Meet the Producers #6

Meet the producers #6
𝗡𝗮𝗺𝗲: Richard Edwards
𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗡𝗮𝗺𝗲: Pwllywrach Farm
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁? Angus Beef and Welsh Lamb
𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗮 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗼𝘄𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗙𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁? I attended the second ever market held in Barry in the summer of 2001 and I attend every week. 
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀?
My mother and father came to Twmpath Farm, Colwinston in 1954 straight after they were married. It was then a 100 acre dairy farm. I left school and joined them in 1972 when several small farms became vacant on the Pwllywrach Estate and Pwllywrach Farm was born, incorporating Twmpath and several other farms. At that time a new farmyard and house was built and we moved from dairy into beef and sheep. My son Christopher (Did) left school and joined me in 1996 and the farm has continued to develop and grow. Although still in school my teenage grandchildren Morgan and Harriet are already an integral part of the farm, one tractor driver and one stockman!
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂? My day usually starts about 6 am and every day is different but involves caring for the sheep and cattle. We are just starting lambing now, then the cows start calving in May, then silage, hay and so the year goes on.
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗻 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝘀𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂? Where is your farm and is this your own beef? I can tell them it most definitely is and I can tell them who its mother is, who its father is and which field it was born in!
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝗯? I consider it not a job but a way of life and my biggest joy is the livestock and seeing them healthy and happy.
𝗧𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘂𝘀 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱/𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆: My wife Myfanwy, is a beef and sheep farmers daughter from the Vale and is a familiar face at the farmers market. We have 3 children our eldest son James is a wheat breeder and lives in Adelaide, Australia. Did lives and works on the farm with his family and our daughter Josie is a solicitor specialising in agricultural matters living in Cardiff with her husband and two daughters.
𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘅? Watching horse racing, but mostly just sleeping in my armchair!
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗶𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱? Best seller is our minced beef – so versatile and the most under rated is rump steak – a great value for money steak that is equally as good as the more expensive cuts.
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻? Life here on the farm has continued as normal during lock down as the animals need to be cared for whatever. Looking forward to being able to visit my son in Australia again.
𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 – 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲? Just having enough energy to keep in front of my son and grandchildren!