What our Farmers Say
Name:
Richard Lewis
When did you start farming?:
1982
What inspired you to start/take over the family farm?:
So long ago,can’t remember! Started milking when i was about 10 or 11 and just carried on from there. Just a natural progression really.
Why did you become organic?:
I finished converting in 2002 as at the time the price of conventional milk had become really poor, whereas the organic milk sector was much stronger financially. That makes it sound like it was a purely financial decision however I had been interested in organic for a number of years beforehand, however the financial aspect was the final push to do it. It was a very new thing at the time and a very niche activity while it has grown a lot bigger in the intervening years. The alternative of increasing production in conventional to compensate for poor milk price was never considered as we were just a small family farm and didn’t want to go down that route. I joined Calon Wen in 2012 - quite late into my organic journey, however I like that it’s a Welsh company and run by the members themselves rather than the huge organisation based in England which I first joined.
What do you do when you're not farming?:
I’m a massive football fan! Haven’t missed a home game for Wales for about 31 years and have been all over Europe following the team, probably at least 1 game a year since 1992. I’m a regular at Haverfordwest County FC too, rarely missing a home or away game.
