Reflections and a look back in time

A local newspaper are interested in writing about us, and that prompted me to look back through some of the highlights in pictures on the journey so far.

I thought I'd share some of those pictures with you to reflect on some of those best bits from over the years.

Kohaku

In koi hobbyist circles, the saying goes that the hobby begins and ends with kohaku.  Such is the popularity of that variety and kohaku are regarded as the number 1 Japanese Koi variety, certainly in Japan.  We like to tackle things head on, and so took on Kohaku as the first variety we bred and specialised in at Adam Byer Koi Farm. And, after a little time and a few spawnings to optimise our first brood set, we started to achieve success off a female line based around an Okawa female and enjoyed many champion awards over the years (see https://www.byerkoifarm.co.uk/pages/awards).  We've since won with some of our other Kohaku lines too, and by winning in what the Japanese regard as the no.1 variety, we are demonstrating quality is at the heart of our breeding operations.

Over that time our Kohaku have become known for their beautiful patterns, great growth potential, rich colour and lovely skin quality.  They can be in high demand after release, and hopefully we will have enough this year with 2023 output coming from 2 spawnings in 2022.

Here are some of our favourite kohaku's from over the years. 

Sharkey line, Map of England style pattern.  Award winner at the All England Koi Show.

Baby champion, and some best in size kohakus from 2016.

Our first baby champion from 2015, back in the show vat in 2016 and already looking imposing at nisai.

A batch of jumbo tosai kohaku from a few years ago. 

Other varieties:

We started breeding other varieties in 2017 to help expand the business.  They've been a huge success!  And we now offer a wide range across go sanke and non-go sanke including metallic and doitsu varieties.

This picture from last summer shows the range of utsuri we now breed.

This year, expect more showa and also brand new for 2023 and becoming available at tosai release in the spring, are Doitsu Ochiba bred off a new line.  These are well worth a look!

Harvesting

We've harvested so many ponds over the years!

Here's Amanda harvesting kohaku fry.

We try to use each pond twice each summer to maximise our numbers of 1 inch koi.  Koi don't breed true, so we generate our quality through a few mechanisms - it starts with the brood fish and also the combinations we breed them in.  And then we need the quantity in those spawnings to give us reasonable numbers of the rarest types to be produced from those spawnings.

To maximise the number of koi we can rear to an inch, we try to use the ponds twice.  Occasionally we get a third go with a pond, but that's really stretching it!

As you can imagine, we end up with a lot of harvesting work!

Expansion

We've expanded the farm up to 6 fry ponds and a few buildings.  We have planning permission for 2 more polytunnels which enable us to take another step forwards and increase production further.  And also become slightly more efficient in our use of energy which is critical in the current environment.

Our customers 

The best people in the world :-)

Here's Amanda serving two very important customers and helping to pick out some grow ons.

Koi club visits are a regular feature here, and here's a happy bunch from Crouch Valley Koi Club!

Serving our customers at a koi show

This one was a while ago!  Most of that polytunnel has been refitted since this picture was taken!

Our customers are a wide and varied bunch; everything from beginners to experienced koi hobbyists.

Primary school children picking out little grow ons with their parents.  Koi club members exploring really fine koi appreciation details in our koi.  And everything in between!  More koi show successes again this year, all in our customers' hands; and this year in a wide range of varieties and not just Kohaku.  So, all pointing in a good direction and hopefully more to come.

 

Sunsets!

We are working outside much of the time, and often into the evenings.  Occasionally, nature puts on a really special show for us.   Some of the best sunsets and sunrises last just a few minutes, so we have to be quick with the camera!

Working outside is one of the aspects I most enjoy about running the koi farm, and also seeing some of the other nature around our farm that is only there because of the ponds.

The farm keeps us very busy and producing the koi is a huge passion.  We are extremely grateful to our growing customer base for their support.  Hearing about how our customers enjoy the koi hobby has also been very interesting and a highlight in what we do; so being able to play a part our customers' hobby with the koi we supply and also sometimes the opportunity to help with advice and guidance is extremely fulfilling.

Overall though, running Byer Koi Farm is more than a job, it's a way of life.