In less than two years Bryn has doubled ewe numbers, is processing his own milk and is on a mission to grow producer numbers in Wales.

First steps into farming

As a first-generation farmer, it was a county council tenancy that provided his route into farming.

He had a degree in business management and experience of working in different industries and roles, but he saw his future in agriculture, ultimately to have his own farming enterprise.

The first of those ambitions was achieved when he secured a job as a herdsman on a dairy farm in Pembrokeshire.

Bryn had found his calling – he quickly realised that he loved working with livestock, and everything involved in producing milk.

Work experience

“The family I worked for taught me a huge amount, I gained invaluable experience of dairying and managing livestock. Their support and encouragement really inspired me.”

As he looked to the future, finance was a limiting factor to establishing his own herd because of the capital-intensive requirements of dairying, but by shifting his focus to a different species – dairy sheep - that prospect became a realistic one “The infrastructure requirement wasn’t huge and it only needed a small area of land,” he explains.

Adding value to milk

“I could see how I could make dairying with sheep work and how to make money from it by adding value to the milk.”

Armed with confidence and knowledge gained as a member of the NFU Cymru Next Generation Group and a Farming Connect’s ‘business bootcamp’ and its Agri Academy, he set about making his dream a reality by applying for the tenancy of a Pembrokeshire County Council farm at Welsh Hook, near Haverfordwest.

“It was only 35 acres but was perfect for what I needed to get my foot on the ladder,” says Bryn.

The big move

He moved to Wernllwyd with his partner Becca Morris in early 2021 – she was his initial link to Pembrokeshire as she had grown up in Moylegrove where her family still lives.

The couple got to work, investing £60,000 in a 12-point rapid exit parlour and other infrastructure and 67 East Friesian ewes and 50 lambs from a dispersal sale in High Wycombe.

Fast forward two years and the flock now numbers 120 ewes, the maximum the farm can carry.

It is a grazing-based system, capitalising on the farm’s ability to grow grass, but it has exposed flaws with pure-bred sheep.

Genetics

“Lameness is an issue because their genetics are not suited to a wet climate,” says Bryn.

“It is a bit like running a Holstein on a New Zealand grazing system when you really need a Jersey-cross.”

To get a hardier ewe and with one eye on producing a carcass that maximises the value of that secondary product, he is now focussing on breeding hybrid sheep that are better suited to the Pembrokeshire climate.

Maneche rams, a breed bred to thrive in the French Pyrenees, are used and the flock now has a Maneche, East Friesian and Lacaune influence.

Unusual approach

In an unusual approach, lambs stay on their mothers for the first 30 days.

“The mums can raise the lambs better than we can,” Bryn reasons. “And the ewe milk is of a better quality once they have finished feeding their lambs.”

The ewes produce a daily milk yield average of 1 – 1.5 litres at 5% butterfat and 5% protein from a 180-day lactation with just a small amount of concentrates fed in the parlour.

Hay and sugar beet is fed to counter the high protein levels in grass during the spring flush.

“We have got to manage the fibre or we will lose butterfats,” Bryn points out.

Cheese and vodka

He doesn’t sell to a processor, he uses every drop to produce cheese and a whey-based vodka, products he developed at Food Centre Wales; the milk is frozen and transported to Horeb where Bryn makes the products.

His semi-soft blue cheese won a silver award at the World Cheese Awards in 2022. “I think I can call myself a cheese maker now!” he laughs.

He is also developing a Cheshire-type hard cheese.

The Ewenique Spirits vodka, made from the whey by-product of the cheesemaking process, is made at a distillery in Ceredigion.

Sales are strengthening – Bryn is now producing batch three – but as with any new or innovative product, getting people to try it is the biggest challenge.

“The connotations of whey and vodka is a stumbling block for some people, they think it is going to taste like cheese, but it definitely doesn’t,” he says.

“It has a creamy richness and a zesty aftertaste, we don’t add any flavourings, it is a completely natural product.”

Premium product

Until now sales have been in 70 centilitre (cl) bottles but a 35cl version is being launched this year. It is a premium product so introducing a smaller bottle is intended to widen its appeal in the gift market.

The market for sheep milk and the products made from it is one that is growing, appealing to those who can’t tolerate the lactose in cow’s milk and to people who want to buy locally produced sustainable foods.

Bryn would like to grow his business to capitalise on that but currently there are no opportunities in the county council system to take on a bigger holding, while the value of farmland is an obstacle to buying.

Expansion

“I’d like to find a bigger place to expand the flock and keep growing but it is a challenge in terms of finance and farmland value,” he says.

“The farmland market at the moment is mad but I have the support of a bank that has said that it wants to try to help if we found somewhere.

“I am always on the lookout for opportunities and potential partnerships to expand our business.”

The tenancy for Wernllwyd is for six years – Bryn admits that without the county council system new entrants like him would struggle to get a foothold in agriculture.

County council tenancies

“I am very grateful of that tenancy,” he says.

It is where he and Becca are bringing up their two young children, Kelsey, who is two, and five-month-old Milo.

Becca helps with the milking and rearing the lambs. “There are only so many hours in the day with young children but she helps when she can,” says Bryn.

Second income: Alpacas

As well as sheep, the couple have 17 alpacas who generate a secondary income for the business; their wool is used for producing socks.

“The alpacas also help deter predators like foxes from attacking the lambs, so they earn their keep in many different ways,” says Bryn.

Looking to the future, one of his aims is to establish the first ever sheep dairy cooperative in Wales which would enable expansion and an upscale in production, while also providing a viable sustainable option for small family farms to earn a living.

“I hate the idea of milk leaving Wales but without the processing capacity that is happening, even though there are a lot of people interested in sheep dairying in Wales.

“We want to see those facilities put in place; it will take investment from someone to do that.”

Bryn is pleased that Welsh Government is taking an active interest in sheep dairying in Wales.

“They are already working on how they can support industry including ensuring future grants work for future on-farm investment.”