‘Green’ theme for Royal Welsh competition
Safeguarding the rural environment in the face of increasing pressures on the countryside has become a key task for farmers. They have responded by enhancing the landscape and creating new habitat for wildlife. Farm buildings have also been improved and modified to be aesthetically pleasing as well as practical.
The Royal Welsh Agricultural Society is taking the improvement, functionality and appearance of farm buildings a step further this year by choosing the theme “Going green – towards carbon neutral” for its annual Farm Buildings & Works competition.
The competition, which is confined to a different county in Wales each year, is open this time to agricultural and rural businesses in Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham, which have renovated an existing building or erected a new one where due regard has been given to “the complex needs of the environment and the welfare of the building’s occupants.”
The preliminary judges for the competition, appointed by the Royal Welsh Feature Committee for Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham, will shortlist a maximum of four entries for the final selection of the winner by a team of three judges appointed by the RWAS.
The judges will not be looking for elaborate schemes but for the integration of new buildings within the existing farmstead, if appropriate, both in terms of efficiency and visual appearance. They will also give importance to innovations involving the use of structures or materials from other industries adapted or modified for use on the farm and designs which are specifically intended to avoid or significantly reduce the pollution of soil, water or air.
There is no limitation on the size of the farm or holding and no bias in favour of the amount of capital spent on the improvement. Small schemes will have equal chance with large ones of winning the competition, says the Royal Welsh.
The prize for the best project, the Peniarth Estate Silver Trowel, will be presented to the winner at the Royal Welsh Show in July.
The competition, for which entries close on March 14, is sponsored by NFU Mutual Insurance Society Ltd.