Honours for Welsh farmers
A Carmarthenshire farmer’s wife who has created a heritage centre, museum and nature trail which last year attracted 2000 visitors from around the world, has been made an Associate of the Royal Agricultural Societies for her work in promoting British agriculture through tourism, and adding value to the products of the farm.
Mrs Sharon Richards, the NFU Cymru/NatWest Woman Farmer of the Year in 2004, whose farm Alltyfyrddin, Abergwili, Carmarthen is, according to folklore, the home of Merlin, the legendary wizard, and also the location of one of Wales’s largest Iron Age hill forts dating back to 600BC, has developed the historic site as a ‘living classroom’ to help educate and inform visitors about agriculture and the high standard of food production on British farms.
Together with her husband, Gareth, Mrs Richards runs the 220 acre sheep and dairy farm with its herd of 180 cows and 140 Jacob breeding ewes. Recognising the potential of the farm, which is steeped in history and mystery, as a potential tourist attraction, she started a bed and breakfast business there in 1998 which now has a constant flow of guests throughout the year many of whom leave for home with supplies of local cheeses, butter, yoghourts, meat and honey and, of course, more knowledgeable and appreciative of British farming.
The centre enables visitors to walk through time from the Iron Age to a viewing gallery where they can see cows being milked in a modern milking parlour. Along the way they pass displays portraying the traditions and culture of rural Wales and the history of agriculture emphasising the high standards met by farmers today. They also learn more about where food comes from before it reaches the supermarket shelves.
Brothers Michael and Rowland George of Sealyham Farm, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, have achieved the unusual distinction of both being made Associates of the Royal Agricultural Societies at the same time for their work in improving and maximising the potential of the black and white dairy cow, in particular their highly-bred pedigree Holsteins.
They farm 1000 acres and the herd has been developed into two units of 300 cows. It is one of the best herds in Britain and among the highest classified herds in the breed and is visited by producers and agricultural students from across the UK.
The brothers have encouraged and trained many young farmer teams for stock judging competitions and have passed to others their knowledge and skills of cattle showmanship. Both are on the Holstein breed society’s panel of judges and are in demand to judge at shows throughout the UK and Ireland and they also give talks to various organisations on their herd and breeding policies.