Farming: Ex-banker among Wales' next generation

"This is possibly one of the best times to be a young person in agriculture."

Bryony Gittins, 40, started her career in banking but is now taking over the running of her parents' sheep farm in Monmouthshire.

The industry is facing soaring costs, uncertainty over future subsidies and scrutiny of its environmental impact.

But Bryony believes "transition and change... provides opportunity", a chance for the next generation of farmers to make their mark.

At the Royal Welsh Show, farming unions are making a conscious effort to attract "new blood", to combat a perception of their members as predominately older and male.

The average age of a farmer in Wales rose from 56 to 59 between 2010 and 2017.

During the same period, the proportion of farmers under 45 fell to less than 10%, according to a pre-pandemic report.

Bryony is one of 18 members of NFU Cymru's recently announced next generation group of talented young farmers under 40, 11 of whom were women.

They are set to hold meetings with industry leaders and politicians on the showground this week and throughout the year ahead.

The challenge as she sees it is to show that farming can work "hand in hand with other goals", like protecting the environment.

"I know every corner of my farm, I know the cuckoo that lives in this particular tree, the dragonflies who live over there - and I'm the best person to share that knowledge with the government and whoever needs to listen," she said.

The idea of rewarding farmers in future with subsidies for work that helps fight nature loss and climate change "holds a lot of promise", she added.

"I think anyone progressive and forward thinking is aware that they are changing away from intensive methods [of farming] and looking for more than that.

"The balance is finding healthy, productive and profitable farming methods whilst maintaining the biodiversity and environment - and there's no reason why in Wales we can't achieve that."

She also hoped to raise issues facing young people in getting access to land and affordable housing in their own communities.

Another recruit to the group is 34-year-old Bryn Perry, a first-generation tenant farmer from Pembrokeshire.

The organic milk from his flock of 80 sheep is processed into cheese and ice cream.

But working with a nearby distillery, he recently branched out into vodka, made from a by-product of cheese making.

"The whey was essentially going down the drain so I thought 'we've got to do something with this, there must be another option'," he said.

"I think as we move forward and look at agriculture in the future, diversification and value-added products are going to be really, really important."

Jessica Williams, 38, from Bryncrug, Gwynedd, agrees.

She and her husband specialise in rearing rarer breeds of native cattle and sheep and recently launched a specialist meat box delivery scheme.

"It's going really well - people appreciate being able to buy local meat from animals that have been born and raised here on the farm," she said.

"I think this is the most important period in the recent history of farming for me to be involved in the next generation group - policies are changing and this is a chance for us as a group of young people to put across what we want to see.

"It's our future."

Tori Morgan, national policy advisor for NFU Cymru, will co-ordinate the next generation group's work and said it was an opportunity to bring in "new ideas, new blood".

"Our young farmers are absolutely some of the most innovative and most passionate and if anyone is going to forge a future in farming, it's them," she said.

Meanwhile, over at the Farmers' Union of Wales (FUW), a big push is under way at this year's show to attract a younger crowd to its programme of events.

"It's important we get a new generation interested in the union's work and in farming policy to ensure the [changes the government's proposing] suit everyone and the industry can go from strength to strength," said Angharad Thomas, the FUW's marketing coordinator.

She explained people have a perception of the union's work as being for older farmers while "young people tend to be busier and, after a day's work, don't necessarily want to go to meetings".

"But it's so important to get that new blood because, if we don't do anything about it, there'll be a knowledge gap and that could have a major effect on the future."