FW Awards 2009: Local Food Farmer of the Year finalist – Roland Watkins
When Roland Watkins embarked on plans to set up an 8,000sq ft farm shop and grill at Cwmcerrig farm, it was the biggest and most ambitious project in the history of the family-run farm business.
But he is a man who isn’t afraid of trying something new, especially if it can help build a profitable business for future generations.
The family has been farming the 100ha farm near Carmarthen since 1952. Originally a dairy farm, it quickly diversified into growing vegetables, which were sold locally. Vegetable growing has stopped and the farm now produces 2000 turkeys for the Christmas market, alongside a 500-strong flock of Texel ewes, a pedigree Hereford suckler herd and a 2000-bird free-range poultry flock.
“We have long been involved in the provision of food from our farm, and always viewed this development as being able to extend that,” Roland said. “The farm shop has been a tremendous bonus to us and helped provide long-term security for the five families that rely on the farming business.”
Since the official opening on 4 March by Welsh Assembly rural affairs minister Elin Jones, the shop and 100-seat restaurant have been hugely successful and are predicted to turnover an impressive £40,000 a week. More than 40 full and part-time staff are employed and Roland is proud that as many products as possible are sourced locally. At least 80% of the goods sold come from Carmarthenshire and the addition of a butchery and cutting plant allowed Cwmcerrig to process its own beef and lamb for sale in the shop, or restaurant. “I was amazed at how much you can find that is made locally,” he said.
But, despite having being involved with selling farm produce to the public since he was seven, Roland was the first to admit the development of the shop was a steep learning curve. “We weren’t prepared to skimp on the finish, but I had no idea how much some things would cost. Our original estimate was a total build cost of £450,000-£650,000. But it has probably come in at more than £1m, and that doesn’t include our own labour.”
The only grant funding was a £40,000 manufacturing grant from the Welsh Assembly – the remainder was financed through the sale of an old farm store and bank loans.
Roland was not afraid to draft in outside advice to help with the planning and marketing strategy and Bidwells Agribusiness produced a business plan. From that, Roland found that although many of the shop’s target customers lived within a 15-minute drive of the site, there were not enough to sustain it in the long-term. “We had to attract people from further afield, which was part of the reason for having the restaurant as well. We’ve found some people are now travelling up to an hour to get here.”
With such a large family (Roland has 12 brothers and sisters) in a close-knit rural community, word of mouth played a key part of the advertising strategy in the early days. Since then, paid-for advertising on local radio, and adverts in free magazines and local papers have proved successful. “We are developing a website and thinking about how to further support our brand with a strong digital marketing strategy.”
Farm facts:
- 101ha (250 acres) pasture
- 90 pedigree Hereford sucklers
- 400 commercial sheep plus 70 pedigree Texels
- Free-range poultry flock of 2,000 birds – including chickens, turkeys, geese and ducks
- Farm shop opened February 2009
What the judges liked
Lee Woodger, head of food chain unit, NFU:
- “I liked the fact Cmcerrig farm shop has been set up by a family looking for viable future – it’s the true ethos of the FW awards.”
Doug Wanstall, FW Local Food Farmer of the Year 2008:
- “A fantastic shop, like nothing I have seen before. I was very impressed by the range of local products that they had in the shop. I wish them well as this could be the future of farm shops.”
Three achievements:
- Strong ambition to secure a viable future for the family farm
- Aims to source 80% of products from Carmarthenshire
- Large, professional shop with scope to expand
