The hens at Coed Farm spot a break in the rain and amble out onto the ranges where they fuss, peck and coo in the insect-rich pasture, as chickens do.
This is land that once supported a 150-cow beef suckler herd, but the curse of bovine TB forced a scaling down of numbers and with it an urgent need to generate a new income stream to support the two generations who farm it.
Converting the farm to a dairy unit was one option mooted, another was to rent out the farm and seek jobs and income elsewhere, but the prospect of free range egg production appealed to the younger generation.
The farm's history
Nigel and Mary Edkins had bought the 225-acre farm in the Vale of Aeron, Ceredigion, in 2006 after selling the nearby Tyglyn Aeron Hotel and a holiday cottage complex, which they had owned and run for many years while simultaneously farming beef cattle.
They farmed with their sons, Gordon and Ben, before Gordon relocated to Oxfordshire where he works for an agricultural contracting business.
Poultry diversification
Ben liked the idea of adding poultry as an alternative enterprise, doing his research by visiting established free range eggs units.
It was a business model that he saw as a perfect fit for Coed Farm, so much so that he ‘put the chicken before the egg’, securing an egg supply contract for 16,000 birds even before the planning application for infrastructure was submitted.
In contrast to the now often lengthy process of securing consent, it took just six months for that plan to be approved in 2014 and the following year the Vencomatic multi-tier system stocked with Hy-Line birds was up and running.
It was a big financial commitment, with investment exceeding £1 million.
Supply chain contract
One of the biggest challenges was settling on a supply contract that worked for the business, one that would generate a fair return on the scale of that investment.
Initially the contract was with Oaklands but the Edkinses ended that after five years.
“Unfortunately, for us it just didn’t work financially, it became quite challenging to the point where we weren’t making any money at all, we were just breaking even and it was putting huge pressure on the business,” Ben recalls.
At that time, Edkins Eggs had been nominated for a British Free Range Egg Producers Association (BFREPA) award, winning the Producer of the Year category and that opened doors to other potential supply contracts.
Several companies approached with offers to buy the eggs, with the family opting for a specialty contract with Stonegate to supply Waitrose.
That contract ran for four years, until 2024, when the business switched to its current buyer, Kent-based Fridays Ltd, with production going into Lidl.
Selling direct to the customer
But the contract also allows for Edkins Eggs to sell a percentage of production direct to customers, an aspect of the business which has seen month-on-month growth.
From the small beginnings of selling boxes of eggs from the roadside at Coed Farm, a vending machine was established in Aberystwyth and, in December 2024, a farm shop opened at the farm itself.
The business also supplies many retailers, cafes and restaurants.
While the family was tentative about expectations of sales, it was unwarranted as both facilities are very well supported.
The vending machine at Aberystwyth, which is housed in a shed on a piece of rented land, is used by locals, students and holidaymakers.
Ben’s wife, Meryl, who had been a full-time PE teacher at Aberaeron Comprehensive School but now works in the farming business, restocks it every two days.
“I was there this morning when I got talking to a customer who had called in to buy eggs on her way home from north Wales, she said she had never seen anything like it.”
Appetite for local food
That positive response is one that they hear time and again, reflecting the appetite for locally produced fresh food.
Later that day a customer comes into the farm shop to stock up on eggs, honey and jam, a local who is keen to do more of his shop there.
There is a chiller unit in the shop stocked with Welsh cheeses and meat, even cakes baked by Ben’s mother and his daughter, Cerys.
Many of their customers previously picked up eggs with their supermarket shop but have been wholly converted to buying direct.
“What is different about our eggs is that they are completely fresh,” says Ben.
“The eggs we sell in Aberystwyth are Class A and might not be the cheapest if you compare them to supermarket prices, but you can really taste the freshness, see the difference, and that’s what our customers are willing to pay for.”
At the farm shop, the offering varies from lower-priced Grade B mixed-size eggs to Grade A extra-large eggs.
The hens
Birds are discouraged from laying very big eggs though with a diet that is tweaked to provide energy without unnecessarily high levels of the nutrients that go into egg formation.
“We don’t want the eggs to get too big because it puts extra strain on the hens,” Meryl explains.
There are four different grades of ‘mash’ fed according to stage of production.
At peak production there are a lot of eggs – at week 49 it is 30,000 a day, which is 96% production.
Expansion
That is from 32,000 H&N standard hens because there is now a second shed, erected after the business had been through two laying cycles, with a packing area linking both.
At 12 months, it took twice as long to get planning permission for that shed compared to the first.
Distinctive branding has been an important feature of direct sales. From the generic stickers that were used initially, which had to be applied to each box and the date of lay written on them manually, there are now branded boxes.
Meryl, who leads on branding and marketing, believes no business should underestimate the power of a strong brand.
A Cynnal y Cardi grant – at 80% and capped at £50,000 it was a generous one - helped pay for the boxes and also items like the egg vending machine and solar panels on the farm shop.
Renewables
Solar panels were installed on the poultry shed roofs after energy prices escalated to the point where electricity for each of the sheds was costing the business around £2,000 a month.
The 120kW array supplies the electricity needs for nine months of the year, enabled by further investment in storage batteries.
Avian Influenza concern
Aside from the increasing costs associated with production, avian influenza (AI) is the biggest worry.
There have been cases in the UK but with strict biosecurity and disinfection routines the Edkins hope they will be spared.
As they have become more skilled and knowledgeable about managing the birds they have been able to extend the laying cycle.
The first flock was depopulated at 73 weeks but the most recent at 88 weeks – the industry standard is 72 weeks.
Ben puts this remarkable achievement down to teamwork, working with a consultant and experts in nutrition and poultry. “Everyone working together as a team has helped us to achieve this.”
They also employ one full-time worker and a part-time employee.
The family still has cattle but plans to sell the remaining suckler cows this year and focus on finishing around 100 stores a year.
Selling the 100-ewe breeding flock is also being considered as it is getting increasingly difficult to balance the time commitments of each enterprise as the egg business grows.
Ben and Meryl also have three children, 13-year-old Owen, Cerys, 10, and five-year-old Bryn, and want to spend time with them too.
Owen is following in Ben’s footsteps as an accomplished cricketer, playing at county level in Ceredigion.
In terms of the business, are there any plans for a third shed in the offing? “We have considered whether we should put up another shed or make the most of our product, but we decided to stick with making the most of what we have,” says Ben.