HELPING INMATES MOO-VE INTO WORK
APRISON in Wales is home to a working farm where inmates milk cows. HMP Prescoed is the UK’s last remaining prison dairy farm where prisoners have the opportunity to work in the hope it will boost their chances of employment on release and cut reoffending.
Cilwrgi Farm has been owned by the prison since 1939 and it currently has a herd of 120 pedigree holstein cattle that supplies milk to Tesco.
HMP Prescoed is a men’s open prison and young offender institution in Coedy-Paen. Open prisons house category D offenders, such as individuals convicted of minor drug offences or nonviolent crimes without extensive criminal histories.
Carmello, a prisoner at the site, said working on the farm has helped him.
He said: “I’ve always been a hyper person, so coming up here has calmed me down because you have to be calm around these animals.”
He added: “Working on this farm has made me want to work in the outside world, maybe when I get released, get a job working on a farm.”
The prison farm has recently benefited from new technology. Prisoners will receive training on how to use the new state of the art robotic milking machines, which effectively teaches cows to milk themselves, in the hope it will bag them a job on the outside.
The new machines have been installed to comply with new legislation in Wales. They work by allowing cows to visit one of two milking robots as often as they feel they need to.
The Ministry of Justice said it is hoped that prisoners being trained to service and maintain the machines will fill staffing gaps at farms upon release.
HMP Prescoed landbased activities manager Richard Gough said: “We see a wide range of prisoners who come through the gate at HMP Prescoed, the majority of which have never even set foot on a working farm before or in many cases had a regular job. We spend the time we have with them helping them learn new skills and gain new experiences such as working with animals, working outdoors, using farm machinery, utilising the newest and latest technology, and developing them into team players.
“The prisoners are very much part of the team at Cilwrgi Farm and share in our experiences. If we can show them that they can achieve all these things in the time they are with us and prepare them for the routine of working in a regular job having obtained a formal qualification, the risks of re-offending is greatly reduced.”
National Farmers Union Cymru deputy president Abi Reader said: “As a dairy farmer myself I was really interested to hear of how prisoners at HMP Prescoed were being given an opportunity like this to learn about dairy production and to acquire practical skills including animal husbandry.
“For many of them I am sure these will be new skills which they did not have before, and by gaining these indemand skills now, I am sure it will open up numerous opportunities for them in future.”