News of farming matters and activities on Tristan da Cunha for the year 2015.
Tristan Economy Section includes : Farming - Fishing - Woollen Industry

Sheep Shearing Day 2015
held on Saturday 12th December
Photos from Janine Lavarello and report from Tina Glass

Almost the entire community gathers at the Patches Plain sheep pens
Children catching the lambs

Above: Catching sheep ready for shearing
and right
shearing using the traditional hand clippers.

It was a beautiful sunny day for Sheep Shearing
on Saturday 12th December.
There was a long trail of vehicles getting everyone
to the sheep pens early, ready to start the shearing.
It's an exciting day especially for the children
who love to run around the pens
with their crooks catching the sheep and their lambs.

In the afternoon when shearing was completed
everyone headed back to the village.
The remainder of the day was spent with groups of people
having braai's or cooked meals
and relaxing after a tiring day out.
Shearing produces great quality wool
Marking sheep in traditional family colours
Taking a break
Cheers!
Heading home
Chops and crayfish on the braai
Buffet ready to be eaten

Agriculture Department Trip
to Stony Beach and the Caves
10th - 16th November 2015

Report from Head of Department Neil Swain and Shirley Squibb
Photos from Shirley Squibb and Janine Lavarello

Right: the boats set out towards Big Point on 10th November

Scenes in Calshot Harbour as the Agriculture Department loads boats for the expedition

Tuesday 10th November was a beautiful day for the Agriculture Department led by Neil Swain
and including Riaan Repetto, Damien Swain and Jack Green headed off to Stony Beach.
The pictures show the government barge and launch that towed up the two dinghies.

Other men also joined the trip to mark their calves at Stony Beach. Some returned the same day aboard the barge and launch,
others stayed overnight, marking their calves at Stony Beach and the Caves, and returned in their dinghy on 11th November.

The heavily loaded barge towing a dinghy behind
as the trip gets underway.

The Agriculture Team spent six nights away. Work started when the team of four shoring up a badly eroded gully to stop further erosion using two wheelbarrows to carry stone to fill metal cages along the side of the gully. A second project was a trial pasture improvement. An area 12 x 6 metres was fenced off to stop cattle grazing and the area was cleared, the soil dug over and grass seed sown. This will serve as a test to plan further future pasture improvements in an area prone to over-grazing which has left large areas barren of grass. A third project was to make good a 'road' or path used by islanders in a gulch when accessing the cattle herd and carrying back quarters of beef to the beach.

Neil plans to take photographs of the work in progress on the team's next visit to Stony Beach.

Photos from Janine Lavarello taken on Monday 16th November
of the flotilla
led by the Government barge Atlantic Wave
with a dinghy in tow
and followed by a powered dinghy
returns the Agriculture Team
after their seven day trip to Stony Hill.

BEM for Dereck Rogers
Tristan's Agriculture Officer Dereck Rogers was awarded a British Empire Medal by Her Majesty the Queen in the Birthday Honours List announced on 13th June 2015, in recognition of his services to the community of Tristan da Cunha. We have published a separate page cataloguing Dereck's work - see Dereck Rogers BEM for more.

Lindsay's Bumper Crop

Photo and Report from Shirley Squibb

The photo left shows Lindsay Repetto
proudly showing his 40kg pumpkin
which has a 5ft circumference.
He needed help carrying it out of his vegetable patch. Alongside are more of Lindsay's pumpkin crop
and two varieties of squash
which no doubt will be enjoyed over the coming weeks
as winter sets in on Tristan.