A short drive from Dolgellau, Meirionnydd, just off the main road is Cae Coch farm, Rhydymain, home of well-known TV presenter and farming champion Alun Edwards. Driving up a short farm track, it is impossible not to notice how green it is here. 

The eye is drawn up to the surrounding hills, the trees envelope the interspersed small fields, none of which are bigger than 5 acres. The fields here are not square and there is a mosaic of them. Some are scattered with a modicum of animals - Welsh Black cattle and their calves are resting, chewing the cud; a few sheep are visible on the mountain ridges. 

It is obvious that this land is being looked after by someone. There are hay fields with flowers in them, buttercups and daisies. The land is not pushed here and there are docks, thistles and dandelions. The fields have hedges and stone walls as borders, and have been here since the middle ages. 

Moving up through the land, it’s sloping and north facing, shrub land or ffridd land as it's called here is followed by unimproved land that includes gorse. There is purple heather on a crested flat and then you get to the white mountain - where you find sedge grasses and the sheep graze in the summer. 

Wherever you look it feels like a combination of wild and managed land. 

The Farmers’ Union of Wales is looking forward to a busy virtual Royal Welsh Show week and is hosting a variety of webinars discussing rural housing, climate change, mental health and the future of digital connectivity for Wales.

Speaking ahead of the event, FUW President Glyn Roberts said: “We had hoped to be able to be at the showground in person this year, like many others. The Royal Welsh show remains a pinnacle event in our farming calendar and whilst we can’t meet face to face, we are excited to discuss some of the most critical issues facing our industry virtually once again. I hope many of you will be able to join us for these events.”

In addition to the webinars, the Union is also launching a lobbying tool through its website, allowing members and the public to write to their elected representatives highlighting their grave concerns about the Free Trade Deal with Australia. 

Tackling the Rural Housing Crisis:

The FUW wrote to the Welsh Government twelve months ago calling for action to prevent an inevitable increase in pressure on rural housing as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, since which the issue has become a reality and hit the national headlines. 

Pembrokeshire Farmers’ Union of Wales county officials recently met with their local Member of the Senedd, Paul Davies, at a farm visit hosted by organic dairy farmers Dai, Sharon and Llŷr Miles, at their farm Beudy Bach, Haverfordwest. The main concerns raised were the current Control of Agricultural Pollution Regulations and bovine TB - issues which are making farming unsustainable for many in the county and across Wales.

The business was started by Dai and Sharron in 1997 when they moved to Pembrokeshire taking on the tenancy of Barnsley Farm, a 143 acres farm. At the time it was a stock/arable unit which they converted into an organic dairy unit starting with 33 cows and leased milk quota. 

In 2001 they rented a further 90 acres of pasture land and then in 2005 they rented the neighbouring farm within the same estate, Beudy Bach. In 2018 they had the opportunity to purchase Beudy Bach from the estate and installed a modern robotic milking system on the holding. Llyr joined the business after returning from Aberystwyth University where he studied agriculture. 

Nature, conservation and food production must and can go hand in hand, according to Montgomeryshire beef and sheep farmer Carwyn Jones. He farms at Ty Mawr, Dolanog in the Vyrnwy valley about 14 miles from Welshpool and 6 miles from lake Vyrnwy. The 160 acre beef and sheep farm has been in the family for many generations, with Carwyn taking over full management of the holding from his uncle in 2002. 

Describing the land he says: “Most of the land here is pretty steep. There isn’t much soil, about 2 inches of soil and 2 miles of rock. So I have to manage that carefully. We have a lot of woodland surrounding the farm and I also look after about 30 acres of our own woodland on the farm. There is such a great variety of bird species and wildlife around and I firmly believe that’s because of how this land is managed.” 

A champion hedgelayer, Carwyn has established over a mile of hedgerows alongside the farm on each side of the track and has recently planted over 600 new hedging plants. “All in all I look after about 4 miles of hedges on the farm land. I’ve always been a fan of hedges and trees. For me, I do what I do in terms of nature and conservation work for the love of doing it. I’m mad about hedges and the benefits it brings to the land and wildlife.”