A father-and-son duo whose faces appear in Morrisons stores across Wales have been announced winners of the Welsh Livestock Champion of the Year Award.
The Roberts family, from Ty Draw, near Holywell, north-east Wales, were given the award during Monday's (25 November) Royal Welsh Winter Fair.
The competition has been on the lookout for its 10th winner and recognises the key role a livestock manager can make to a farm and to the wider livestock sector.
Mathew and his father David, who run Ty Draw Farm, are proud producers of Welsh livestock, with the family farming texel-cross ewes, fattening store lambs and beef cattle.
The farm has adapted from purchasing strong store cattle at various markets to becoming an integrated partner for Morrisons Elite Beef scheme where they now run, rear and fatten Angus cattle for the supermarket shelves.
In addition to the cattle, there are crossbred ewes that also supply Morrisons and St Asaph Mart. Once their own lamb crop is sold, they fatten a large number of store lambs.
The Roberts family are one of Morrisons' key partners in developing their farming strategy and they are also involved in farm trials to help reduce emissions.
They are the only blueprint farm in Wales. Stock is of the highest quality and so much so, the family were runners-up in the British Farming Awards Sheep Farmer of the Year 2023.
Matthew and David feature in many Morrisons stores across their red meat isles and the farm features as a demonstration site for Farming Connect and Morrisons.
The business is focused on achieving net zero as part of the Morrisons scheme, with lots of focus being placed on reducing bought in feed through route crops and fodder beet, as well as crimped barley grown on farm.
They are constantly trying to improve daily liveweight gain and reduce time on farm through efficiency which ultimately make the business more profitable.
The aim for the father and son duo is to ensure their business remains sustainable in the long term and reducing costs by growing better grasses along with red clover leys to produce better quality silage.
Matthew and David don’t necessarily want to increase the size of their operation, but they do want to operate more efficiently and get more out of their land. Both see technology playing an essential role in reaching that goal.
They have overhauled their systems to record more data in recent years. All cattle and sheep are fitted with electronic identification (EID) tags and monitored using Agriwebb software and weigh cells.
The Roberts family are believers in farming as efficiently as possible whilst not compromising on the standard of livestock, wanting to reach the net zero aim whilst maintaining their supply of quality Welsh lamb and beef.
Presenting them with the prize of £500 and a Royal Welsh engraved crystal trophy, chairman of NFU Cymru’s Livestock Board, Rob Lewis, said their attention to detail and care for their stock were clear to see.
"The quality of their stock and his enthusiasm to continue to develop the business was second to none. I have no doubt that the Roberts family are a well-deserved winner of this award.”
Mike Thomas, NFU Mutual senior agent and NFU Cymru Group Secretary added: “It was clear to see the enthusiasm David and Matthew have for the quality of their stock as soon as we met with them.
"They were passionate about the care their animals receive but also ensuring the business remains profitable.”
