Wales Farmer 10 NEWS


Brothers stick with longfamily tradition


■ Dairyfarmers committed to co-op system


By Debbie James


THREE years ago, brothers William and Malcolm Hughes were at acrossroads in their


dairy farming enterprise. Their choice of routes wastoeither


invest significant capital and expand the herd, or abandon milk production. They opted forthe former and spent £300,000 on anew milking parlour and associated infrastructure. The 26/26 herringbone replaced a30-


year-old 10/10 herringbone and put them on asound footing forherdexpansion. They currentlymilk 125 pedigree


Friesians,but could increase thatnumber to 200 if they invested further in newwin- ter housing. “Weare going to add30stalls to our


existing set-up this winter,but we will have to build newhousing if we want to increase numbers further,” says William, county NFU Cymru chairman formid Gwynedd. The brothers farm480-acrePlas Tirion, Pwllhelli, supplying South Caernarfon Creamery with their milk. They produce as much milk as possible


from grass,although William admits this has been challenging during avery wet summer. One morning in July he says he had no


choice buttoturn the cows into afield earmarkedfor silage because therewas no fresh pastureavailableduring aperiod of particularly intense rainfall. “Wehaverecordsfromthe 1980s which showwehad five inches of rain between


the beginning of Mayand the beginning of September.This year we had thatmuch rain in June alone,” he reflects. But thereisnointention to change the


system. “Malcolm is very good at getting milk


out of grass,just likeour father was,” William explains. In amoretypical year,cowsare turned


out to grass in the middle of March and not housed again beforethe beginning of November. Concentrates areonlyfed in the par-


lour,upto9kg aday to the top-yielding cows. “Weuse ahigh protein cake, 18-20%, depending on the season and the feed analysis,” William says. In the summer the herdgrazesgrass


and the winter ration is grass silage and home-grownwholecrop silage produced from 20 acres of spring barley. Afurther 20 acres of spring barley is


grownfor combining and fed as rolled barley.Milk yield is 8,800 litres at 4.1% butterfatand 3.3% protein. The herdcalves all the year round, with


male beef calves reared through to finish- ing and sold deadweight to St Merryn. “Werear the calves as cheaplyaswe


can,”saysWilliam. AHerefordbull is used on anycows


and heifers the Hugheses don’t want to breed from and female offspring are crossed with aLimousin. The cowand her six-week-old calf aresold at Mold live- stock market. The brothers arepassionate about the


co-operative system –both Malcolm and his father,IvanDavid, were directors of South Caernarfon Creamery.They have been supplying the creamery since 1950. Following the recent turmoil in the milk


markets they believe co-operation among farmers is moreimportant nowthan ever. “The co-operative structuremeans alot


to us,our aim is to produce quality cheese and to sell it forthe best possible price,” says William.


DAIRY CHOICE: William Hughes’ family has been supplying South Caernarfon Creamery since 1950.


March 2013


‘Name and shame’ warning


MILK buyers whodonot imple- ment anew code of practice with- out delaymust face the conse- quences,the dairy coalition has warned. As well as calling forfurther


price rises,the coalition said com- panies not complying with the dairy industry code of best practice on contractual relationships in milk supplycontracts would be named publicly. Pembrokeshirefarmer and NFU


dairy boardchairman Mansel Raymond said: “If co-ops,smaller processors or anymilk buyerfor thatmatter thinks the code doesn’t applytothem, they arewrong. “It is the responsibility of every


milk buyertoensurethe voluntary approach to improving milk con- tracts succeeds. “The alternative is legislation


and the coalition will not rest until we see better morebalanced con- tracts fordairy farmers.” The coalition has challenged


food and rural affairs minister David Heath to throw his full sup- port behind the implementation of the code. The dairy coalition wasformed


last summer,when the discrepancy between farmgate prices and pro- duction costs hit breaking point and most processors were looking to impose further price cuts. Since then, farmgate milk prices


have onlyrisen by about one to two pence per litre, while the cost of production has risen by three to four pence per litre. Farmers forAction chairman


David Handley said: “Farmers need to see improving dairy marketcon- ditions translated into farmgate milk price rises.” The coalition met in January and


is continuing to work to improve conditions fordairy farmers.


Associate honour for Richard


ATENANT farmer whostarted farming 110 acres in 1997 and now runs a2,300-acreenterprise near Bridgend has been made an associ- ateofthe RoyalAgricultural Societies.


RichardAnthony, of


Tythegston, Bridgend, set up a farmcontracting business and such wasthe high standardofhis work thathewas offered the tenancy of two700-acreholdings on the same daybydifferent landlords.


He took them both and farmed


them so successfullythathewas offered another farmofsimilar size by athirdlandlord.


The enterprise is predominantly BOOST: NFU Cymru presents acheque for £18,000 to the Alzheimer’s Society in Wales. £18,000 raised for Alzheimer’s Society


AFTER ayear of fundraising, NFU Cymru has presented a cheque for£18,000 to the Alzheimer’sSociety in Wales. During the past 12 months,


NFU Cymru members and staff have organised and taken part in manyevents across Wales, including sponsored walks,con- certs,bowling competitions,a race night and much moreto


help raise money forthe charity. Presenting the cheque,Mary


James,director of NFU Cymru, said: “A special thank youmust go to everyone whohas helped to raise this tremendous sum of money. “Weare pleased to be able to


offer some support to this extremelyworthwhile cause.In addition to raising much-needed


funds,itwas also our aim to raise awareness of dementia and the support availablefrom Alzheimer’sSociety,particularly within rural communities in Wales.” Thereare morethan 43,000


people with dementia in Wales and the Alzheimer’sSociety’s local services include daycare and home carefor people with


dementia, as well as support services to help partners and families cope with the demands of caring. Rhodri Davies,Alzheimer’s


Society area fundraising manag- er forWales,said: “Not onlywill NFU Cymru’sfundraising effort enableustocontinue our exist- ing services in Wales,but the partnership over the past 12


For the latest Wales farming news: walesfarmer.co.uk


months has also offered us an invaluableopportunity


to


increase public awareness of dementia and the work of the society in Wales.”


For more information go to www.alzheimers.org.uk or ring the National Dementia Helpline on 0845 300 0336.


arable and has been diversified into the supplyofhay,haylage and straw forthe equine market, and growing grass and maizesilage for severalindependent dairy units.


It also includes 100 acres sown


mainlywith mustardtocreatea breeding habitatfor up to 50 pairs of lapwings.


Mr Anthonyreceivedthe award


forhis work on soil recovery, improvement and management, having increased yields from his land by 25-30% and the earthworm population tenfold.


He plans to build an aerobic digestion plant to treatmaizeand food waste to produce odour-free organic matter and nutrients and to generaterenewableenergy.


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