It’s been a busy month at Monmouth where we welcomed our new partners Cardiff High School and Endeavour Training Ltd to the farm. It was great to see them really getting stuck into moving our Lowline bulls from a local Iron-Age hill fort called The Doward back to the farm – what a sight to behold, and what an experience for the visiting young people! They also helped with housing all of our chickens in our newly built ‘chicken tractors’ – which are regular chicken coops, but on wheels! It’s a win-win situation for us and chickens, as whilst they move around the farm in their new homes they are loosening the top inch of soil, much like a regular tractor would work.
We were also very grateful for their help with bale grazing our cattle, which is a method of providing feed to them during the winter months by accessing bales of hay that we have already strategically placed in the fields. Finally, a real highlight was caring for our resident sow Miss Pickle and her newly born piglets, before enjoying the winter sunset at the top of our local hill, The Skirrid.
We ended 2022 with 2 day-visits, one from Overmonnow Primary and one from Rhos y Fedwen Primary. Despite the freezing temperatures, these children were amazing farmers – looking after all our animals and doing important jobs around the farm. There was lots of festive fun and after a busy morning out on the farm, we all enjoyed sitting down together around our Welcome Barn table to eat a delicious Christmas dinner! We wish you all a very enjoyable Christmas and all the very best for 2023, from Jamie’s Farm Monmouth.  Nadolig Llawen a Blwydden Newydd Dda! Â