirror off, he never did a thing. at least the field is secure now.

Hi Jane.
Do those cows stray into fields belonging to others, or are you the only people to suffer from their invasions ?

Hi Terra, there aren't any fields belonging to any one else just by us, but I heard a similar story when it happened with his cows over the hill. Mind you , the other farmer there is a pillock as well, so they don't spoil two halves. Apparently, they're still not speaking over it. What can I say? Jx

Shall we organise a Picnic in his Hay meadow ? Fifty or so dumb, ignorant , city dwelling Goyers on an outing armed with sandwiches and alcohol....What harm could we possibly do? ;))

Oooh add a camp fire and bbqs and what about a small band. just a small one, singing quietly. Willi and OH should enjoy the nice quiet festivities. Big grins (getting fed up with loling all the time).

You didn't say it was a festival !! To make up for the cancellation of Harrogate. I'll bring a tent and some Meow- Meow .

parking not a problem, it's a BIG field.

I'm sure some one on here on GoY has tenuous connections to Rolf Harris...We could get him to Headline the event..! Class.

Only if he brings his digery doo !!