JANUARY has come and gone, with all its chilly, drizzly dullness.

A month when some get hung up on New Year’s resolutions, cutting out this, that and the other from their diet and the warmth and joy of Christmas seems a distant memory.

Farmers up and down the country have already started lambing and with the weather throwing in the usual curve ball, they will certainly be busy looking after their livestock.

Contemplating whether chia seed porridge is ethically the right choice for breakfast isn’t likely to be in the forefront of their minds.

What can you do at a time when there is a clear need for nourishing food that warms body and soul?

The answer for many of you was reasonably simple - have a proper Welsh breakfast with neighbours and friends.

Get into the community and build stronger communities.

And we need communities.

It is no secret that things are better done and often easier if we do them together.

You may have heard the phrase “it takes a village to raise a child”.

An old African proverb, which means that it takes an entire community of different people interacting with children in order for them to experience and grow in a safe environment.

But, there is more to the saying than we perhaps think.

It is about understanding that no one person ever has all of the answers and that our community is where we find comfort in difficult times.

For the farming community, the saying should perhaps be “it takes more than a village”.

In Wales, we are blessed with incredibly close-knit communities, many of which are held together by farming.

As a collective community, the farming community offers support and a shoulder to lean on for each other and it is resilient.

We were reminded of that strength during the FUW’s farmhouse breakfast week, where many of us came together - we took some time to sit down, breathe and of course have many chats about farming matters over endless cups of tea.

We sat around the kitchen table sharing our thoughts and worries, and discussed the future.

It became clear that despite the many communication possibilities at our disposal, you can’t beat sitting around a table and having a proper chat!

Throw in some heart-warming food and it’s bound to be a success.

This breakfast week also reinforced the notion that our farming community has an incredible energy and power (just look at how much cash we raised for charity across Wales - almost £15,000!).

But, it is not just fundraising power this farming community has - it has the power to hold governments to account.

Our farming community is more than just a village - it is the engine room of our rural economy and the force that reminds us that #FarmingMatters - powered by good honest home-grown food.

GLYN ROBERTS

President

FUW