Dairy farmer joins illustrious company
WELLKNOWN Pembrokeshire dairy farmer and founder of the Daioni Organic milk business, Laurence Harris, of Ffosyficer Farm, Abercych, has been announced as the winner of the Idris Davies Memorial Trust Award for 2020 at the recent Pembrokeshire NFU Cymru County Conference.
Laurence began his farming career in 1970 when he took over the running of the family farm after graduating from the Royal Agricultural College and has grown the farming business from 150 acres to over 3,500 acres today. The business operates three dairy herds totalling over 1,000 milking cows as well as a sheep flock of 1,200 breeding ewes, a small pedigree Hereford suckler herd and a large arable farming enterprise.
Over 20 years ago he and his son Tom, who had returned home to farm, made the decision to convert to organic farming. The business is now an example of a successful organic farming enterprise and one of the largest organic farming businesses in Wales.
Laurence is also the driving force behind the successful Daioni Organic milk brand, which was established in 2002, initially distributing fresh organic milk in South West Wales, Mid Wales and parts of North Wales before developing the Daioni organic flavoured milk range.
This was initially supplied to local schools before quickly becoming available through the Welsh regional supermarkets and convenience stores. Since 2013 Daioni Organic milk products have also been exported into global markets. Their Organic long-life milk was the first British dairy product to be certified for sale in China.
Daioni milk products can now be found extensively throughout the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific region with a sales and marketing office now in Hong Kong.
Laurence is a proud ambassador for Welsh agriculture and is a great example of Welsh rural entrepreneurship at its best. He is a substantial employer in North Pembrokeshire, and agricultural students are regularly given work placement opportunities at Ffosyficer where the Harris family help them to develop their skills and careers. He is an active member and past Chairman of the Grasshoppers discussion group, and his exceptional contribution to the Welsh dairy industry was recognised at the 2017 Royal Welsh Show when he received the prestigious Sir Bryner Jones Award.
He continues to contribute to his local community as a former player and past Chairman for both the rugby club and cricket club in Cardigan. More recently, he is an active committee member, player and umpire at the thriving Llechryd Cricket Club where he is also immediate past Chairman. He is currently a member of the Wales Over 70s cricket squad and plays regularly in the national league.
Laurence also plays his part in encouraging local children into sport with Llechryd Cricket Club where it provides regular coaching sessions for aspiring young and old cricketers.
Both the farming business and Daioni Organic continue to sponsor many local sports teams and local charities. Laurence was a member of Cardigan Round Table for 15 years and became its Chairman and President, and he was actively involved in raising large sums of money which were distributed to local charities and worthy causes.
Jeff Evans, chairman of the Idris Davies Memorial Trust Award Management Committee, said: “Laurence has made an outstanding contribution to the agricultural community in Pembrokeshire and he is an extremely worthy recipient of the Idris Davies Memorial Trust Award. He joins some illustrious company in becoming this year’s winner of the award.”
STAFF from the Farmers’ Union of Wales and FUW Insurance Services Ltd joined teams from five nations to inspire rural communities to take to the countryside to help improve their mental health.
The challenge dubbed #Run1000, called on people to join either England, Ireland, Scotland, or Wales and the rest of the world, to see which team could run or walk 1,000 miles first.
The Wales team raises money for the DPJ Foundation, which was set up by Emma Picton Jones from Pembrokeshire, following the suicide of her husband, Daniel, in 2016.
After his death it was clear there was a lack of support in the agricultural sector for those with poor mental health.
The winner of the challenge to reach the 1,000 milestone was Wales and the FUW Ltd group team contributed a total of 1,156 miles to the overall 64,785 miles recorded across all teams around the world.
The FUW team included
Rebecca Voyle and her dog Hettie from Pembrokeshire, who walked 158.3 miles.
Carmarthenshire was represented by Sam Evans, who ran 36.76 miles, and Mark and Angela Williams together managed to do 302 miles.
The couple were joined by their dog Ruby and Angela’s longest run was a half marathon, a distance she has not tackled since 2015.
The team from Ceredigion included Charlotte Priddy who ran 28 miles,
Gareth Parry who ran 31.8 miles and Elin Jenkins, who added a further nine miles.
FUW President Glyn Roberts said: “This has been a remarkable challenge and an amazing effort from everyone involved.
“I would also like to thank the staff from the FUW Ltd group who have taken part in all weather and helped to not just raise funds for the DPJ Foundation, but to highlight how important good mental health is.”