Wales Farmer February 2013 NEWS 7 Flocking for free range
■ Seasonal boom serves success on aplate for couple
By Debbie James
BUSINESS is booming for afamily-run
poultry
enterprise thanks to a growing market for free- range chicken in Wales and
support from
Farming Connect. Martyn and Danielle Lloyd
were running asheep farmat Cilshafe,near Fishguard, when they spotted aniche in the poul- try sector. The business has flourished
and their free-range chickens have earned them severalawards. They nowproduce 8,000 birds
ayear.Inanormal week thereis one daydedicated forprocessing butinthe run-up to Christmas this increased to four days. In the fortnight leading up to December 25th the couple’s working dayoften didn’t end before10pm. “It washardworkbut we are
thrilled thatour customer base keeps on growing. As poultry producers we expect to be busier than everfor Christmas,itis wonderful thatthereissomuch demand forour chickens,’’said Martyn. When the Lloydsmade the
decision to set up Martyn and Danielle’sFreeRange Chickens, they approached Farming Connect, which is deliveredby Menter aBusnes,for support.
The couple had been members
of alocal Farming Connect Agrisgôp group,aWelsh Government initiative which provides funding forfarmers and their families to get together to exploreopportunities. When they spotted an open-
ing forrearing poultry,the cou- ple applied forone-to-one busi- ness support through Farming Connect’ssubsidised Whole Farm Plan Service,claiming back 80% of the cost. Whitland-based Landsker Business Services,anapproved Farming Connect mentoring company, provided four days of support and this,together with the business advice they received when the enterprise wasinits infancy,was crucial to its suc- cess,said the couple. They were also put in touch
with other poultry producers whowereabletooffer guidance and practical advice during that all-important business develop- ment stage. “Wevisited poultry farms and
gained knowledge thathas really helped us along the way,’’ Martyn explained. Jeremy Bowen-Rees
at
Landsker Business Services also helped the Lloydswith their application forfunding foranew unit to process poultry on-farm. This Christmas wasone of the
busiest so far forthe business with orders formorethan 700
FEATHER IN HIS CAP: Martyn Lloyd produces 8,000 birds ayear and had one of his busiest sales periods ever during the Christmas period.
chickens. “Weget reallygood feedback
about the taste,especiallyfrom our older customers whosay it reminds them of the days when chickens were reared on local farms forneighbours and the wider community,’’said Martyn.
THE rearing process starts with the arrival of four-week-old Rhoscobbs sourced from Somerset. The poultry live in sheds with full access to apaddock and are reared until they are ten weeks old. The business now employs two staff and supplies alarge number of farm shops and butchers. Martyn and Danielle are also regular stallholders at Fishguard Farmers’ Market. They plan to add lamb and duck to their product range in the near future.
For the latest Wales farming news:
walesfarmer.co.uk
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