Welsh lamb farmers link up for a meat deal with M&S

THE future looks brighter for the group of young Welsh farmers who gathered at the former home of Wales Rural Affairs Minister Elin Jones last week.

They have an eight-month contract to supply 200 lambs a week to Marks & Spencer and valuable business experience to face the future.

The farm at Tynllyn, Llanwnnen is now the home of 35-year-old Geraint Williams, his wife Kim and their 18-month-old son Rhys.

They bought the 114-acre holding from Ms Jones's parents six years ago, and her father, John Jones, still walks through the fields to lend a hand with the work.

Geraint is one of 16 farmers – with an average age 32 and all living within 20 miles of each other in south Ceredigion and north Carmarthenshire – who collaborated to secure the contract with the high street food retailer.


"There were nine of us at the start who got together to think about what we could do to get a better price for our lambs," said Geraint, who has 300 breeding ewes, including some pedigree Texels, and a growing herd of pedigree Belgian Blue cattle.