Enthusiasm at NSA Cymru/Wales annual meeting, despite looming Brexit
23rd February 2017
Enthusiasm for the sheep sector and a smart solution to antibiotic resistance countered concern over Brexit at the NSA Cymru/Wales Region annual members meeting, held at the Royal Welsh Showground on 23rd February.
NSA Cymru/Wales Region Chairman Llew Thomas said ‘terrific speakers’ had left the meeting, despite worries over Brexit. He stressed it was vital to get the maximum benefit and minimal disruption from Brexit, while continuing with wider work in support of the sheep industry.
Regional Development Officer Helen Davies said: “The annual meeting of NSA Cymru/Wales saw all officers re-elected or continuing in their current roles. It was followed by four very informative speakers, who left members in no doubt that the industry has some challenging times ahead, but plenty of opportunities as well.”
Jacob Anthony, as NSA Next Generation Ambassador from Cwm Risca Farm, Bridgend, gave an inspirational address, sharing his enthusiasm for the industry – more below. The meeting was told that he is already proving himself as an asset to NSA and the sheep industry in general, following the 12 month programme.
Nuffield Scholar Aled Davies explained he was developing an approach to antibiotic resistance that is completely new to the UK. He set up his Carmarthenshire-based company PRUEX following his travels in European, Northern American and Pacific Rim countries to study alternatives to antibiotics in agriculture. PRUEX stands for ‘Prudent not excessive use of antibiotic’ and he stressed the need to work smartly, generating evidence of bacterial challenge on livestock and in their environments to prevent the need for blanket treating of infections with antibiotic.
Aled said he had found an emerging approach to cleaning that imitates in highly populated animal housing what happens naturally in nature, where there is less stock density pressure. Adding non-infective bacteria to the animals’ environment increases competition for the infective bacteria that dominate the animals’ surroundings. His evidence-based approach can illustrate how infection-causing bacteria are surviving the disinfectants that are currently used. This gives them an easy route to infect young or imuno-suppressed animals.
He said: “We have been using biocides in the same way as we have used antibiotics to kill all bacteria, even though animals don't live in sterile conditions. In a similar way to building resistance to antibiotics, when we have used biocides, the bugs have coped and repopulated the area quickly after cleaning. We have to learn to work with nature rather than against it. We need our animals’ housed environment to replicate what happens in nature, where you have good and bad bacteria, with good bacteria being dominant."
Aled claims that cleaning with bacteria is a fledgling industry in Europe, the United States and Australia. The technology is more mature in Italy, where it is used to clean hospitals. Aled feels strongly that the sheep industry needs to remove stress from animals to prevent infections.
He said: "Once we can demonstrate we are working smartly, preventing infections and generating evidence of which bacteria are causing infections so only animals in need are treated with antibiotics, our industry claim to be prudent users of antibiotics. It is important when we get there to communicate our success to consumers."
The importance of the Nuffield Farming Scholarship scheme was underlined by RWAS Assistant Chief Executive Aled Rhys Jones. He told how he had visited countries across the world to study the future of agricultural societies and shows.
Chairman Llew Thomas added that the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society has a secure future with its current leadership. There was no complacency and they are continually pushing ahead with new ideas.
NSA Ambassador shares his experiences
NSA Next Generation Ambassador Jacob Anthony is hugely enthusiastic and positive about the future of the sheep sector. And the Bridgend farmer feels the 12-month NSA programme has done a great deal to help him with future challenges.
He is one of a group of young people chosen each year by NSA and hot-housed to promote the sheep sector to the wider public, to encourage other young farmers and tackle issues facing sheep keepers around the UK. The training aims to enhance individual personal development and business skills, as well as improve technical skills and knowledge of the sheep sector.
Jacob told the meeting that the benefits had been enormous. He had seen a variety of sheep management systems, better understood the way the supply chain worked, and learned the rewards of networking with like-minded people and key figures within the farming industry.
Training sessions included genetics and performance recording, body condition scoring and flock health planning, followed by an examination of EID and performance recording. Business planning, farm accounts and management, planning and benchmarking formed the basis of another session. Personal development, an insight into the supply chain and discussion groups followed. A review of the year and media training brought all the elements of the 12-month programme together.
Jacob said he was hugely confident about the future of the sheep industry. He said: “Ever since I was a young boy my passion within our family business has been the sheep element. As the years have progressed this has snowballed to the point where I wanted to increase the numbers at home. I feel that with improved efficiency this is a viable business decision. I’m really positive about the sheep industry moving forward because, although there are hard times on the horizon, the long term future is bright. We are world leaders in this country in terms of improving efficiency, genetics and new grazing systems.”
Jacob and his family farm 700 acres and lamb 800 Texel cross Lleyn breeding ewes. The lambs are finished off pasture leys and sold to Dunbia through the Wales YFC scheme. They also run 150 suckler cows, mostly Welsh Black cross Limousin. The male calves are sold entire as bull beef, with their feed including crimped barley grown on 100 acres. The core farm business is supplemented with an equine forage business selling big square bales to the local market. They also run a small family contracting business offering hedge cutting services, baling and drilling.
