Ear to the Ground / Clust i'r Ddaear

Cig oen, cig dafad a gwlân, dyna’r cynnyrch rydan ni’n gyfarwydd â nhw wrth ffermio defaid yng Nghymru. Bellach, dylem ychwanegu llaeth dafad at y rhestr, wrth i ni weld 14 o ffermwyr eleni yn godro defaid. Mae dau o'r unigolion arloesol yma yn ymuno gyda Geraint Hughes am sgwrs sef Alan Jones o Chwilog, ger Pwllheli a Huw Jones o Lanerchymedd, Ynys Môn.  Cafodd y rhifyn yma eu recordio o safle prosesu newydd, Llaethdy Gwyn ym Methesda, Dyffryn Ogwen, sydd wedi’i ddatblygu gan Carrie Rimes yn bwrpasol i broeseu llaeth dafad. 

Mae Angharad Menna, cyflwynydd newydd arall ar y podlediad hwn yn cyfweld â’i gwestai cyntaf, Anna Bowen, Ysgolhaig Nuffield (a noddir gan Ymddiriedolaeth Elusennol Elizabeth Creake) sydd wedi teithio’r byd i astudio dyfodol moesegol ffermio llaeth. O fewn y bennod hon, byddwn yn clywed mewn manylder am eu phrofiadau mewn meysydd megis ymarferoldeb cyswllt buchod a lloi,  y defnydd gorau o semen rhyw, a dod o hyd i farchnad ar gyfer lloi eidion or fuches laeth. A allai’r diwydiant hefyd ddysgu oddi wrth rasio ceffylau a’i drwydded gymdeithasol? Os yw'r bennod hon yn eich cymell i ehangu'ch gorwelion mae'r ceisiadau ar gyfer Ysgoloriaethau Ffermio Nuffield 2024 AR AGOR! Y dyddiad cau yw 31 Gorffennaf 2023, ewch i'w gwefan am ragor o fanylion.

Angharad Menna, another new presenter on this podcast interviews her first guest, Anna Bowen a Nuffield Scholar (sponsored by Elizabeth Creake Charitable Trust) which has travelled the World to study the future of ethical dairy farming. Within this hour long episode we'll hear in detail of hear experiences in areas such as the feasibility of cow calf contact dairy, the best use of sexed semen along with breeding and rearing dairy beef calves and finding a market for them. Could the dairy industry also learn from horse racing and Its social licence?   If this episode incentivises you to broaden your horizons the applications for the 2024 Nuffield Farming Scholarships are now OPEN! The deadline is 31st July 2023, visit their website for more details.

Jim Elizondo is a cattle rancher from Texas who has 30 years’ experience of managing livestock in ranging climatic condition across America and beyond. His passion is helping farmers regenerate their land whilst reaching maximum profitability. He delivers ‘Real Wealth Ranching’ training to clients from across the world and has helped numerous farm businesses reach maximum productivity whilst regenerating their land. Jim recently presented at Farming Connect events, this episode presented by Cennydd Jones is another opportunity to hear Jim's background and farming philosophy. 

'Rancher' gwartheg o Texas yw Jim Elizondo sydd â 30 mlynedd o brofiad o reoli da byw mewn amodau hinsawdd amrywiol ar draws America a thu hwnt. Mae ei angerdd yn helpu ffermwyr i adfywio eu tir tra'n cyrraedd y proffidioldeb mwyaf bosib. Mae’n darparu hyfforddiant ‘Real Wealth Ranching’ i gleientiaid o bob rhan o’r byd ac mae wedi helpu nifer o fusnesau fferm i gyrraedd y cynhyrchiant mwyaf posibl wrth adfywio eu tir. Yn ddiweddar bu Jim yn cyflwyno mewn digwyddiadau Cyswllt Ffermio, mae’r bennod hon a gyflwynir gan Cennydd Jones yn gyfle arall i glywed cefndir Jim a'i athroniaeth ffermio.

Mae’r bennod hon yn canolbwyntio ar y rhagolygon calonogol i ffermwyr defaid yng Nghymru sy’n chwilio am atebion i fynd i’r afael â’r prîs siomedig am wlan yn ddiweddar. Er bod y llun eto'r tymor hwn yn edrych fel un heriol, mae yna ddigonedd o weithgarwch y tu ôl i'r llenni i wireddu potensial gwlân fel deunydd naturiol, cynaliadwy ac amlbwrpas. Mae Alison Harvey yn cwrdd â thri gwestai a all roi mwy o sylwedd i'r agwedd bwysig hon. Gareth Jones, Rheolwr marchnata cynhyrchwyr yn British Wool, Sara Jenkins, gwraig Fferm a  Arweinydd Agisgôp Cyswllt Ffermio ac Elen Parry o'r prosiect 'Gwnaed â Gwlân' sy'n ceisio gwella dealltwriaeth pobl o'r ffibr gwych hwn.

This episode focuses on the encouraging outlook for sheep farmers in Wales looking for answers to address the disappointing returns recently. Although the picture again this season looks like a challenging one, there's plenty of activity happening behind the scene's to realise the potential of wool as a natural, sustainable and versatile material. Alison Harvey meets up with three guests that can provide more substance on this important aspect. Gareth Jones, producer marketing manager at British Wool, Sara Jenkins, Farmers wife and Farming Connect, Agisgôp leader and Elen Parry from the 'Made with Wool' project which aims to improve people's understanding of this great fibre.

Yn y bennod hon mae Alison Harvey, Cynghorydd Cadwyn Gyflenwi Amaeth gyda cwmni Rural Advisor yn siarad â Nerys Llewelyn Jones, Sylfeunydd a Chyfarwyddwr Agri Advisor. Mae gan y rhan fwyaf o ffermwyr yn isymwybodol gynllun asesu risg gweithredol ond a ddylai fod gan bob busnes gynllun cadarn ar waith i ymdrin â'r digwyddiadau annisgwyl? Mae Nerys ac Alison yn trîn a thrafod yr holl elfennau y dylid eu hystyried.

In this episode Alison Harvey, Agri Supply Chain Advisor at Rural Advisor talks to Nerys Llewelyn Jones, Agri Advisor's founder director. Most farmers subconsciously who'd have a operational risk assessment plan but should all businesses have a solid one in place to deal with the unexpected events? Nerys and Alison break down all the elements that should be considered.

The second episode within our new entrant to agriculture series brings together four young farmers which were all raised on family farms in North Wales but have decided to forge their own career in Agriculture through various joint venture agreements and farm management. This episode will hear of the good, the bad and potentially ugly of setting up a joint venture agreement from four panellists that have previously attended the Farming Connect Business Bootcamp and drawn upon the Venture programme to successfully implement a path way into share farming.   Panel: Gwydion Owen, Farming Connects Venture Officer is joined by Emyr Owen, newly appointed as Farm Manager at The Rhug Estate in Corwen. Brothers Dafydd and Ifan Owen have also decided to forge their own path in agriculture, Dafydd manages 3000 ewes at Coed Coch, near Colwyn Bay whilst Ifan has entered a partnership on 600 acres of land at Ty Newydd, Nebo, Llanrwst. Ynyr Pugh has been fortunate to secure a joint venture agreement just 10 minutes from his

The average age of a Welsh farmer is 60, and only 3% of farmers are under 35 - what more can be done to encourage new entrants into agriculture? In our two part series we've asked our first four new entrants to the industry to come together to discuss why they're in the industry, what they love about it and what the challenges are? This episode is also available to watch on our YouTube channel, click on this link and be sure to like the video, subscribe to the channel and hit the bell to be notified of any new content.   Panel: Matt Swarbrick, Peredur Owen, Ernie Richards and Bryn Perry

60 mlwydd oed ar gyfartaledd yw oedran ffermwr yng Nghymru, a dim ond 3% o ffermwyr sydd o dan 35 - beth arall felly y gellir ei wneud i annog newydd-ddyfodiaid i amaethu? Yn ein cyfres dwy ran rydym wedi gofyn i'n pedwar newydd-ddyfodiaid cyntaf ddod at ei gilydd i drafod pam eu bod yn y diwydiant, beth maen nhw'n ei garu amdano a beth yw'r heriau? Panel: Matt Swarbrick, Peredur Owen, Ernie Richards a Bryn Perry

Porfa bydd ffocws y podlediad yma yng nghwmi Cennydd Jones, darlithydd rheolaeth glaswelltir ym Mhrifysgol Aberystwyth ac yn ffermwr rhan amser hefyd. Bydd Cennydd yn cael cwmni Alan Lovatt sydd wedi bod yn fridiwr glaswellt trwy yrfa ac erbyn hyn yn gwneud gwaith ymgynghorol i gwmni Germinal sydd wedi ei leoli yng Ngogerddan ger Aberystwyth. Gyda dros 75% o dirwedd Cymru yn laswelltir o ryw fath neu’i gilydd, ac o ystyried bod glaswelltir yn rhan hanfodol bwysig o ddiet gwartheg, defaid, ceffylau a hyd yn oed geifr ac alpacas, mae glaswelltir heb os nac oni bai yn rhan allweddol o’r jig-so pan mae’n dod at daclo newid hinsawdd, bwydo’r boblogaeth a chynyddu elw ar ein ffermydd, ac fe fyddwn yn cyffwrdd a’r holl agweddau pwysig hyn yn ystod yr 20 munud nesaf.

Pasture will be the focus of this podcast in the company of Cennydd Jones, lecturer in grassland management at Aberystwyth University and also a part-time farmer. Cennydd will be joined by Alan Lovatt a grass breeder throughout his career and now does consultancy work for Germinal which is based in Gogerddan near Aberystwyth. With over 75% of the Welsh landscape being grassland of one kind or another, and considering that grassland is a vitally important part of the diet of cattle, sheep, horses and even goats and alpacas, grassland is undoubtedly a key part of the jigsaw when it comes to tackling climate change, feeding the population and increasing profits on our farms, and we will touch on all these important aspects during the next 20 minutes.

This episode is the second in our series for poultry producers, but the content will also be of interest for farmers with high on site energy consumption. Catherine Price, Lead Dairy and Poultry Technical Officer at Farming Connect is joined by not one, not two but three guests. We have egg producers Llyr Jones and Osian Williams who have invested heavily in renewable energy on farm and energy specialist Chris Brooks which provides a deeper understanding of what's driven the energy price increase, and how we can look at our energy efficiency before considering if renewable energy is still a viable option.   Trydan ar gyfer cynhyrchu dofednod ac opsiynau adnewyddadwy Y bennod hon yw'r ail yn ein cyfres ar gyfer cynhyrchwyr dofednod, ond bydd y cynnwys hefyd o ddiddordeb i ffermwyr sy'n defnyddio llawer o ynni ar y safle. Mae Catherine Price, Prif Swyddog Technegol Llaeth a Dofednod Cyswllt Ffermio yn cael cwmni nid un, nid dau ond tri o westeion. Mae'r cynhyrchwyr wyau Llyr Jones ac Osian Williams wedi buddsod

This episode is presented by Alison Harvey, Agri Supply Chain Advisor at Rural Advisor. She is joined by Solicitor and Managing Partner at Agri Advisor, Dr Nerys Llewelyn Jones. One of the most difficult conversations to be had revolves around succession planning, especially when dealing with the issue within a farming business, where personal and business objectives often go hand in hand. Agri Advisor feel that it is important to look at succession planning as a process as opposed to a one-off event. It is advisable that your wills, inheritance tax position, powers of attorney and your business structures are considered before inevitable changes to your farming business arise. 

Cyflwynir y bennod hon gan Alison Harvey, Cynghorydd Cadwyn Gyflenwi Amaeth gyda Rural Advisor. Yn ymuno â hi, mae'r gyfreithwraig a Phartner Rheoli Agri Advisor, Dr Nerys Llewelyn Jones. Cynllunio olyniaeth yw un o’r sgyrsiau anoddaf i’w cael, yn arbennig felly wrth ymdrin â’r mater o fewn busnes ffermio, lle mae amcanion personol a busnes yn aml yn mynd law yn llaw. Teimla Agri Advisor ei bod yn bwysig edrych ar gynllunio olyniaeth fel proses yn hytrach na digwyddiad untro. Mae’n ddoeth ystyried eich ewyllysiau, eich sefyllfa treth etifeddiaeth, atwrnneiaetha’ch strwythurau busnes cyn i newidiadau anochel godi o fewn eich busnes ffermio.

Hendre Llwyn y Maen is a hill farm of approximately 400 acres with additional in buy land rising up to 1100ft above sea level . Robin Crossley, the owner, is a keen environmentalist and values the woodlands as an important component of the farm providing game shooting, shelter for stock and wildlife habitat. In this conversation, Robin explains the mindset of how the tree planting began and how it's developed to be an integral part of the farm business. Also in the conversation we have Sam Pearson, the farm Manager and Farming Connect Mentor talking about the farm's business objectives and the value of trees to the farming system.

Cath Price is Farming Connects Lead Dairy and Poultry Technical Officer. At home she also farms with her husband Dan, 20 minutes South of Newtown and have recently invested in a laying hen unit. Their new shed, and first flock was placed in December 2020 and the second flock this August. Like most other egg producers, they've felt the pressure of inflationary costs seen earlier this year. Cath also invited Ian Jones, MA VetMB MRCVS Director at Hafren Vets onto the podcast to look at what the current situation on Avian Infliuenza is in the UK and more specifically for us here in Wales. Please note that this episode was recorded on the 21st of October 2022

This podcast will be an opportunity to understand a bit more about the Sustainable Farming Scheme proposals and how the scheme could operate in the context of a real sheep farm. We’ll be focusing on the Universal Actions for benchmarking, animal health and biosecurity elements in particular as we consider the ongoing sustainable production of food within the proposals.  All Welsh farmers are encouraged to complete the SFS codesign survey to help Welsh Government develop the SFS proposals to make sure they work on the ground.  The survey can be found [here] and closes on 31 October 2022.