John Davies
John Davies
John Davies runs an upland
stock farm in mid-Wales. The
main holding at Pentre
comprises 145ha (360 acres)
of grass, with some short-
term grass lets being taken,
and hill rights extending to
97ha (240 acres). The farm
carries 101 suckler cows,
975 ewes, 230 Beulah
speckled face ewe lambs
and 35 Welsh Mule ewes.
SOME deadlines are flexible, some arent. Oct 1 was the latter of those – getting ready for the open day and conference focusing on the positive aspects and actions that can be taken by us as farmers and the industry as a whole.
Being a typical working farm, a few changes had to be made, in particular the sheep shed had to be cleared, with 400 seats and staging set up. Thank you to all the friends and neighbours who provided 12 tractors and trailers. They were there bright and early, and the only things we needed were punters and sunshine! Thank goodness, both arrived mid morning and the farm tours seemed to go smoothly.
The conference took place in the afternoon. One of the speakers in particular got some reaction to controversial views on the quality of what we produce and how we market it. He highlighted consumers developing taste for locally produced, quality food. With red meat prices as they are, there is little to lose and much to gain. Im desperately trying to think how to sell our produce for more than it costs to rear – maybe Ill use some of his ideas.
We bought 100 Beulah-speckled face ewe lambs from Llandovery market which averaged just over £58. The same day, we sold some old ewes with the first pen making £35. At the second Mule sale we were quite late in the draw, and averaged just under £63. Hopefully theyll be good value and their buyers will come back again.
The beautiful autumn weather has changed, and become wintry overnight with thunder, lightning and very heavy rain. The cows and calves are starting to make a mess and my thoughts of being modern and extending the grazing period New Zealand style are looking dodgy. We have more silage than normal this year, but rarely seem to have any left at the end of the year so I hope my nerve will hold.
With cattle prices as they are, do we take the view that the first loss is the best or do we keep them? I think well keep as many as we can. If we can find some cheap housing, it would ease the pressure.
Being a FAWL registered farm and with all the requirements in place, Assured British Meats need to get its house in order, and as farmers, we need to have the kite mark on our meat. With common standards of approval I see no problem with traceability and increased regionality offers marketing opportunities. So come on ABM, shape up, lets be proactive instead of reactive.n
John Davies runs an upland
stock farm in mid-Wales. The
main holding at Pentre
comprises 145ha (360 acres)
of grass, with some short-
term grass lets being taken,
and hill rights extending to
97ha (240 acres). The farm
carries 101 suckler cows,
975 ewes, 230 Beulah
speckled face ewe lambs
and 35 Welsh Mule ewes.