Management Changes Bring A Happier Life
WALES - A switch in cattle type is not the only management change on a West Wales farm. BARRY ALSTON investigates.
26 September 2007
2 minute read
“These days I regard the countryside as part of my business because not only does it bring in some money but it provides me with a great deal of pleasure,”
Roger Mathias
Production, production and yet more production is no longer the name of the game as far as Roger Mathias is concerned.
Instead, he has opted out of the ‘expand, and expand again’ mentality, cutting back stock numbers on the 230-acres he farms in Pembrokeshire and enjoying a much better life for it.
The family has farmed Furzey Mount, at Camrose, near Haverfordwest, since the early 1900s and until a few years ago it was primarily a beef cattle and arable holding.
But depressed for too long by the low prices he was getting for his finished cattle, Mr Mathias has switched to rearing dairy heifers and is getting far more satisfaction from looking after the surrounding environment than pushing output to its limits.
“These days I regard the countryside as part of my business because not only does it bring in some money but it provides me with a great deal of pleasure,” says Mr Mathias, whose various research projects are partly funded voluntarily.
“Obviously that is a view many people will not share – being shy of allowing management of the countryside to be a part of how they farm,” he adds.
“But let us be totally honest. It is putting money into my bank account in a regular way and I am doing something I am very happy with.”
