As the 2013 Nature of Farming competition public voting opens TODAY, we hear from the Welsh finalists - Brian and Sorcha Lewis.
"Our farm is snuggled into the heart of the hills in the Elan Valley it is called Troedrhiwdraen (At the foot of the thorny bank), a typical upland hill farm by any description. It has been farmed for three generations by the lewis family; we are the current tenants Brian and Sorcha and our two young children Aidan and Sarah. Brian was born here and has grown up learning how to farm and still farms in the old traditions. Our water runs into a well from the hill (hot weather means economical water usage) and we are so remote we are on a generator like many are in this area. As a small family farm in the Cambrian Mountains and like many upland farms it has been a hard winter this year and lambing came at the same time the snow fell to the ground. With the poor summer last year we were lucky to get in the hay from the meadows, which was a blessing to sustain the sheep over a difficult period. So as you can imagine with such a difficult start to year how pleased we were to discover that we had won the Wales Regional Section of the Nature of Farming Award.
What do we think is special about our farm? Our Hay meadows are very much the heart of the farming year for our wildlife and our livestock. They are indeed the soul of everything which happens. The Hay itself is excellent quality and when winter comes; on a snowy morning opening the bale to spread it out for feeding it really is like cracking open a summer’s day again, preserved bits of yellow hay rattle, knapweed and eyebright fall out from the bale and the aroma of summer past is there to enjoy. Ancient Hay meadows are much cherished for their wildlife. In the summer, the array of dazzling colours in bloom are a sight to behold and walking through our meadows you can consume your fill of the sweet scent of wildflowers and watch our chattering house martins swoop across the tops of the flowers returning to the eaves of the house with an offering for their growing chicks. At night the meadow is home to bat species, badgers and small mammals. Other highlights for us were watching the abundant skylarks on the hillsides this cold spring when out feeding our sheep, hearing the tell tale “plop” of the water vole which led to the discovery that there was one living in the pond we had built and the iconic Welsh Clearwing moths using the old birch trees scattered around the farm. Our constant companion is the pair of red kites, which nest nearby. They fly overhead and come haymaking, they will join the buzzards looking for the abundant small mammals chased out of the fields. We feel passionate about knowing that our sheep are reared on this habitat and believe our sheep to be “conservation grazed”. Although they may be slow grown and a smaller breed of sheep (Welsh Mountain), to eat, they are very tasty and we believe, having access to varied herbage must therefore in turn be good for us to eat.
Image above: pied wagtails
These are of course living landscapes where some people strive to make a living of the land and we think it is important to support farmers in the uplands who are helping preserve our landscape, our wildlife, carbon emissions, water storage and in some places support our tourism. We see the wildlife on our farm as a benefit to our farm - it compliments how the stock are raised and what we can offer to the consumer. It is always alive with life here. There’s something happening all the time, this week whilst shearing a few of our Herdwick and Badger Faced Sheep we came across four little fledgling pied wagtails sitting on the barn wall waiting for mum to come with food. One year, they nested behind the tractor, so we waited a week or so for them to fledge before taking to the hay. We have also had blue tits taking over the box where we sell our free-range eggs. Therefore, instead, we put up a sign saying, “New residents - please do not disturb”. It all adds a degree of humour and it’s great for the children growing up to see. We truly value our children being able to experience meadows and pastures full of flowers filled with the summer sounds of bees and grass hoppers and the fluttering of butterflies from flower to flower.
We are all really looking forward to visiting the Royal Welsh Show next Wednesday for our award; the children are excited, and are learning about the benefits of nature friendly farm. We are so pleased that our little farm has made it through. It’s been really gratifying to be valued after all the hard work that goes into running an upland hill farm. Often a lonely, but rewarding way of life."
Cast your vote now http://www.rspb.org.uk/ourwork/farming/natureoffarming/index.aspx