Free e-learning modules build knowledge and skills on family farm

Biodiversity is at the heart of Peter and Cathryn Richards’ approach to farming, enriching the environment for insects and farmland birds with an abundance of wildflowers and grass species on their land.

The brother and sister have farmed Wernddu Uchaf Farm in the Clydach Valley since 1992, a 52-acre holding that has a mixture of pasture and meadow.

The land has been in agri-environment schemes since they bought the farm but retiring from their jobs – Peter as a dentist and Cathryn as a pharmacist – has given them a fresh impetus to the way they manage the land.

Keen to learn more about farming in harmony with the environment, they applied to the Farming Connect mentoring programme for support, choosing Carmarthenshire sheep farmer Hywel Morgan as their mentor.st of Wernddu Uchaf is grazed by a local beef and sheep farmer and two of the fields by horses and the Richards’ also produce hay from the meadows.

They are keen to join the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) when it is launched and to prepare for that they have embarked on a series of free Farming Connect e-learning modules, everything from transitioning to the SFS to building soil fertility and nutrient management planning.

These accredited e-learning suites, which Peter and Cathryn accessed through their online BOSS account, have helped them to gain new knowledge and build on what they already knew. “We have learned a tremendous amount,” says Cathryn.

Flexibility has been key – the modules could be completed in their own time. “We did a module every evening for two or three weeks, an hour a day at 6pm which worked for us,” says Peter.

Evidence that they completed the modules is stored on Farming Connect’s online data storage tool, ‘Storfa Sgiliau’, which is accessible through their online BOSS account

The Richards’ say support from their local Farming Connect development officer, Dewi Jones, has been invaluable.

“We can pick up the phone to him at any time, having him on hand to help has been essential,” says Cathryn.

Dewi helped them to secure a one-to-one infrastructure surgery when they were in the early stages of planning a new barn.

“The advice we had on siting the barn and on issues like water supply was very helpful,” says Peter.

In their medical professions, continuing professional development (CPD) was ongoing for Peter and Cathryn and, as such, they recognise how important increasing their knowledge, skills and experience in their role as farmers is too.

They are grateful to Farming Connect for that opportunity.

“We know we need to keep up to date with all the developments in farming, new regulations, and being able to do that through e-learning modules and other services that are free is very beneficial,” says Peter.