Matt Brooks and Laura Pollock of Lower House Farm in Llanvair Discoed, near Chepstow, are inviting the public onto their farm this Easter with a variety of activities for children. The event will run from Good Friday to Easter Sunday.

Activities include a mini-farmer’s trail, scavenger hunt, a meet-and-greet with the animals along with kids activities and crafts in the barn. Local food and coffee will also served nestled.

Other on-farm events planned for 2024 include a Farm Brunch in late April, Open Farm Sunday in June, a Teddy Bear’s Picnic and a Horse and Dog show in late summer

Matt and Laura took on the Monmouthshire County Council farm tenancy in February 2023 to farm beef and sheep, and Laura is also setting up a small farm shop to sell fresh produce as well as setting aside a bit of the farm to work with community groups to grow vegetables to sell locally.

Laura said “We really want to bring the community on to the farm as often as possible, especially children, to share our love of farming, the outdoors, the animals and to be able to tell people what we are doing here.”

The young couple want to move the farm towards regenerative farming practices, which help the environment and can lead to a more sustainable and profitable way of farming. They are doing this under the guidance of Ben Taylor Davies, a renowned regenerative farming expert, also known as ‘Regen Ben’ in a mentoring project which is currently underway. Matt and Laura said they hope to learn how to balance the social, economic and environmental elements of running a farm business and how to maximise their impact in the short and medium term.

“We are learning that Regen ag is all about diversity, and that is not just in the crops we grow and the animals we rear, but also about different elements of the business. The farm is located just on the edge of the Llanvair village and we are keen to be involved in the local community and to invite the local community in to visit the farm as often as possible.”