Plough Wednesday 2012.

Great day for the annual training day on rural and agricultural issues in the diocese of Oxford.   30 people attended, and the weather was warm and for the most part very sunny.

 In the morning we visited a farm which is home to some 350 horses. The horses are rescued from slaughter and then live the remainder of their lives being cared for until they die of natural causes.  Blood and serum is harvested from the horses at regular intervals and then used for research purposes.  The horses are kept warm and safe in the winter and then have acres of pasture land on which to graze in the summer.

At lunchtime we visited an ancient country estate and heard a talk about the mechanics of maintaining and running an estate in the 20th century.  Following that we toured the livestock area of one of the tenanted farms on the estate. As well as looking at the livestock,  we listened to landlord and tenant talking about some of the issues facing tenant farmers!

Great day - and now looking forward to next year's -  January 2013.