Mon, 04 Jul 2016 Ffermio

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-Hello and welcome to Ffermio.

-We're at Pembrey Country Park

-for the Welsh Game Fair.

-There's something for everyone

-interested in rural life...

-..from shooting and fishing

-to clothes and food.

-Coming up, Daloni visits a woman

-who's made a name for herself...

-..as a producer and judge

-of Welsh honey.

-I meet farmers near Caerphilly

-who have diversified...

-..and established one of South

-Wales' largest recycling businesses.

-First, we join Alun in the beautiful

-scenery of the Lleyn Peninsula.

-At the Nanhoron Estate...

-..they specialize

-in one of our native breeds.

-They have over 400 Hereford cattle.

-The history of the Nanhoron Estate

-near Pwllheli...

-..dates back over 1,000 years.

-The Harden family

-has been here for over 700 years.

-This splendid estate is admired

-by visitors from all over the world.

-Robert Jones has been working here

-for more than fifteen years.

-What was it like here

-in the golden age of dairy farming?

-You must have been very busy.

-We milked three times a day.

-The first shift began at 3.00am.

-We also milked at lunchtime

-and then at 7.00pm.

-That system

-didn't last for very long.

-We then began milking

-twice a day...

-..beginning at 6.00am

-and milking at 7.00pm.

-After deciding to get rid

-of the dairy herd in 2006...

-..the family began keeping

-a Hereford herd at Nanhoron.

-They started off by introducing

-a traditional type of the breed.

-Wow! What beautiful animals.

-They look good-natured.

-They have a very good nature.

-They are more docile

-than other types of Hereford cattle.

-They don't want any fuss.

-What about the horns?

-Is that how they were bought?

-We decided not to poll them

-in the early years.

-It's nice to see them like that.

-It's how they are naturally.

-They are a little bit rough

-with each other though.

-I understand

-you calve outside mostly.

-Most of them, around 150,

-are outside through the winter.

-They all calve outside.

-What kind of farm is Nanhoron?

-It's actually a collection of farms.

-We have everything

-from mountains to marsh.

-There is good land.

-It's scattered all around.

-We travel miles each day.

-When we think that it was

-originally a dairy farm...

-..we imagine

-it would be all good land...

-..but a lot of the land

-is quite marginal and coarse.

-A lot of it is coarse land.

-That's the main reason

-why the Herefords came here.

-They do well wherever they are.

-When this was a dairy farm, there

-were 25 employees on the estate.

-Now, just five workers

-look after 400 Hereford cattle.

-The newest member of the team

-is Abner Roberts.

-It's important to bring in

-new blood on a farm...

-..not just in the cattle

-but also in the workforce.

-Yes, someone else

-to do the running around.

-Is that Abner's main role?!

-Is that Abner's main role?!

-

-Yes!

-Abner, what kind of boss is he?

-He's OK.

-Tell us about yourself.

-Where are you from?

-How long have you been here?

-I saw a job advert

-in the newspaper...

-..and I came here

-to meet the manager.

-I started working here last October.

-What does your job entail?

-I work with the cattle.

-I round them up, feed them

-and look after them.

-I go to see them

-first thing in the morning...

-..and last thing at night.

-Is the farm self-sufficient

-in terms of cattle feed?

-I know you don't give them

-much concentrate.

-Do you produce

-enough silage for them?

-Yes, we do.

-We have plenty of bales stocked up.

-To avoid dependence on one breed...

-..four years ago,

-the family and the farm manager...

-..decided to introduce a new breed

-to Nanhoron.

-They invested in 200 Saler cattle.

-Are you keeping these pure

-or will you be cross-breeding?

-We did some cross-breeding

-last year.

-These are Stabilizer calves.

-What was the idea behind that?

-What was the idea behind that?

-

-The Salers would grow too big.

-This way,

-they'd have a smaller liveweight.

-I hope the Stabilizers

-will keep their weight down...

-..and give them a better shape.

-You don't want bigger cattle

-these days...

-..because you will be penalized

-at the abattoir.

-What is the pattern - do they calve

-at a different time to Herefords...

-..so you can concentrate on them?

-They calve together.

-We don't have problems with these.

-The calves don't need pulling.

-How is their temperament?

-They've come to investigate.

-They can turn sometimes,

-especially when they're calving.

-But they're mostly fine.

-What advantage is there

-to having the two sides?

-Which is most profitable?

-I'd say the Herefords

-make most money...

-..taking into account the value

-of the calves and the premium.

-Looking around, I can see you have

-a lot of traditional walling.

-Do you maintain the walls?

-It keeps John busy every day...

-..looking after all the fencing

-and enclosures.

-How important are they?

-I'd see them as shelter for lambs.

-Is it the same for calves?

-It's the same for calves.

-Winds here can be piercing.

-The walls help the calves.

-I notice you've put up a fence

-beyond the wall, just in case.

-That's right. The cattle rub

-against the wall and knock it down.

-How do you see the future?

-Do you think things

-will work out well for this place?

-Everyone seems to be very happy

-with the Herefords.

-I think they'll be here

-for a long time to come.

-Back at Pembrey Country Park...

-..thousands of people have

-flocked here to enjoy the 30th fair.

-One of the organizers,

-Adrian Simpson...

-..has been here since the beginning.

-What are the main attractions? What

-draws people back year after year?

-I think it's the atmosphere.

-The fair was started by three of us

-from villages near Carmarthen.

-We were interested in rural affairs,

-fishing, hunting and shooting.

-The main purpose of the fair

-was to celebrate...

-..the life and interests of people

-living in the countryside.

-When I was growing up, every child

-in the village went fishing.

-We didn't want to lose that.

-That was the idea behind the fair.

-In addition, shooting and fishing

-contribute to the Welsh economy.

-Of course they do.

-This fair is like a shop window

-for those activities.

-Shooting alone brings in 70 million

-to the economy across Wales.

-It's the same for fishing.

-Fishing brings in 100 million.

-They are essential parts of rural

-life and of the Welsh countryside.

-There are some 250 stalls at the

-fair, selling all kinds of produce.

-One attracting plenty of interest,

-especially from children...

-..is the beekeepers' stall.

-Daloni visited Mid Wales...

-..to meet someone

-who has been interested in bees...

-..since she was a child.

-I love this time of year.

-It's as if nature has exploded...

-..and we find ourselves

-surrounded by wild flowers.

-This is also the time...

-..when bees venture out from

-their hives to search for nectar.

-Carys Wyn Edwards has been

-interested in beekeeping...

-..and making honey

-since she was 12 years old.

-Here on Ty Cerrig Farm

-in Ganllwyd...

-..she follows

-the family beekeeping tradition.

-She now has 50 beehives on the farm.

-The job of a bee is pollination.

-They fertilize the flowers

-and make your gardens beautiful.

-They collect pollen

-and nectar from each flower.

-Nectar is food for the bees.

-They collect it

-and in order to store their food...

-..they convert

-the nectar into honey.

-They remove water from the nectar

-and that creates the honey.

-How has the season been so far?

-The bees have been very busy.

-We had quite a wet winter.

-I saw something this year

-that I've never seen before.

-The queen thought it was May between

-Christmas and the New Year...

-..and created a lot of queens.

-

-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_bee

-They were so strong

-during the winter.

-They normally close down. They don't

-sleep but they keep themselves warm.

-Throughout the year, the temperature

-in each hive is around 14 Celsius.

-They maintain the hive at

-an even temperature all year long.

-Most bees produce a teaspoonful

-of honey during their lifetime.

-The production process

-is complicated.

-Thank you

-for lending me this outfit.

-It's important to wear

-the right clothing near the bees.

-I wouldn't go closer than this

-without protection.

-Carys is in blue and I'm in pink.

-Why do you need the bellows?

-It stops them from getting angry.

-There's an old belief...

-..that the bees think

-there's a fire in the forest...

-..so they stay together

-instead of flying around.

-What do we have here?

-In these boxes,

-they collect the honey.

-We put in frames and they

-start to work on the frames.

-Is this honey?

-Is this honey?

-

-No, this is the honeycomb.

-Honeycomb?

-It takes six times the nectar

-to make the honeycomb...

-..and to make the same amount

-of honey.

-This is the honey loft.

-The official name for it in English

-is the super.

-

-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey_super

-If we open this,

-we can see the queen excluder.

-Under the excluder,

-the queen lives and lays her eggs.

-We stop her from coming up...

-..because when we collect honey,

-we don't want eggs in it.

-At the height of summer, the queen

-lays up to 2,000 eggs each day.

-This means the hive keeps growing.

-When will the honey be ready?

-It depends where you live.

-In this area -

-and during a good year...

-..I don't take honey

-until the beginning of July.

-Carys is also a judge

-and a national honey award winner.

-After taking the honey,

-she puts it in pots ready to eat.

-She also uses the honeycomb...

-..to make candles

-and furniture polish.

-After collecting the honey,

-what do you do with it?

-I put it in the jars

-as naturally as I can.

-I don't process it in any way.

-I just take out the honeycomb

-and put it in the jars.

-How many kinds of honey are there?

-Every pot can be different.

-That's something you discover

-as a honey judge.

-Every flower has a different taste.

-Speaking of tasting...

-I have two pots for you to try.

-These are very different.

-One is a pale wildflower honey.

-The other is a tree

-and heather honey - bell heather.

-I'll try the pale one first.

-When you taste honey,

-it's best to start with a pale one.

-The darker ones

-are stronger on the palate.

-And the darker one...

-Both of them are good.

-Both of them are good.

-

-Which is the best?

-I prefer the pale one...

-..but I'd be happy with either

-of them on my toast in the morning.

-Very nice, Carys.

-Very nice, Carys.

-

-Thank you, Daloni.

-As many of you know...

-..things aren't as sweet as honey in

-the farming industry at the moment.

-After the break, I meet

-two brothers from Caerphilly...

-..who have just invested

-10 million in their farm.

-See you in two minutes.

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-Welcome back to Ffermio.

-I'm at the Welsh Game Fair.

-

-http://welshgamefair.com/

-There's a whole

-host of attractions here.

-This successful duo, Mag and Bud,

-have been drawing my attention.

-They're part of

-the Wales Shooting Dog Team.

-They're appearing at the fair

-for the first time.

-Alan Rees from Capel Seion,

-Drefach, Llanelli...

-..has been the Welsh captain

-for the last twelve years.

-He's also a three-time

-world champion.

-It's grown as a sport.

-It's become quite popular in Wales.

-In fact, it's quite popular

-across the UK.

-We simulate exactly what happens

-in a shooting field.

-Between August 12th and the end

-of January, we're on game.

-Between the end of January

-and August...

-..we do simulated shooting

-and retrieving.

-The dogs have to do

-what they'd do out in the open.

-Exactly.

-When you've got a spaniel,

-that's different to a retriever.

-I've got "non-slip" retrievers.

-

-http://www.gundogmag.com/training/training_gd_steady_0710/

-What spaniels do is hunt,

-find, shoot, retrieve.

-What we do is retrieve.

-The dog should be steady

-at your side.

-When something is shot and falls,

-you send the dog to retrieve it.

-The interest in shooting dogs

-started...

-..during a difficult period

-in Alan's life.

-The dogs were comforting and gave

-him a reason to fight to recover.

-I was in a severe car collision.

-I broke my back in three places

-and my shoulder.

-I can't remember all my injuries.

-It was a tough time

-for me and my family.

-I'd lost everything

-and didn't think I'd walk again.

-My wife went out

-to buy me a young dog.

-She wanted me to take an interest

-in something.

-My father brought the dog

-to see me at hospital.

-He'd scamper in.

-People would shout,

-"Don't let him touch him."

-The dog would come

-to the side of the bed...

-..and place its hands on the bed.

-As if he was saying "Come on."

-You haven't looked back.

-No, I took him to the Championships

-the following year.

-I ran the dog in a fracture jacket.

-I couldn't move my torso at all!

-That was a special experience.

-You won't forget that.

-You won't forget that.

-

-No, never.

-I'm taking you on a journey

-across South Wales next.

-From Pembrey in the west

-to Caerphilly...

-..where a dairy farmer

-is turning waste into money.

-Gelliargwellt in Gelligaer,

-Glamorgan...

-

-http://bryngroup.co.uk/

-..is the home of brothers

-Alun and Paul Price.

-It was originally a coal works.

-By now, the 800-acre farm is home

-to around 1,400 dairy cattle.

-We're the second generation

-farming here.

-When we took over the farm,

-we had 24 cows.

-They were in a stall cowshed.

-Six of them were Hereford crosses.

-We've quietly built up

-the cows from them.

-We're milking

-just over 700 cows now.

-We're fortunate that we have

-a contract with Sainsbury's.

-We're on cost of production.

-Otherwise, the dairy industry

-is in crisis at the moment.

-It's unbelievable.

-We thank our lucky stars we were in

-the right place at the right time.

-Dairy farming is a small part

-of what the farm does.

-The two brothers have developed

-five other businesses on site.

-Their biggest project at present

-is recycling.

-We started the recycling

-about 25 years ago.

-We had an old tip...

-..at the Powell Valley, their

-colliery, the Powell Works.

-We wanted to reclaim that

-to agriculture.

-We brought in muck

-to fill it up and everything.

-That's where the recycling business

-started from.

-To ensure that everything

-works well...

-..the brothers employ

-around 60 full-time workers.

-Robert Thomas, the farm manager,

-is one of those.

-There are around 150,000 tons

-of waste processed here each year.

-We succeed in recycling

-around 93% of that waste.

-We take out plastic, wood,

-plasterboard, soil...

-..anything we can recycle.

-We take it away so we don't have

-to bury it in landfill.

-The farm profits from this business.

-Yes, it's all tied up together.

-The wood is used

-under the animals as bedding.

-What remains from the process

-is used to plough the land.

-That has helped to create more

-grazing land from the old coal mine.

-On top of all that,

-there is a huge quarry here.

-Yes, we sell around 100,000 tons

-of stone from our quarry each year.

-We have a big supply contract

-with Tarmac.

-They take around 60,000 tons

-of stone from our quarry annually.

-Fertilizer produced by cattle

-is valuable to all farmers.

-On this farm,

-it's even more important.

-It's all swallowed up by a huge

-anaerobic digester to create energy.

-This was opened

-at Christmas last year.

-It treats food waste

-and the farm's slurry.

-We had everything already.

-The food came in from local

-contracts and slurry from the farm.

-Some maize is mixed in with it.

-We already had

-all the inputs for the system.

-How complicated is the process

-of creating energy...

-..with the anaerobic digester?

-Quite simply, around 15,000 tons

-of food and 8,000 tons of slurry...

-..from the farm are mixed together

-to create a soup-like substance.

-They go in to these tanks

-and then the gas is collected.

-That then drives the engines

-to produce electricity.

-They produce enough electricity

-for around 3,000 houses.

-That works out as enough electricity

-to boil six million kettles.

-Those figures are incredible.

-Those figures are incredible.

-

-It's a lot of electricity, yes.

-What comes out at the end can be

-used as fertilizer for the land.

-There's a lot of nitrogen in that.

-It works out that we have

-to buy less fertilizer...

-..so that helps the farm again.

-It must have been

-quite an investment.

-Between this

-and the recycling business...

-..they've spent around 10 million

-in the last two years.

-It's been quite an investment but

-it will pay for itself in future.

-Alun and Paul are clearly shrewd

-businessmen.

-They've developed several

-business ideas over the years.

-It all works together effectively.

-Central to it all

-is the agriculture.

-We thought

-long and hard about farming.

-Through it all, we're still farmers.

-Through it all, we're still farmers.

-

-Very true. Very true.

-I get more pleasure seeing the cows

-walking down to the parlour...

-..busting with milk...

-..than making a lot of money

-somewhere else to be honest.

-That's it for this programme

-from the Welsh Game Fair.

-After seeing

-all the people here today...

-..it's easy to see

-how rural pursuits...

-..like fishing and shooting is worth

-200 million to the Welsh economy.

-From Pembrey,

-until next time, goodbye.

-S4C Subtitles by Testun Cyf.