Intermediate Smallholding: a two day course

For those of you with a bit of smallholding experience wanting to spread your wings, get more ambitious with your range of smallholding activity, possibly breed your own stock and gain a more in depth understanding.

Who would benefit from this course? This course is for smallholders with some experience of looking after land and livestock who may be feeling in need of a refresher or are wanting to get beyond the basics and further develop your understanding. You might be considering breeding your own stock, choosing pedigree animals, increasing the numbers or varieties of stock you keep, wanting to manage your land more effectively, get to grips with health planning, or are now producing surplus and want to sell it. Anyone who’s been on our Introduction to Smallholding course and wants to know more will also find these two days a good next step.

Course content: an update on current legal and statutory requirements and available grants; effective health planning; making your handling facilities work better for you; land management and layout; is it time for a tractor; a look at the costs and realities of breeding your own livestock; the practicalities of selling your produce. We always allow time to answer your many questions and aim to leave you feeling confident in making your next smallholding decisions. Because this two day course is for those of you who have some smallholding experience, you are likely to have particular questions you want addressed; let us know in advance and we will do our best to accommodate them.

Day one:

10.00 Introductions. What smallholding activity are you doing at the moment and what more do you want to achieve on your smallholding?
Legislation and grants: a refresher on what’s new and what it means for you; cross compliance and good environmental practice
Making your handling facilities work for you: sheep, pigs and poultry/waterfowl
Lunch
Health planning: planning year round for healthy livestock
Land management and layout: grass management, drainage, soils, wildlife habitats, making sure the layout works for you
Cream tea and Q+A – picking up on all those questions you really want answers to
4.45 Finish for the day

Day two:

9.30 arrival, coffee/tea, picking up on any outstanding questions from day one
Is it time for a tractor?
Selling your produce
Lunch
Breeding your own poultry and waterfowl: incubation and rearing
Breeding and rearing sheep and pigs, considering pedigree animals
Costs of breeding your own
Cream tea and Q+A
4.45 Feedback and finish

This course is limited to eight people. Do bring: outdoor clothes, clean wellies, waterproofs and probably a change of clothes if it looks like rain.

Cost: £175 per person including homemade lunch, Devon cream tea and refreshments on both days. There is a 10% discount for two or more people booking together for the same course (e.g. £315 for two, £472.50 for three people etc).

Dates:
Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th October 2012
For current availability on any particular date, please check our course dates page.

Booking: Booking is simple. Just send us your name, address, phone number and email address indicating which course you want to book with your preferred date, and we’ll send you an invoice (payment is required in advance), directions to the farm and any other information you might need. And don’t forget to tell us if you have any dietary restrictions.