Snowdonia: A Year on the Farm

Taal: NL
Categorie: reportage

It's winter in Snowdonia, as storms batter the mountains of north Wales, five farming families battle the elements to rear their animals, as they prepare for a year like no other. On the slopes of Cadair Idris, husband and wife Ken and Lisa Markham are gathering their flock of Welsh Mountain sheep into the pens, but with the wind and rain beating down, herding their animals is challenging work for them and their team of trusty sheepdogs. Near the village of Ysbyty Ifan, 24-year-old Beca Roberts works alongside her father Glyn and her mother Eleri. She's the fourth of five children but the only one working on the family farm. They're preparing the shed ready for lambing and cleaning out the sty for Beca's pet pig. On the other side of the valley is Guto Davies with his wife Yvonne and their three young children. Guto is also preparing his farm for some new arrivals, his herd of heifers should be giving birth to calves any day now. Guto has spent is life in this valley and is immensely proud of his community. A stone's throw from Bala, Geraint Davies is doing his early morning rounds and checking on his herd of cattle as they shelter from the storms. Today he's got two little helpers in tow, his daughters Kiti and Betsi. The morning routine is a daily juggling act for Geraint and his wife Rachel as they try to get the kids off to school. On the exposed hillside above Llanuwchllyn, third-generation farmer Rhodri Jones works alongside hi-year-old father Llew. They're giving their small flock of pedigree Suffolk sheep a health-check, he may have handed over responsibility to farm to his son but even in his 80s, Llew is still hands on with the livestock. The Jones' recently welcomed the next generation on to the farm, Rhodri and Claire's two-year-old son Wil. This time of year is all about preparation and a few of the farmers are scanning their ewes to discover how many lambs they're carrying, and what their year ahead might look like. However, as Britain prepares to leave the EU, there's a lot of uncertainty about the future, and a bad deal could have a serious impact on our farmers.