Well we've had some stormy nights over the past two weeks with a fair amount of rain - which has pleased my father a lot! The land had gone fairly dry and unnourished due to the adverse weather over the Winter, however the land seems to be nourishing well. The dairy cows are now all out during the day and in at night and when milking, you can see that the quality and quantity of the milk has increased by far, which is showing the benefits of good quality grass. As the summer is on our doorstep it is time to get the land back into shape after the adverse weather therefore there will be a lot of rolling in the next few weeks. There are only two ewes left to lamb which means the end of another lambing season for another year. Now we look forward to the sheering and the harvesting.

At the moment we are preparing for the Young Farmers Rally which is one of the biggest events in our calendar year, therefore as there are only ten members in our club, it is very busy where we meet around 2-3 times a week. The Rally is held on the 11^th of May, 2013 at 9am in the Anglesey Show Ground, Mona, Llangefni with a 'Celtic' theme. We have plenty of work at the moment as the advertisement sign is supposed to be up by Thursday to advertise the Rally. Every club are making an advertisement sign and placing them around Anglesey and therefore are marked towards a Rally competition. Additionally; the girls are busy finishing the scrap book which gives pictures and accounts of all the young farmers events in the last year...which will entertain many in the Rally - (and yes, all those embarrassing pictures are in them!). If you're in the area, come to support the members and i can assure you a fun filled family day out!

AT LAST! The dissertation is finished and has been handed in for marking! Which means one thing less to worry about....however, once I finish something, I need to move on to the next...which means another assignment, presentation and an exam. Therefore I will be in front of this computer for a while. Despite this, it was lovely to join my father on the farm this weekend - a little fresh air makes a difference. I am also going to Edinburgh this week to a midwifery conference. The conference has brilliant speakers that I often reference in my university work, therefore I am sure is will be very beneficial, and I am thoroughly looking forward. 

That's it for now; there will be an update on the YFC Rally in my next blog! Thank you for reading.

Siân Roberts

How are you? I hope this snow hasn't caused you too much problems. It's such a shame for farmers that have had many problems due to this snow, trying to get the sheep out whilst they are trying to guard their lambs. The snow couldn't have come at such a bad time, this is the first 'white Easter' we've had in a while!

It's such a shame for farmers with the loss of many sheep and the standard of the land poorer than average due to the adverse weather we've had in the past year. The land is not as fertile and therefore has a detrimental effect on farmers, for instance, my father is between two minds of letting the dairy cows out onto the fields due to the poor nourishment. My father and my middle brother's sheep have now finished lambing whilst my eldest brother's sheep have only just started, which will keep us busy for a further few nights.

I hope that everyone has enjoyed their Easter and has eaten plenty of Easter Eggs!! At the moment I am in the middle of writing my dissertation, which is one of the last assignments due before finishing a degree course - therefore I need many Easter eggs to keep me motivated!! After finishing my dissertation, I only have one assignment, one exam and one presentation along with the rest of my placement before finishing in September. But it will soon come as the first few months of 2013 have already flown by!

I love this time of year as the day gets longer with the clocks going forward. 'Looking forward to the summer' that's how I remember which way to turn the clocks - and for definite I am thoroughly looking forward for the summer. We have an exciting summer ahead as Anglesey is the sponsoring county for the Royal Welsh Show this year. Additionally, we have all the Young Farmers events to look forward to, such as the rally and the Menai Straights raft race and as I mentioned before, I will be finishing University in September.

Right then...I better get back to the writing with a little chocolate and a cup of tea to motivate (any excuse for chocolate!)

Thank you for reading, bye for now.

Siân

Just as I started to think that winter was behind us, BANG, it comes back with a veangance!! The ewes and the early lambs have been out in the fields for a while now enjoying the nice weather, but I have started bringing them in at night again now. I would never normally do this with lambs that are well over a fortnight old now, but between the lack of natural shelter and the lack of grass the ewes and lambs are more than happy to sleep in a corner of a shed!!

We have started with some work out on the fields, and we are waiting for some improvement in the weather so we can do a little ploughing and take out some slurry/fertilizer. We also need to do a bit of fencing, as well as planting some apple trees for our new orchard (which we are planting as part of the Glastir scheme). So plenty to keep us busy over the coming weeks/months.

I am pleased to report that Bestan is coming along fantastically well. The whole family is besotted with her, and she is growing flat out! To be fair she is sleeping quite well and allowing mum and dad to have a bit of sleep at the moment. However I am sure that will change at some point. I dread to think about writing a blog in 14-18 years time and the potential problems which will be keeping me awake then!! So we are determined to make the most of it now. However, as I say that I am instantly reminded of the fact that the next batch of ewes are about to start lambing so I will have to get up at nights for them anyway.

No rest for the wicked!!!

Beefy

Happy Saint David's day everyone! It's lovely to see the daffodils brightening up the garden. It's a very busy time of year at the moment. If you're a fan of singing, reciting or dancing… the list does go on, then you will most probably attend the National Urdd Eisteddfod every year. Indeed the Eisteddfod season every Saturday, the county Eisteddfod will be held at the end of March. On the other hand, if you're farming...then you will most probably be tired of being on your feet all day, heating the colostrums, spraying the lambs and forming new pens every day. Normally, I'm always busy this time of year. As you know I'm a member of Aelwyd yr Ynys and therefore familiar with competing in the Urdd every year - however this year, unfortunately I won't be competing as I have to put my University studies first.       

Since my last blog, I have some exciting news to share.  As a student midwife I have become more and more familiar with the extraordinary work of the charity SANDS (Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Society). The charity offers support to parents, families and friends who have experienced the loss of a baby, additionally; they support and promote research to reduce the loss of babies' lives. This charity is very close to my heart and I felt that I wanted to help them. Therefore, I am participating in a Trek across the Sahara in March 2014 to raise money for SANDS. I will be trekking across the Sahara over a period of 9 days and camping along the way, beginning the trek in Quarzazate, Morocco, then finishing in Mhamid before returning home from Quarzazate. I'm looking forward to raise money for such a fantastic charity.  

Our county drama competition was a successful evening for Anglesey young farmers this year with Rhos-y-bol winning the competition. They travelled down to Swansea this weekend for the Wales competition in which they became second in the Welsh dramas. Congratulations to Rhos-y-bol for their success. The Rally is on our door step with a competition to suit everyone. I'm also on the fundraising committee for the Royal Welsh show this year as Anglesey is the sponsoring county. At the moment we are organizing a fundraising calendar for the summer therefore I'll keep you updated regarding the events you can take part in my next blog. 

Thank you for reading; I'll be back soon,

Take care,

Siân Pierce Roberts

It is my pleasure to announce that at 1:23pm on the 29^th of January Betsan Grug was born, 8lb 6oz of joy!! Things haven't been the same in our house since then. Doting grandparents and proud auntie's and uncle's, and two very happy parents, tired, but happy!

We had been worrying quite a bit about the weather whilst waiting for the arrival of Betsan, with heavy snow falling in many places, however we didn't have much at all, which was disappointing in one way, but a blessing as well. In the absence of snow we did however have plenty of wind and rain, and it's at times like these we are very happy that we have moved out of the caravan!

Lambing time has also started, and after a pretty miserable time pre-lambing with health problems in the flock, I am happy to say that we have some nice strong lambs on the ground now, back in early January I seriously doubted I would be able to say that. Let's hope lambing continues in a trouble free way. Ewes and lambs will have to stay in a while though, as the weather is so bad and the fields so wet. So we are really hoping now for a spell of better weather, so fingers crossed.

Well I don't have much more to say at this time, things are pretty busy between work, lambing and looking after Louise and Betsan!! Right I better go, I think I smell a nappy that needs changing!

'bye

Beefy

P.S. Good luck to Gwenno Griffith (WalesYFC Chairman) who this weekend starts her 12 Peak challenge in Gwent to raise money for the British Heart Foundation.

2013....2013? Really? Where does all these years go? I remember the Millennium like yesterday!

May I wish you a very Happy New Year!! I hope you all had a lovely Christmas with plenty of chocolates....junk....and I will say it (even though everyone is bored of the word!)...turkey! The Christmas period is a lovely time, however it is nice to be back to normal isn't it? I started back on placement three weeks ago and it does scare me that in eight months I'll be a qualified midwife. Something that I've dreamt of for so long will be achieved in eight months! I'm thrilled to say that I love and truly enjoy every moment of such a privilege profession.

Before I move on any further, can I thank you all for reading my blogs over the past year - I hope I've entertained you during the wet days with the Young Farmer's stories. Even though we didn't have a 'white Christmas'...we had plenty of snow last week! Even though it's beautiful to look at, it can be a pain for many people. We had around 5-6 inches of snow here, which is very rare as we are very close to the straights - we are always the last ones to have a flake of snow normally. There were many snowmen about with everyone enjoying the community spirit.

It's a new year for the Young Farmers with plenty of events to look forward to. Over the weekend we've been raising money in the Anglesey Showground with another night of raising money on Friday in the Tourism Awards. Tonight, we have a darts, pool and table tennis competition consisting of female and male singles and pair categories. Bodedern YFC will be hosting with many members enjoying the evening. The 'Entertainment weekend' will soon be here which is in March 2013 where there are junior and senior member of the year competition and a drama competition. Therefore there are plenty of events and competitions ahead for the Young Farmers.

We've just started lambing here, with many little lambs about. It's very cold for them this time of year - especially during the snow therefore many of them are in the sheds for a couple of days. On the other hand, many farmers are only just starting scanning their sheep as they're not due until the end of March/beginning of April. The market has not changed a lot with prices for butchers lambs still relatively low and the beef cattle are starting to drop as well this week.

One again, may I thank you all for reading, I hope that you have enjoyed.

Be careful in this weather!

Siân Pierce Roberts

Happy new year to you all!

Hopefully you all enjoyed over the festive season and have had a good new year so far. We thoroughly enjoyed our Christmas in our new home (even though we are still unpacking and moving things from the caravan!!). The one room that has been ready for quite a while is the nursery, but we are still awaiting the arrival of the little baby.

As I write this it seems likely that most of Wales is expected to receive some snow tonight, the forecast for West Wales does not look to bad, so hopefully there will not be too much disruption in our area (especially if we need to make an emergency trip to the hospital!!) We'll see what the next few days bring.

The in-lamb ewes have been in for about 10 days now, and settling in nicely, I'm far happier now that they are in, and I can keep a closer eye on them. We have had a few problems with the ewes in the last couple of months, but hopefully those problems are behind us now. I'm quite looking forward to lambing now, but the first lambs are not expected until Valentine 's Day, and I'm sure a lot of other things will have happened by then!!

Right I better go and check that Louise is ok, nect time I talk to you I'm sure that I will have news of the new arrival.

All the best,

Beefy.

P.S. Mali the sheepdog had a litter of puppies over Christmas, and they are a beautiful little litter!!!!!!

Dearest readers, a lot has happened since I last blogged. The time of year once again came around where the rams were to be introduced to the breeding ewes. I'd decided this year that I was to seperate the Suffolks and the Texels into two seperate flocks during tupping, in the hope of increasing the number of Suffolks that we have in the breeding flock. In recent years we've primarily used Texel or Beltex rams so it was about time to reintroduce the Suffolk. I managed to buy a yearling Suffolk ram of a very high quality late this summer down at our local Sheep Market in Crymych, as well as two Texels which caught my eye. So therefore, with the Suffolk ram with the Suffolks and the remaining Texel rams with the rest of the flock - I hope we'll see good results come the lambing season at the begining of April. Time will eventually tell, however I do have my concerns about the overall ferility of the flock this year with the grass being quite nutririonally poor which comes as a result of the lack of sunshine this summer. None the less, I've ensured the flock is intaking plenty of hay in their diets as well as vital fish oils with added Omega 3 which promotes fertility. Let's hope we have plenty of twins come scanning at the end of January!

 The turbulent economic climate which is ever present in Europe has most certainly effected the prices that farmers receive for their products this winter. The sheep markets have been hit the hardest in my opinion, with lamb prices plummeting up to 20-25%. This works out to roughly about £20 a lamb less, a significant loss to any farmer. During a difficult grazing season after the wettest summer in over a century, many farmers were forced into feeding silage and extra concentrates. Thus meaning higher production costs and tighter margins. And no doubt this will have a lasting effect on the budgets of our farmers next year, which will prove to be a real challenge. I've definitely noticed a change of buyer confidence around the marts already, which just goes to show the uncertainty of the agricultural industry.

 The cows have now been indoors since mid October and are gladly feeding on the silage which was harvested in the few glorius days of July. They seem to be quite content to sit in the warm straw and listen to the rain pitter patter on the shed roof above. In other news, I've just returned from a holiday to the island of Phuket, located in the South Westen fringes of Thailand. It was my first time abroad in several years and I must admit that it was an unforgettable two weeks! I'll mention a little more about my travels in my next blog come the new year. However for the time being, I hope you've enjoyed your Christmas and I wish you the very best for your new year celebrations!

Best wishes,

Carwyn Bwlchclaw'.

Well a Merry Christmas to you all! Hopefully you are all ready for a bellyful of turkey, and spending time with family and friends. I know that I am certainly going to enjoy myself, and I am pleased to announce that we have finally moved into the house. After 3 years and 9 months of living in a caravan, moving into a house with central heating and other little luxuries is something we will never underestimate again!! All of this we have managed (well almost all, there are still bits left!!) before the baby is born. So enjoying the next few weeks and catching up with some sleep is the target for the next few weeks in order to make sure we are ready for the new arrival.

The weather has been very miserable recently, and apart from a few very cold days last week, it feels as if it has rained almost every day. Not easy conditions to work in, but the show must go on, and there is always work to do on the farm. We had a bit of a disaster a few days ago when we scanned the sheep to see how many lambs to expect, last year we had an exceptional scanning with a result of a 190% (1.9 lambs per ewe), however this year we have slumped to 97%. We are talking with our vet to try and understand why the massive drop, but we are nowhere nearer finding out why yet. The two main contenders seem to be Liver Fluke and Schmallenberg Virus, but we shall have to wait on test results until we know more.

Well I won't keep you long this time, so can I once more wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and maybe by the next time you hear from me I'll have a special announcement to make.

Festive greetings!

Beefy

Seveeeeen day to gooooooo until Christmas!!! Excited is an under-statement when it comes to Christmas! I can't wait every year to put our Christmas tree up, the trimmings, making the mince pies, Christmas shopping (buying one or two items for myself in the process!)...wrapping the presents, writing the cards! It's a very busy time of year! I love going to different events this time of the year such as concerts and carol services. Speaking of Carol services, Anglesey Young Farmers Clubs have a Carol service in Gosen chapel, Llangwyllog this Thursday at 7:30pm.

We've had some ice, but thankfully not a lot here in Anglesey. Despite the trouble that comes with snow...it would be nice to have a 'White Christmas'! Although it won't affect me I'll be in the house all day eating chocolates!!  

On the 30^th of November, we had our local Christmas market which is held in Gaerwen Market. One of the competitions was the bullock weight judging and I had the first prize under 21 years old. A fellow-member, Gareth Roberts came 1^st  under 26 years old! A cause for celebration! We are looking forward for more competing in 2013!

Only two more shifts on placement before my University Christmas holiday. I'm looking forward to spend Christmas with the family, despite the research assignment I have!

I wish you a Very Merry Christmas...and I hope Santa will bring everything you wished for!

Thank you for reading, until next time,

Siân Pierce Roberts