A fresh pot of tea and a spread of welsh cakes and Bara Brith welcomed Chris Elmore to Gellifeddgaer Farm just outside of Blackmill. Top of the agenda for the meeting was to discuss the extent of damage to the common caused by 4 x 4 vehicles for social enjoyment.
Charles and Gill Morgan along with their son Richard run the hill farm Gellifeddgaer which sits 700-900 ft above sea level. The farm runs 750 Welsh mountain cross easycare ewes which lamb in the middle march in an outdoor lambing system. The family buy Limousin x Hereford x Friesian weaned calves and sell them at about 16-18 months or keep the heifers and calf them while the ewes graze Coity Walia Common throughout the year.
The Morgan family were joined by other neighbouring graziers on the common-Phil Thomas, Jonathan Jones (who is also Chairman of the Graziers Association) and the secretary from the Mynydd Y Gaer Grazier’s Association Huw Griffiths and his daughter Gemma Haines.
Huw Griffiths expressed his concerns saying:
“This is an ongoing problem with numbers plates and vehicle details being sent to the police but we are all concerned as no action is taken for the damage the 4 x 4 vehicles are doing.
Phil Thomas went on to say:
“Whenever I come up here I'm always picking up plastic bottles, glass bottles, beer cans and no end of broken tow ropes, just left lying around. It's dangerous for the cattle which graze on the common as they could very easily ingest some of the rope and plastic.” Phil also added:
“We have also found sheep cast on their backs stuck in the ruts made by the vehicles. It gets to the point where we wonder what we’re going to find when we come up here.”
Richard Morgan explained:
“This is damage which has been caused this year alone”, dipping his shepherd's crook in the muddy water and over half of it disappearing into the deep trench.
“In the winter months the damaged peaty soil is washed off the common especially with the wetter winters we are having. The damage to the common shows a lack of respect for the livestock and the farmers who look after the land. Our members are trusted guardians of this landscape which in all weathers is demanding to both body and mind. To be faced with continued damage to the common is both frightening and upsetting, not only is it a loss of grazing but it is also a loss of habitat.”
Jonathan expressed his concerns, saying:
“We have less graziers on the common these days due to farmers having to get second jobs to support the farms income. We still need to protect and conserve our hills and commons. They play a vital part in our environment and bringing visitors into the area which helps our rural economy.”
Huw Griffiths agreed saying:
“It’s important we work with the land owner, the Rights of Ways officers and the FUW County team to help protect the landscape and prevent irrevocable damage to the common.”
County Executive Officer Sharon Pritchard added:
“Our members do their utmost to protect the environment every day. To have people purposely set out to damage the common is soul-destroying and gives rise to huge concerns about animal welfare. Consideration needs to be given to the livestock who graze these commons, the habitat it surrounds and the farmers who look after them.”