Welcome back friends! This week I will be telling you about our farming life and what we enjoy in our rare time off!
I am Rachel and I live at Mawley Town Farm, along with my husband Adrian and our 4 children. When Adrian’s parents moved from Northern Ireland he was just 7 years old and he spent a happy childhood growing up at Mawley. For the first few years of our married life we lived the other side of the small market town of Cleobury Mortimer. After a few years Adrian and I moved back to Mawley Town Farm so he could be on site for the cattle 24/7.
Adrian has always had a passion for the cows; he enjoys selecting their breeding and has more recently introduced Ayrshire and Dairy Shorthorn cows to the herd for their versatiliy. He loves the arable-side of farming and is happy when the weather is good and he can get out to the fields for the day! His main roles for the arable enterprise are planting, cultivating, and driving the forager at grass and maize silage times. The driving force behind the renewable energy, Adrian embraces new technology to keep the farm up to date.
For the love for the cows!
An evolution
My role on the farm has evolved over the years. I first got involved working in the dairy and helping with the mountain of book work that comes with running a farm. After taking a break for a few years to raise our family, I am now very involved with legislation, food standards, health & safety and employment aspects on the farm. Using my previous experience of marketing and customer service I keep customers and followers up to date through our website and social channels.
Second Row
As farming is a way of life, we dont get a lot of time away, however we do have interests outside of the farm. From the age of 18, Adrian played rugby for a local team and enjoyed the game as second row for over 10 years. Commitments to the farm and a recurring injury led to his retirement from the game. Now he follows rugby union on the TV from the comfort of home! A supporter of Ireland/Ulster he also has a soft spot for Samoa as that is where we spent our honeymoon! He most enjoys a live match, and has attended an occasional international game at Cardiff, Dublin, Twickenham, and our local Premier Team, Worcester Warriors.
Passion for the countryside
Despite not growing up on a farm, I always loved the outdoors right from a young age; dog walking and horse riding are still my favorite pastimes. Although our dogs (a Patterjack called Woody and our Great Dane, Titch) get plenty of fresh air every day, I still love to take advatange of our beautiful surroundings and take them a walk across our fields. I first learned to ride a pony at the age of 8 and we are lucky enough to have 2 ponies at the farm. Time for riding is rather limited for me these days, but I am glad that 2 of my daughters have literally ‘taken up the reins’! Connemaras are my favourite breed of horse; they are such beautiful versatile little horses, but in all honesty, I love them all!
