There's always something new to learn
Recent weeks have offered many thought provoking moments about the breadth of grassland agriculture, its challenges and opportunities and the unceasing chance to learn something new from those you meet.
At the end of August I had the happy task of visiting the proposed farms for the 2018 summer meeting in County Durham. A couple of the farms were known to me, though most weren’t , but the warmth of welcome and passion for what they were doing was evident at each.
For a small county there is a lot of variation in the environment and landscape, being sandwiched between industry to the east and the Dales to the west, and with chilly upland moorlands flanking gentler lowlands. The farming reflects these differences and a thriving local grassland society adds to the keenness to make the most of their location in how they farm.
One of the dairy farmers we visited in the two-day dash around County Durham was also a finalist in the BGS Grassland Farmer of the Year competition. The other finalists – this year unusually all dairy farmers – were from Northern Ireland and south west Wales.
The spread of locations gave the judges something of a geographical challenge with only two days available, but as ever they reported that the judging process was interesting, enjoyable and not without difficulty in deciding who should emerge as the winner.
The three farms had different systems, with varying challenges presented by factors such as location, but all shared the goal of optimising gains from grass and forage, with care and attention to other aspects such as breeding, calving, and soil nutrient management complementing their achievements.
There is always a certain sadness in knowing there can only be one overall winner, but the response of the finalists who don’t take home the trophy is always positive and a great lesson in itself.
The trophy this year went to the Welsh finalist, Rhys James from Haverfordwest, but, chatting later to another finalist, he said “I’ve had a great time here, and learned lots talking to people. Every day’s a school day!”
Our sponsors DLF and Yara add a lot to their competition with their experience and knowledge, and, coupled with that of the head judge and last year’s winner as guest judge, always makes for an enlightening discussion about the pros and cons of the different entries.
Learning comes full circle as the new year has begun here at Reaseheath. I hope the new crop of students can learn as much and as continually as the finalists.
Elaine Jewkes, Society Director, British Grassland Society, Reaseheath
