DIARY FARMING HOW FRIENDS’ PLANNER VENTURE TOOK OFF

AN idea conceived eight years ago by a group of rural women has since become an annual fixture in farmhouses across Wales.

Next year’s Dyddiadur Amaeth 2021 Agricultural Diary is targeting 2,000 sales – twice that of its original publishing run in 2014.

Costing £7.99, the forest green hardback A4 diary contains useful rural contacts, pages for business data and sections for storing farm records.

The bilingual diary venture was launched by six friends who all live in the Penllyn area of Bala.

“We realised that even though we all have ready access to mobile phone and computer calendars, we still relied on post-it notes, pocket notebooks and scraps of paper,” said group member Rachael Madeley-Davies, a farm consultant, barrister and mum to two little girls.

“We were certain that a good quality A4 desk diary, designed especially for farmers, would be a welcome addition for lots of busy individuals like us!”

The six members were all part of an Agrisgôp group set up under the Farming Connect scheme.

Group leader Lowri Rees Roberts said the project succeeded because of the members’ professionalism and willingness to speak openly.

“The diary took two years to plan,” she said.

“We needed to build up our contacts, which was achieved largely through direct marketing at rural events and Welsh bookshops.

“The first 1,000 copies of the 2016 diary, published by Y Lolfa, sold out.”

Most of the group members had their own careers, which they juggled with families and farming.

Even so, they all appreciated the chance to meet up on a regular basis, often with babies or toddlers in tow.

“Turning those weekly “me time” informal chats over a cuppa, into an actual business venture, was just a fantastic bonus,” added Rachael.

The venture soon became financially self-supporting.

Alongside revenue from diary sales, rural businesses were quick to place adverts, helping to produce a

“healthy” profit margin.

Many of the group’s face-to-face selling opportunities, such as agricultural shows, were lost this year to the Covid crisis.

However they’ve kept in touch remotely and switched the sales focus to online ordering.

As well as space for business and social appointments, the 2021 edition has extra pages dedicated to keeping records on sheep, cattle and pigs, along with metric conversion tables.

Group members are hoping it might just prove to be the perfect Christmas gift!

Dyddiadur Amaeth 2021 Agricultural Diary (£7.99, Y Lolfa) is available now from most Welsh bookshops or at www. ylolfa.com.