Christmas celebrations are well ahead at Cilwr Farm in Llandeilo as they prepare their festive treats of pork pies, sausage rolls, pigs in blankets, pasties and terrines in the on-farm bakery ready for the countdown to Christmas markets this weekend.
Lynn Beard and family live on a 50-acre grass farm in Carmarthenshire South West Wales. It is home to their Tamworth X Pietrain Pigs and their goats and they also run an on-farm bakery business that supplies all their culinary treats through farmers markets, food festivals and they also offer wholesale and cater for events.
Lynn started in the business world by keeping goats, and they followed her to Wales when she moved here in 2003. Her husband Richard started keeping pigs in 2008. He found that the Tamworth X Pietrain had a unique flavour and bigger back ends and that they were nicer as finished products as there was less fat.
“We do love animals with character, that’s why we are keeping pigs, goats and terriers,” said Lynn.
As their business started to boom they started visiting markets with their pastries and pork pies and started supplying a few local shops as well as direct to customers.
“We have had amazing support from the local community, we visit the Tally pop up market weekly and also Dogmael market every Tuesday. It has been absolutely brilliant with great support from local customers as well as huge interest from the tourist trade.”
The work is 7 days a week and if they are not in the hat and gloves in local farmers market’s they are busy preparing and cooking their culinary delights.
“We don’t do our own butchery here on the farm, we send all our pigs to Cig Owen in Tregaron and they prepare all the sausages and all the cuts as we need for the bakery. We then make all our own pasteries and pork pies on the farm.”
“We do different flavoured scotch eggs, using chorizo, smoked paprika, smoked bacon, garlic and always use fresh herbs from the garden. We also use goat meat for the pies and pasties and their milk into all the quiches, pasties and custard tarts.”
“We had to do something totally different, we just couldn’t sell enough fresh pork. Having the bakery alongside the farm is something a bit different and allows us to add value to our quality products. We have so many returning customers that enjoy our pork pies and sausage rolls so much that they are back for more every week."
With over 20 breeding sows and around 50 weaners on the farm at any one time, the day starts early for Lynn and Richard. First, with milking the goats and feeding the pigs, before an afternoon spent in the bakery. Their market days are long with Lynn up preparing for the day at 2am.
“I have spent most of my life rolling and folding, and in markets selling. It’s something I really enjoy and we meet so many different people and share our produce.”
It’s starting to look a lot like Christmas at the bakery in the Cothi Valley with only a week till the big day, Lynn and family are busy preparing for the festive season with a list of orders for pork pies and sausage rolls without forgetting the tasty pigs in blankets!
This case study is part of the Trotting all over Wales Campaign by Menter Moch Cymru.
The Menter Moch Cymru is funded by 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.