Poultry show for Smallholder and Garden Festival (From Smallholder)

Poultry show for Smallholder and Garden Festival

8:20am Thursday 21st January 2010

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Main ring events and leading attractions have now been booked for the Smallholder and Garden Festival at the RWAS Showground, Builth Wells 15-16 May 2010. Run by the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society, Smallholder magazine continues as the official media partner for the 2010 show.

This year it has just been announced that the event will see a major poultry show staged where the very best of fancy fowl will be on show giving visitors a chance to compare the breeds and speaking to experts before buying their poultry at the show.

Liz Wright, Smallholder editor and long time smallholder herself said “The introduction of a competitive poultry show will add a new dimension to a weekend which already showcases the very best in smallholding. Visitors will be able to see not only the best examples of well known poultry breeds such as Orpingtons or Rhode Island Reds but also the rarer examples.”

In addition to the including competitive sheep, cattle, pig, angora and dairy goat classes, there is the pig feature which is a well established attraction of interest to both consumers and small flock keepers with the pig handling class being always well worth watching! For anyone thinking of getting started in any aspect of smallholding or growing, there is help on hand with a wide range of associations and individual advisors. There’s even a property road show where you can look at prices and availability. A free programme of talks for all visitors last year covered such topics as jam making, poultry keeping and bees. Titan the Robot, who was an unexpected star at last year’s event has been rebooked to make an appearance. Although not connected with farming, Titan made a huge impression when he was activated among the bystanders at the event in 2009 and has been declared an “honorary smallholder” by many who saw him. By popular demand too, Meirion Owen and the Quack Pack are again desmonstrating sheep dog (or should that be sheep duck?) skills. Meirion Owen is well known for his ability to train and use sheep dogs and although the display is a lot of fun, much can be learnt by watching him work. The Rockwood Dog Display Team and the Black Mountain Falconry Display add a rural theme. Scurry Driving has now been confirmed – this is where small ponies go incredibly fast around obstacles and it is hugely entertaining to watch and the ponies, their drivers and the audience all get into the competitive spirit! More than 22,000 attended the show last year and feed back to Smallholder magazine showed that it really did help many people to get a bit nearer to their dream smallholding. The emphasis on green living is also very welcomed with the Green Horizon (Eco) Exhibition but also plenty of recycling on the showground itself. There is also a Farmers Markets selling tasty local produce. So whether you are interested in Llamas, Alpacas, Rare or conventional breeds of livestock, poultry, ferrets, shearing, halter making, rope making, pets, vintage machinery and implements, crafts, specialist nurseries there is something for everybody.

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