CountryFile Live Volunteers Needed…

Good Morning

I am busy getting things ready for the Passion for British Livestock and Adam’s Farm area of CountryFile Live which takes place from 2nd August to 5th August at Blenheim Palace.

It is a great event where the whole aim of our area is to educate the general public about British Agriculture and British Farming. We basically bring the farmyard to the public with paddocks full of Beef and Dairy Cattle, Sheep, Pigs, Poultry, Goats and Horses all within the area as well as livestock rings where we conduct different talks and demonstrations each day. With over 120,000 people coming through the gates the Passion for British Livestock area is one of the busiest areas of the show with everyone coming eager to see, touch and learn about the animals and more importantly British Farming.

We are on the look out for some volunteers to come along and take part in the event. The volunteers would be talking with the public answering their questions, talking about the different breeds and talking about British Farming in general and Buying British.

We offer expenses, camping, entrance tickets to the event, lunch and t-shirts for the event if you would be willing to come along and join in. I am not just saying this but it is one of my favourite events of the year because I am able to educate thousands of people about what I love doing. The large majority of the visitors have never stepped foot on a farm or never been able to see a cow up close with one visitor in 2016 thinking that piglets were puppies; so it is so important that we educate as many people as we can.

If you are interested then please do get in touch via email hanleysuffolks@gmail.com or telephone 01451 851166 or twitter @waltjack71

Look forward to hearing from you soon and below are a few pictures from our area from the past two years

Jack

 

 

Highlights….

Good Evening

A week ago today I was busy getting things ready at the showground and stock were beginning to arrive. It’s mad to tell you that as of last night all of the livestock pens are down, mucked out, pressure washed and marquees down.

As many of you will know I am passionate about the Royal Three Counties Show and this year it was an honour to be once again the Official Young Ambassador to the Three Counties Agricultural Society with Mr Adam Henson being the Official Ambassador.

Talking about Mr Henson on Friday it was a real honour to be asked to host ‘an audience with Adam Henson’ in the Wellington Boot theatre where we discussed many different topics over the 45 minutes. It was a packed event where we talked about many topics including education plus the chance for the audience to ask questions they have always wanted to ask with one of the favourite questions being about Eric the world famous Highland Bull who was bought up at the Oban Bull sales many years ago. The audience were saddened to learn that he is no longer at the farm but were informed that a Royal Bull has been purchased to replace Eric called Archie. I would personally like to thank Adam Henson for all his support he has given me for numerous years and also for all his work he does as the ambassador to the Royal Three Counties. It won’t be long until we are back working together with CountryFile Live being not far away.

On Friday it was the main day for all of the livestock breeds to be judged. At one stage there were 25 rings being judged at once which was a bit of a logistical nightmare from my point of view but without the support of the volunteer ring stewards it wouldn’t be possible. In the cattle section the rings kicked off at 08:30 with the local breed the Herefords starting their long stint in ring number 1. There were 112 different animals entered in this section meaning judge Mr Kemp who travelled down from County Durham had his hands full however he judged his classes professionally and diligently with his Overall Breed Champion coming from D E, E D & A L Jones with exhibit number 82 a Heifer born on or between 1^st September 2016 and 31^st December 2016. She really was a beautiful Heifer with the reserve coming from the same home with a Bull who was a little younger being exhibit number 24.

It was a real spectacle to watch a breed that has been growing in numbers at the Royal Three Counties over the past few years the Highlands .This year they were out in force with some classes hosting 10 entries which is amazing to see. A heifer born in 2015 was made the champion from Messrs M J & V M Monk by judge Mr A Hill. I must mention the Beef Shorthorns whom were in the Any Other Beed Breed class only two years ago due to poor entry numbers this year hosted 34 entries with the championship going to Mr P Dawes with Dinmore Zoe Katrina a Heifer born in 2016.

In the sheep section it was a busy old day with all rings being used. In the Suffolk section it was success once again for W H Sinnett from Stockton with his strong Tup Lamb who was by a homebred tup. The reserve went to a big gimmer from Mr R Lawrence. It will be interesting to see how they get on at the sales this year.

It was once again the English National Show for the Beltex Sheep Society with an amazing 160 entries which we believe to be a record number for a single breed at the show. It was amazing to watch these classes taking place due to the massive numbers entered which made it a hard job for Mr Burleigh who travelled over from County Fermanagh to judge. One class hosted 32 gimmers with the ewe lamb class hosting 30. It was a gimmer from Mr P & Mrs C Tippets that took the Breed Championship with a Ram Lamb from the same stable being placed in reserve.

A breed that is the same size as the Beltex is the Blue Texel which also had great entries and this year I think it was the best display of Blue Texel’s seen at the Royal Three Counties with the championship going to a gimmer from Mr D B Roberts. She really was a truly incredible sheep being correct all over and handled superbly. Mr Roberts didn’t only just take home the Breed Championship in the Blue Texel’s he also took home the Championship in the British Charollais classes this time with a massive Aged Ewe also taking reserve with a ewe lamb. The Royal Three Counties played host this year to the Southdown Sheep Society National Show with the Overall Breed Championship going to an Aged Ram from Mr Jonathon Long. I will talk more about this sheep a bit later.

The afternoon was when the Terminal Sire Progeny Group Championship was judged by popular livestock auctioneer Mr Lyndon Trumper from Monmouthshire. It was the turn of the British Charollais to take the championship with a very smart group of three once again from Mr D B Roberts with this year the Beltex group from Tippetts and Williams being placed in reserve.

A few pictures I took on my phone during the week:

Saturday was Interbreed Day which is always an exciting day with Breed Champions from all sections getting spruced up ready to show themselves off in front of the judge against all of the other breeds.

Before the Sheep Interbreed could take place there were still many breed classes to take place with one of my new favourite breeds being the Black Welsh Mountain. They may only be a small breed in size however the breed champion was one of the sweetest sheep I’ve seen for a long time. Maybe one day I will buy a few however will need to make sure the fences are all sorted due to their small size compared to the Suffolks we have. There is always a large selection of Jacobs on offer and this year was no different with Mr Chapman from Derbyshire taking up the challenge of judging the large classes however concluded that the Aged ram taking the Overall Championship from Mr R F Price.

Once all of the Breed Classes were over it was the turn for Mr Charles Sercombe from Leicestershire to take up the role of Judging the Interbreed Breed Sheep Championships. First of all it was the Terminal Sire Breeds to take centre stage of which on show was one of the best displays of the Sheep Industry I have ever seen. It was the Southdown which was tapped out as the Champion from Mr Jonathon Long who bought his aged ram from France 2 years ago. It is not often that a 4 year old ram is placed Champion let alone Terminal Sire Champion. In reserve of this section was the Blue Texel gimmer from Mr D B Roberts. In the Other Breeds Section it was the turn of the Poll Dorset to be tapped out as Champion however when put against the Southdown in the Overall Championship Mr Sercombe tapped out the Southdown as the Overall Sheep Interbreed Champion with the Blue Texel in reserve.

Over in the cattle rings it was the turn of the Beef Breed Championships with Mr E W Quick taking up the role as Judge. First of all it was the Pairs championship where the British Limousin was placed overall Continental Pairs Champion with the British Blondes taking reserve. In the Native Pairs competition it was the Aberdeen Angus Pair which were made Champion with the Hereford Pairs in reserve. In the Overall Championship Mr Quick placed the Continental Pair as Champion with Reserve Overall going to the Angus pair.

Mr Quick also had the tough decision to pick his Overall Interbreed Beef Championship however it was the British Blonde Heifer from David and Sue Knight that took the Championship with the Reserve Championship going to the Reserve Continental Champion; a British Limousin from Mr P Dawes shown by Stockman Mr Richard Bartle who judged the British Blondes on the Friday. Mr P Dawes has won the Interbreed Beef Championship for the past four years however it wasn’t to be fifth timer for them.

Pigs are always a big hit at the Royal Three Counties Show and this year was no exception with 273 top quality entries on display. The Interbreed Pig Championship was judged by Mr A W Gregory from North Yorkshire and The George Styles Memorial Trophy which is presented to the Supreme Champion Pig went to Miss Alice Newth with Prestcombe Ally 6 who was a home-bred Landrace gilt. The Reserve Supreme Championship going to a Large Black Sow, Sock Doreen 208 from Martin Snell. The Newth family didn’t just take one breed championship they also took the Any Other Modern Breed Championship and the British Saddleback Championship.

I have just realised how long this blog is so I will stop for the time being and write another one next week regarding my highlights from the Rare and Minority Breeds Show which took place on the Sunday.

Here are some links to look at some pictures from the show:

https://www.macgregorphotography.com/galleries/

http://www.countrygirlmedia.co.uk/

And for a full list of results please click here: http://www.threecountiesonline.co.uk/frmSearchPrizes.aspx

Until next time;

Jack

Please let me know if any of the results are wrong.

Day Three

Good Evening

The third day of the Royal Three Counties is known as the National Rare and Minority Breed Show which is supported by the Rare Breed Survival Trust. It is a day where it we celebrate the top quality stock that is rare or in a minority with some breeds being extremely rare.

In the Ryeland section today it was hard work for our judge to work their way through such large classes however a decision was made to make the Ram Lamb which was born 2018 number 75 from Messrs K & T Wright champion with a Ewe born in 2017 and Mr J Williams was reserve.

One of the rarest breeds of sheep in the UK is the Portland with this year the championship going to number 308 Mrs C Hurdley as well as taking reserve championship with number 299. The Norfolk Horn are a breed of sheep which were influential in producing the original Suffolk sheep. The championship went to number 284 from Master L Walton winning this Championship with the Reserve Championship going to number 291 also from Master L Walton.

Judges travelled far and wide to take charge of their respective rings with the Balwen judge coming from Carmarthenshire and tapped out number 361 as the Breed Champion from Mr A Groucott with a Ram Lamb.

A local breed is the Cotswold with the classes being really strong however after much deliberation the championship was awarded to a strong ewe from Ms D Stanhope with the reserve going to number 555 a clipped shearling ewe. Another Longwool breed that had a strong following which was great to see was the Lincoln Longwools where Mr S and Mrs C Higgins taking the Breed Championship with their Ewe.

 It was great to see the Dorset Horn taking the Overall Interbreed Rare Breed Championship with the Norfolk Horn taking Reserve Overall Interbreed Rare Breed Championship.

I am very sorry that I haven’t mentioned the pigs in my blogs over the past few days however I haven’t been able to keep up with all the results. The one result I do know is that Alice Newth took the Interbreed Pig Championship with her British Landrace on Saturday and also took the Rare Breeds Championship today with her British Saddleback.

I will update you tomorrow with all the cattle championships from today when I have confirmation of the full results. However the Interbreed Rare Breed Championship in the Cattle went to the Beef Shorthorn.

During the amazing grand parade it was the job for Adam Henson to decide who the Champion Livestock animal in the show is which was between the Pig, Sheep and Cattle Champion. Mr Henson made his final decision by announcing in front of a packed crowd that the British Saddleback was the Best Rare Breed Animal in Show.

In the Beef Group of Three Championship the judge from Herefordshire Mr D Watts had a tough decision to make however he decided that the Aberdeen Angus trio were the best with the British Blonde taking reserve.

Today it was also the job for my Uncle Mr Andrew Walton to judge the Supreme Sheep Breed Pairs Championships of which he placed his Terminal Sire Pair Champion in first place which was the British Charollais with the Other Breed Pairs Champion being the Poll Dorset being placed in Reserve.

Over the next week I will endeavour to go into more details about the breed results over the past few days.

Jack

Day Two

Good Evening

Interbreed Rosettes were flying left, right, and centre today of which I am going to focus on in tonight’s small blog. Sorry that it won’t be too long however I have a very early start tomorrow, with judging for the National Rare and Minority Breed Show beginning at 8am.

This morning it was the Beef Breeds which took centre stage with the Interbreed and Pairs Championships. First was the Pairs competition with the Continental Breeds competing against each other. It was the Limousin pair which was tapped out as Champions of the section by judge Mr E W Quick from Devon. The British Blonde pair were the reserve pair in this section. In the Native Breed Section it was the turn of the Aberdeen Angus to be tapped out as the Champion with the local Herefords being placed reserve. The Overall Beef Pairs Championship concluded in the main arena where Mr Quick decided that the Limousin Pair were superior to the Aberdeen Angus however commented on how hard it was to choose between them.

Mr Quick also had the difficult job of judging the Beef Interbreed. It worked in a similar format with the Continentals starting it all off. There were some really impressive beasts on show however it was the British Blonde Heifer from Mr and Mrs S Knight which was given the nod by Mr Quick to be the Champion with the British Limousin from Mr Dawes taking Reserve. In the Native Section it was the Aberdeen Angus Champion from Angus Neish with Rodmead Pribaby that won the Native Section Championship with the Hereford taking Reserve. It was in the Main Arena again today where the final decision was made with the British Blonde taking Overall Interbreed Beef Championship with the British Limousin taking reserve.

This afternoon it was the turn of the Sheep to be judged for the Interbreed Championships. Mr Charles Sercombe from Leicestershire was judging the tow sections and overall championship. The Terminal Sire Championship was first with a top quality line up with the shortlist drawn out of them by Mr Secombe being the Southdown, Blue Texel, Beltex and British Charollais. After much deliberation and giving his reasons to the packed crowd he tapped the 4 Year Old Southdown Ram from Mr J Long to be his Terminal Sire Champion with the Blue Texel taking the Reserve.

In the Other Sheep Breeds Section I was unable to watch all of this class due to other commitments however I was very impressed with the Black Welsh Mountain entry however it was the Poll Dorset that was placed Champion with the impressive Lincoln Longwool taking the Reserve. The Overall Sheep Interbreed Championship concluded with Mr Sercombe tapping the Southdown Ram out as the Overall Championship with the Blue Texel in reserve.

It was been great to see such quality of stock on display at the show today none more so than the Grand Parade of Livestock where I think it was the biggest entry I have ever seen.

Tomorrow’s blog will all be about Rare Breeds plus a little about the Overall Sheep Pairs Championship of which my uncle is judging.

Jack

Day One

Good Evening to you all and it has been an amazing first day at the Royal Three Counties Show.

The first day is always busy in the Livestock lines with all the livestock rings having different breeds being judged; in fact, at one point we had 24 rings going at once.

The first Breed to start today was the Hereford cattle which took pride of place in Ring Number One. The Breed Championship went to a Dendor 1 Ruby 29th a Heifer from D E, E D & A L Jones. Not only did the take the Overall Championship they also took the Reserve Overall Championship with their Bull.

Mr Paul Dawes had a busy day with cattle in the Beef Shorthorn and British Limousin classes. The quality of the cattle was very high in both breeds but Mr Dawes managed to win both Championships with his Heifers. They are going to be hard to beat tomorrow in the Interbreeds.

The British Blonde National Show was won by regular supporters of the show, Mr & Mrs D Knight, winning with one of their Females. They also took reserve with their Bull.

Another Breed who held their National Show was the Longhorns. The quality of stock in the ring was amazing with most classes having over 10 entries. The championship went to D & A Blockley with their Bull Southfield Qnard.

In the Sheep lines the biggest classes were in the Beltex Breed. They were once again holding their National Show with Mr Burleigh travelling from Ireland to judge. The Breed Championship went to Mr P & Mrs C Tippetts with their impressive Yearling Ewe.

Mr Ingram travelled from Aberdeenshire to judge some quality classes of British Charollais. He awarded the Breed Championship to Mr D B Roberts with a strong age ewe.

There was a big entry in the Leicester Longwool classes this year with the Championship within the Breed going to Ms D Stanhope with their Yearling Ewe.

The Southdowns this year held their National Show at the Royal Three Counties with Mr P M Humphrey from West Sussex taking the challenge of judging. It was great to see Mr Johnathan Long winning the Breed Championship with this stunning Aged Ram.

As you will all know Suffolk Sheep are very close to my heart so it was great to see such strong classes. The Breed Championships went to W H Sinnett once again, but this time with a Ram Lamb sired by a Lamb he sold last year at Stirling Suffolk Tup Sale. The Reserve was awarded to the Yearling Ewe from Mr R Lawrence who was tapped as Female Champion by judge Dennis Taylor.

Mr R Lawrence brought one Texel along to the show as well and he took the Texel Breed Championship with this sole entry, a beautiful Yearling Ewe.

I really do wonder who will win the Sheep Interbreed tomorrow? I really don’t know who it will be!

Keep an eye on Twitter for live Championship results

Jack

If any results are wrong please do let me know

One Day to Go!!!

As I write, I am sat in the Judges and Stewards Office after a long hard day getting all the boxes of rosettes ready for judging to start tomorrow.

It is mad to think that 4 weeks ago there were 10 show gardens on display at RHS Malvern Spring Festival but now, the gardens are all covered in turf and full of sheep pens. In these rings will be my favourite breed of sheep, the Suffolk’s along with the Beltex, Zwartbles, Texel and Llyen. I am really looking forward to watching the progress of these  tomorrow as after having a walk around this evening it is clear that the quality of stock is extremely high.

One of the championship classes taking place tomorrow is the Terminal Sire Progeny Group which is where the Terminal Sire Breeds compete for the best progeny in the show. It is a valuable prize pot with £150 up for grabs for the champion group. Judging this class will be a well known Auctioneer and Jacob breeder Mr L Trumper from Monmouthshire.

The cattle judging begins at 08:30 in the morning with one of the largest breeds of cattle being the Hereford’s. They begin with the Bulls which are always a spectacle with many weighing well over a tonne. The judge will be Mr Kemp from County Durham.

At the Royal Three Counties this year it is playing host to the Longhorn National Show with large entries in every class. Judging the classes this year will be Mr Close from Berwickshire. Good luck to everyone who has entered the classes tomorrow it is set to be a great display of a very British Breed.

Another thriving breed at the Royal Three Counties this year is the Highlands which have a strong entry in all classes, and the judge Mr Hill travelling from Shropshire to judge.

Sorry it is only a short post however there are still many jobs to complete. Best of luck to everyone who is competing tomorrow.

I will be tweeting live championship results throughout the days on both the Three Counties twitter page and my own twitter page (@waltjack71).

Jack

 

Royal Three Counties 2018 – Sheep

Good Evening

I can’t believe that the show is only a few days away. This time next week the large majority of stock will be already back on the road maybe off to the Royal Highland Show or back home for a well-earned rest.

Have you been watching CountryFile over the past few weeks where they have been doing three features from Her Majesty The Queen’s Estates. This week the feature was from the Sandringham Estate where the beautiful herd of Red Poll cattle are kept and on the Saturday of the show the Royal Three Counties will be hosting the Red Poll Cattle Society National Show. Will there be any Royal bloodlines winning this year I wonder?

This past week has been a very busy week for me with many miles travelled. On Thursday I was very lucky to visit the Royal Cornwall Show where I represented my university the Royal Agricultural University in a Parade for Prince Charles. It was a real honour to represent the RAU however the day got better when having a cream tea afterwards Prince Charles and Camilla arrived and it was lovely to meet them and speak with them.

Last week I talked about some of the Cattle Breeds that will be on show next week so this week it is time to focus on a few different breeds of Sheep.

The largest section in the Sheep lines this year is the Beltex. The first Beltex sheep arrived in the UK from Belgium in 1989 brought in to bring a new dimension to the British Lamb industry with their double-muscle traits. Last year Tippetts and Williams won the Shearling Ewe class before winning the Female Championship and then finally taking the Breed Championship with Mr A D Bishop in reserve.

As you will likely know my favourite breed of sheep is the Suffolk of which my family have been breeding them since 1937 with the famous prefix of Roseden. When down at the Royal Cornwall Show on Thursday I managed to watch Suffolks being judged and great to catch up with many of the exhibitors travelling up to the Royal Three Counties next week. Last year’s Suffolk Champion going to Mr John Sinnett from the Stockton Flock with his Gimmer which went on to win the Interbreed Championship and Mr Sinnett will be competing again this year. Mr Denis Taylor will be travelling over from County Londonderry and I look forward to seeing who will win this year.

It is great to see the Southdown Sheep Society have decided to hold their National Show on the Friday of the show. Mr P M Humphrey from West Sussex will be taking up the challenge of judging this year with consignors coming from far and wide to compete for Breed Championship.

I will do another preview blog before the show blogs starting on Thursday night. I will be tweeting Live from the show everyday on @waltjack71. Throughout the weekend I will be auctioneering in the Ask The Farmer marquee, on the Friday as the young Ambassador to the Three Counties Agricultural Society I will be interviewing Adam Henson the Show Ambassador in the Wellington Boot Theatre and I will be in the main arena on many occasions but mostly of course you will be able to find me running around in the Livestock section.

Jack

 

Royal Three Counties 2018 – Cattle

Good Evening,

It is not long until the Royal Three Counties Show (www.royalthreecounties.co.uk) and as we are just two weeks away I am going to start my annual preview blogs. Whilst we are talking about shows my family have had some great success in the Suffolk Sheep classes at the Northumberland County Show on Bank Holiday Monday. In every class that we entered we were placed First with the Champion and Reserve also going to ourselves as well. It was a great result considering the large number of entries in each class. The championship went to our Gimmer with the Ewe Lamb in Reserve. Next stop for them will be the Great Yorkshire Show.

I have now completed two out of three exams with my final exam being tomorrow afternoon; so I am writing this in my break. Law can get boring without breaks!!!

Back to the Royal Three Counties and this week I am focusing on the Cattle Section focusing on Beef Breeds:

One of the main breeds for many years at the Royal Three Counties is the Hereford. The Herefords are one of the most well-known breeds of cattle around the world and are very popular in their home county and part of the Three Counties Hereford. This year the man with one of the hardest jobs in the showground taking up the challenge of judging the Hereford is Mr J Kemp from County Durham. Mr Kemp has his own herd of Pedigree Hereford Cattle with his prefix Auckvale Herefords being founded in the mid-1970s and re-founded in 1995 with cattle being sold at pedigree sales regularly for over 4000gns. Best of luck to everyone who is showing in the Hereford section with last year’s championship going to Mr M J Clark of Tetbury.

The British Limousin has always been a great sight at the Royal Three Counties with in recent years the Beef Interbreeds being awarded to the Limousins. This is always a section that is very well supported with top quality top on display like the winning Heifer in calf or Maiden born in 2015; Ironstone Lavender (Smiths of Bloxham)  which became the Champion Female and Reserve Overall Champion selling for 17,000gns at their sale to a breeder in Cumbria with the same purchaser buying Ironstone Laura who was third in this class last year making 14,000gns. Who will be the champion this year? Mr P Kirton from Shropshire will have to task.

Longhorns on Parade

Hereford Champion

Hereford Champion

British Blonde Champion

 

A breed of cattle that my family breed up in Northumberland is the British Simmental so I always like watching them being judged. We only have a small herd however I think they are fantastic mothers with great characteristics always producing top quality calves. Boddington Estates have always produced some top quality cattle with show winners produced year after year at the Royal Three Counties. In fact my family bought a Boddington Estate Bull three years ago which is still doing extremely well. Sterling Bascadi’s Hawaii won the Heifer born on or between 1^st January and 31^st March 2016 and went on to become the Reserve Female Champion. At Boddington Estates sale in October she went on to sell for a NEW FEMALE BREED RECORD which was 28,000gns to Messrs Barker & Borlase as well as the Female Champion and Overall Breed Champion 2017 Sterling Celia’s Fifi (and calf at foot) selling for 22,000gns to Harte Peat Ltd, County Monaghan. I look forward to seeing some quality stock from many consignors again this year. Mr Rixon of Oxfordshire will be taking up the job of judging this year.

The Longhorns are often a popular breed during judging and this year it is the National Show for the breed. This year the man in charge of the judging is Mr P Close travelling from Berwickshire. Annual consignors JS & JW Brigg were awarded Overall Champion last year with Gorse Winegum so I wonder who it will be this year?

Another National Breed show at the Royal Three Counties this year is in the Murray Grey section. There is always a good selection of Murray Grey cattle with another annual consignor; Otter & Company winning last year’s show. Best of luck for this year!!!

The Overall Beef Cattle Interbreed this year is being judged by Mr E W Quick from Devon. The Quick family are very famous at breeding top quality pedigree stock making Mr Quick extremely well qualified to judge these important classes. Last year the Overall Beed Interbreed Championship went to Dinmoor Lionheart from Mr P R Dawes with the Champion Limousin. If the reserve champion Limousin sold for 17,000gns what on earth is the Overall Champion and Interbreed Champion worth??!?! The Overall Reserve Interbreed Championship went to the Charolais from Mr & Mrs White with Balbithan Iona.

Best of luck to all exhibitors at this year’s Royal Three Counties and look forward to seeing who wins this year?

I always like to hear about sales of Royal Three Counties Entries so do let me know hanleysuffolks@gmail.com

Jack

1gns is the same as £1.05 so 28,000gns is worth £29,400

Update…

Hello

I have just realised that this is my first blog since the 19th of October which is a very long time ago.

What has been going on since the 19th… well quite a bit really.

First of all I have nearly completed my second year at the Royal Agricultural University where I have been studying Rural Land Management. In January I completed my first lot of exams which went very well and I have my next lot of exams this week so fingers crossed. As I write this I am also revising Premiums for my Valuation exam tomorrow!

As well as being a student this year I have also been busy being the Chairman of the Student Union here at the RAU; a role I have been very proud to hold.

From the role of SU Chairman I was very lucky to be invited to Prince Charles’s 70th Birthday Party at Buckingham Palace last week. It was a real honour to represent the University and the Students. When I arrived at the Palace I was very lucky to be picked out and meet a couple of the Royals. I wasn’t aware who I would meet until the royal walked down the steps and then it became clear that I was to meet the newly weds; Duke and Duchess of Sussex (Harry and Meghan). It was amazing to speak to them and they were very interested to hear about the RAU and also Prince Harry was very interested in educating children who live in (as Prince Harry put it) ‘Concrete Cities’ about farming. It was a day I will never forget.

That’s me to the left about to talk to Harry and Meghan

 

As well as everything that has been going on at Uni, I have also still got my sheep. At the moment they are being looked after by the Land Owner Sue who I am incredibly grateful too. The four ewes produced 7 lambs between them and they are all doing very well.

Two sets of twins had an adventure to CountryTastic over the Easter Holidays and were very well behaved. They were representing the Commercial sheep industry and I ran Mock Livestock Auctions and Talks throughout the day educating the young children and their parents  about farming.

If you recently watched RHS Chelsea on TV or visited the show you might have noticed some Sheep wool and Sheep poo on Mark Gregory’s Welcome to Yorkshire garden. Well the wool and the droppings came from my sheep. It was great to hear they were commented on a lot and were part of the Gold Medal and Peoples Choice Award garden.

At the show ground there has also been the RHS Malvern Spring Festival which took place only a couple of weeks ago which was a great success. To find out more please visit: https://www.threecounties.co.uk/news/best-ever-rhs-Malvern/

Once my exams are over I will be writing a couple of blogs in regard to the up and coming Royal Three Counties which is set to be once again a great show.

Speak Soon

Jack

3000 Miles I will never forget…

Hi All

It still shocks me today the amount of people that come up to me to talk about Jack’s Journey. It was a trip that I will never forget due to the people I met, the experience I gained and also for the money I raised for two great charities helping the farming community; RABI, RSABI.

Here are some pictures from the tour which bring back memories for me and hopefully some memories you have when meeting me at your local market:

Meeting the Managing Director and Auctioneer

Sheep sale underway

George Purvis selling the Cull Ewes

Donation bucket on the Rostrum

Markets past and present

Store Cattle sale

Good strong show of sheep

Auctioneer Jenny Layton Mills selling the fat lambs

Myself and my Grandfather