Farming Nick Green

How the weather affects farming

DIFFERENTfarming systems around the country don’t happen by chance. They are generally decided by topography and “normal” weather conditions. There is almost a straight line down the middle of the country with the west being grass based With NICK with grazing livestock and the east, arable GREEN and vegetable production with pigs and poultry.

Whilst I acknowledge this is a generalisation, having travelled from Cornwall via Exmoor up to Cheshire, across to Norfolk and back to Somerset in the last month it is generally true. In the middle of June, grassland in the South West was lush and grazing cattle and sheep predominated.

Further north and a week later, there were still cattle and sheep but the grass was noticeably shorter. Across to East Anglia, wallowing pigs were the only animals to be seen outside and irrigators were spraying water everywhere you looked.

If it hadn’t been for the irrigation, the east of the country would have been burnt brown while the west would have still been bathed in a sea of green. There are exceptions and west Cornwall and west Wales are prime ones. Early potatoes and cauliflowers are the crops of choice for farmers who benefit from the Gulf Stream and plenty of rain.

Back closer to home and you can expect to see combine harvesters cutting spring barley, wheat and oats this month. This marks the end of the annual cycle and before we know it, everything starts again. Crop rotations are confirmed, seed choices made and the fields cultivated ready for the seeds to be sown.

The only thing the farmers can’t control is the weather. No doubt, for the next month arable farmers will be wishing for dry weather. On the other hand, the livestock farmers will be wishing for rain to keep the grass growing.

Nick Green is Farms Director for Alvis Bros Ltd based at Lye Cross Farm. He is responsible for the farming and estate business and is passionate about British food and farming. As well as the business, he is involved with a number of local and national farming charities.

Health hubs for farmers

FARMERSand agricultural workers who visit livestock markets in Somerset are now able to access health and emotional wellbeing support while they buy and sell their livestock.

It follows the launch of two new health hubs, operated by a team of NHS nurses with support from many different farming and community-based charities and local businesses.

The new hubs at Frome Livestock Market and Exmoor Farmers Livestock Auction have been set up following the success of the Derek Mead Health Room – the first health hub of this type that opened in 2018 at the Sedgemoor Auction Centre in Bridgwater.

Along with general health checks, farmers can get specialist advice from NHS professionals about lifestyle, as well as any concerns about their emotional wellbeing and mental health.

Jane Fitzgerald, Somerset NHS Foundation Trust’s manager responsible for the health hubs, said: “Feedback from the first hub – the Derek Mead Health Room in Bridgwater – shows that having nurses and volunteers who understand farming

The Frome team

communities really helps farmers to connect and engage with health services where they may not otherwise have thought about doing so.”

Care farming supported in the Mendip Hills

FARMING changes so many lives. It provides us with the nutritious food we eat, can help to provide clean water to drink, mitigate against climate change, and care for the natural world around us.

But farming can also provide us with a source of mental, physical, and social benefits. This is “care farming”.

The Mendip Hills AONB Service have been thrilled to offer support through the Farming in Protected Landscapes programme to The Community Farm, based in Chew Magna. The Community Farm has grown since 2011, providing local produce boxes and reinvesting profits in volunteering sessions, wellbeing courses, and community events at the farm.

The funding provided by the grant has gone towards a series of events, realising the benefits of care farming for communities in need, and removing the barriers which prevent some people from getting out into farms and the countryside.

We have also provided funding for six events for the local community – providing an experience of countryside traditions, farming skills, and immersing people in the link between food and farming.

Feedback from The Community Farm’s care farming partners and participants has been overwhelmingly positive around the impact time spent on the farm has had on their wellbeing – one participant left us this lovely quote: “I feel like I belong here and leave a piece of me every time I leave the farm.”

As of 2016, there were approximately 250 official care farms in the UK. These farms are registered with health and social care professionals and educational commissioners to offer a referral service, where those in need can benefit from hands-on experiences of agricultural practices to improve their physical and mental health, social skills, or education and employability.

It can be difficult to know where to start when setting up your land for care farming. The Mendip Hills AONB Service’s farming engagement officer Megan, and Somerset Wildlife Trust’s and Somerset AONBs’ Nature Connections project manager, Kristen, are working together to gauge interest among landowners with a view to providing advice, workshops, and contacts to help landowners who are interested in providing or supporting care farming on their land to get set up.

If you are a landowner and think this is something you might be interested in, or just want to find out more information, get in touch with us today (mendip@mendiphillsoanb.org.uk). For information outside the AONB, Social Farms and Gardens have a detailed website, and Farmers Weekly ran an extensive story on Care Farming back in 2019.

Outside of care farming, the Somerset Nature Connections project aims to support local communities and individuals experiencing symptoms of mental ill health to access natural spaces and physical activities to support their wellbeing. This project was funded by the National Lottery Community Fund, Hinkley Point C Community Impact Mitigation Fund, Somerset County Council, South Somerset District Council, and The Discovery Community Fund – and the three AONBs in Somerset are working in partnership with Somerset Wildlife Trust.

To book a space on one of these programmes, head to the Mendip Hills AONB’s webpage to find out more (mendiphillsaonb.org.uk/news/somerset-nature-connections)

What do you love about the Mendip Hills AONB?

Fifty years ago, the Mendip Hills was designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). During this anniversary year, we are celebrating what makes our treasured land so precious, and the communities that help give this countryside its character.

'For 50 years I have admired the view from the Mendip Hills, an ever changing view as the seasons and life changes. One will never tire of the view of Somerset and beyond as seen from the Mendip Hills.'

Councillor Liz Scott, Axbridge

Megan Godley Farming Engagement Officer Farming in Protected Landscapes Mendip Hills AONB Charterhouse Centre, BS40 7XR Office telephone: 01761 462338 Email: megan@mendiphillsaonb.org.uk www.mendiphillsaonb.org.uk

Show is going to be a scorcher –whatever the weather

THE countdown to this year’s Mid-Somerset Agricultural Show is truly underway as work to get the showfield ready to welcome thousands of visitors reaches a new intensity.

The show – the only one-day agricultural show in the South West which is free for pedestrians to enter – takes place on Sunday, August 21st.

Last year, the site at Cannard’s Grave on the edge of Shepton Mallet hosted its first show since the pandemic; since then preparations have continued behind-the-scenes to make it an even better experience for visitors, exhibitors and trade stand holders. On the site itself, work is underway to build a permanent main ring and countryside ring.

The day is all about celebrating the countryside with livestock exhibits, arts and crafts, main ring entertainment, equine and dog shows, cheese and cider competitions, live music and, of course, food and drink with plenty of space for families to relax and soak up the atmosphere. Visitors may also spot TV homes guru Sarah Beeny, who will be judging the Fancy Dress Pig and Sheep classes.

There are several other reasons to be raising a glass: both Shepton Vets and Stables Equine Practice will be marking special anniversaries at the show.

Shepton Vets is this year celebrating its centenary with a number of events. Founded in 1922 by Tom Patterson, the practice has evolved from the days of Tom conducting his rounds on a motorbike and sidecar into a successful farm and small animal practice with a second branch in Wells.

This year’s show president is Paddy Gordon, senior director of

Show society president Paddy Gordon, senior director of Shepton Vets, with a copy of a book marking the practice’s centenary

Shepton Vets founder Tom Patterson

the practice. Paddy said: “I am delighted to be president of the Mid-Somerset Show in this special year when Shepton Vets are celebrating 100 years of veterinary work serving clients and animals in the Mendip area and beyond.

“We can be found next to the show ring on the day to discuss how today’s practice is now offering health advice, training and cutting-edge treatments, including keyhole surgery in pets and cattle, from its two premises in Shepton and Wells.”

Stables Equine Practice is celebrating its 25th anniversary and will be the equine vets at the Mid-Somerset Show for the first time. Nicko Robertson founded SEP in Oakhill before the practice firstly relocated to the Royal Bath & West Showground, then to Burcott, on the edge of Wells, with state-of-the-art facilities, working closely with Langford Vets and the University of Bristol.

Nicko said: “It’s a pleasure to be involved in such a traditional show that is the very heart of the Somerset community. Having grown up attending the show from a boy it feels great to be putting something back in. It’s great to have been invited to be a part of it as the on-site equine vet.

“In this Jubilee year, the Stables Equine Practice is having its own celebration and our presence at the show will allow us to share this with our clients and friends alike.”

Nicko Robertson, who founded SEP, is one of the main vets at the Mendip Farmers Point-Point Last year’s show was the first to be held on its new permanent site