A black and white photograph of a beaming young boy in a flat cap, a fine-looking pig by his side, sits on a filing cabinet in Andrew Phillips’ farm office.
The image is of his three-year-old self, taken at Pembroke Farmers’ Club Show, a hint of the award-winning stockman he was destined to grow into.
Next generation
Now 32, he has an aspiring next generation farmer of his own at Windsor Farm, Lamphey, his four-year-old son, Edward.
The pigs have gone and at the heart of the farming enterprise he runs with his parents, David and Ruth, and wife, Jane, are 2,500 breeding ewes, a herd of suckler beef cows and arable crops.
Agricultural shows
Wind back in time to when that photograph was taken and Andrew’s earliest memories of growing up on the farm are of exhibiting at agricultural shows.
Little wonder perhaps as Pembroke Farmers’ Club Show has been hosted by the Phillips family at Windsor Farm since Andrew was born and many years before that.
“So many of my childhood memories are tied up in that show, it was the highlight of the summer,” he says.
There was never any doubt that he would follow in the footsteps of previous generations of his family and become a farmer – like his son Edward he was immersed in the farm from the cradle.
Awards
He has acquired many accolades and awards in his short farming career – more recently the 2021 NFU Cymru/NFU Mutual Welsh Livestock Champion of the Year Award and a finalist in the 2022 Farmers Weekly Sheep Farmer of the Year Award. But, awards aside, Andrew is at his happiest when he’s busy farming.
It was his industry placement year on a large-scale sheep farm in Scotland that opened his eyes to new possibilities that existed for his family’s business.
Up to that point, stores were bought in for fattening, but that enterprise was coming under pressure from economics and bovine TB regulations.
Time for a rethink
“The cattle side of the business was just getting harder and harder,” Andrew recalls.
The farm was also growing early potatoes at that time, in a hand-picked system, but with a downturn in that market too it was time for a rethink.
The business transitioned from a mainly potato and cattle fattening enterprise to a predominantly sheep system.
The numbers
Numbers now stand at 2,500 breeding ewes and 600 ewe lambs, mostly Suffolk cross Mules.
Lambing takes place indoors over six weeks between late January and mid-March, with lambs produced for the early market to achieve a premium price at a target weight of 42kg liveweight.
Some of the earliest finished lambs are sold liveweight to Emyr Jones and some are supplied direct, to Scotbeef as part of the M&S scheme, averaging 20 - 20.3 kg deadweight.
“Our aim is to hit the early market with lambs mainly finished off grass, but the early lambs are creep fed,” says Andrew.
Using less
“We are trying to use less purchased feed, to utilise grass as much as we can, but we will always give it to the early lambs to help them along and to get them away quicker.”
Most replacements are bought as ewe lambs from a single farm in Scotland, as Suffolk cross Scotch Mules that are then put to a Texel or Charolais tup.
A younger flock of ewes is run to improve flock performance, with a replacement rate of about 23% each year. This has also helped to keep barren rates to 2% on average.
Windsor Farm is also home to a beef suckler herd of 40 commercial cows, mainly Limousin and British Blue, which are sired to a Limousin bull. Most of the calves are sold at 10-12 months if they are not retained for breeding.
Soil testing
About 15% of the farm is reseeded to grass leys each year, with long-term leys established after a crop of winter barley. Forage maize, 140 acres grown to sell to dairy farms, is undersown with short-term ley mixes.
Soil testing is used to monitor trace elements, with the resulting data analysed to produce trace element buckets formulated specifically for the farm’s soil types.
Nitrogen use has been reduced during the past year by increasing clover content.
Cost of production
In common with every farming business, the price of nitrogen and other inputs is heaping pressure on the costs of production.
“It is definitely a challenging time at the moment, we used to say that we could control our input costs but how is it possible to budget for fertiliser, feed and fuel at current levels?” Andrew reasons.
“We have to be positive for the future though, to keep looking forward, keep an open mind and be receptive to new ways of marketing our stock and products.”
Diversification
Some of those opportunities have come from diversification - a pick-your-own pumpkin enterprise and holiday accommodation in two shepherd’s huts, tucked away in a peaceful corner of the farm surrounded by fields and woodland and with stunning views.
The pumpkin business, now in its third year, was launched when Andrew saw a similar enterprise on another farm, ironically when he was travelling back to Pembrokeshire from a farm diversification event in Birmingham.
“We called into a farm shop and saw that they had a pumpkin patch. We were sure there was an opportunity to do something similar in Pembrokeshire.”
He was right and the business has continued to grow, now covering four acres, with a pick-your-own-site open at weekends during October and for the half term week.
“Visitors also have the opportunity to see our sheep and beef cattle,” says Andrew. “We see this as an ideal chance to educate the public and families about Welsh agriculture, in particular about livestock farming.”
Supporting charity
This venture has also raised money for charity, to date £1,500 has been donated to the Special Care Baby Unit at Glangwili Hospital, Carmarthen.
The diversification into tourism has also been a success – the farm’s location near to some of Wales’ most beautiful beaches and within walking distance of restaurants adds to the appeal.
As well as family, the farm team also includes part-time shepherd, Ryan Thomas, and Tom Stanford, who is on his placement year at Windsor from Hartbury College. And then there are the Phillips’ team of Welsh Collies – Gwen, Meg and Midge – who play a vital role in managing the flock.
Livestock Award
As NFU Cymru launches its search for the 2022 Livestock Champion, Andrew reflects on what makes a good stockman.
“We try to keep the best quality animals we can, spotting the right animal to breed from.
“Nutrition is important too – targeting the best quality grass to groups of animals at different stages in the production cycle. Health is vital too and our Flock and Herd Health Plans really help us to keep on top of that.
“The healthiest and most productive animals are unsurprisingly the most efficient, so it makes business sense too.”
Trade agreements
There is some nervousness in the industry with recent government announcements on free trade agreements with Australia and New Zealand, major red meat-producing nations.
Andrew admits it will be very difficult to compete against the scale of production and economies of scale in those countries but adds: “I feel positive that the sustainable and grass-based production system that we are operating at Windsor Farm is the way forward and that we are producing a climate-friendly and high-quality lamb product.
“My aim is to continue to ensure that our business can stay as competitive as possible.”
And with the business buoyed by the changes he has already introduced, there is no doubt whatsoever that this is what he will achieve.