The farm manager of Rhug Estate will soon hang up his boots after working on the 2,700 hectare North Wales farm for 30 years.
Gareth Jones will celebrate the significant work anniversary next year having been employed by Rhug Estate for three decades.
However, with that milestone comes his decision to retire and take life a little easier.
A lot of changes have taken place during Gareth’s time at Rhug. When he started in 1993, the then Lord Newborough was farming conventionally.
They had 3,000 sheep and 60 acres of barley, and the system was low input and output. Gareth was one of Rhug Estate’s nine staff.
During his time as farm manager, the farm has grown into a diverse business and increased in size from 930 hectares to two farms.
They cover just over 2,700 hectares producing beef, lamb, salt marsh lamb, chickens, turkeys, geese, venison and a small herd of bison.
Other activities on the estate include carbon capture, green energy, a retail sector including a farm shop and butchery, wholesale enterprise selling meat produced on the farm, skincare, and mining crypto currency.
Gareth said: “The years have flown by. My job title is the same as when I started all those years ago but my job is nothing like when I started.
“Both farming policies and the farm have had some interesting changes over the years and are constantly evolving to keep me on my toes.
“I still enjoy coming to work every day and work with a great team of staff. I can honestly say there is never a dull moment and the challenges keep coming.”
It was in 1998 that the current Lord Newborough took over the estate from his late father and decided to farm the land organically.
Gareth managed that transition which was a two year conversion period.
Lord Newborough, the current owner of Rhug Estate, thanked Gareth for all his loyalty and support.
He said the estate was now on the lookout for a suitable replacement for the position of farm manager.
“The respect and admiration from everyone who surrounds you has no boundaries and your achievements surpass any gratitude I can summon up to mention, other than to say thank you from the bottom of my heart.
“We have started the process to find a suitable replacement for Gareth and we would welcome applications from anyone interested in filling the role.
“We want the new farm manager to have the opportunity to work alongside Gareth before he retires so the transition for the farm and the team is seamless.”
