[Edward] Howell: [Calves…] finish them ready for the butchers, but if you get to a certain size and the confirmation of the animal and they're happy with what they get, they’ll come up with the following year. It’s the same like that with the sheep. 
Caroline: But they will ask you…what you’ve got some available, and because you tend to calve at the same sort of time of the year they tend to know when, you know, when they're going to come in, so they'll start coming to mart, and they'll just ask you when you bringing your stuff in, and then they'll be there then, isn't it? 
[Edward] Howell: And then it's you try to purchase, if you go to buy something and then you go to try and look for the best, haven’t you? Then normally when you purchase the best, you get the price to go with it, haven’t you, so you’ve got to get your money back, haven’t you, really? 
Interviewer Vicki Thompson: What are prices like at the moment? 
[Edward] Howell:: They're not too bad at the moment, could be a bit better, but yeah…we were quite happy.  We were quite happy what we had, did sell some on Monday, which is quite happy.  
Interviewer Vicki Thompson: That's good. 
[Edward] Howell: When you go to market, you’ve got various buyers, when you only just sell to the one person, you’ve got to haggle with them all the time, you know and it’s a bit daunting when you have got to haggle with somebody, but when you go to the mart, yeah…the people are there to see your stock, they like to watch, and if they fancy that then they go for it, you know. 
Caroline: a bit of competition… 
[Edward] Howell: Yeah,…And that’s what the trouble is there's not quite enough purchases around the ring, for a certain size animal yes, but not for the younger cattle. 
Caroline:: Not at the moment. 
[Edward] Howell: Not the moment no, but we are getting there. So yeah, hopefully we'll see what goes on. 
Caroline: With foot and mouth, we had to sell straight from the farm, you see. So of course you only had designated people being able to come in. So they sort of…said what price and…you had to accept it, so we tried that. Well, it was better than nothing at the time.  
[Edward] Howell: Better than keeping them. 
Caroline:…but you know, some you sell privately, as it happens to the chap that he works with but he knows that Howell won’t go for it unless it is a certain price. But um…. 
[Edward] Howell:: But being in the mart every week, you get to know the prices.. 
Caroline: Yes, its handy like that then 
Interviewer Vicki Thompson: And to finish…How do you feel you’re valued as a farmer, a question to each of you? 
[Edward] Howell: Do we feel valued?  That’s a question that is. 
Caroline: People think…the problem I find a lot is people see these headlines £32 million to farmers for this year for …thing, and they think “Oh my God they’re rich”. You know, they don't realise that £32 million is going to X amount of people, but they don't realise how much money you'll have to…spend, because like this year, we haven't bought any fertiliser. 
[Edward] Howell: Yeah, because it’s gone for the roof, you know.  
Caroline: We just couldn't afford it.  
[Edward] Howell: Apparently feeding stuff has gone up as well. Well, everything is going, electric, well everything. 
Caroline: So I don't think people …they are coming more I find…um…knowing local sourced, I think it's coming back. 
[Edward] Howell: People are afraid to travel more, you know, especially because of the price of fuel and stuff…you know the chap I work for, he goes to Carmarthen, he takes a lorry down there and he comes back empty sometimes, it all adds to the costs. 
Caroline: Yeah, well, I…I don't think people realise…um…if there weren’t people like, you know, farmers around here, where would they get their food from? You know, trying to get things from abroad, they're all on about these CO2 emissions and everything…and you…but what they've got to remember is there's a way to farm as well and different areas, climate, soil, everything, you've got to farm differently. So there's that local knowledge…you've got to… 
[Edward] Howell: You won’t get smaller farms abroad, they’re all ranched. Apparently, in South America ,they are still using growth hormones which was banned here in late 80s or 90s, you know. 
Caroline:: Yeah, we've got a lot of stringent controls…people don't realise and yet they’re quite happy then to go to the supermarket, buy it because it's cheaper but not realise how it's been reared. 
[Edward] Howell: And not only that I don't know how long it takes to come over, but it's been on that boat for so long. It's fresh here, its 21 days it's hanging for, and it's out straight away. But obviously it must have been on that boat for quite a while before it comes over. So people don't know what they’re really eating, do they?  
Caroline: We are finding our eggs and people are at last realising “Oh my gosh, what a difference!” Because as you see yourself when you're outside, they completely free range, they're not organic, but they get their food that we give and then they go round, well, they're absolutely scavenging everywhere. But people that we can't get enough our eggs at the moment, can we because so many people want them now, because as soon as they see the difference between the supermarket ones, and what I get…the ones that our customers get are fresher than the ones that get to the supermarket on their first day, you know. We've got a lot pork people as well, isn’t it? They just can't believe the difference...and I'm not talking about older people. I'm talking about Aled’s age, 28 year olds and they are blown away, by the different taste, you know, And we are lucky we've got…we've got a nice little group that are willing and appreciate and I think it is growing. 
[Edward] Howell:: Yeah, local sourced… 
Caroline: Local sourced isn’t it people are getting more but they appreciate the flavours as well, you know so and they don't mind paying that little bit extra then. 
[Edward] Howell: As long as these animals are fed properly. It’s not fed properly, you won't get the quality of meat. 
Caroline:: So we've got a friend …Ian’s partner ,she's a vegan, has been for about 10 years. She's considering now, because apparently her mouth waters every time she sees our eggs, because she can see that the chickens are so well looked after they’re free range so she's considering going back and starting, and she’s because Ian's … any meat and he’s there…she cooks it for him and stuff, but she can see the way that they are being looked after.  So yeah, she's actually thinking about starting to eat eggs again and things, so again…that just proves the point, doesn’t it?  
Interviewer Vicki Thompson: It does, definitely does.  Alright, final word from you Elenora, how do you feel as a farmer, although retired, how do you feel you’re valued? 
Caroline: As a farmer? 
Elenora:...I enjoyed farming. I was brought up on a farm myself and I thoroughly enjoyed. 
Caroline: But you think people appreciate the work and everything that we do? 
Elenora: You always see themselves running the farmer down, don't you? But no, you can't do that. You have got to carry on working. All I can tell you is that you have got to work.