[CarolineR]

Hi everyone,
Scotland's Rural College and SAC Consulting will be doing more free disease and welfare courses again once we've got the spring rush over.

Last year we did 4 day-courses in various location. I really enjoyed them, but I felt that time and distance could really limit access for some people. So I've been chatting to people to see what else might work.

Can I please hear your opinions on having informal evening "disease prevention and animal management" club meetings run by a vet in local areas instead? Maybe once every 2-3 months?

We already do similar things very regularly all over the country for farmers, and we do a club for all vets too - great attendances for both, for years - but none for smallholders yet.

So instead of say, a free sheep course in one location for a day, I was thinking a wee hour's presentation on relevant subjects (lamb diseases to look out for, for a meeting in March, for instance, or when and how to choose wormers, when we are coming up to the time we start worming, etc) which I would present in Perth BUT I would then give the presentation to other centres to do in Aberdeen, Inverness, St Boswells, Ayr and Dumfries for local smallholders or smallholder clubs.

And I would be taking requests for subjects to cover too.

HOWEVER, what I would like to know is:

Are most of the members of TAS forum already members of a local smallholder club? Or are there lots of you out there that have not joined a club? If you have not, why?

If you already run or have tried to start a club, do you find it difficult or easy to fill up an evening meeting? Or is it sometimes hard to find enough smallholders in your area to make a good-sized meeting?

Would people prefer an occasional, informal, short course in the evening rather than a day long "information dump" ?

Please do note - this is NOT intended to tread on the toes of any of the existing clubs, who we know organise excellent events already  - this is only about the fact that we have a budget to allow vets to speak to smallholders and chat about their concerns and how to fix them or avoid them     
We are happy to do this in the form of attending meetings of existing clubs just as free speakers, rather than making new clubs where they are clearly not needed.

But first off, I need to just check whether most people are in a club, or not in a club, so everybody can get access to the same information equally if they want it. 

Please, please do jot down your opinions on this thread, or if you prefer, come and have a natter at the SAC Consulting/ SRUC stall at the Spring Festival if you are up that way. I'll be in touch with all the smallholder's clubs I can find very shortly too!

Sorry, non-Scotland-dwellers, our college only covers our own national area - but those Englanders who can nip over the border to meetings in Dumfries or St Boswells are of course totally welcome as well.

Thanks!
Caroline

[archie hipwell]

The idea of some evening meetings sounds an excellent idea as it is difficult for smallholders to sometimes get away to a whole day course , particularly if you are juggling work away from base and looking after everything on the smallholding! I agree that it would be great to link these in with any local smallholders groups, or supplement these if a local group is not available. The Central Scotland Smallholders ([email protected])( www.facebook.com/centralscotland.smallholders) (www.centralscotlandsmallholders.org.uk) are currently looking for suggestions and feedback for future meetings so they would be worth speaking to.
SAC[size=78%] [/size][/size]has been a great help to us with lab work and advice over the last year so I am sure that talks aimed for people like us would be interesting and useful, particularly if they can be geared for small flock sizes/small numbers of animals.[size=78%]

[/size]Hope to catch up with you at the Spring Festival at the end of the month!
[size=78%]

[doganjo]

Archie, you and Fiona are members of CSSA - I just sent out a survey.  Have you done it?  We want to provide what members would like. (https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/W9ZJTK7)

I've done on line courses recently - from Universities - gives level one certificate - how about combining that with evening meetings, Podanmoo?

[Mays]

Id be interested in 1/2 day courses, in sheep care, goat care, chicken care, sheep management, farmland management and learning practical skills

[shygirl]

im not in a club as i dont think there are any in my area. but id be interested in joining one and any training seminars available.
anyone interested in helping start a smallholders group in aberdeenshire? or is there one already?

[doganjo]

This might help you, Shygirl - http://www.nescotlandsmallholders.co.uk/

[shygirl]

any idea who that is ?? - couldnt see a name anywhere? seems like the forum hasnt been used for a year or so.

i might join the local rbst group, is training being offered there OP?

[Treud na Mara]

We would definitely be interested in a day or evening course, but Inverness would be the furthest south ewe could come. We are in Caithness and not aware of any local smallholder groups in the area, but would also be interested if there is one near.
Sounds good though.
Cheers.

[Womble]

Hi Caroline,

I have to say, the one day sheep keeping course last year was absolutely superb, so more of that sort of thing is definitely to be encouraged.

I would absolutely come to similar evening sessions on things like sheep keeping, lambing, worming, grassland management, legal stuff etc.

Doganjo - am I still a member of CSSA?     I fear I may have lapsed due to work demands of late, and not having been to any meetings .

[clydesdaleclopper]

I would certainly be interested.


It might be worth thinking about running them in some of the large rural towns rather than the cities though. I know where I am (Aberdeenshire / Moray border) trekking into the city would be less attractive than something at one of the larger towns.

[jaykay]

I'd be really interested in evening courses, in the far north of England. I'm one of the 'juggling a day job away from base' folk, so I can't make daytime courses.

I'd be really interested in land management (even more so than animal husbandry), as well as animal welfare.

[shygirl]

It might be worth thinking about running them in some of the large rural towns rather than the cities though. I know where I am (Aberdeenshire / Moray border) trekking into the city would be less attractive than something at one of the larger towns.

thainstone / inverurie maybe? i could get there.

[doganjo]

Doganjo - am I still a member of CSSA?     I fear I may have lapsed due to work demands of late, and not having been to any meetings .

Just pay next meeting you come too - maybe the ECO day at Polmont (Stu's event)? 

We're having a  free membership year next year - all welcome, nobody pays membership dues till January 2016

[sheepandponies]

Agree evenings would be great and please cover health management in sheep, pigs, poultry....am member of scottish smallholder group which covers mostly ayrshire and west scotland but often meetings can be more focused on veggies or rural matters.....

[CarolineR]

Thanks very much!
Some great feedback there, really useful to see people's views on location and subjects. Great input about the online courses, too, Annie, CSSA seems to be a great resource for smallholders and anytime I've asked for feedback there's always been replies from your members.
There's going to be a smallholder's stand at the RHS in the SRUC/SAC tent on Thursday this year which is great.
I'll be taking all the feedback on board and I'll try to make sure anything we sort out fits as many of these criteria as possible.
 
Keep the suggestions coming if anyone has anything else they would like to say. I love TAS. Such a  great way to get in touch with everyone.
There's definitely a lovely and enthusiastic SAC Consulting vet in Aberdeen, so I'll see if I can find out what's happening up there too, maybe she can get in touch with NE smallholders association for us.
Caroline