At the very kind invitation of Will and Joanne Jones 17 of us made our first DCRF Farm Visit on April 30th 2019 to "Dairyfield" - a dairy farm with around 260 cows.
We began with a wonderful lunch prepared with the help of Jo's mum, Christine, and Will introduced the farm and his history in the farming industry to us. We then visited the cows and the dairy with Will answering all our many questions. It was particularly interesting to hear about the business economics of calving times and also the particular issues faced by tenant farmers, includingthe difficulty of there being enough farms available to rent for people to start and then progress though a farming career.
Following the farm walk we were given a very comprehensive and moving presentation about the work of the Farming Community Network by Stephen Dennis - the FCN's South West Regional Director. The FCN walks alongside farmers and those working in agriculture who may be struggling for all sorts of reasons including family relationships, financial concerns, animal disease, stress and mental health. As well as the great work the FCN is doing to support farmers with mental health concerns, and to help raise awareness and understanding among the farming community and YFC in particular Stephen also spoke about a project called "Kinsugi Hope" - the website says:
Kintsugi Hope exists to create safe and supportive spaces for those experiencing mental and emotional health challenges. 'Kintsugi' (金継ãŽ), is a Japanese technique for repairing pottery with seams of gold. The word means 'golden joinery' in Japanese. This repairs the brokenness in a way that makes the object more beautiful, and even more unique than it was prior to being broken. Instead of hiding the scars it makes a feature of them.
For more information see the Kintsugi Hope websitre here
The FCN website here
Stephen can also be contacted via 07971 412898 and FCN helpline 03000 111 999 or email srg.dennis@btinternet.com
All photos kindly taken by Susanna Metz, Rural Dean of Torrington and DCRF member.