by CONNIE TABBERT
Editor
LA PASSE — When Adrian Straathof opened the passenger side door, he was surprised there was a steering wheel — and then he remembered he was on the other side of the world and what he considers the passenger side is the driver’s side.
But there were other giveaways he wasn’t in his own country, let alone at his own farm near La Passe.
When he wanted chips, he got French fries; and when he was told to look under the bonnet, the first thought was he doesn’t wear a bonnet; and then what about when he was asked if he wanted pudding, he said yes and ended up with apple pie.
If you haven’t guessed by now, Adrian was visiting in Wales for two weeks when these things happened to him. He was participating in a junior farmer exchange.
When the opportunity was presented to him to travel to another country and spend time with farm people occurred, he never hesitated to say yes. It was an opportunity to see farming operations in a different corner of the world, he explained.
Adrian left July 8 and returned July 29. It was a two week exchange through the Llangybi and Rowen young farmers clubs and a week for himself in Yorkshire and Machester.
Adrian operates a veal, sheep and cash crop farm with his parents Tony and Colleen on the Bromley Line near La Passe.
He was on four different farms while in Wales. He also had opportunity to spend time at the Royal Welsh Show, which is a mixture of rural and urban living.
Some of the differences he noted were there is no dry hay, the fields are smaller and most farms are about 400 acres.
Each farm also has a name and one of the farms that hosted him was called Bryn Mawr, in Llancielhearn, County Coernavlon.
On the sheep farms, he noted the ewes with single lambs spent most of their time on about 200 acres of flatter land in the mountains. They go up in the early spring and come down in the fall.
“They don’t have to worry about predators, because there aren’t any bears, coyotes or wolves,” Adrian said. “The foxes might get young lambs.”
He noted there are no sheep kept inside. Sheep are kept in certain areas and each sheep’s ear has a notch so if found, farmers will know which sheep belongs where. However, the sheep herds don’t mingle much.
There are also a lot of stone fences.
Adrian had opportunity to check out a sawmill and what he found interesting was the mill owned 1,000 acres and it was divided into 30 year rotation plantations.
However, while there is lots of bush, Adrian said, “They don’t have bush like we do. There are clumps of forests here and there.”
As for dairy farms, Adrian said there is no quota, like there is in Ontario, and the average farm is milking about 120 cows.
Because there is no quota, it’s much easier to get started in dairy farming.
As for the price, he noted the farmer is paid about 19 pence per litre, which is about 40 cents in Ontario.
“Last year the farmers were getting about 35 pence a litre,” he said. “There are a lot of swings in prices.”
While the price can swing daily, Adrian noted most dairy farmers sign a contract with a co-op, which means they have a stable price for as long as the contract is.
“Each season pretty much has a difference price,” he said.
There are no tie-stall barns, as they were banned in the 90s.
“They’re all free stalls,” he said.
He noted the milking cows are referred to as kiwi cross cows, however they which is actually a holstein/jersey cross.
The majority of cattle farms are grass-based, and thre are rotational grazing fields, he said.
There is spring and fall calvings, Adrian said. He visited one farming operation shared by father and son. One had the spring calving while the other was the fall calving.
Since there is no grain corn grown, the cattle are finished on grass, which means it takes longer to finish them.
There’s a different climate in Wales than in Ontario, Adrian said.
“Plus 30 is very rare,” he said. “A warm day is plus-24 while minus-two is the norm in the winter.”
He noted there aren’t many farmers who own their farms, instead they take out leases, like they did hundreds of years ago.
“It’s not unusual for a farm to be rented by generations of families,” he said. “A 99 year lease is not unusual.”
Adrian said some of the differences he can recall are that most calves are born by C-section because of the breeding choice of double muscling; it rains a lot; there are a lot of more regulations, but there is financial help from the government; they test for tuberculosis, which is carried by badgers, and while farmers want to cull those animals, it’s not allowed; all cattle have a passport, so they know the history of it; there are hedgerows and stone fences, and the hedgerows cannot be clipped; milk is still delivered to your doorstep; the equipment operates on higher hosepower and there is much more three-point hitch mounted equipment; land is more expensive; the farming economy is about the same percentage as in Ontario; they use trailers not wagons; use telehandlers more than skidsteers; the normal pick-up over there is the size of the Ford Ranger here; the roads are mostly paved and there are a lot of narrow one-lane roads.
“When you meet up with someone, you have to decide who is going to back up,” he said.
Royal Welsh Fair
The Royal Welsh Fair is four days and is attended by almost everyone, Adrian said.
“Whatever needs done, you do before the fair or it doesn’t get done until after after the fair,” he said.
He went a day early to the show to help the junior farmers set up.
There are machinery demonstrations, various contests, such as sheep dog trials, pony games, sheering competitions, beef and dairy shows, pig, goat and chicken shows.
There were various booths set up, almost like a farmers and crafts market, he said.
“It’s quite the event,” he said. “The BBC filmed and broadcast all of it.”
The junior farmers also have their own competitions and they are fierce, Adrian said.
“The tug of war is serious,” he said, noting, “Some of them have cleats on their shoes so they can dig into the ground.”
In the Young People’s Village, it was more of a music festival, but it’s tied to the Fair, he said.
Tourism
Adrian also had opportunity to visit some of the touristry places as well. He saw a Neolithic stone settlement.
“There are more castles there than anywhere else,” he said.
He went to the castle on the seaside, thinking it was on the Irish Sea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean.
He recalled stopping to take pictures in Yorkshire of some sheep. An older man started talking to him and after introductions, he was invited in for lunch.
He told the husband and wife he was going to Yorkshire to visit the James Harriet Museum.
Mr. Harriet was a veterinarian and an author and wrote about the life of a veterinarian. Adrian said his mom read those books to him when he was a young boy.
“He’s more famous as a writer outside the area,” he said.
However, what was so fascinating, is Mr. Harriet was the vet for this farmer years ago.
Following a two-hour visit, the wife offered Adrian a ride to the museum.
Exchange Participation
To participate in the exchange program, a junior farmer must be in the program for two years, Adrian said. A junior farmer applies to participate in the program and a selection committee, which is made up of various people, including past exchange junior farmers.
The Renfrew County Junior Farmers were rejuvenated about five years ago and Adrian is the first to participate in an exchange. However, he noted, when it was active years ago, there were quite a few junior farmers who participated in the exchanges.
Adrian must now make a presentation at this weekend’s Ambassador’s Banquet in Milverton.
Adrian encourages anyone who has the opportunity to participate in an exchange to do so. The only cost, and there is some financial help, is for flights and spending money. He said the exchangees are hosted by various farming families.
“It was a lot of fun,” Adrian said. “There are plenty of stories to tell, I just don’t remember them all right now.”
