Snow, snow and more snow!

Snow has made Pumsaint famous! Pumsaint and the road from here to Lampeter has been mentioned on the news lots of times over the past few days due to a couple of accidents on that stretch. One of the advantages of working and living in the same place is that work can carry on as normal so the office is open as usual. The rest of the staff are working from home utilising the benefits of our remote working system. The barns are white and look really pretty. I've attached a photo of them yesterday morning before they started digging up the yard.

Earlier this week, I was at the last residential for the Agri Academy leadership course. We had an inspirational talk by Nigel Evans, Director of First Milk and Evanridge Properties who talked about how it was the challenge of new goals that drove him forward. We also had an entertaining few days with Gwenno Dafydd doing some media training which was something I had never experienced before. The breakfast at the Welsh Government on the Tuesday morning gave us as a group an opportunity to meet other people working within the agricultural industry including Assembly Members. Dr Christianne Glossop and Lord Dafydd Elis Thomas then spoke to us about leadership and the role of the Welsh Government in dealing with matters in relation to agriculture. We then gave feedback to DM Alun Davies on the Agri Academy leadership course and he presented us with our certificates.

Agri Academy has been an amazing experience and one I would recommend to anyone contemplating applying for the next round of the programme. As a group we have bonded in a way that I would not have believed before the course and it has provided a fantastic source of support and inspiration for me over the past six months. Our next event will be the Farming Connect conference on 6th February 2013. 

Almost time .......

It is the Friday before the Royal Welsh show and as yet there are no bags packed, the caravan is still in storage and needs cleaning inside and out and still no silage! Its normally a rush to get things ready to take up but this year is set to be the most disorganised yet given that we have spent most of the last week in hospital with Llyr who has had appendicitis. Thankfully he is now better and came out of hospital yesterday but all our plans for this week had to be put on hold. It is dry today but the land is so wet it is unlikely we will be able to attempt silage until next week either.

The plan for this weekend had been to go to the CLA Game Fair this Sunday but unfortunately that also has been affected by the weather. Cothi Shears today and Capeli Shears tomorrow are still going ahead in spite of weather and have managed to ensure that they have sufficient dry lambs for the shearers. It will be interesting to see who from the Welsh and New Zealand teams come out on top this year in their competitions and good luck to all the local shearers competing in both events.

The Royal Welsh Show is once again jam packed with events and things to see and do. More than anything else I enjoy the chance to meet up with people that I haven't seen for a while  - sometimes not having seen them since last year's Show. We will be launching our Agri Advisor training courses for farmers at the Show. For more details please have a look at our website at  http://www.agriadvisor.co.uk/tools-and-training . Increasingly we as farmers have to abide by rules and regulations and the law has becoming more and more relevant to how we conduct our day to day farming business. The courses we will be running  from September to help farmers spot legal issues and discuss simple ways in which legal disputes can be avoided. Also, there will be a course on how to attack the forms and record keeping that is required of farmers in the most efficient and user friendly ways.

Throughout August we are also going to be offering a special offer for the preparation of Powers of Attorney. Powers of Attorney can provide authority for someone else to deal with your financial and/or care requirements when you are no longer able to do so yourself. If you would like to find out more about this offer please give us a ring on 01558 841550 or email us on advisor@agriadvisor.co.uk. There will also be more details in our July newsletter which can be found at www.agriadvisor.co.uk/chewingthecud

The barns are also making swift progress with the roof on the first barn starting to be retiled today. See for yourself below 

This Week!

Good Morning, another blustery wet day outside! Can’t believe the weather we are having, especially for this time of year! My thoughts go out to those that were affected by the floods in Ceredigion last weekend, it must have been awful but it is very comforting to see communities pulling together in times of crisis.

The building work as started here at Henllan, the roof is off one of the barns and progress is being made! We are all very excited and can’t wait to have our new offices!

This week I was giving a talk at Aberystwyth at a Women in Agriculture Forum arranged by Farming Connect, I thoroughly enjoyed myself and it was great to hear other women who had ventured and started their businesses. In particular Olwen Thomas spoke about her experiences in Africa which I found inspirational and shows exactly what having a positive attitude to life can enable you to achieve.

Meinir attended a networking event arranged by Tomas Marks of Menter Bro Dinefwr at the Red Lion in Llangadog on Tuesday night, where she met with other business people from the area. The night was all about connecting with other business people who were on twitter  and get an opportunity to meet face to face.  

Best Wishes 

Nerys 

It’s February!!

It’s February , the shortest month of the year, and time is flying by. The first lot of lambing at Henllan is over and we are enjoying a break before the next lot starts at the end of the month. The new-born lambs and mothers have only just started to be turned out due to the weather, but things look as if they are getting better on that front.

Renewable energy has featured heavily in our work over the last month and I have been to several conferences and meetings on the subject across the UK. There are many opportunities available for farmers and landowners, not just from an energy point of few but also in terms of additional income. Our solar panels are being installed this week and following the recent Court decision we are hopeful, if the Government do not successfully challenge it, that we are going to get the full feed-in tariff rate of 43.9p as long as they are installed and we are connected to the grid before the beginning of March.

Speaking at The Carmarthenshire Chamber of Agriculture was a particular highlight this month. I was honoured to be invited to speak and enjoyed their company and hospitality. Thank you to them also for the  De- icer that I won in their raffle – it has already come in handy!

This month also features one of my favourite traditions – Shrove Tuesday on 21 February. It symbolises the start of Lent and using up what’s in the larder. Pancakes are easy to make and importantly use milk which was something we always had in plentiful supply as we grew up , so pancakes were a favourite treat (not just on Shrove Tuesday I might add!). An enjoyable way to support British dairy farmers and encourage the general public to buy more milk.

Best wishes

Nerys

First Of The Year!

Welcome to the Agri Advisor Solicitors blog. One of my many New Year Resolutions is to try and keep a blog of what is happening at Agri Advisor Solicitors and to provide information to our blog readers. I hope that everyone has enjoyed their Christmas and can I use this opportunity to wish everybody a Happy New Year .

Beginning of the year is a time where everybody can reflect on the year that has just passed and the New Year ahead. 2011 was a very exciting and busy year for me personally with Agri Advisor Solicitors being launched on the 4^th of October and since then we have been busy with the setting up of the business and the various events including The Winter Fair .

Christmas at our house was a very last minute affair this year with the Christmas tree and turkey being sorted out  on Christmas Eve. I have vowed that that will never happen again , but I bet next Christmas eve will be exactly the same!.

2012 promises to be an exciting year for Agri Advisor Solicitors . We aim to advertise for a new Agricultural Solicitor to join us and have also taken on a consultant who specialises in dealing with estate planning for agricultural clients.

 There’s nothing like the New Year to focus on many issues that need to be dealt with and if any one hasn’t received their 2011 Single Payment Scheme payment please do give us a call to see if we can help you obtain it sooner rather than later. Also, if you have had deductions or penalties  placed on you please contact us. Its always worth getting an opinion to see what the prospects of success making an appeal.

The big event in the agricultural calendar this week of course is the Oxford Farming conference which this year looks at Tomorrows’ Power in Agriculture .The line-up of speakers looks very interesting and I can’t wait to read the presentations when they are available. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to attend this year and I’m not sure if Alan will ever let me attend again after breaking my leg there a couple of years ago!