Young Farmer Focus - Elgan Thomas: "I will always be proud to say that I am a Young Farmer"

Elgan Thomas, 26, is a dairy farmer from Llanelli in Carmarthenshire

clock • 2 min read
"Farming truly runs in the blood of my family."
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"Farming truly runs in the blood of my family."

At home, we keep a herd of 250 pedigree Holstein cows and an autumn block-calving herd along with their replacements which we rear beef through to stores.

On the farm there's myself, my brother Dylan, my father and my mother who works in accounting at a local milk bottling factory, Cwm Gwendraeth Valley Milk.

Agriculture and farming is at the heart of everything I do, from my daily farming routine to my part-time job lecturing or to my social circles within the local community and the Young Farmers' Clubs.

READ NOW: Young Farmer Focus - Sally Kitchiner: "In farming, you have to make lots of sacrifices while taking up a huge amount of responsibility"

Farming truly runs in the blood of my family.

I am extremely lucky that my parents have worked tirelessly over the years to grow the business so that both myself and my brother can sustain a living from the farm.

They have overcome many challenges since their early days milking 40 cows on a 60-acre tenanted farm 30 years ago, and we have many challenges ahead of us again today.

For instance, we face challenges with the ongoing Bovine TB catastrophe here in Wales to the new nitrate vulnerable zones regulations and the potentially disastrous Sustainable Farming Scheme.

This is without the uncertainty of a new Government in Westminster.

Welsh Labour does not exactly have a track record of supporting rural Wales and Sir Keir Starmer's manifesto certainly has not given me any confidence to vote for them in Westminster either.

However, on a slightly more positive note, the new Welsh Rural Affairs Secretary Huw Irranca-Davies does seem to listen and engage with Welsh farmers, something which his predecessor failed to do.

But as a Young Farmer, I strongly believe that we are an extremely resilient bunch and we adapt, develop and overcome any challenges that may come our way.

And one thing the rural and farming community does better than anything is unite and support each other in times of hardship.

This was evident in Wales earlier this year when hundreds of farmers gathered on the steps of the Senedd to display our anger and frustration at the proposed SFS by the Welsh Government.

Another aspect of the rural community which I am immensely proud to be a part of is the Young Farmers' Club scene.

Being a members of St Ishmaels YFC, chair for our county's Agri Forum and being a male ambassador for Carmarthenshire YFC this year is truly an honour.

It is a movement that brings our rural communities together and offer a network of support, and I will always be proud to say that I am a Young Farmer.

READ NOW: Young Farmer Focus - Dana Bradley-Allen: "I'm looking forward to making my mark as a shepherdess"

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