The cattle and sheep are doing well in the lovely weather, there are few flies to bother them and plenty of spring grass. After a winter in the sheds it is great to see the cows lying in the sunshine with their contented calves. The lambs have started grazing so they no longer play in large groups racing along the banks in the evening. Now it is time to start making fodder for next winter.

Jo has made two fields of round bale silage, with the next 20 acres ready as soon as the forecast is settled. Farmers are never happy. On the one hand we need a few sunny dry days to make silage and to shear the yearlings, and on the other hand the re-seed needs rain, as the grass and clover seeds have just germinated and will die without water in the next week. Also, the micro hydro has stopped making electricity as the brook which supplies it is running low.

The bluebells on Cwmfron and in Mid Wales have been spectacular this spring. The best show was in fields on the right as heading from Llangurig towards Pant Mawr on the Aberystwyth road. This display highlights some of the work farmers in Wales are doing to enhance the environment.

On Friday, June 7, NFU Cymru is organising a conference titled 'Sustainable Agriculture: Food, Farming and the Environment' at the farm of NFU Cymru president John Davies in Merthyr Cynog, near Brecon. The conference, which starts at 10am, will feature a range of speakers covering the role farmers’ play in producing quality food alongside enhancing the environment. The day includes a session with NFU Cymru members talking about their experience enhancing soil, biodiversity, air quality and the Welsh landscape. The conference is open to NFU Cymru members and anyone interested in the role of farming and the environment. Please reserve a place by emailing nfu.cymru@nfu.org.uk or telephone the NFU Cymru office on 01982 554200.