Farming fun with alumnus Alun!

The coronavirus pandemic has changed many things across the globe, including how we’re able to socialise. However, Carmathenshire dairy farmer Alun Rees was not deterred, getting in touch with some of his old Harper classmates to bring some farming fun online.

Working at a 300-cow dairy unit at Dan Yr Allt farm, Llandovery, Alun had a unique opportunity to make the farm accessible and create a different kind of event. By calling up fellow alumni, Alun decided upon a ‘Cow Grand National’, making up for the official event’s cancellation. 

The event was curated through Facebook, with a group where bets could be placed on specially named ‘racing’ cows. These bets were then donated to the NHS to help support them in these difficult times. 

With pre recorded races safely captured by drones, Alun’s cows ‘raced’ their usual route to grass, putting on their normal burst of speed for food! Alun had anticipated a negative reaction to the idea that the cows were actually being raced however the overall reaction was positive and he is looking to host a larger, more public version next year.

“It was about bringing people together and picking people’s spirits up,” he said. “It broke up the first three weeks of isolation and showed people that it wasn’t all doom and gloom.”

To get a flavour of what race day looked like, check out the video below.

To read the full interview from Farmers Weekly, click here.