Farming

Pembrokeshire mutton on top of TV chefs’ menu

Published

8 years ago

January 2, 2018

Mutton with menaces: Robert Vaughan (centre front) with Jamie (right) & Jimmy (left) with half-naked Pembrokeshire councillor Sam Kurtz, a worried sheep, and several other unclothed young farmers

GWAUN VALLEY beef and sheep farmer, Robert Vaughan, has put mutton on top of famous TV chef Jamie Oliver’s menu, which features in the current Channel 4 TV series ‘Jamie and Jimmy’s Friday Night Feast’.

Pembrokeshire hill farmer Robert, who is a member of the Farmers’ Union of Wales, was keen to highlight how versatile and delicious mutton can be and was delighted to show Jamie and Jimmy round the farm.

“Out of the blue one evening I had a phone call from the Jamie Oliver production team to have a chat about my farm and mutton for the new series, with the outlook of possibly coming to see the farm for themselves. I didn’t want to get my hopes up of course. We have done a few TV shows before but it’s a bit like a job interview, you never know 100% if you’re going to be successful. They kept bouncing questions across for few weeks and then all of a sudden we had a confirmed date.

“It was all getting rather exciting but nerve racking also at that point. But I just gave them my story, not pretending to be something I’m not, and showed them round, explained how we farm and for how long we’ve been here. And they decided to run with it.”

Carn Edward meats is part of the north Pembrokeshire family hill farm and comprises of 3 livestock farms working as one under the gaze of Carn Edward mountain, which unites the holdings of Llannerch, Penrhiw and the renowned Penlan Uchaf gardens & tea rooms.

It is managed and farmed by brothers Robert and Richard under the careful eye and guidance of their parents Dilwyn and Suzanne Vaughan.

Llannerch farm is situated on the floor of the Gwaun Valley at its highest point on what was once one of the busiest drovers’ routes and pilgrims way out of north Pembrokeshire. Once home to and farmed by Robert’s and Richard’s grandparents this is where their father Dilwyn was born. Over the years he helped run the milking cows and sheep alongside purchasing the neighbouring un-farmed and neglected Penlan Uchaf.

Many years were spent clearing pasture land of gorse, blackthorns and weeds with the unreserved help of his parents at Llannerch, revealing what is now a vibrant livestock hill farm – built on blood, sweat and tears.

“Before the filming actually started I sent them a few products up to taste in London. I sent them my mutton, and they got back to me and said that Jamie Oliver was impressed by it and came back with all these wonderful ideas of what to do with it. And by the start of May we were filming. Originally the plan was for them to come out and do a taste test of flash frying a loin of lamb and a loin of mutton, and giving it to a couple of people to see what they think. Job done and off they went, but because they were so impressed with the mutton story they came for the full day cooking different things.

“I’m used to mutton but of course if you have never tried it before it is something quite special. It’s really good mood food and Jamie and Jimmy were busy cooking fried loins, pasta dishes with minced mutton, kofta balls and mutton lollipops. It really is worth trying and I can only describe it as quick young people food – and these are really the people we want to target. What is so lovely with Jamie and Jimmy is that they champion the people who produce the food and also the people who consume the food. They’re very down to earth and it was an absolute pleasure and heartwarming experience having them here,” said Robert Vaughan.

Back in the early 1980s, when Robert and Richard were children, farming hit a low point; returns were poor and interest rates high. To help survive and pay the bills farmers were encouraged to diversify. This led Dilwyn to be inspired by his love of gardening, learnt from his mother, to begin to create what is today Penlan Uchaf gardens.

The third farm Penrhiw, which adjoins Llannerch and encompasses the other half of Carn Edward mountain, came up for sale in Robert and Richards’ final year of college and was purchased that year.

So the boys, both equipped with over a 500 year Vaughan family history in the Gwaun Valley, the educational knowledge and inspiration and drive gained from their parents and grandparents and a love for their ‘Cenefyn’ (homeland where born) the story of Carn Edward farms was born.

Today the farm runs as a typical livestock hill farm, with a closed flock comprising of 750 pedigree Lleyn breeding ewes and a native herd of 200 pedigree Longhorn cattle, with all calving and lambing taking place in the spring and all animals pasture grazed. In the harsh depths of winter they are housed and fed on grass silage round bales made in early summer.

In 2001 the farm established their Longhorn cattle herd, a low input pasture based native breed, ideally suited to the extreme weather conditions facing a north Pembrokeshire farm.

Farmers markets and food festivals, along with the gardens and tea rooms offered the opportunity to capitalise on the Carn Edward meat sales growth we all know of today.

“I’ve had to learn how to get the best of the mutton carcasses – you don’t want a big layer of fat on it today because people won’t buy them. Traditionally they were processed fat, making them suitable for lengthy hanging bearing in mind we didn’t have the fridges we have today. So we process our mutton with their working coat on, which means they are leaner and higher in protein and we add value, producing what our customers want,” said Robert Vaughan.

Describing how mutton differs from lamb and why it is worth a try, Robert added: “The texture is different and there so much flavour- it’s almost like the dark meat on a chicken but there is more of it. The sheep had more time to graze and the meat becomes firmer, leaner. You can almost describe it like a good Christmas cake – it needs time and you can’t rush it.

“As an industry we’ve got so obsessed with the spring lamb story we have taken our eye off the ball. We need to keep the bigger picture in mind, as lamb consumption is falling and that’s a concern for us all. So the mutton story is a way of generating a new interest and it is a great way of championing our sheep farming industry.

“The opportunity to share my farming life with ‘Friday Night Feast’ and such great well known characters, was both humbling and a heart-warming experience. As farmers in this climate we need to engage more with our customer and go beyond the farm gate.

“If you’re interested in trying some of the mutton featured in the TV show, you can buy it from our website http://www.carnedward.co.uk/ and you can find me at Farmers Markets on a Monday at Newport (Pembrokeshire) from 9am – 1pm, Tuesday’s at St Dogmaels from 9am – 1pm, Saturday (1st & 3rd of the month) at Aberystwyth Farmers Market and on the last Saturday of the month at Uplands Market, Swansea,” added Robert

Farming

Check ewes at weaning to protect next season’s lamb crop

Published

5 days ago

June 15, 2026

Tom Sinclair

PEMBROKESHIRE sheep farmers are being urged to use weaning as a key opportunity to check ewe condition and deal with any problems before tupping.

With many local flocks now moving towards weaning, farmers are being advised to assess body condition score, as well as checking teeth, feet and udders, while there is still time to improve nutrition ahead of the breeding season.

Dr Alison Bond, Technical Services Manager at Rumenco, said close monitoring at this stage can help avoid major changes in ewe condition and improve overall flock productivity.

She said weaning at around 12 weeks was a good target, when lambs should usually be between 25kg and 30kg and taking very little milk from the ewe.

“There will of course be a focus on the lambs’ readiness for market at this stage, but it is equally important to put a hand across the ewes to assess their condition,” she said.

For lowland flocks, ewes with a body condition score below 2.5 at weaning should be given priority, as they may struggle to reach the target score of around 3.5 by tupping.

Those poorer condition ewes should be grouped separately, moved onto the best available grazing and given appropriate supplementary feeding where needed.

Dr Bond said waiting until closer to tupping could be less effective and may affect performance.

She added that ewes in good condition at tupping are more likely to scan with more lambs, produce healthier lambs after birth, and rear heavier lambs by eight weeks of age.

“It affects the whole production cycle, and not just one element,” she said.

The advice will be particularly relevant to farms across Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion, where sheep remain a major part of the rural economy and where grass quality can vary sharply depending on weather, soil type and stocking pressure.

Dr Bond said the aim should be to keep ewes between body condition score 2.5 and 3.5 throughout the cycle, avoiding big dips and peaks.

Routine checks at weaning, she said, give farmers the best chance of correcting problems before the tups go in two to three months later.

Pic: Farmers are being urged to check ewe condition at weaning to protect flock performance ahead of tupping (Pic: Tim Scrivener/Agriphoto).

Farming

Reform calls for urgent review of farming scheme

Published

1 week ago

June 13, 2026

Tom Sinclair

LOW UPTAKE HAS RAISED FRESH QUESTIONS OVER THE FUTURE OF SUPPORT FOR WELSH FARMERS

REFORM WALES has called for an urgent review of the Sustainable Farming Scheme after figures showed only around half of eligible farmers have signed up.

The party said the lower-than-expected uptake showed that serious concerns remained within the farming community over the complexity of the scheme, compliance rules and uncertainty about how it will operate in the long term.

Laura Anne Jones MS, Reform Wales’ Shadow Cabinet Minister for Food, Farming and Rural Affairs, raised the issue during questions to the Welsh Government.

She said: “The figures released by the Welsh Government today confirm what many farmers have been saying for some time: the Sustainable Farming Scheme is too complex, too restrictive and too bureaucratic.

“Farmers need certainty and security, not endless paperwork and rigid requirements that fail to reflect the realities of farming in Wales.

“Reform Wales believes the scheme should be reviewed as a matter of urgency, with a greater focus on flexibility, common sense and practical outcomes.

“Welsh farmers deserve a scheme that works with them, not against them.”

The Sustainable Farming Scheme is due to replace previous systems of agricultural support in Wales and has been one of the most contentious issues facing the rural sector.

Farming unions and campaigners have repeatedly warned that any new system must be practical for family farms and must not add unnecessary red tape at a time when many businesses are already under pressure from rising costs, bovine TB and market uncertainty.

Reform Wales said the Welsh Government must now explain how it intends to respond to the level of take-up and whether changes will be made before the scheme is fully rolled out.

Business

Holiday accommodation conversion of historic farm buildings approved

Published

1 week ago

June 13, 2026

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

PLANS to convert historic farm buildings near north Pembrokeshire’s Whitesands beach for use as holiday accommodation have been given the go-ahead, but their use doesn’t have to be restricted to just that purpose.

In an application to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, Matthew James of James Properties, through agent Harries Planning Design Management sought permission for the conversion of two derelict barns to two self-catering holiday accommodation units at Porthmawr Ganol, Whitesands, St Davids.

An officer report said: “The farmstead occupies a prominent position within a landscape characterised by open agricultural fields enclosed predominantly by traditional dry-stone walls, exposed coastal pasture and areas of heathland associated with Carn Llidi.”

It added: “The site lies within the Porthmawr Historic Landscape Character Area, an area recognised for its historic pattern of dispersed settlement, traditional farmsteads, dry-stone wall field boundaries and evidence of medieval and post-medieval agricultural activity.

“The retention and reuse of the existing buildings therefore has the potential to preserve an important element of the area’s historic landscape character whilst securing a viable long-term future for structures that would otherwise continue to deteriorate.”

It said that insufficient evidence had initially been submitted to demonstrate that the buildings were unsuitable for permanent residential conversion and only for self-catering accommodation and therefore an affordable housing contribution should be secured.

Policy would lead to a contribution of £36,400, the report said, but a financial viability assessment by the applicant “demonstrated that the development would not be viable if required to provide the full policy contribution,” the maximum contribution capable of being supported whilst maintaining viability was £12,641.

This reduced figure was accepted, the officer report saying: “Whilst this represents a reduced contribution when compared with the full policy requirement, the submitted viability evidence demonstrates that the development could not reasonably support the full contribution whilst remaining deliverable.

“In these circumstances, securing a reduced contribution is considered preferable to losing the opportunity to secure the restoration and beneficial reuse of the historic buildings.”

It stated that, with the affordable contribution, the scheme would not be limited to self-catering development only.

The application was conditionally approved by Park planners.