Following all the effort that went into becoming a Registered Charity and being accepted onto the Rare Breeds Survival Trust’s Watchlist, the RWAS Spring Festival in May provided a welcome opportunity to celebrate our successes and promote the beautiful Ancient Cattle of Wales breed.
Over the weekend, we spoke to a steady stream of visitors to our stand, which was larger than usual thanks to the generosity of the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society. The larger space meant that we hosted Coed Cadw / The Woodland Trust in Wales, who have a herd of white ACW cattle grazing some of their sites. We were also able to present a lot of information about the many benefits and uses of our cattle, and the two white heifers, supplied by ACW Chair, Mike Lewis, were very popular. Some positive contacts were made, and many interesting conversations were had. The icing on the cake was the stand winning the best Cattle Society Trade Stand prize.
On the Saturday afternoon, we held a short reception to thank our members and breeders for all their efforts over the decades and mark our achievements in the last year. Ably co-ordinated by Vice-Chair, Helen Upson, the audience heard from ACW’s Mike Lewis, and RBST’s Mark Davies, while enjoying apple juice and a variety of different flavours of Welsh cakes. Our thanks go to Lantra for allowing us to use their facilities, and to members Mike and Jane Ricketts Hein for supplying the refreshments.