Christmas is coming . . . .

From the Tivyside Advertiser, first published Wednesday 11th Dec 2002.

Michael Carey snaps off a chunk of toast, fixes me with a stare then chucks the Farmers' Guardian onto the kitchen table.

"That's why I don't want to do this," he says, referring to the interview which I'm desperately trying to get off the ground. "Look at that heading - The Goose that Laid the Golden Egg. Nothing could be further from the truth and it's headlines such as these that give people the completely wrong impression. Farming geese is bloody hard work and if we knew what we know now, we'd never have got into it in the first place."

By the time the last bit of toast has been tossed down the Carey cakehole, Michael has warmed nicely to his theme.

"That first year everyone said we were insane. And when we started facing up to the realities of what we'd let ourselves in for, we started to think the same thing ourselves.

"Economics told us that in order for the enterprise to be worthwhile, we had to farm at least 500 geese so for some daft reason we decided to buy in a thousand. And that's when people said we were mad."

And well they might. "We started off as complete novices," he continued. "We knew nothing about geese and that entire first year was an exercise in trial and error. Our first Christmas was hideous. We were plucking around 14 geese a day, mindful of the fact that there were over 900 more waiting to be done. We were pulling our hair out but still God shone on us. Whenever we had a problem, someone would turn up and help us to sort it out."

But when it came to the hard graft of selling, Michael knew he was on his own. "Selling the geese was an awful lot of hard work. I spent days and days on the phone because people were so wary about buying from someone who could be here today and gone tomorrow. I had to convince them that I was in it for the duration and that my geese were going to be alright. And I've gone out looking for orders ever since."

Just when they thought things couldn't get any worse, the Carey's second year in the geese business proved an even greater challenge than the first. "We had horrendous problems," continued Michael. "The geese grew too quickly from an early age so their legs were unable to carry them. Another lot suffocated to death when they flew into a fence after being traumatised by a low-flying aircraft. But once again we came through it and stuck it out for another year."

The Careys began farming geese around five years ago when their 500-acre dairy farm at Coedwynog, Nevern, and their stock of over 300 milking cows proved insufficent to sustain the family enterprise (Michael farms Coedwynog with his brother Nicolas and sister-in-law Mary Jane).

"The milk prices had collapsed so we had to find another enterprise," explained Michael. "Pembrokeshire already has a very rich tradition of turkey farming - it used to be one of the major producers in the country - so we knew we had to do something a bit different." Michael also knew that the availaility of good free range geese at Christmas was severely limited so, thanks to the gentle promptings of Mary Jane, he bit the bullet and bought his first batch of goslings.

Five years on, his flock has extended to 3,000 and the Careys have become the largest producers of free range geese in Wales. Their flock is hatched in April and May and then matured gently on locally grown corn and grazing pasture. Goose is becoming an increasingly popular choice for Christmas dinner with the average bird weighing between 13 and 15 lbs. It has sufficient meat to comfortably feed a family of 10 and contrary to general belief the meat is tender and not at all greasy if cooked on a rack to enable the fat to drain away.

"There's no doubt that the geese have enabled us to stay in business but I don't think people realise how difficult it is," said Michael. "We don't have a Christmas any more. The geese have ruined it for us - by the time we've finished plucking and dressing the birds we're absolutely exhausted. If I'd had any experience of geese before starting this enterprise, I wouldn't have done it. But now we're committed - it's like having a car which you've got to fill up with petrol otherwise there's no point having it. The geese have become part of the farm and that's the way it'll stay."

o The Coedwynog geese are available either at the farm gate, (Tel 01239 820306 for orders), or from local butchers Dewi James of Cardigan and Ken Davies, Crymych.

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