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Michael Eavis of Worthy farm presents Gareth Roberts of Llaeth Y Llan with the FUW - HSBC outstanding services to Welsh dairy industry award.[/caption]
North Wales dairy farmer Gareth Roberts of Llaeth Y Llan / Village Dairy has been honoured with the FUW - HSBC outstanding services to Welsh dairy industry award at the Welsh Dairy Show in Carmarthen.
FUW Senior Policy Officer Dr Hazel Wright, who sat on the judging panel with Sarah J Raymond, HSBC and Lynn Davies, Chairman of the Welsh Dairy Show, said:“Gareth has contributed greatly to the Welsh Dairy Industry and has successfully created a product and brand, which is known globally, and this success has put not only Llaeth Y llan, but also Wales on the global platform. He is without a doubt a most deserving winner of this award.”
David Gareth Roberts, grew up at Tal Y Bryn Farm, some one and a half miles from the small village of Llannefydd. He lost his parents at a relatively early age while farming as a tenant, but a new hope came into his life when an opportunity to purchase the farm in the early seventies and he started to court Falmai Parry a farmer’s daughter from the Bryneglwys area.
In 1977 they married, Gareth still farming a small holding of 50 acres and Falmai who worked as a child welfare officer in the Cheshire area. 1979 Falmai had to give up her work to raise a Family of three children, the loss of her income and high interest rate on borrowed money at the time was a threat to the farming venture.
In the early 1980’s and opportunity came for Gareth and Falmai to purchase a small milk round serving the local village of Llannefydd with bottled milk, this was a very traditional way to diversify however it led the family down the road to processing milk into Skim, Semi-Skimmed and Cream Production.
The cream side of the business became very successful with large surplus of unsold skim which was becoming a threat to the profitability of the business. This was the catalyst to really diversify to a new product. It has been over 30 years now since the family decided on making yogurt, back then it was an unusual choice for a farmer and his wife to do, nevertheless the Llaeth Y Llan brand was born.
The diversified business has seen great success over the few decades and cumulate in Gareth winning the coveted Sir Bryner Jones award in 2009 for a farmer who had successfully established an alternative outlet for the product of a particular farming enterprise.
The company itself now has a workforce of over 50 people and the day to day running of the business is being handled more by the younger generation of the family. However Gareth and Falmai are still active board members and continue to promote the Llaeth Y Llan journey through Talks and Tours on and off the Farm.
Speaking about the business at the FUW Eve of Dairy Show dinner, Gareth Roberts told guests: “In 1995, we developed and built a high spec manufacturing unit on the farm, which is still being used today to produce our award winning yogurt. This is alongside our recent 2016 project of a new modern 2000 square meter production facility still located on the family farm, which allowed our daily capacity to double and there is still room to grow.”
Through the years Llaeth Y Llan have grown a faithful fan base and can now be found in major retailers (Tesco, Morrisons, ASDA & Co-op) throughout Wales all down to this fabulous support.
As of yesterday (Monday, October 24), the brand was launched in over 50 Cheshire, Shropshire and mid-counties Tesco stores, which is an exciting time for the business to increase their brand awareness further afield from Wales.
“We have trialled new flavours and ranges, and currently there are 14 different flavours of the little pots (125g) to try and 7 flavours in the large pots (450g), with Vanilla being the most recent.
“As a company we are proud of our roots and insist on using wholesome Welsh milk from the local area due to its high quality as it creates a yogurt that’s rich, creamy and full of flavour, which our consumers love. The dairy industry in Wales is facing tough times and Llaeth Y Llan / Village Dairy would like to be a part in promoting the quality of the milk that is produced in Wales,” added Mr Roberts.
This high quality raw material has been the basis for the company to grow and have over 50 staff members now including family members and this family company ethos runs through every staff member.
Speaking about the award Gareth Roberts said: “I am surprised and humbled to be recognised as an individual by the industry, this award reflects the Llaeth Y Llan tale of how a family business has had to develop, evolve and adapt over the years. We’ve had to respond to the competitive demand of the sector and I’m so delighted that the judges appreciated who we are and what we are about.”