Children are back to school today....

The end of our Summer Holidays, the children have gone back today. Unfortunately we have received rainy weather similar to that of last years, and in some farmers opinions worse than last year. Our harvest was much alter in coming in, and we still have one filed left at Caergynant which we would like for hay, but at this rate we will have to let sheep graze it.

Summer has been full of events. Our tenants and very good friends left Brynllefrith to move to the local village, and we had to find new tenants - what a job, hopefully not again for a long time. Dave and Julie with their family will be moving from Southampton to take up residence and think this part of the world, and in particular Brynllefrith are wonderful.

We helped my Mum move house into the village., and she is settling in nicely.

We had a big family reunion - on my mums side and forty of us were here for the weekend, camping, caravaning, camper vans and sleeping in the house. We had a hog roast on Saturday evening, and a big roast, new pots and salads on Sunday. Old acquaintances were renewed and new ones made for the younger members of the family. It was very successful and we hope to repeat the process next year.

My son Daniel has given in his notice in London and will be moving to Paris to live and work, and I hope this works out for him, as life is too short to be working and not enjoying life, and I have always said it's being happy in life which counts the most.

I have a meeting this afternoon regarding secondary school food and farming education which is very exciting, so far I have only been able to access primary school classes but this means we could be helping older children understand how our food and farming systems work and are so important.

I will keep you posted.

by the way the two chickens which we hatched at Treffonnen school, and now live with us have produced their first egg, a full life cycle has been completed that's worth talking about.....

Beautiful Rural Property Long Term Let

We have a 4 bedroom house on a long term let. 1 months deposit required and 1 months rent in advance with references. Large detatched 4 bedroom house in beautiful rural location.

Comprises large utility room, large kitchen / dinning room, large entrance hall, porch, large licing room, 3 double bedrooms, and one single bedroom, large bathroom / shower.

Huge gardens with stream running through. Large shed, with electricity, glazing insulation etc. Beautiful views across stunning valley.

Interior heated by calor gas central heating, soid fuel rayburn in dinning room, and wood burner in living room. water supply form own bore hole, and sewage in own tank.

House is fully double glazed and in good repair.

£550 per calendar month available immediatley phone 01597 851614 to arrange viewing.

Shearing Time - Again

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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.