We've been at it again - this time we caught up Michael from Newtown. Just in case you missed the article in the December edition of Y Tir, you can also have a snoop with us here:

Who is Michael?

Michael Davies, 27, and his fiancé, Emma Baker, 23, started their farming career four years ago by taking up their first tenancy at Caerafon farm, a Powys council owned 71 acre holding in Caersws near Newtown.  Alongside this the couple rent an additional 53 acres privately, taking their farmed land up to 123 acres. Both, Michael and Emma, are first time farmers with neither of them coming from farming parents.

Michael attended Coleg Powys agriculture department in Newtown after finishing high school alongside working on various farms until gaining the tenancy of Caerafon in 2013.

On farm Michael keeps 320 ewes, 40 ewe lambs and 4 suckeler cows. The sheep comprise of 200 Welsh Mule and Texel cross February lambing ewes. These are mated with blue Texel rams to produce quality early season lambs.  Michael also keeps 20 pedigree blue Texel ewes and 100 improved Welsh ewes, which are mated with the blue faced Leicester to produce Welsh mule ewe lambs to sell in the Welshpool society sale and also replacements for his own mule flock.

The cattle are pure Limousin and British blue cross Limousin which are artificially inseminated by Limousin bulls to produce a high value calf.

What's happening on farm?

I spend about 50 percent of my time working for local farms and contractors, with the remainder being spent on my holding. Emma works full time as a teaching assistant in a local school and helps out on the farm when needed.

As the weather has taken a turn for the worse, this week I have been getting the sheds ready to house the cattle and lowland ewes after scanning in early December.

Final touches are being applied to our lambs that will be heading to the Royal Welsh Winter Fair, so fingers crossed for a successful show! I have started the Christmas lambing ewes with high energy blocks and they will be fed nuts from next week; these are our broken mouth ewes that we lamb early in order to sell the ewes as culls and prime lambs at Easter for hopefully a premium price!

As far as the rest of the sheep are concerned the ram lambs have been pulled out from the ewes to allow them a well-earned break, with the older rams left in and mixed up to clear up the stragglers. This year we used teasers on both flocks with amazing success with over 85 percent of ewes marked in the first 14 days - let’s hope the weather is on our side come the spring!

Hopefully this will compact our lambing in order to reduce labor and make worming and lamb health management easier, as lambs will be all of a similar age.

Off the home farm, I have recently started working on a dairy farm and have learned to milk which I’m finding very interesting. I also attend Llidiartywaen Young Farmers club, where I am chairman. Unfortunately I’m in my last year but would highly recommend joining the YFC to anyone as it has defiantly opened up a lot of windows for me and helped me to get to where I am today.

What challenges lie ahead?

The biggest challenges I think young farmers face today is being able to access land, most of which is snapped up by larger farms at a high rent which out-prices someone wanting to get get started in farming. Trying to maintain a steady cash flow is extremely hard when you are expanding or starting off and don’t have any of last year’s profit to use. The massive cost of buying machinery (luckily I have some very good neighbors and friends that lend me most of the equipment I need) can also be a worry.

And what about the future?

In the future I would like to increase my livestock numbers and find ways to increase productivity that suite my farm, whilst keeping costs at a reasonable level. I would like to earn a living without having to work off the holding and then hopefully one day buy some land.

My thoughts about our industry at present are positive and I hope that our farming Unions, Agricultural Ministers and Government can secure us fair trade deals and opportunities for growth in exports with the rest of the world, post Brexit.

I also think that we need to promote and sell more of our products to the home market, therefore having better food security and not relying so heavily on food imports.

[caption id="attachment_7375" align="alignleft" width="300"] FUW member Steve Smith administering a shock to Little Annie as part of the first aid training[/caption]

Farmers in Montgomeryshire were concerned about their lack of knowledge of basic first aid and using a Defibrillator following a tragic incident at their local mart.

To increase their confidence and knowledge on how to deal with a cardiac arrest, the Montgomeryshire branch of the Farmers’ Union of Wales invited Paramedic and Welshpool First Responder, Ianto Guy, to their recent County Executive Meeting for a First Aid seminar.

During the seminar Mr Guy emphasised the importance of basic first aid knowledge, particularly for farmers, and discussed with members what to do if faced with someone suffering a cardiac arrest.

He provided a practical demonstration using a Resuscitation Annie and showed farmers two different types of defibrillator, explaining how they work and how to use them.

[caption id="attachment_7376" align="alignright" width="300"] Ianto Guy helps FUW Montgomeryshire County Chairman Mark Williams and FUW member Alwyn Watkins with their first aid skills[/caption]

Emyr Wyn Davies, the FUW’s Montgomeryshire County Executive Officer said: “I would like to thank Mr Guy for the free seminar, which our members found very useful. It was great to have some ‘hands on’ training and we all had a go at using a defibrillator and practised chest compressions. Ianto also modelled how to perform rescue breaths.

“Thanks to the practice we have had, we all feel more confident now in providing the very first aid if someone is suffering from cardiac arrest.”

Farmers were also made aware of where Defibrillators are located in their local communities.

As a thank you to Mr Guy, the Montgomeryshire branch of the FUW donated £100 to Welshpool First Responders.

[caption id="attachment_7358" align="alignleft" width="300"] The FUW’s Montgomeryshire team look forward to seeing you soon![/caption]

Farmers in Montgomeryshire will be pleased to hear that their local FUW office now has a new home and is open for business!

The modern new premises are located at Unit 2, St. Giles Business Park, which is located on the Pool Road, Newtown. The new office is disabled access friendly and offers free parking as well.

From their local office in Newtown, the FUW provides:

• specialist advice to members on agricultural matters,
• consults and communicates with members at local level and across Wales,
• comments on and helps to formulate policies in relation to Farming Matters,
• works with other organisations for the common good of rural Wales,
• has established permanent and regular Committees covering all the issues of importance to Welsh farmers
• provides independent access to decision makers in the National Assembly, Westminster and European Union.

For all your farming queries you can speak to Emyr Wyn Davies – County Executive officer, Alison Jones – Administrative Assistant or Lynne Baker - Administrative Assistant by calling the office on 01686 626889.

If you have any insurance queries our friendly Insurance staff are here to help you as well. So why not drop in to speak to Sophie Rees - Administrative Assistant, Nia Wyn Evans – Account Executive (South Montgomeryshire) or Kay Williams - Account Executive (North Montgomeryshire).

Our membership represents the broad spectrum of agricultural activities in Wales and covers a wide range of sectors including sheep, beef, dairy, pigs, arable and those producers covering other activities such as the tourism sector and renewable energies.

Emyr Wyn Davies, the FUW’s Montgomeryshire County Executive Officer is excited to welcome current and potential new members to the new premises: “We look forward to welcoming our current members and of course any potential new members to the new premises. The opening of our new office is a new chapter in the county and we look forward to continue in providing valuable services to the farming community.”

The FUW is a democratic organisation and has 11 standing committees, including Animal Health and Welfare, Milk and Dairy Produce, Livestock, Education and Training, Diversification and the Younger Voice for Farming Committee, with democratically elected farmer representatives covering the Union’s 12 county branches in Wales.

‘Farming Matters’ is the key slogan of the FUW, as we realise that farming matters in so many ways that are seldom realised - not only do farms produce food but they are also a cornerstone of our rural economies.

“We know that family farms in particular are at the heart of our rural economy, caring for our landscape, and of course our culture, and they make innumerable other contributions to the well-being of Wales and the UK. I am delighted to be the point of contact here in Montgomeryshire and hope to see many of you drop into the new office for a chat about #FarmingMatters over a nice cuppa,” added Emyr Wyn Davies.

The Farming Community Network are looking for a new Regional Director for Wales - if you know someone who fits the bill, give them a shout.

Following the retirement of the previous incumbent, FCN is seeking a new Regional Director for Wales.

FCN (The Farming Community Network) is a national, multi-denominational Christian charity providing practical and pastoral support to farming families facing difficulties in the farm business or in the home, which are causing them stress and anxiety. Available across England and Wales, FCN operates telephone and e-mail Helplines between the hours of 7am and 11pm every day of the year. Callers can then be referred on to one of around 400 Volunteers working in 33 groups across England and Wales. The Volunteers walk alongside farming families for as long as they are needed. The service is free of charge and is completely confidential.

Volunteers are supported by a national staff team which ensures that FCN operates legally, professionally and with due care for clients, Volunteers and Staff whilst being adequately funded and promoted, thereby ensuring that FCN is available wherever and whenever its support is needed in the farming community.

FCN also has a responsibility to represent the work of local Volunteers and the problems of FCN’s clients at the national level within government, other organisations and in the media. This requires a professional, flexible and competent Staff team which is, at the same time, tuned in to the practical and pastoral realities of life as a local Volunteer.

The primary role of the Regional Director for Wales is to recruit, encourage, develop and support the Volunteer network as they go about their mission to support the Welsh farming community. He / she also acts as the focus for delivering FCN national strategy across the Principality and for liaising with the Welsh Government and other local stakeholders on behalf of FCN.  Good interpersonal skills are essential and experience of working with and managing Volunteers would be a distinct advantage. Dual language capability (Welsh / English) would be a very helpful asset. The role is permanent, part time - 17.5 hrs a week.

If you would like to know more about the role, please contact FCN’s Chief Executive Charles Smith – email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Mobile: 07979 792209.