In Your Field: Kate Beavan - 'The tag team of Patterdale terrier and cats made for a stressful viewing'

My students have completed their final exams and I am having a meal with them next week to say goodbye.

clock • 2 min read
In Your Field: Kate Beavan - 'The tag team of Patterdale terrier and cats made for a stressful viewing'

My students have completed their final exams and I am having a meal with them next week to say goodbye.

I am a bit of a mother hen with students and like a proud (and quite noisy) Mum at graduation.

 

After spending half my life teaching at the college, the next few weeks are going to be emotional as I am on countdown to leave, but it feels the right time to go.

 

We will be still running courses and hosting educational groups on the farm and as a STEM ambassador, I visit schools so I am not letting education go completely.

 

I will also be popping back to deliver guest lectures and involving students in my other role with Stump Up For Trees. It has been a steep learning curve, but I am thoroughly enjoying helping farmers to capture carbon through hedgerows, woodland creation and management.

 

You never know where life is going to take you, my background is animal welfare, who knew I would end up becoming a crazy tree lady.

 

The charity is made up of a small, but mighty team and dependent on volunteers. We are currently recruiting an operations manager, so if you live in South Wales and want to find out more, please get in touch.

 

Tree planting has finished until November but I am working with some enthusiastic farmers on exciting future projects. We are hoping to influence decision makers on the way forward regarding where to put trees in Wales, watch this space.

As ever, our weather is unpredictable. Due to the soggy ground, the muck only went on last week before the spring corn goes in, following the turnips.

 

This is the latest we have planted, but Jim was talking to a farmer last week who told him the best spring barley he ever grew was planted on May 12, so fingers crossed it will be okay.

 

Lambing has finished but Jim did say (I think tongue in cheek) that lambing was the easy bit, the hardest bit is keeping them alive.

 

There were lots of community events over the Bank Holiday weekend, but we spent most of it drenching lambs for nemotodirus and dagging ewes.

 

It is not fun working with wet sheep and I was stinking at the end of the day, but I am sure the King will understand, he is a long-time advocate of sustainable farming and animal welfare.

 

I did manage to watch a bit of media coverage, until the cat decided to bring a Coronation present into the farmhouse a young rat.

 

The tag team of Patterdale terrier and cats made for a stressful viewing of the royal event and, as soon as the vermin was caught, we returned to the ewes and lambs.

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