RUNNER-UPRESPONDS TOAHUGECHALLENGE
RUNNER-UPRESPONDS TOAHUGECHALLENGE
LAUNCHING a farming career is never easy. But a daunting task becomes near impossible during the worst farming recession in living memory and after the death of a close family relative, farming mentor and best friend.
James Ford, just 16 at the time, was acutely aware of the challenge. "Just as I was about to start my GCSEs, my grandfather suddenly passed away. That left an enormous hole in my life and the daunting prospect of having to rise above the loss of my grandfather and best friend in one go."
It was the way James responded to the challenge that led the judges to select him as runner-up in the NFU Young Farmer of the Year award sponsored by Tesco and farmers weekly.
About 18 months since the bereavement, James is beginning to look forward to a brighter future at the familys Tyny Caia Farm, Cowbridge, in the Vale of Glamorgan. The 68ha (170 acre) farm runs up to 240 breeding ewes and 80 beef cattle. James responsibilities include day-to-day running of the farm and buying and selling livestock.
Theres no substitute for skilled stockmanship, he maintains. "Regular individual checking of all the livestock for any problems is time consuming but vital to prevent unnecessary suffering to the animals or expensive veterinary bills."
One of the most difficult aspects has proved coping with the paperwork. "It takes up an awful lot of my time." But fortunately, help from mother makes the task more manageable.
Better grades
What makes it all worthwhile for James is seeing an improvement in the grades achieved by the farms cattle and sheep. "All cattle are reaching R4L and above, and nearly all prime lambs gain special premium grades for good quality meat and confirmation. That has been my own personal pat on the back."
Additional income is generated from contracting work such as hedge cutting. "Im always careful to plan contract work to fit around the daily operation of the farm. Although that makes for long days, it avoids compromising the efficient running of the home farm," explains James.
In future, James plans to keep cattle records on computer. "Putting all the paperwork, CID information including herd and cattle numbers is a vital part of developing a modern working farm." All the units produce is farm assured. James would like to grow more home-grown feed to finish stock but that will need the purchase of more land.
"I would like to increase the beef finishing aspect of the farm because this is where I see the best earning potential.
"But that would mean reducing the volume of ewes since time spent working with them is not cost effective. And the new proposals to individually tag every sheep is just another cost that farmers dont need."
Despite the hardships of modern farming, James remains committed to a future on the land. "My grandfather taught me all my life that if you want to make something work, you should try your hardest. Hopefully Ive proved that the policy works.
"Being only 18 years old, I have a long future ahead of me. Theres lots of things to learn and a lifetime of farming knowledge already learnt."
GIVINGYOUNGFARMERSAHELPINGHAND
"THE Presidents Awards mark the end of a difficult year for British farming. They provide an
opportunity to look to the future as the industry faces new challenges.
"No award could be more
significant than that of Young Farmer of the Year. It is
encouraging there were so many strong entrants, and I would like to congratulate not only James Coleman for his success, but also each of the regional winners.
"Tesco is sponsoring the award as a new generation of farmers is emerging. It is vital they are equipped to deal with a different industry.
"The key to their success will be understanding customer needs to develop a product customers want. Our success is built on understanding customer needs and we want to help farmers achieve the same. Many farmers have supplied us for many years. Keeping pace with the change in customer demand will continue to be the key to both successful producers and retailers in the future.
"We are opening regional offices to improve our range and
marketing of local products.
Regional lines
Tesco already stocks about 7000 regional lines from throughout the UK. This is part of our continuing support for UK farmers and a response to customers who want to support regional producers.
"Tesco has a long-term
partnership with British farming. We have already started to build this further through initiatives like the Harper Adams Masterclass which gives todays agricultural students, many of whom will be tomorrows farmers, a better understanding of retail and the food chain.
"I am impressed by the business that James Coleman, Young Farmer of the Year, has established and have no doubt he will continue to be successful in the future. Young farmers like James
represent the future of British
and show there are many
opportunities within the industry.
"At Tesco, we will continue our commitment to UK farming. Together we can continue to work hard to deliver new and better value products for customers and so create a more secure future for the industry."
Colin Smith
Commercial director,
Tesco, sponsor of the NFU Young Farmer of the Year Award.