Farmer Focus Livestock: Mathew Cole is hoping for a less hectic 2011

We are stuck in the midst of some harsh cold weather and my thoughts are with the guys in the north who are having a really hard time. It is cold here on Dartmoor, but we have had it easy compared to some farms.

This has been a year of ups and downs for Gemma and I, what with breaking my leg, getting married, being hospitalised with an infected finger, walking the three peaks challenge, Gemma getting pregnant and having a spaniel puppy called Elsie to deal with – before we even mention the farm.

We have significantly increased our acreage at the Prison Farm, Princetown, and have spent the year fitting it out with stock, machinery and the landlord bringing the fittings up to date. It seems like we have spent a lot of money, which we hope will bare fruit in the next few years.

As a younger farmer, I probably look at the world through rose-tinted glasses, but from what I’ve heard from this new government, we can perhaps hope to cut out some of the needless red tape that shackles their department and our farms. There is a lot of talk about “trust”, so we should be optimistic about our future.

The uplands have lost out in the past few years and let us all hope that, in the CAP reforms, we are given the support that will allow us to compete on a level playing field in the future.