SMOKO STORIES - CARIAD TANNER

"Society is slowly starting to value where their food comes from again and its been lovely to have conversations with people at the milk hut who care that their milk has only come from five miles down the road."

After leaving school, Cariad Tanner's dream was to join the army however, due to some minor health issues she did not pass all the required checks which led her down the farming career path instead. Here, in her own words, Cariad, tells me about her journey so far through agriculture in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales.

FF. Take me back to the beginning. Where did your farming story start?

CT. I grew up on the family farm in Barry, South Wales. My mum always tells the story of when I was four years old and one of our cows was giving birth. I was jumping on her stomach to try to get her contractions to go quicker and my family actually have video evidence of me doing it. However, when I started school I realised I was falling out of love with the farming lifestyle and had made a decision that I didn't want to do it as a career. I had made the decision during my later years in secondary school that I was going to join the army in the engineering corps. I was lucky to have passed all the fitness stages of the application process however when it came to the medical checks I was denied because I suffered with migraines and previously had operations on my feet. I was disheartened after hearing this and because I wasn't very academic in school, my school years were appalling, I knew that I didn't want to continue down an academic route. This made me realise that I needed a practical career rather than an  office job. Growing up and throughout my school years I was always very hands on, out in the fresh air and was never found sat at a desk.

I decided to go to one of the local colleges and did a degree in agriculture where I was able to carry out work experience placements at different farms in the surrounding area and it was from there that I was able to gain my knowledge and confidence to find jobs elsewhere in the local farming community.

FF. Tell me more about your family farm. What is the history?

CT. It used to be a dairy farm which was bought after the second world war. My family had moved from Cardiff to the farm in Barry and we have been there ever since. The farm is 65 acres in total which I know isn't massive but it is a nice size family farm to run with my father, who like myself also works off farm to earn and extra income. It's just me and my father which carry out the farm work at home. My younger sister also helps out if we ever need her as an extra pair of hands but she is very clever so I think if she wishes to stay in the agricultural sector when she is older then I can imagine her working in an accountancy or management based roll because she is very intelligent. My boyfriend, Will, is also great at helping us as and when we need it.

FF. You mentioned you also work off farm. What does that work involve?

CT. I lamb for three months of the year for other farms in my area which I have done for a few years and I have learnt a lot of skills that I hope to bring back to my own flock of sheep at home in the future. I also work on a local organic dairy farm which milks roughly 115 cows and who have in recent years diversified into a milk vending hut. They have been organic farming since the year 2000. I find it interesting how my family farm and my father in particular used to be a dairy farmer, and how it has come full circle to me working on a dairy farm in my local area today. I always used to say to myself I would never work in the dairy industry. As a kid I had already experienced and witnessed both the financial pressures and mental pressures my dad had to go through to run a dairy farming business which had put me off wanting to work in that industry myself.

However, working on this dairy farm which has diversified into selling milk directly to the customer from the farm gate has shown me the importance of educating and building relationships with the urban consumer as to where their food comes from and how it is produced. It's funny because you see the younger generation tend to buy the milk because its a cool thing to do and they have seen their friends tagging the farm in social media posts so they want to be seen to be cool also. Where as the older generation say that it brings back memories of when they were younger and their families used to buy directly from their local milk round before the supermarkets grew in popularity. This diversification enterprise has taught me that as farmers and rural workers we need to broaden our skills into other areas such as marketing to help us sell our produce. Society is slowly starting to value where their food comes from again and its been lovely to have conversations with people at the milk hut who care that their milk has only come from five miles down the road. Seeing customers both young and old return to the milk hut on a weekly basis has shown that educating people in the right way, without forcing it down their throats that they have to support local really does work, especially when you are continually telling your farming story in a cool way through modern marketing streams such as social media. This was proven when they first opened the milk hut diversification, it was because of social media that people were queuing for up to three and a half hours to get themselves a milkshake!

FF. Who would you say has been your biggest inspiration so far on your farming journey?

CT. My grandfather is my biggest inspiration because he had such a passion for the land and the livestock that even when he was old and frail and could no longer do all the farm jobs, he would sit outside in his rattily old deck chair and watch what myself and my dad were doing and of course would always have an opinion on what job was being done. Right up until the end of his life he had a huge dedication to the land and the livestock and the farming industry as a whole. Our 'Tanner' family name is known for being stubborn. My grandfather was stubborn right up to the end, my dad is stubborn and I am definitely following them both with the stubborn trait. At the end of his life when he was no longer in the best of health he always wanted to be outside and I honestly don't think anyone can be miserable when they are out in the fresh air. You may get irritated when farm jobs don't go to plan but you always feel better when you are outside.

FF. Why Farming?

CT. It started off as an easy option because dad was a farmer and I knew that I could do certain jobs but I think I just fell in love with doing the variety of work involved and I found that I was actually quite good at working in a particular sector with sheep and the lambing season. My own love for the land has just grown every year I have worked in this industry so far. I wouldn't say I have fallen easily into this industry, I have had many challenging experiences along the way. When I went to college I wasn't one of the students who came from a large, well known, successful family farm therefore I had to prove myself to the community that I was working within in order, as far as I felt, to keep up with the well known family reputations of the other students in the college. I also felt as a female doing an agricultural degree there was even more pressure to prove that I could do the same work, and in some cases, was better at certain jobs compared to my male classmates

FF. What advice would you give to someone looking to start working in the agricultural sector?

CT. Bugger it and just give it a go! What have you got to loose from having a go at it? I think people need to just go in with an open mind and try multiple different things. Each farming sector is different but there are skills you can learn, transfer and apply to all of them. Never be afraid to ask questions as there is no such thing as a silly question. That's probably my biggest piece of advice to anybody. Just ask questions. Its definitely the best thing I have learnt from working on different farming enterprises across South Wales. Normally farmers will give you the answer because they want you to do the job correctly instead of something going wrong and having to repeat the work. That is something I have taken through my whole farming journey to date is asking questions because people would rather take the time to explain it to you than having to clean up the mess.

FF. What is your greatest achievement so far in your farming journey?

CT. I volunteer for the DPJ Foundation Charity which provides mental health support services to the agricultural and rural industry in Wales. I recently completed the Welsh Three Peaks challenge at the beginning of May 2023 and as part of a team of four regional champion volunteers we raised over £3600 in order for the charity to keep providing the services it does to the farming community within Wales. It was an extremely challenging experience climbing the three mountains in 24 hours and I was so happy to see the finish line at the bottom of Pen Y Fan. However, it was amazing the conversations we had individually as team members whilst climbing the mountains. I felt I learnt so much about everyone that I wouldn't necessarily hear or discuss in a day to day working or social environment. We were constantly checking in on each other to make sure we were all coping with the climbs but also respecting when people needed some time to themselves also. We were four women who all knew each other socially however I definitely feel after completing the challenge we have bonded as life long friends simply through the power of walking and talking.

FF. That answer links in nicely to the next question. As we both know mental health within farming is a big concern. What do you do to look after your mental health?

CT. Can my answer be nothing? I don't know how to answer it. But I know I have become aware that I need to do more to look after myself. I have recently noticed that I get very frustrated when things don't go to plan working on the farm and I find if I walk away from the situation for a few minutes and just rationally think about the problem it helps me re-focus and get the job done without being so stressed about it. I used to do a lot of running in school especially around the time of my exams in order to cope. I appreciate going for a walk in the fields at the end of the day with the dogs but I realised I also needed to take myself away from farming all together to switch off completely. Therefore, I have recently signed up with Cattle Strength, a fitness coach, to hopefully help me switch off at the end of a working day and focus on doing something different for myself as well as improving my fitness. I'm farm fit but wouldn't say I'm actually fit. Farming is physically demanding on its own and taking time away from the farm to prioritize yourself is easier said than done however, I am aware that I needed to do something at the end of my working day for an hour or so and just forget about the farming jobs I haven't managed to do that day, or that I have to do tomorrow or the rest of the week. I'm learning that I need to do something, and farmers need to do something for as little as half hour or so each day to simply relax.

FF. What is one item of farm clothing you can not farm without?

CT. Shearing vest (singlet). And I am sure you know which brand in particular I mean. Everyone will know because they are all over my Instagram page. I love them! They are good for farming in both the summer months when it's really hot as well as the winter months when you can use them to layer up in freezing cold conditions. I simply can not farm without them. In the colder months I suffer with back pain so I find the longer length back on the vests helps keep my back warm and protected.

FF. As your Instagram account shows, you literally are the queen of fashion farming brands!

CT. (Laughing) Unfortunately yes! I went through my wardrobe the other day and counted up how much money I have spent on shearing vests, hoodies, shorts, fleeces, jackets, the list goes on. It's no wonder I have no money because I spend it all on farm clothes. And I buy duplicates so that I have one for social gatherings and one for working on the farm. It's crazy!

FF. Final question. When you are working in the sheep yards, and you have a big day ahead of you, what is that one song you play to get you in the mind frame to get the job done?

CT. Recently, it would have to be 'Giving Me' by Jazzy but there are loads I could choose from. 'Hit the diff' I would also say would definitely be being played even though I would be doing sheep work or any other country songs really. I find my music choices are very mood dependent so I don't necessarily have a selection of favourite artists but I do also highly recommend the Cattle Strength playlist because it is bl***y good!