Tyfu Cymru were delighted to sponsor a category at the 25th ‘Gwobrau Lantra Cymru Awards’, which were celebrated in style at a glitzy gala dinner at the Metropole Hotel in Llandrindod Wells. The awards ceremony hosted by Rachael Garside and Aled Rhys Jones, brought together key partners, organisations and individuals to recognise the initiatives, skills and enthusiasm of individuals pursuing careers within the environmental and land-based sectors.
This year, there was more than one reason to celebrate, not only to recognise the outstanding contributions to the environmental and land-based industries made by all of the nominees, but also an important milestone for the Awards as they celebrate their 25th birthday.
The very first Tyfu Cymru award focused on recognising enterprises in the horticulture industry who are committed to providing learning and development opportunities for their staff, by attending training provided through Tyfu Cymru.
Winner of the award, Bellis Brothers are an independently run family business located less than 9 miles from Wrexham. They offer a unique shopping experience through their farm shop, garden centre and ‘pick your own’ experience. Bellis Brothers were quick to take up support from Tyfu Cymru participating in the very first Tyfu Cymru workshop focusing on soiless growing. Since then, Bellis Brothers have been active members of the Tyfu Cymru Fruit Network, happily working together with other like-minded growers to drive growth in the industry.
Runner up, Farmyard Nurseries is in their 35th year of trading located in a remote corner of Carmarthenshire. The nursery covers 3 acres, around 50 polytunnels and with room to expand further, Farmyard Nurseries is making the most of the fully funded training support which is available to them through Tyfu Cymru. Richard Bramley owner of Farmyard Nurseries commented,
“Tyfu Cymru is amazing – their whole approach has been so different. The project really has provided me with tailor-made support which has been moulded to our needs.”
Tyfu Cymru supports commercial growers to prepare for and capitalise on new market opportunities through training and development for the horticulture sector. Led by Lantra Wales, the programme has received funding through the Welsh Government Rural Communities - Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, which is funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the Welsh Government.
Sarah Gould, Tyfu Cymru Project Manager commented,
“We would like to congratulate both the winner and runner up of the Tyfu Cymru award, Bellis Brothers and Farmyard Nurseries. Not only are the growers making a significant contribution to the horticulture industry in Wales, but they have also shown outstanding dedication to growing the industry through enabling and encouraging their team to attend specialist training and development, with the aim of reducing the skills gap currently faced by the industry, we were pleased to recognise this through the Tyfu Cymru award.”
Bellis Brothers and Farmyard Nurseries are among 80 grower enterprises who have received support from Tyfu Cymru during its first year of delivery. The programme, now in its second year has delivered 200 fully funded training days, with over 300 participants, and established 7 grower networks which focus on providing opportunities for growers to work together to overcome common issues. With a further 3 years remaining, there’s still plenty of time for growers to get involved.
Sarah Gould added,
“Having recently completed our first year of delivery, we are delighted to have supported over 80 Welsh growers through funded training. It is an exciting time for the horticulture industry in Wales, our aim is to support Welsh growers in ensuring they are in prime position to benefit from these opportunities. Whether that be through technical advice to improve the yields from crops, guidance on new growing techniques or training on managing finance systems.”
Richard from Farmyard Nurseries commends the support they have received, saying:
“I would highly recommend that other growers take advantage of the fully funded training support which is available to them through Tyfu Cymru – at long last, we’ve got this project which provided relevant and tailored training and support which has been really beneficial to my business.”
Tyfu Cymru support is available to commercial horticulture growers in Wales, with a series of workshops taking place in the upcoming months. For further information on the services available and to see a list of upcoming workshops please visit: www.tyfucymru.com