Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Smallhold Farming and Rural Living => Livestock and Growing on a larger scale => Topic started by: joyfull on September 22, 2010, 07:06
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As some of you know the plot my house stands on is slightly bigger than half an acre and the chickens have free access to this and the surrounding fields. When we bought this place the front garden was described as a paddock not a garden (there was a pig pen and a stable block in the rear garden - now demolished and replaced with an even bigger shed for some of the old lorries).
I am already registered with Defra as sometimes my chicken and guinea fowl count goes over 50.
What I want to know is are there any advantages to registering as smallholding, just in case I fancy a pig or two or even a couple of lambs in the future?
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As you know Joy, we are also registered with DEFRA because of the poultry, but we are also registered as a smallholding because we had goats when we moved here.
I think the main advantages to me is feeling reasonably good about being notified if there are outbreaks of things like avian flu etc, but also because when you are trying to find out information on stuff animal related, or need help about things or even trying to buy equipment and feed etc cheaper, you get much further if you can say you are a smallholding, rather than just have a large garden!!!! lol
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Apart from registering with DEFRA, is there anything else that you need to do to become a Registered Holding? We will not be having more than about 3 ducks and 3 or 4 chickens for the first year or so and are puzzling over registration. When we were looking at places in Wales, several places made a point of telling us they were a Registered Smallholding although only one of these had animals (pigs) that would have required registering with DEFRA. Part of our land will, however, continue to be used by a farmer for grazing his sheep until we're ready to utilise it. Does the fact that the land is being used by someone else to graze animals mean that we need to register with DEFRA?
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Val, if the property doesn't already have a CPH from DEFRA, the person planning to use your land for grazing sheep, pigs, goats or cattle should have his own and a flock/herd number from the animal health office (AHO), so that he is accountable.
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Once you register with DEFRA and they give you a holding number, and flock or herd number, that's it you are a 'holding'.
I think quite a few people just call themselves smallholders because they have a piece of land and grow their veggies and poultry. but I bet there's 1,000's out there who DEFRA don't know about!
Unless of course, I've been doing it wrong for the past 15 years!! :lol: :lol:
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To have sheep you will need to register with DEFRA & get a CPH no.
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I am already registered with DEFRA with my chickens so would I need to register again?
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thanks tom :)
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No you wont! Sorry Tom!
Joy you call DEFRA, give them your holding or CPH number tell them what you want i.e. 2 orphaned lambs! and they will give you a herd number, so then you've got a herd number and a flock number. Like we have because we had the goats as well as chickens
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Oooh me thinks I will have to look into little orphaned lambs :lol:, not sure how the dogs or Jim will take to this idea but if I get them without telling Jim then it will be too late for him to do anything about it ;) and I'm sure I can get the dogs sorted with them :D.
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If that sheep farmer who bought some turkey poults from us the other week gets in touch about lambs, I'll share them with you Joy! :D
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No you wont! Sorry Tom!
Joy you call DEFRA, give them your holding or CPH number tell them what you want i.e. 2 orphaned lambs! and they will give you a herd number, so then you've got a herd number and a flock number. Like we have because we had the goats as well as chickens
Beat me to it! I'm not a smallholder, but I deal daily with this stuff through work for our farmer customers, relating to tagging etc.
:)