Author: Rhys Gregory

Preparations are well underway for the Royal Welsh Winter Fair at Llanelwedd on November 28 and 29. As one of the finest prime stock shows in Europe, the winter fair draws crowds from far and wide to enjoy two-days packed full of competitions, festivities, food and drink, and shopping. Livestock schedules are available at www.rwas.wales/winter-fair/ and exhibitors can enter competitions online until  October 19. This year’s event will be officially opened at 10am on November 28, following which  there will be presentations of the John Gittins Memorial Award 2022, the RWAS Oxford Farming Conference Bursary 2023 and the Nuffield Farming…

FOOD and drink companies in Wales can access free one-to-one support to capitalise on major procurement opportunities in the public sector. As part of its innovative Larder Cymru project, Menter Môn is targeting up to 50 producers and processors from across the country and rolling out mentoring and guidance sessions for successful applicants. Funded by Welsh Government and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), the scheme is focused on coordinating and strengthening relations within local supply chains to position regionally produced food and drink as a compelling proposal for large contracts nationwide. Larder Cymru Project Manager Dafydd Jones…

The Oswestry Balloon Carnival proved to be a huge fund raising success with over 20 hot air balloons of all colours and shapes taking to the skies. The two-day event in August was one of the most successful yet in its five-year history, raising over £34,000 for patient care at Nightingale House Hospice in Wrexham. Organised in partnership with Oswestry Town Council, Spirit Operations and supported by Oswestry Business Improvement District (BID), an array of hot air balloons was on show with family entertainment and food stalls for those attending the event at Cae-Glas Park. Oswestry BID Manager Adele Nightingale…

EVENTS designed to promote health and wellbeing, charities and small businesses will take place in Ruthin over the coming months. Denbighshire Voluntary Services Council (DVSC) has lined up online and in-person activities – held at the town’s revamped Market Hall – to support the local community post-pandemic. Supported by the UK Government’s Community Referral Fund, they include four virtual health, fitness and nutrition workshops beginning (October 6) with Elen Lloyd, a certified exercise and holistic lifestyle coach with the CHEK Institute, an award-winning education provider. “I’m a working mother and farmer’s wife so life is always busy, but I believe…

A new project, Gower Fields to Forks, is bringing together several local farms with Bishopston Comprehensive School and food distributor Castell Howell in a ground-breaking series of activities that will see food grown on local farms being delivered to the school for a nutritious meal on Friday October 21. The project will teach the pupils about local food production, sustainability, cooking, marketing, and agriculture. They have been visiting the farms and will learn about cooking, the importance of farming, the value of local sourcing, seasonal eating, and how to market local food to other pupils at the school. The project…

A charity dedicated to helping people in rural communities deal with mental health issues has been praised by a young woman who knows all about the challenges of running a farm. Ffion Hooson was only 18 when her dad, Huw, suffered a stroke and she had to take over the day to day running of the family farm near Denbigh – and she admits the pressure almost proved too much for her. One of the things that helped her get through some dark days were social media messages posted by the charity The DPJ Foundation, set up in 2016 by…

A TV investigation stretching from North Wales to South America has made two dreams come true for a 91 year old great grandmother who was adopted when she was just a few weeks old. Retired carer Myra Williams, from Caernarfon, has been reunited with long lost relatives from Flintshire and she has been able to arrange for flowers to be laid on the grave of her beloved brother who died in a tragic accident in Brazil in 1953 at just 17 years of age. Myra knew she had been adopted and always yearned to know more about her birth family.…

The headline NatWest Wales Business Activity Index – a seasonally adjusted index that measures the month-on-month change in the combined output of the region’s manufacturing and service sectors – registered 47.7 in September, down from 48.1 in August to signal a modest contraction in output across the Welsh private sector. The pace of decline was quicker than the UK average and the fastest seen in Wales since February 2021. Lower business activity was often linked to supply chain issues and weak client demand. The drop in output was broad based, with manufacturers recording a slightly sharper downturn. New business across…

Campaigners from the League Against Cruel Sports held a family friendly roadshow in Brecon town centre on Sunday calling on the Welsh public to back a campaign to end the cruel cage breeding of pheasants and partridges. In the first of a series of events across Wales, volunteers and staff from the national animal welfare charity, including one in a pheasant costume, gathered on the High Street to encourage shoppers and local residents to contact their Members of the Senedd and urge them to back a ban on cage game bird breeding. Billie-Jade Thomas, senior public affairs officer (Wales) at…

Cardiff could soon see even more electric buses operating across the city thanks to a £8m grant designed to get cleaner vehicles on our streets. Cardiff Council’s Cabinet will take a decision at its next meeting on Thursday, 20th October, which would allow bus operators to bid for Welsh Government funds to help increase the number of electric buses operating in Cardiff. All bus companies operating in Cardiff could be given the opportunity to bid for the funding. Both Welsh Government and Cardiff Council want all buses operating in Cardiff to produce zero emissions by 2035. Cllr Dan De’Ath, Cabinet Member…