Rachael's Blog

Shearing Time - Again

2009-06-23T11:42:00.002Z

Yesterday the men spent the entire day from 7.30am until 7pm in the evening shearing, wrapping fleeces and moving sheep around in and out.
The previous day Philip, Len & Colin, had spent 1/2 the day getting the sheep nearer to the shearing shed.

laughingly I had my British Wool Board postcard today to inform me that last years shearing cheque should be in the region of £797. This does not cover half of the cost of shearing yet we have to do it for animal welfare.

So when customers wander how their lamb is so expensive, this is yet another cost that has to be covered.

here's waiting until next year

schhol Visit Tuesday 21st April 2009

2009-04-29T08:40:00.006Z

Always a favourite - just holding a lamb. This is taken for granted by many farmers but children think this is wonderful, to feel them hear them, and to be taking 'care' of them

What could be better than a roly poly down a big hill. Simple fun. (thank goodness they didn't ask me to do it!)

Here in the butchery the children were able to see different cuts of meat and compare them to where they came off the animal.

After arriving at the farm I always allow the children some freedom, running, walking to use up some of the excitement that many of them feel when coming on a trip. this visit we spent an hour in the old oak wood. the only rules being to stay within the confines of the trees, and telling them that it was fine to get muddy or wet now but that is how they would be for the rest of the day. This allows the children to risk asses for themselves and to make their own decisions, two thinking that today's children are rarely allowed to do for themselves and yet is such an important part of growing up. tree climbing, exploring, balancing, playing in a bog, following the stream, exploring the ground, running, whilst the teachers, helpers and i sat and listened, and no electric anywhere!

There is no better way to tell a story than with pictures. Class 5/6 certainly had a brilliant day when they came to visit the farm, some children for their second time. Shown here eating their lunch on a trailer, during a wonderfully sunny day.

It has to be said that the children behaved wonderfully and it was a pleasure to have them, and it has yet again reaffirmed my belief that it is this generation who will champion British farming and the countryside.

Coming to the End of Easter

2009-04-17T05:17:00.003Z

Sitting in the office now at 6.17am it is pouring with rain. But I feel we have to admit we've had a pretty good Easter period. Lambing has gone very well, and with the organic flock entering its second week perhaps the men have a couple of weeks left of late nights. I'm sure Wyn our Shepherd will be pleased as he is running out of cocktail sticks!

The past few days we have begun vaccinating our cattle and sheep against bluetongue, and the lambs against Orf, and then we will begin vaccinating the calves against several nasty diseases they can get when they are released out onto fresh pastures.
These procedures are not as easy as it may initially seem. most of the vaccinations are in doses of 50's. once opened they have to be used within 24 hours. Our cattle and blocks of ewes with lambs vary in numbers, and you need to be a mathematician to work out how to use all the vaccine in one bottle whilst being able to dose cattle ewes and lambs within the same vicinity and without getting too many bunches in...............................

My husband Philip will be pleased today as he will be able to go into the butchers shop and avoid working in the rain. He also has the prospect of completing our IACS form which arrived at the beginning of lambing, I'm sure farmers everywhere are viewing this task with great anticipation! Wouldn't it be wonderful if we opened them up and after all our hours of work correcting them last year we found that amazingly the forms were correct this year?

Stranger things have happened!

Easter is Upon Us

2009-04-07T09:14:00.004Z

Easter is just around the corner, and we've had a pretty good lambing at this stage. We have been lambing on and off since January, and our organic conversion flock is due to start this week. Our heifers have all calved successfully and now the older cows have started, so far we have a greater number of male calves to females but it usually evens out.

The farmers markets continue to be very successful, which is different to the current retail results we hear about on the TV and in the media. I hope that the past years of educating the consumer to the advantage of buying good quality and maybe a little less or a poorer cut has paid off and we are seeing the change in peoples shopping and eating habits.

I have just picked up and paid for our Blue Tongue vaccine. It has cost just short of £1000, with enough to vaccinate all of our sheep and cattle. The Welsh Assembly Government were concerned last year that there was very little take up on the vaccination programme, but then as farmers had had a very bad year in 2007 with lamb prices where do they think that the majority of farmers will get the extra money to pay for yet something else? As with all business' if you haven't got it you can't spend it....... anyway after a partnership meeting ( after lunch on Sunday) we all decided if we were going to do ti it had to be now just after lambing, and as much before our next tupping season as we could make it, or not at all, we also deduced that if blue tongue midges were already in the country after last years outbreaks, then they were going to move across Britain much quicker this year, and as we are not insured against this then the risk was too great.

Reading the farming press on Friday (we receive both the farmers weekly and the farmers guardian) it is difficult to imagine why farmers would want to stay in a business where they are granted so little respect by government officials making decisions about farming business which affects so many rural incomes. Currently there are discussions afoot that farmers should compulsorily contribute towards animal health plans dictated by the government. So for instance TB which costs the taxpayer millions of £'s per year should be contributed towards by us. They are suggesting a levy in the region of £5 per cow and 9p per ewe. We would welcome this if the government then gave the farmer- who would be paying for the outcome of disease running riot, the option to deal with such diseases, i.e. dealing with badgers who spread TB, and taking responsibility for their own laboratories which hold these diseases such as Pirbright, which released the last outbreak of Foot & Mouth into the community, and for which the government will take no compensatory action.

The legal battle has been lost by the NFU into taking the government to court to gain compensation for the losses these farms made, as has the battle to gain farmers in England satisfactory compensation for pedigree cattle that they have been made to slaughter under TB regulations, on a TB test which is only 70% reliable.

I will finish by saying that after reading the Media on Friday and having a rant about why do we bother, by Saturday morning, when the sun was shinning and I was watching Philip feeding the ewes with lambs gambling about the edge of the fields I decided - yes we would carry on what a life we lead and what a wonderful opportunity we have to contributing to the worked, helping feed it's population, continuing to help tend the countryside and environment, and to educate all as to the worthiness of farming.

We wouldn't swop it for anything!

Our Old Dog Moss

2009-03-29T11:01:00.004Z

Farmers always seem to 'collect' dogs, and we certainly have an assortment. This is a picture of our old sheep dog Moss.He is in his 15th year, and I have had him since a puppy. Philip trained him when he was Two and a half and ever since then he has been with Philip a faithful companion. he has had some hard times having ate something poisonous several years ago and having to have a major operation, where he died on the table and they resuscitated him, and more recently, well only four weeks ago having a large growth removed from just behind his right ear. When he had had enough of being a sheepdog,(well he still sometimes liked to potter) he was fortunate enough to retire as a butchers dog! and sat on the doorstep of our butchers shop at Nantleach where Philip worked a lot of the time. After his operation he was demoted to Kitchen dog and spends all of his time again with me. he is totally deaf, but responds well to sign language however this sometimes means running up the road to get in front of him so he can actually see you!

Then there is Pip. Daughter of Moss and born on Philip's birthday hence the name Pip. a totally useless sheepdog. Oh she can do it but she clocks on and off, she will only work if she feels like it.

Lady our rescue Spaniel about 12. Very happy - aren't all Spaniels loves hunting and putting things up but is totally gun shy, much to Philips disappointment. But she is a happy dog her tail wagging all the time, is still frightened of any strangers, but just happy to be with any of us.

Saffy Layton, our lovable hound dog is back from the hunt season. and it's like she never left. She is just like a naughty child. After a visit from a consultant last week he started in his car up the hill, then half way up began to reverse back down. he got out and said to Philip " I think i have something of yours here" and in the back Saffy Layton had jumped in and was sitting in the middle back seat looking around as if to say Ok where are we going, this looks like a good adventure. If he hadn't looked in his rear view mirror she could have gone all the way to Builth Wells with him!

Then there is our new sheep dog Turk 2 1/2 and Philip is now training him seeing as Moss is retired, he very rough around the edge but a big dog and hopefully he will come on to be a good sheep dog.

So a menagerie of dogs but great fun and what makes country life all worth it - apart from the dog food bill at the end of the month!

Conference in Wales

2009-03-29T10:57:00.003Z

I have had a phone call asking me to speak at a conference in Aberystwyth on April 24th. This is a conference aimed at Women in Farming, organised by Farming Connect,and they hope I can be an 'inspirational speaker', also adding that no doubt I will speak off the cuff! ( I don't know what they mean......).
I can only say I will do my best

Kitchen Infirmary!

2009-03-29T10:51:00.002Z

This is Basil, who currently resides in my kitchen. One of a pair of twins, who appeared Ok with his mum and left the lambing sheds after 24 hours. Philip picked him up off the field on Thursday, cold wet and shivering, we didn't think he would make it. His breathing was very laboured, and he was wheezing. However he drank a bottle of milk as soon as he came in so he was a survivor. four days on he is still alive, after some antibiotics his breathing is a lot better, and he can now drink 1/2 pint of made up milk in one go, he is still unable to stand on his own, but he can turn himself over and we hold him up on his legs and he can then almost take his weight hopefully if he continues to gain strength he will be alright.

Finger crossed........

Sir Bryner Jones Award

2009-03-29T10:45:00.002Z

Sorry to say that we did not make it through to representing the county for this award. Our Colleagues Elan Valley Mutton will represent Powys.
The judges thought that their business met more of the criteria, specifically that they were producing and marketing Mutton, which they thought was a more specific commodity and quite new which meant discovering new ways of selling this product.
Well done to Tony and Angela

FACE - Farming and Countryside Education

2009-03-23T11:56:00.002Z

We have been used as a resource on FACE's website.

Go to the home page as directed above, then click on to RESOURCES on the green band across the top, then GO TO FARM PROFILES in the blue box on the left hand side, then on to UK FARM PROFILES in the blue box on the left hand side.

There is lots of information about us and about other farms in the Uk.

Welsh Black Cattle Society Beef Promotions Committee

2009-03-23T11:06:00.003Z

The Welsh Black Cattle Society Beef Promotions Committee will work to promote Welsh Black Beef produced from Pedigree Welsh Black herds. By doing this the general public will be able to buy welsh black beef with confidence knowing that its origin is truly from welsh black cattle.
The background is that many people have contacted the Society with their concerns regarding the selling of beef as Welsh Black beef!
The Society believes that these people are exploiting and undermining the good name and reputation that Welsh Black beef has reached in recent years.
Therefore in response to this matter the Welsh Black Cattle Society has set up a Beef Promotions Committee to address these concerns.
The Committee is made up of Society Council Members that are involved in marketing Welsh Black beef themselves i.e. Box scheme, Farm Shops, Butchers etc. These people are passionate about their product and believe that the system needs strengthening to ensure that what the general public believes is genuine Welsh Black beef is what they are purchasing.
It is to award premises such as farm shops, butchers, hotels, restaurants, box schemes etc that sell 100% Pedigree Welsh Black Beef from accredited Pedigree herds.
We feel this is a step in the right direction to weed out unscrupulous businesses that exploit our good name.
Premises who sell 100% Welsh Black beef will receive certificates to register their business. The Society would appreciate enquiries from businesses who abide by these criteria who sell 100% Welsh Black Beef produced from pedigree Welsh Black Cattle.
For further information please contact Dafydd James on 01982 551111

Dolithon Meats is pleased to announce we have been awarded with the very prestigious certificate which means that we sell 100% pure pedigree Welsh Black Beef.

Brilliant!

Sir Bryner Jones

2009-03-23T10:44:00.003Z

We are having a visit today form two of the committee form the Royal Welsh Agricultural Show to see if they will put us forward for Powys for the Sir Bryner Jones Award 2009. We are in selection process along with our farmers market colleagues Elan Valley Mutton Company, who produce mutton organically in the hills surrounding the Elan Valley in Rhayader (www.elanvalleymutton.co.uk)
This year the award will be for the farm which has diversified into selling their produce direct to the end consumer.
Fingers Crossed..............

Future of Farming Week - 16th - 21st March

2009-03-23T10:26:00.004Z

I went into Treffonen Primary school on Monday 2nd of March with an incubator in which we put 12 eggs, Black Rock x's which should hatch out on Monday 23rd.

The children were really eggs-ited! they got into groups of three and each group adopted an egg. they made a chart so everyone had a turn at turning the eggs three times a day until day 18 when they should be left alone.

This morning at 8.45am there were signs of one chick hatching out so i am now like an expectant parent waiting for a phone call.

The whole school has been talking about the eggs which will hatch into chicks, children, teachers, parents, NTA's there has been a real buzz. It really is so easy to take a little of your farming experience into the classroom, or get them out onto your farm, they care about their future which is in our hands - so feed the children with information - they love it.

Christmas Is Nearly Here

2008-12-15T12:39:00.002Z

I suppose we had to succumb to something soon, Myself and all three children are at home today with colds. It's a toss up as to who is the worst, i think it may be Jess, then me, Hannah and James. Phillip, who has just stated his busiest week in the butchers shop is still Ok and keeping his distance!, however true to form he will go down with everything next week went he adrenaline finishes and he's left flat.

One night last week at about 9.30pm I had a phone call from a gentleman who wanted to order some meat for the Oswestry Market. He'd had some last year and it was brilliant and he wanted the same again this year. I explains that we had given up doing Oswestry Market nearly 12 months ago. He was amazed, "Oh why did you do that your meat is so good". Perhaps if I hadn't been half asleep, or that I don't want to seem churlish I may have put him right by saying - well it doesn't pay the bills customers just coming once a year at Christmas for their meat we need sales all year around to be able to attend farmers market.

One customer this week left a curt message on the phone to cancel his order it was no way to run a business. He had placed an order on the Internet I had been ill so not in the office for some time, so we were unaware. he had phoned Philip, Philip had told him i would phone him in the morning, as soon as I got back from taking all three children to school, on the morning that the roads were covered with black ice so i was back at 10.30 ish instead of 9.30, I phoned him and left a message, then played back my messages to find his message already left cancelling his order. I phoned again apologised and explained what had happened, when i switched my e-mail on there was another message from him, which I answered in more detail explaining how the complications had arisen, to date I have heard nothing from him.

On the brighter note a customer phoned this week and asked for a sirloin joint, chatted about where the beef came from what we did, how it was raised and butchered and it was a pleasure to do business with him.

I think what it is important to get across is that we are not Tesco's or Safeway's or Aldi. If one of us is ill we do not have back up and jobs have to be prioritised, when placing orders with us its not a supermarket or big business you are placing orders with but a small family business who are doing the best they can, and satisfying 99% of all the people we deal with.

I am sorry to those few ( only 2) who feel we are not up to scratch.

Challenge of Rural Leadership Course 2008

2008-12-09T11:19:00.004Z

A photo of the course students on the last evening. 18 of the finest agricultural brains ( or so we like to think!!!!)

I have yet to look at the DVD which I have just received from the Duchy College which shows our media interviews, perhaps this is a cop out on my behalf, but it will certainly remind me of all the friends I made during the two weeks.

Going from right to left there is Matthew, Me, (front to back), Nick, Mathias, Anthony ( The Colonel) Tom, Oliver, DJ (David) Andrew, Mike, Clive, Julie, David, Dale, Tom, Dr Phil, Thammi and Paul.

Hope you're all still looking on from the Balcony...........

Worshipful Company of Farmers

2008-11-28T13:31:00.003Z

As always when Ii find something out about anything to do with agriculture I want to let you all know about it.

I had never even heard of this worshipful company, nor any of the other liveried companies in London and it's quite interesting.

THE WORSHIPFUL COMPANY OF FARMERS grew out of the Company of Agriculturalists (subsequently altered to the “Company of Farmers”) of the City of London which had been established on 23rd September 1946. In December 1946 Lord Courthope, a Past Prime Warden of the Goldsmiths’ Company, accepted an invitation to become Master of the new Company.
The initiative came from the the Chairman's Committee of the British Red Cross Agricultural Fund which had been set up during the Second World War and was known as the Duke of Gloucester's Red Cross and St John of Jerusalem Appeal Organisation. The purpose was to raise funds for the war effort. The whole of agriculture and ancillary trades were united by this appeal and over £8.5million had been raised when the Fund closed in 1946.
In February 1951, a Petition was presented to the Court of Alderman and on 22nd January 1952, the Court granted the Prayer of the Petition. The Company's Grant of Livery was fianlly approved on 10th June 1952 and formally presented to the Master by the Rt. Hon. the Lord Mayor at the Mansion House on 31st October 1952. A Grant of Charter of Incorporation was formally made by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on 29th July 1955.
The annual installation of the Master is held at the conclusion of the Company's Harvest Festival Service in October each year.

Challenge of Rural Leadership Course

2008-11-28T13:11:00.003Z

Unbelievably it will be two weeks tomorrow since I returned from my course in Devon. The farm is still here, the children still alive, and Philip, although ill for several days after I returned, has sustained very few life threatening ailments, meaning that it is alright for me to go away for two weeks on a regular basis.............!

It has been very hard, now I'm back, not to have come in like a bull in a china shop and tell everyone that we are all doing it wrong - after all we are fairly successful in what we have achieved so far, so softly softly.

The two weeks were wonderful and I would recommend that any one who is interested in going forward within the rural workplace should apply for a place on the course. Applications are taking place now and can be found at www.cornwall.ac.uk. The course fees may be subsidised in some way by the Worshipful Company of farmers, again all the information can be found at the website quoted previously.

The course is very hands on, and ours consisted of candidates from South Africa, Australia, Chech Republic, Scotland, Wales (Me) and England. There were people from many occupations, NFU Policy Makers, Solicitors, Land Agents, Agricultural Bank Managers, Tenant Farmers, Arable Farmers, Dairy Farmers, Organic Farmers, and Rural Lecturers. We took part in lectures from Jane king - Farmers Weekly, Prof. Keith Grint - leadership Expert, prof Fuller - gene technology. John Stones - Nuffield Scholarships, International farming, Organic Perspective form HRH Farms, Neil Parish- EU Agriculture, Col.Bryan Watters - Military Leadership, Media Relations, communication workshops and much more, finishing in a presentation dinner at the end of the course.

I would be happy to talk to anyone interested int eh course who may like to apply so for a personal overview give me a ring on 01597 851614 - well worth the two weeks away!!!!!!

Coleg Powys Pay Us A Visit

2008-11-28T13:00:00.002Z

A Beautiful crisp, frosty and icy morning.

Coleg Powys year three agricultural students have just paid us a visit, they are doing their unit on diversification.
This is now the fourth year that they and their tutor Nigel Barrat have been using us as a role model for a Farm diversification.

We started off in the cattle shed talking about how and when we started, and how we have much more control over our business as it is not totally dependent on live stock auction prices or abattoir prices, and how we have to be able to adjust our business to accommodate ever changing events, such as lamb prices up or down etc.

We then go to the butchers shop where Philip explains how we add value to Lambs and Cattle. This is the area which amazes them the most. Like many farmers they probably take their stock direct to abattoir or to livestock markets and the price they get for them dose not comp[are to the retail price. although I have to say that this year the lamb price has held up much better, possibly due to a smaller amount of lamb being available as more and more farmers leave the business every day.

Finally, after a coffee, we have a brief visit to my office, which amazingly for some of them is not a biscuit tin on the kitchen table but a nerve centre of the business (or so i like to think!).

After my recent course I hope I have inspired them as to how important it is to step back and have a good look at what you are doing take time to leave the dance floor and view everything from the balcony - go on give it a try........

Cawl Workshop at Treffonen School

2008-10-23T11:23:00.004Z

I went into class 4 on Tuesday 24th September as part of our

British Food Fortnight celebrations.

This is a little late in being posted, but I did promise the children that I would, I have just received a disc of the photo's taken by the teacher, Mr Williams, during the workshop, and they are fantastic. You can see from just these three images that the children are engrossed with their cookery 100%.

I had precooked a boned and rolled shoulder of lamb having shopped it into small pieces prior to putting it into a pan of water. The children then peeled and chopped parsnips, leeks, potatoes, carrots and swedes to add to the bubbling pot, whilst we went on to talk about our farm where the lamb came from and all the different cuts of Welsh Lamb that you can get and how you can cook them.

The finale of the workshop is of course where the children get to eat the Cawl that they have made, they all lined up like Oliver twists soup kitchen and true to form there was a few who came back and said "Please can I have some more"?

Anouther School Visit

2008-10-22T18:54:00.002Z

Today we have hosted a visit from Knighton primary school, years 5/6, and we had a really smashing day. the weather held out for us, actual sun shine for some of the time, and only a light shower when we were in the sheep shed in the wood, describing what it would be like during lambing time.
They arrived at 10am and left at 2pm and we never stopped and they thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it, even when two of them fell bottoms up in the mud going down a slippery field. (you both know who you are!!!)

We started off with a tour of the farm yard, including the various sheds we have, the machinery which is housed in them, and what it is like through winter with stock in them. We then visited the three orphan calves including Nemo (see an earlier blog), the children were all able to come into the pen, accompanied by me and stroke and feel Nemo, probably the closest they have ever been, or may well ever be to a calf of this size. they also saw the two little bulls (18 months old).

Two groups had turns in the butchers shop, watching sausage making demonstration, and looking at cuts of Welsh Lamb. they were most interested in the kidneys which were still intact in a full lamb carcass. They ate their dinner during this time sat on straw bales in the shed.

Two trailer rides took them to the top of the hill ready for our walk to Caergynant, our new farm in organic conversion. we had a mile and a half walk to get to the farm buildings over there, which most of the children were not looking forward to. however they relished walking through the mud over the stream, and racing up a steep hill over the quarry, through yet more mud and into the buildings , where Wyn, our Shepherd, was tailing ewes ready to go to the tup.

Minx, his terrier stole the moment, lying on her back for 29 children to pet her, I'm sure she would have stayed there all day if we'd had the time.

A walk down past Malcolm's garage to meet the bus which appeared on time, the perfect ending to the perfect day.

I have arranged to go over and do a welsh lamb Cawl workshop with them after I return from my course in mid November, and i am really looking forward to it.

it was lovely to spend time with such well behaved children and to share our world with them, i hope they are now much better informed as to what goes on on our farms in order to get food to the general public,and also of the costs ad work involved in doing so.

They have taken loads of photo's ad I hope to publish some of these when I receive them.

thanks knighton

National Welly Week ( 11 - 18th October 2008)

2008-09-10T14:30:00.003Z

An organisation which could be close to all of our hearts. the RABI dos not just support farmers but people in the farming community and that could be any one of us locals in years to come. We don't see much about these organisations but they are there with financial help when people really need them and usually able to make decisions very quickly and effectively, with many cases handled by sensitive volunteers

RABI helps people in the farming community who are suffering from illness, bereavement or crisis in their lives. For example, during the flood and FMD movement restrictions of 2007 we helped hundreds of working farmers and farming families in addition to our long-term beneficiaries.

Give it some welly!
Have fun and show your support for the farming community
What is welly week?
Welly Week is an exciting fundraising campaign for farming’s national charity, the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution.
Welly Week asks you to take part in any activity involving wearing wellies between Saturday 11th–Saturday 18th October 2008.
By using this opportunity to raise funds you are supporting people from the farming community who are experiencing hardship or distress through no fault of their own.
RABI NATIONAL WELLY WEEK -Get Involved!
Saturday 11th–Saturday 18th October 2008

We were helped as a family during the 2001 Foot & Mouth Crisis and now I feel I can help give something back, so I have decided to wear my wellies for a week and ask for sponsorship, I hope many more of you will be able to do something and have fun in your wellies, I will of course be approaching our local schools to organise some events.

End of the Summer Holidays

2008-09-10T13:41:00.002Z

Back into the office.......... it's a little bit like riding a bike, you don't forget, but it's hard work to get used to the routine again!

As I still have relatively young children, I tend to take what I laughingly refer to as a break through the summer period, when the children are off school. It always amazes me how I class myself as irreplaceable, but the business still manages to tick over (well I write the cheques out twice in that period, and obviously bank the money!) So I am now at the stage of easing myself back into it.
I have also not been very well for the past few months, the past two where I have known I am not well, previously just not felling well, but with no diagnosis I have carried on wandering why i have no energy, am tired and loosing weight, ... yes i know I am a farmer and these ailments go with the territory but there is a limit - and I reached it - so after a nice break here I am again.

Well I'll give you a quick overview of the summer we have had here in Wales on the farm........... Wet.
Yes it's all there in one word, and it's been the same for most farmers over Britain. Our cattle are discontentedly mooing all around the farm, they think it's time to come in, and time for us to be dropping a few straw bales on their fields so they can fill up on good dry stuff. However up until yesterday. we did not know if our supplier could provide us with the amount of straw which we would usually have and so we have been holding back on distributing what is left from last year, last night a relief phone call informed us that our supplier has our straw stacked in his shed- slightly discoloured, (which we assured him didn't matter), but ready for delivery. So our nightmares about how do we lamb with no straw, what will the cattle eat out now, how will we cope with our cattle in and no straw for bedding, how many cattle will we therefore have to sell - and so on and so on, anyway everything is now sorted!...........

Our organic conversion at Caergynant is going well, our harvest was as good as any ones was this year, apparently it will be next years which will tell. At the Royal Welsh Show, which by the way, was superb, I visited the 'Basic Slag' stand and in due course the bags for me to take soil samples in, arrived. (although it has been so wet ever since I received them that I have been unable to get said soil sample) Apparently it is best to apply basic slag to the fields in dry conditions and I feel that the appropriate time has not yet arrived.
All of our ewes are looking good, we have all of our Buleah Speckleds at Caergynant,- that way it's easier for the men to remember which is organic which is not!

We have put into place a Farm Health Plan aided by Liz from the local vets, we have decided to take our flocks in hand, and eradicate foot rot, so there has been months of extensive foot bathing, segregation, monitoring, marking, and culling, all of which we hope will pay dividends, especially when it comes to lambing in the spring. we have decided not to vaccinate against blue tongue, which is now available in our area, mainly due to the inadequate information there is a bout the long term effects of a vaccine which has not been tested over a nominal space of time. Amongst farmers and farming press their are accounts of high abortion rates in cattle and vets are advising not to give to ewes prior to tupping, or after tupping, and as it is a voluntary vaccination there will be no compensation if the effects of the vaccine are adverse. Another strain of blue tongue is sweeping across Europe currently and as the present vaccine doesn't cover this, will we need 2 vaccines next year? and at 56p per dose so £1.12 just to cover against blue tongue the sheep industry just can't afford the additional input costs, already suffering from minus profit margins.

The farmers Markets took a downturn in the early part of the summer, probably due more to the credit crunch scare mongering by the public press than to anything else, and has started to pick up again now.

Philip has a place on the All Wales steering group for farmers markets, and I am looking forward to taking part in the Challenge of rural leadership course in November.

As ever there is a huge list of things to do in front of us, looking for alternative accommodation for a farm shop, selling one of our properties Windy Ridge in Penybont, Arranging events for British Food Fortnight, Arranging an event for Wellie Week (see further blogs) helping the church with it's harvest festival supper, having our extension built (we hope!) setting up a community enterprise company to enable more school visits and accommodate them more effectively and help with transport costs, and repairing damage to one of our properties which the excessive rain has caused...........- Oh yes it's good to be back in the driving seat!

National Insect Week -23rd - 29th June 2008

2008-06-20T13:34:00.004Z

Never one to let an opportunity go to get children out onto the farm, up pops the first National Insect Week.

On Monday 23rd, I have The Nursery/Reception Class and Class 1 from Crossgates CP School, coming to the farm for the day. (approx 35 children), then on Monday 30th (we're only a day out!) I have class 2 coming out for the day. arriving at 10.00am both classes will have the opportunity to seek and find out about the different insects that can be found in different habitats;

A wild meadow lane

A cattle shed

A Pine wood

A river

A pond

We are providing them with a bar b q style lunch, drink and ice cream, which we hope made it more affordable for the parents to afford the £1 transport each child has to find to get a bus to deliver them just 4 miles up the road.

The cost of transport is the major factor in being able to get children out onto farms and with increasing cut backs and other drains on schools incomes, very often trips have to be funded by PTA's or parents.

Keeping our fingers crossed that the weather isn't too bad, although the weather forecast seems to be allowing fro showers, still it may change...

I'll let you know how it all goes.

Hooray ....We've Gone Clear of TB!

2008-06-14T05:46:00.002Z

Thursday's testing showed a clear result on all of our cattle to TB, including the bull, who last time showed as inconclusive.

We were able to put all the animals back out to pasture on Thursday afternoon, knowing we wouldn't have to test again for 6 months, by which time many will be housed again for the winter, which will make testing much more logistical than chasing 17 young heifers and bullocks around and round the fields in blistering heat.......

Several of our neighbours, who also went down with Tb for the first time, at the same time we did, have also gone clear. Which leads tot he question where did it come from?

We operate what is known as a closed herd. We breed our own replacement cows, and only buy in bulls once every 4 -5 years. When a bull, or indeed if any other animal was purchased into the herd it would undergo a pre-Tb movement test, so technically your Tb status should be preserved. Our cattle have tested negative to TB for years before our breakdown in Autumn this year, ........so where did it come from???????????

TB Testing again today

2008-06-09T11:01:00.002Z

With temperatures set to hit max. 26degrees today, I am sitting in the cool of my office catching up and remembering running around in the heat of the late afternoon yesterday getting the cattle in for TB testing.
Tb testing although a pain is much more easily structured in the housing months as obviously the cattle are, in the majority, mostly already in doors. It is just a matter of running them into a cattle crush, and then back into the shed again.
During the summer months they are all out on their grazing ground, so we have to get them into sheds the previous day ready to test them all and then get them all back in four days later to read the test.
Philip, Len & Colin were out yesterday after lunch sorting out the cattle sheds, moving gates etc and then they would begin to get the animals in. Then Philip hobbled in,( with Len & Colin in tow obviously looking for some tea!) he had been lifting and pushing the cattle crush and had felt something go twang in his calf muscle followed by tremendous pain. A couple of hours later, a trip to Llandrindod to the Docs, a torn muscle confirmed, rest, ice and feet up advised (as I had already suggested .... oh I am so wise!), and Philip is now sitting watching cricket moaning that he is bored, whilst Wyn, Len & Colin see to the TB test.
We can only keep our fingers crossed that we go clear this time. 6 weeks ago one of the Bulls read inconclusive, so hopefully this time we will be in the clear, because as he came from a TB free herd, and was tested free of TB pre-movement onto our farm, there is little chance of him having TB.

Will keep you up to date with the results.

And One Becomes Three

2008-05-07T13:48:00.003Z

Our orphan 'Nemo' has two friends with him now.

Nemo is the largest one closest to us, his mum, Lisa, went down after calving him, never got up and despite homeopathic treatment and conventional treatment by the vet she died just five days after having him.

The middle calf is one of twin calves. Her mum had twins last year, but didn't seem to do the two of them as well as she should have, so we have taken one of them off her this year and hopefully this one will do much better having calf milk and calf pellets than she would if we had left her on her mum with her butty. This calf will not go for breeding but will be raised for meat. Twin calves do not breed, there is something that alters in their genetic make up, which will be sad as we will get to know her very well as we are feeding her three times a day and the children get in and play with her etc.

'Oscar' is the calf lying the furthest away against the corner of the wall, his mum was quite old and several weeks after having him she got down and was finding it really difficult to get up, and was staying down for longer and longer. the vet decided she was very arthritic and rheumatic and so we had to have her put down, otherwise when she went out into the fields she may well have got stuck somewhere and died in a tragic way because she was too old to cope with normal cow life.

They will now feed from an automatic feeder which is like a long bucket with three boobs on it, this is where the calves can all suck at the same time. previously we were feeding them out of a bottle with a teat on. Well you could feed two at a time, but the third one kept trying to suck at anything ti could, ears, clothes, feet etc and then when you fed the third one the other two would be sucking away at you.........

It won't be long until they can go outside for the first time into the fresh air. I bet they'll run and jump around together.