Nuffield

Just to let you all know, I have just got back from Oswestry Farmers Market and opened a letter to find out I didn't get a scholarship again. I just must be bad at interviews I think. I can't tell you how dissapointed I am. But this is just to say thank you to all the poeple who have supported me, given me wishes of luck and encouraged me, and given me great references, it means a lot.
Thanks

Back From London

Just a quickie....... Back from the metropolis, nice to see Dan and meet his flat mate Pam. Very tiring two days, mostly travelling. can't think why all those people want to work in London, still they are high earners and keep the likes of us in employment, buying our meat etc. the tube is a fantastic experience. everyone gets on and immediately starts to read a paper or a book, no one talks to each other, no one looks at each other it is as if they are all clones, even Dan got on the train and got out his book .... and I was THERE!
My Nuffield interview did not go very well I feel. It was a totally different format to other years, no random questions, or up to date news questions, mostly on your subject and I just find mine so big, that I think I get bogged down, no not bogged down there is just so much of it, perhaps I'm just not very good in the interview but i know I've got it in me to do the job. Well I shall know soon, but I;m not hopeful, I was very disappointed with myself travelling home but what shall be, shall be.
More updates on Breakfast week tomorrow

Farmhouse Breakfast Week

We were up at the crack of dawn,(well it was still dark!) loading up the old Landrover with my microwave,( Philip had knocked the gas cylinder last night so all the gas had leaked out, had to leave the doors open for 1/2 hour so we all didn't die on the way to Crossgates School!), Lean Mean Fat Reducing Grilling Machine,- don't you just love that name? and all of the bits and pieces for cooking a farmhouse breakfast.

My youngest daughter Jessica, was very excited ( the one brandishing a plate and trussed up in a red apron), and had been looking forward to this for days, including asking me was I going to cook breakfast for them next year as well? ........lets get this one over first Jess.

We had a lovely selection, lamb & rosemary Sausages, welsh Black Beef Sausages and lamb & Cranberry Sausage, Bacon, Grilled Toms, Grilled Mushrooms and Scrambled Eggs, donated by Roger Abberley from Llanyre Free Range Chicken Sheds, Baked Beans and Bread & Butter (proper butter....)

All the children loved the sausages, and some even tried things they weren't sure about which I always think is good. The boys hung on to their plates, waiting for seconds, and the Headmistress Sue Meeke made a journey up especially for her cooked breakfast. Apparently all of the builders on site were asking what the lovely smell was, I should have taken a cash box and made a profit for the morning!, not like me to miss an opportunity....

Mrs Smith, the class teacher explained how Breakfast was made up of two words- Break and Fast, fast meaning to not eat for a period of time and break meaning to stop the fast, so during the night whilst you were sleeping you were indeed fasting, then you break the fast by having breakfast in the morning. we need to eat breakfast to give us energy to do all the things we need to do in the morning, including growing, especially if you are a young child. we went through all of the other breakfast things you could eat, which included, Cereals like Bran Flakes or Porridge, Toast, Fruit, Yogurt or Croissants.

The conversation, or shall I say debate, moved on and I was very impressed with the children's knowledge of current news regarding food issues. we discussed Free Range and what it meant, and they had some very good views and opinions on this, we discussed waste of food and the war years and obesity.

it has given me an idea to have a monthly, fortnightly weekly food debate during 1/2 hour at lunch time in the school to see if pupils want to enhance their knowledge of food and learn about the bigger picture concerning the food we all eat, what a fantastic opportunity to engage with the next generation in enthusiastic conversation about the food they eat and where it comes from, the children are interested and we should take every opportunity to encourage and nurture this.

Thanks for having me Crossagtes Class 3 & 4, and don;t forget to remind Mrs Smith that after Easter invite me and I'll come back and we'll make healthy sausages or beef burgers for you to eat at Lunch time, and many thanks to the two boys who did the washing up - well done to everyone.

Nuffield Farmining Scholarship

It's that time of year again.

Last year, when I went for my first interview for the Nuffield, I was inspired by Heather Gorringe, of Wiggly Wrigglers, to write my own Blog. Heather was successful in obtaining her scholarship, but unfortunately I fluffed my interview, was initially gutted, so I decided to try again, but I promised myself I would make the twelve months in between really count. And I think I have achieved that.

New year is mostly a time to reflect and with this anniversary of the blog I think now is appropriate.
We joined LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming)
I enrol ed in the first ever trial Welsh CEVAS (Countryside Educational Visits Accreditation Scheme) course, enabling us to take school visits onto the farm.
We were asked if FACE (Farm And Countryside Education) could use our farm as a portfolio on their site, which we agreed to. (http://www.face-online.org.uk/)
I finished my NVQ level 4 in management - adding Dip.RSA after my name.
We successfully opened as one of only 7 farms in wales on Open Farm Sunday June 10th and had over 200 visitors.
We made contact with our MP and have had several meetings with him where we have bought to his attention some of the problems in farming and remain in contact with him regularly.
We opened a local village Farmers Market, which had to close due to lack of continuity both from supplier and customers, but it gave us the idea of a Farm Shop.
We approached a farm on the main road and formed a partnership to open a Local farm Shop
We hosted our third visit from Coleg Powys Agricultural Students.
I made two visits to local schools with our cawl making workshop.
Both Philip & I had the confidence to apply to become Industry Board members of Hybu Cig Cymru -(even though both of us failed to get an interview)
I put FACE in touch with the YMCA College Cardiff to try and get funding to put on more CEVAS courses in Wales.
Hosted young farmes Clubs Visits to the Farm
Have been asked to do demonstrations and talks for local clubs i.e. the WI
We have taken every opportunity locally to get the media involved in anything we have done so lifting the profile of local food and farming.
We have helped Penoffa Pork to get going, processing their pork for them, so they can sell it on farmers markets and locally.
I met up with Powys County Council head of Catering and had several meetings talking about the procurement of local food for school lunches, he actually came out to the farm -

So all in all I have to thank the Nuffield for turning me down, because it gave me the energy to seek out all these things this year and grow in confidence within the industry - wow just think what actually getting a Nuffield would do for me? Well fingers crossed my interview is next Wednesday at precisely 10.3. I am going to stop the night before with my son Daniel....... never do just one thing if you can do two - that's my motto!!!!!

British Farmhouse Breakfast Week

20th - 26th January 2008
Farmhouse Breakfast Week is an annual campaign that emphasises the importance of eating a healthy breakfast every day. 'A Great Start' is the theme of this year's celebration to encourage everyone to wake up to a balanced breakfast as part of a healthy and active lifestyle. Nutritionists agree that a healthy breakfast is essential for starting the day. Breakfast provides 'A Great Start!' to the day, no matter what you have planned.

Always up for a challenge, and not one for missing an opportunity to get across to our younger generation the chance to taste local produce and talk about the benifits of eating properly and giving them the opportunity to cook, taste and make their own decisions I have arranged two Breakfast mornings.
The first will be on Monday morning at Crossagtes School with class 3 & 4. I will be cooking a variety of sausage, eggs, bacon and of course beans for the class to sample.
The second venue will be on Thursday Morning at treffonen Church in Wales School with Class 5,(not so long ago this class made Cawl with me- see previous blogs)

for pictures and an update on how these dates went tune in next week.

Our First lambs Have Arrived.......

The First 2 Lambs Of 2008

Yesterday was a lovely day, clear with sunny skies, and our Shepherd, Wyn, let us know that at 1pm the previous evening 2 lambs had arrived, the first of our 2008 lambs.

Spurred on by the change in weather after what seems to be days of rains, and minor floods all over our area, I took my camera and off I went to investigate.

Caergynant is the new farm we purchased nearly three years ago. This is where we do all of our early lambing. We have 200 early lambing ewes.

The ewes (mother sheep) are all indoors in a big, high ceiling shed. We usually leave the doors open as long as it isn't too blustery or snowing, because the more fresh air that moves about the better for the animals indoors. The walls of the shed are concrete bottom with slatted tops, again to ensure air circulation around the animals, as with them all being indoors virus' and bugs can soon begin to breed and infect the ewes if the air is stale.

It is lovely to walk in after lunch. the ewes have all been fed and are contentedly munching hay or silage from big round feeders which are in the middle of all the pens. At Caergynant, because we use the shed for different uses throughout the years we make the sheep pens out of huge oblong straw bales which we buy in at the end of summer, and the crafty ewes know that they can have a lovely munch on their pens if they fancy a change!

Also in the shed are 8 - 10 Welsh black bullocks about 18 months old, they were sitting in the sunshine which was streaming in through the slatted sides, and munching on hay, so all in all it was a very idyllic scene.

In the middle of the ewes is our blind ewe. A story which reminds us of the cruelty which can go on in nature. last summer Wyn was out checking the stock on the fields when he saw a ewe lying on her side not moving. he got to her and she wasn't very well, but whilst she lay poorly, crows had pecked out her one eye which was on her upturned side. Wyn tried to get her standing but she was too weak so he knew he would have to go and get the quad bike to take her back to the farm where he could nurse her back to health, he managed to get her lying in a different position, because when ewes lie on one side for a long time their bellies swell up with trapped gases and they can die from it, so this way he was relieving the pressure of the gas and enabling it to distribute normally through her body again. By the time he got back, just 10 minutes later, the crows, knowing her weakened condition, had pecked out her other eye............

Wyn nurtured her through the summer keeping her near to home and making sure she had water readily available, and we think she will be in lamb when we scan her in a few weeks time. She is very happy to sit with her friends and listen to them munching and she finds her way to water, and of course the lovely ewe cake which they are fed once a day.

In one of the back pens is a ewe who had to go to the vet on Sunday. She was trying to have her lambs and it was very obvious to our experienced Shepherd that the lamb was dead inside her. in this case we have to get the lamb out. the Shepherd was unable to pull the lamb out so we had to take her to the vet, who luckily managed to pull out the dead lamb and give her injections which would help any infection that having a dead lamb inside her would cause. She is looking very sharp and we hope she will make a full recovery.

On monday we are hosting aschool visit for the Welsh unit at Treffonen Church of wales School Llandrindod Wells, as Wyn first language is welsh we hope they will have a loveley afternoon

In Comes New Year with a Big Bang - The insurance is Due today!

Yes it must be just about the worst time of year to renew our insurance... although in hindsight there probably isn't a best time is there lets face it.
Faced with a renewal bill of £6555, it was pretty obvious that I was going to approach other companies for a quote. One local company in Knighton failed to respond at all to my e-mail asking for a quote, another local company regretfully informed me that although they would love to provide cover, the insurance organisation they dealt with refused to touch the butchery side of the business, and so I managed to get one quote from a Ludlow based firm which is looking very promising at the moment at £4575........ it is unbelievable that these can be quoting for the same cover don't you think?
Not having received our single farm payment yet, or our ESA payment, I have spent considerable time on the phone over the past few weeks trying to find out what was happening. Most Welsh Farmers were supposed to have their payments on December 1st, which is what happened to us last year, but not this.... after a week I phone The ministry of Agriculture in Llandrindod Wells to find out what was happening. I was put through to a HELP department, although i feel this may have been in appropriately named!
I asked when I would receive our payment and was told she wasn't sure. I asked what the problem was. I was told she wasn't sure. I asked to speak to someone who could help me as I would like a definite answer. She asked me to write in. I told her no I was on the phone and I would like someone to answer me now rather than me writing a letter which would take at least two weeks for someone to answer. She was unable to help. I asked about our ESA payment. This is the Environmentally Sensitive Area payment we get, not for free, but in return for agreeing to quite a large amount of criteria, which costs us money to comply with, such as paying a contractor to pleach or lay a certain amount of hedging each year, keeping ponds and certain wildlife areas free, not putting fertiliser down in certain places. She was unable to help so I asked to be put thought to the head of the ESA department.
Please note that in October I had phoned the ESA dept. and queried if our claim was all OK with no complications or problems and I had been told yes everything was fine. So you can probably imagine my frustration when I was told that the file had been taken away because of some queries. I complained, as you do when things are not going your way, that these claims had been in for 12 moths how come at the very last minute when the payment was due that a problem was found? I was even more astounded when I was told that if it was a query to do with the land and maps, and that three weeks before Christmas the mapping dept. had closed for refurbishment and currently had not re-opened - nearly 12 months!
Is it any wonder that we farmers pull our hair out sometimes, how can a ministry dept. function in this way?
Lets hope the new year changes a few things - or that we change a few things for ourselves..........