[caption id="attachment_4036" align="aligncenter" width="300"] from left: FUW deputy president Glyn Roberts, Kath Shaw, Fran Shaw and FUW vice president Lorraine Howells with hand reared yearling Pickles[/caption]

Farmers' Union of Wales Brecon and Radnor county vice chairman Kath Shaw opened the doors to her deer farm near Builth Wells to showcase her herd of over 40 home-bred breeding hinds.

Kath, 37, was born and grew up near London and whilst she did not come from a farming background, she was always encouraged to be outside and nurtured a healthy obsession with horses until the age of 16.

After gaining an A-level at the local comprehensive school, she realised she wasn't academic enough to be a vet and applied to Myerscough College (formerly the Lancashire College of Agriculture and Horticulture) where she completed an HND in Agriculture.

As part of the course, she gained a placement with ADAS on their experimental deer farm in Herefordshire.

After finishing her HND she went to Sparsholt College in Hampshire to complete an ANC in Deer Management. As part of that course she worked part-time on a deer farm in the New Forest.

After time spent working in orchards Kath was offered a job as deer herdsperson on the JCB Estates in Staffordshire.

But in the autumn of 2004 Kath and her parents Fran and Kingsley Shaw, who were looking for a retirement project, bought Blaenhow farm, Llandeilo Graban. A field was quickly fenced and the first 12 hinds were introduced soon afterwards.

Sadly, Kath's father was killed in a car accident the following spring after completing the conversion of existing buildings to suitable winter accommodation for the deer.

The herd has now grown to 45 home-bred breeding hinds and two breeding stags, run in two groups, and Kath shares her farming duties with a job as administrative assistant at the FUW's Brecon and Radnor county office on the Royal Welsh Showground at Llanelwedd .

While working for the Salmonella Research and Development Department of the Veterinary Laboratories Agency in Weybridge, Surrey, Kath realised she wanted to farm deer more than anything and is hoping to further develop the business.

She said: "We now have about 75 acres fenced for deer, along with a purpose-built shed for winter accommodation, and have planning for a similar shed to be built this autumn.

"In the future I would like to expand the deer herd slightly by buying in other bloodlines and also expand into store lambs to manage the grass more effectively."

All the venison animals are sold live to the Welsh Venison Centre in Bwlch and slaughtered in Talgarth. The meat is then distributed to local pubs, restaurants and shops or sold through the Welsh Venison Centre farm shop.

FUW deputy president Glyn Roberts was impressed to see the work carried out by Kath when he visited the farm. He said: "It is very commendable to see a young woman achieve such a great deal in the farming world.

"It was a wonderful experience to visit the deer farm and I wish Kath all the best in the future."

The Farmers' Union of Wales today revealed details of its revamped annual student bursary following a review by its agricultural education and training committee.

From this year the FUW will be offering two bursary categories - one for higher education students and one for further education students.  There will also be two awards in each category with £1,000 awarded to each winner and £500 to each runner-up.

A number of significant amendments have been made to the bursaries, such as the inclusion of a farm management option for higher education applications and a more practical approach for further education applicants.

As part of the review, the union has amended the timing of applications and the application process.  The higher education bursary will follow a similar application process to previous years, with applications being submitted between September and October, but further education students will now be asked to submit their entries from December onwards.

FUW agricultural education and training committee chairman Alun Edwards, who is keen to attract more applications from further education students, said: “Applications for the further education bursary will now open in November, which will give students a longer period of time to settle into their studies, and will be orientated towards the practical nature of the courses being studied.

“We have now also included a farm management element for higher education applicants to give them an option to showcase their understanding of running a business and to demonstrate their understanding of how a farm business can be managed.

“By splitting the bursary into two categories, we hope to attract a greater number of applications and we look forward to receiving this year’s entries.”

The Farmers’ Union of Wales is inviting nominations for this year’s FUW-HSBC Outstanding Service to the Welsh Dairy Industry award.

The winner will be announced, and the presentation made, at this year’s Welsh Dairy Show in Carmarthen on Tuesday, October 16.

Past winners have included former FUW Carmarthenshire county president Ogwyn Evans (in 2008), Carmarthenshire farmer Bryan Thomas - a past member of the Holstein Friesian Society council and founder member of the Welsh Dairy Show (2009) - Flintshire dairy farmer Terrig Morgan - who established a successful discussion group "The Udder Group" in Flintshire for younger milk producers which is now run by Dairy Co (2010) - and DairyCo chairman Tim Bennett (2011).

FUW Carmarthenshire county executive officer Meinir Bartlett said: “There are a number of other very worthy individuals in Wales who also deserve this award.

“Nominations should be in the form of a letter or citation giving full details of the work and achievements of the nominee.

“We have in the past had some very worthy nominations and winners and we look forward to receiving this year’s nominations.”

Nominations need to be sent to the FUW Carmarthenshire county office 13a Barn Road, Carmarthen, SA31 1DD by the Wednesday, October 3 closing date.

The Farmers’ Union of Wales is seeking nominations for this year’s FUW-United Counties Agriculture and Hunters Society Award which is presented to the person judged to have made the most outstanding contribution to agriculture in Carmarthenshire during the past few years.

The judges will include representatives from the FUW, HSBC Bank plc, and the United Counties Agricultural and Hunters Society.

FUW Carmarthenshire county executive officer Meinir Bartlett said: “The nomination should be in the form of a letter or citation giving full details of the work and achievement of the nominee with great emphasis on the positive or beneficial effect on agriculture in Carmarthenshire.”

The award will be presented at a dinner to celebrate the 23rd Welsh Dairy Show to be held at The Boars Head, Carmarthen, on Friday October 26.

The closing date for nominations is Wednesday October 3.

For further information contact Meinir Bartlett at 13a Barn Road, Carmarthen, SA31 1DD or by telephone on 01267 237974.

The launch of the dairy code of practice at the Livestock 2012 event in Birmingham was welcomed by the Farmers’ Union of Wales today.

The FUW has consistently reiterated publicly and to MPs the importance of eliminating unfair contracts and the need to establish more balanced terms and conditions in producer/processor contracts.

This included FUW support for the Milk Contracts Early Day Motion in Parliament in March 2012 put forward by Carmarthen East and Dinefwr MP Jonathan Edwards.

More recently, the union also threw its weight behind the concept of a UK Dairy Farmers’ Together umbrella group which will allow collaboration and communication between producer groups.

Following the launch of the code of practice, FUW milk and dairy produce committee chairman Dei Davies said: “We are generally pleased with the finalised code of practice and will now seek to ensure that this code is backed up with proper policing, monitoring and evaluation.

“Farmers should have a fair balance of power with their milk purchasers and contracts should be formed in such a way that milk prices will not be dropped without sufficient advance notice.

“Elements of the code, such as shorter termination periods, the abolition of retrospective price adjustments and the inclusion of a market-based pricing formula will aid in shifting the balance of power back in the direction of the producer.

“We are now prepared to give the code of practice a chance to work for farmers in Wales.

“However, we know that Welsh government officials have already begun working on draft legislation for dairy contracts in Wales.  If the new voluntary code of conduct fails then the FUW will be looking closer at the benefits of legislation.”

Union officials recently met with Mr Edwards at the union’s Carmarthenshire office branch and further discussed the mechanisms by which the code of practice could be monitored and how contract legislation could be implemented in Wales if necessary.

Mr Davies, a dairy farmer in Holywell, added: "In the long term it is essential for all those involved in the supply chain to work together to ensure stability within the industry.

"The forming of Producer Organisations, adoption of a Code of Conduct and the development of acceptable contracts all have an important role to play in doing this.”

[caption id="attachment_4074" align="aligncenter" width="300"] FUW land use and parliamentary committee chairman Gavin Williams[/caption]

Farmers’ Union of Wales’ land use and parliamentary committee chairman Gavin Williams today urged farmers to consider their on-farm rat control measures.

Highlighting the work of the Campaign for Responsible Rodenticide Use (CRRU), the FUW advised farmers to evaluate their rodenticide use before livestock housing and where feed stores are already full with high value grain and forage.

“We urge farmers to be on the lookout for an early influx of rats caused by recent heavy rain and follow the instructions on the rodenticides to ensure a best-practice and effective approach,” said Mr Williams.

CRRU recommend the development of a site map on which all bait points are marked. This is important for monitoring treatments and helps demonstrate good practice.

“It is important to use sufficient baiting points and also ensure that bait is removed at the end of treatment,” added Mr Williams.

The Health and Safety Executive are currently consulting on the use of anticoagulant rodenticides and it is vital to ensure that these chemicals remain available to the industry through the adoption of best practise techniques.

The CRRU have developed a code of practice which advises farmers to:

• Use a planned approach, keeping a record of actions, locations and dates.
• Use enough baiting points and mark each one on a site plan.
• Record quantity of bait at each location, including top ups.
• Collect and dispose of rodent bodies regularly.
• Ensure bait is not accessible to non-target species (including pets and children).
• Inspect every bait location regularly and replenish accordingly.
• Remove all bait from every location at the end of the treatment period.

More details of the seven-point CRRU code of practice are listed on the CRRU website (www.thinkwildlife.org.uk)