Perfect weather for the show
LAST weekend saw the first Saturday in September which is traditionally the day of the Llandysul & District Agricultural Show.
This was the first show since the Covid-19 lockdown and there was some doubt about whether people would return to the event after such a long break. But the weather was perfect for most of the day and there was a very good turnout of visitors to the show, so much so that future of the show is assured for next year. I guess people were just pleased to be able to pick up where they left off a few years ago.
As a family we did our usual thing of entering various classes in the domestic, handicrafts and horticultural classes showing baking, preserves, flowers, wood-turning. The grandchildren entered items they had made for the children’s sections. We all came home with some prize cards which is always fun. It is so important that as many people as possible support these local shows as they are a vital part of what keeps communities together and we were very pleased to see our local MP Jonathon Edwards attending the show and it was good to have an opportunity to talk with him.
As well as the cattle, sheep and dogs being shown there was a collection of vintage tractors and cars paraded around the main ring and our local hunt, the Vale of Clettwr, came with their pack of hounds who always prove great favourites with the children. A huge thank you must go to the organisers who worked so hard to make it such a successful day.
One of the current ‘buzz’ words in farming is ‘regenerative farming’, often abbreviated to just ‘regen’ by its adherents. What does it mean and what does it entail?
Therein lies the problem . . . as a methodology it has no rules or guidelines unlike organic or biodynamic farming methods and there is no auditing. Organic and biodynamic farmers have their farms carefully scrutinised on a yearly basis. Essentially regen is an approach that encourages innovation in environmental and socio-economic aspects of farming. All admirable sentiments and giving good green-washing credentials, but as the vice-president of the National Farmers Union, David Exwood put it as: “Regenerative farming can mean different things to different people.” Which is so vague as to render the concept redundant. Farmers have been ploughing the land ever since the dawn of agriculture and, one could say, with a considerable level of success in food production.
Regenerative farming turns this on its head and advocates not ploughing because they say it destroys soil structure, worm counts and fungal pathways. Instead of ploughing it is recommended that fields are sprayed especially with glyphosate. A slight problem with this approach is that many European countries are introducing a ban on the use of glyphosates, quite rightly too since it reduces worm body mass, worm activity and reproductive capacity. One wonders what else is affected by this product? Any root crops will by necessity require the land to be ploughed so how are we to have regeneratively grown potatoes, carrots etc? I am writing this as we are on the eve of ploughing 20-plus acres to create a new ley to enhance productivity without the use of any toxic chemical products.
Sewage in our rivers and on our beaches is not exactly good news, but it does take the spotlight away from the usual scapegoat in matters of water pollution, we farmers, and focuses attention on the actions of the water companies.
The most damning part of the scandal, apart from the excessively high salaries of the company directors and huge payouts to shareholders, is that dumping raw sewage into the waterways is totally legal as recently confirmed by the debate in Parliament and voted in by our MPS.
I am pleased to say, however, that our MP, Mr Edwards, voted against the motion . . . . no pun intended! Using the Freedom of Information Act I can report that our local sewage treatment plant spilled raw sewage 289 times, totalling 3,010 hours into 2021. This is just one plant, think of this happening at the various other plants along the river Teifi and it would seem on almost every other river in the country.
After a good summer we are now heading into autumn and the children are back to school.
On the farm we are well into our calving season and third cut silage is now in the clamp though if the weather continues reasonably fine we may get another cut in few weeks time.
The farming cycle continues.
LAST month, I used this column to urge cattle keepers in Wales to respond to the Welsh Government’s consultation on a legislative approach to Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) in Wales. Members from the FUW’S policy team travelled virtually around Wales to provide information on the proposed legislation and to gather members’ views on the way forward.
The feedback we received demonstrated that BVD remains a problem for the farming industry and that eradication is essential to improve the health and welfare of cattle. According to Gwaredu BVD, infection with BVD virus costs the Welsh cattle sector around five million pounds per year through lost productivity. Despite significant in-roads in tackling this disease, BVD levels remain stubbornly high; with around 28% of Welsh cattle herds infected.
The current level of BVD in Wales represents a significant threat to both infected and uninfected herds. It is therefore unsurprising that the majority of responses we received supported the protectionist approach.
Several European countries have already engaged in successful BVD control programmes through the genesis of a legislative approach. Indeed, Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark have now effectively eradicated BVD whilst countries such as Austria and Switzerland have also established successful eradication programmes. Furthermore, Scotland, Ireland and Northern Ireland have had various forms of BVD legislation in place for many years and Wales has lagged behind in this regard. The control of BVD is essential to protect the status of the Welsh cattle industry as a world leader in livestock health and welfare.
Whilst the FUW works for favourable resolutions to those areas requiring further clarity, I would use this opportunity to urge those that have not already engaged in Gwared BVD to do so before the programme ends In December this year.