To listen to the report about the Young Farmers event by Paul Moss which was broadcast on BBC Radio 4′s ‘The World Tonight’, click below.

In the meantime, if anyone has any photographs of the event could you please send them to me at:  anne@cantilupe.demon.co.uk.  So far we only have a few pics and it would be great to see some more.  Thanks.

– Anne Cottringer

The Hay Festival ends today.  Hope we will be back next year with a finished film.   Once again, thanks to all those who made the Young Farmers Documentary Event at the Hay Festival such a success.

Farming in the Future(4)

What does the future hold for our Young Farmers?  Speakers will include Richard Thomas, who runs a mixed, family farm locally with his parents, and is Chair of WM Area Young Farmers Clubs, and Charlotte Hollins from Fordhall Farm, who together with her brother Ben, fought a tremendous battle to save this unique organic livestock farm, with the help of hundreds of shareholders. We will also be showing a short film about young farmers today.

Thursday 10th June, 7.30pm
The Royal Oak, South Street, Leominster
This is a further meeting for all with an interest in food and farming in the light of climate change and peak oil.  We hope for lively and constructive discussion on these issues.

The Young Farmer Documentary trailer will be shown too!

Paul Moss, a reporter from BBC Radio 4 ‘The World Tonight’ programme, interviewed Graham Richards, Jenny Layton, Jonathan Rogers and myself for a piece which will go out one night next week.   So tune in your radios at 10 o’clock and see if you can catch it.  (Listen out for Graham’s ewes bleating in the background.)

I didn’t manage to take any photographs myself despite bringing my camera.  I really wanted to get a group picture but there was never a moment.  If anyone managed to take any photos…

Fingers crossed we can raise enough money to finish the documentary.

There are loads of other interesting events and talks happening tonight which you might want to see and then you can round off the evening with the Young Farmers screening.

In the meantime, only a few days left until the screening event at the Hay Festival. Don’t forget to buy your tickets and we’ll see you there.

Apologies for the video clip of the week still being absent but we are preparing the material for the Hay Festival and the footage isn’t available.

I also noticed that spring lamb sales were down last week at Hereford Market because lambs haven’t been ready due to the cold dry conditions which have meant the grass isn’t growing.  On a personal level, my allotment is way behind as well and many of the seed I’ve put in just haven’t germinated.  Hoping for some warmer days with a mixture of sun and rain….

What better way to begin the Whitsun Bank Holiday weekend than by a visit to the Hay Festival?  Following on from the sell out success of Young Farmers at the Borderlines Film Festival, there will be a Young Farmers Documentary Event at the Hay Festival.  We will screen sequences some of the material we’ve shot over the last year and there will be a short intro by me, and presentations by participants in the film. (The line up of speakers will be announced later in May.)

Come along to hear about the challenges facing young farmers in the 21st century, get some insights what farming is like from the perspective of those just beginning their life on the land, and discuss the future of food and farming in this country.

The screening will be at 9pm on Friday the 28th of May, the first weekend of the Festival.  You can order your tickets from the Hay website.  It  might be a good idea to order them early since quite a few people were turned away from the Young Farmers Event at Borderlines.