Pig farmers and meat processor join forces to add value to pork

A NEW co-operative formed between West Wales pig farmers and a meat supplier is allowing pork from herds born and reared within the region to be transported for processing just a short distance in a low-throughput abattoir – reducing stress on the animals, providing low food miles meat for consumers and improving producer margins.
The eight Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire-based farmers were brought together by the Farming Connect Agrisgôp initiative after the idea was discussed by Fishguard meat supplier and butcher Martyn Lloyd and Agrisgôp leader Lilwen Joynson.
Martyn had been a member of another Agrisgôp group where Lilwen had helped him to develop his idea for a new processing facility and later, at a Farming Connect mentoring meeting, the idea for the Red Dragon Porc Cyf co-operative was established.
Martyn and his wife, Danielle, had been unable to source low food miles pork for their customers.
'We could get beef and lamb and we have our own poultry but what we were missing was pork, we did our best to find Welsh pork for customers but that pork came with a lot of food miles and that doesn't fit with our business ethos,'' Martyn explains.
Developing an abattoir on their farm at Cilshafe presented a solution.
'We wanted to get some pork producers on board, to help them advance their businesses,'' says Martyn.
'There are a lot of small pig producers in west Wales and many were struggling to work out how best to get their meat to the market but with an existing customer base we could help. We looked to Agrisgôp to help to bring that to life.''
After the first Agrisgôp meeting, facilitated by Lilwen, the idea took shape.
Agrisgôp is a fully-funded management development programme that encourages eligible farmers to get together to not only develop their businesses, but to personally gain confidence and skills through action learning.
And this is what happened for the Red Dragon Porc Cyf members.
Farmers had been receiving inconsistent prices for their pigs when they marketed as individual businesses and their ability to supply a butcher directly was constrained as meeting supply volume requirements was tricky.
'The farmers shared a mission and were guided on putting their ideas into action,'' Lilwen explains.
Building trust and confidence was crucial to the process of forming a cooperative.
'Collaboration and open sharing are definitely key,'' says Lilwen.
'Differences of opinion and thinking had to be overcome and a set of rules and values adopted with individuals accepting that it had to work for the majority since they were no longer operating as individual businesses.''
For some it even meant changing breeding patterns and breed type to accommodate market demands.
At the end of 2024, Red Dragon Porc Cyf had already marketed £43,000 worth of pork, including sausages which captured awards at last year's Royal Welsh Winter Fair.
In April, the missing part of the local pork jigsaw slotted into position when the Lloyds started processing pork at their own Food Standards Agency-approved abattoir.
Until then, co-operative members including Will Kerr had to transport their pigs further to be processed.
'We didn't have any control over prices, the margins were very small,'' Will admits. 'Martyn opening the abattoir in Fishguard has been the catalyst we needed.''
Will has six Welsh pig breeding sows, which he runs alongside suckler beef and sheep enterprises at his family's farm, Blaenawen, at Glanrhyd.
He had long been frustrated at the perception of pork being, in his words 'the cheap cousin'' of beef and lamb.
While it has become commonplace for butchers to display the full history of the beef and lamb they are selling, Will points out that this is rarely applied to pork because it is largely sourced wholesale or has been imported.
'We too are now in a position to tell the exciting story of our pork,'' says Will, who farms with his parents, Mark and Kip.
He sees a major advantage in being part of a co-operative. 'As a group we are more powerful, it gives us many advantages, we are already getting a better price for our pigs.
'Without Agrisgôp we would never have come together so we are grateful to Martyn for initiating it with Farming Connect and to Lilwen for pulling us all together.''
Another member of the group, Ed Walker, also sees big value in collective marketing, that 'strength in numbers''.
'As eight producers we are on a par with commercial farmers as we can offer consistency of supply but we are still individual small producers too.''
The businessman-turned-farmer produces around 600 pigs a year on an outdoor system at 46-acre Model Farm near Tenby.
His 22 breeding sows are a mixture of Large Whites crossed with a Welsh boar and Oxford Sandy and Blacks which he crosses to a Large White.
Keeping pigs started as hobby, alongside running his own civil engineering business, but it is now more or less a full-time job, with a part-time helper too.
Almost all his sales are through Red Dragon Porc Cyf although he is also licenced to sell meat from the farm as Tenby Woodland Pork.
Before the abattoir was established at Cilshafe, he would need to make a 150-mile round trip to the facility at Maesteg.
The next stage for the co-operative could be to establish a meat box scheme.
The throughput of pigs through the Lloyds' abattoir, which also processes other livestock, will be small initially but that is projected to increase as sales gain momentum.
The facility has so far has created four full-time jobs and more could follow.
Picture caption:
Collaborating on pork marketing: Pictured from the left are Tom Young, Nic Caine, Martyn Lloyd, Ed Walker, Will Kerr and Lilwen Joynson

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

NBC News

an hour ago

• NBC News

FedEx founder Fred Smith, a Marine Corps veteran who revolutionized package delivery, dies at 80

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Fred Smith, the FedEx Corp. founder who revolutionized the express delivery industry, has died, the company said. He was 80. FedEx started operating in 1973, delivering small parcels and documents more quickly than the postal service. Over the next half-century, Smith, a Marine Corps veteran, oversaw the growth of a company that became something of an economic bellwether because so many other companies rely on it. Memphis, Tennessee-based FedEx became a global transportation and logistics company that averages 17 million shipments per business day. Smith stepped down as CEO in 2022 but remained executive chairman. Smith, a 1966 graduate of Yale University, used a business theory he came up with in college to create a delivery system based on coordinated air cargo flights centered on a main hub, a 'hub and spokes' system, as it became known. The company also played a major role in the shift by American business and industry to a greater use of time-sensitive deliveries and less dependence on large inventories and warehouses. Smith once told The Associated Press that he came up with the name Federal Express because he wanted the company to sound big and important when in fact it was a start-up operation with a future far from assured. At the time, Smith was trying to land a major shipping contract with the Federal Reserve Bank that didn't work out. In the beginning, Federal Express had 14 small aircraft operating out of the Memphis International Airport flying packages to 25 U.S. cities. Smith's father, also named Frederick, built a small fortune in Memphis with a regional bus line and other business ventures. Following college, Smith joined the U.S. Marines and was commissioned a second lieutenant. He left the military as a captain in 1969 after two tours in Vietnam where he was decorated for bravery and wounds received in combat. He told The Associated Press in a 2023 interview that everything he did running FedEx came from his experience in the Marines, not what he learned at Yale. Getting Federal Express started was no easy task. Overnight shipments were new to American business and the company had to have a fleet of planes and a system of interconnecting air routes in place from the get-go. Though one of Memphis' best-known and most prominent citizens, Smith generally avoided the public spotlight, devoting his energies to work and family. Despite his low profile, Smith made a cameo appearance in the 2000 movie 'Castaway' starring Tom Hanks. The movie was about a FedEx employee stranded on an island. 'Memphis has lost its most important citizen, Fred Smith,' said U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee, citing Smith's support for everything from the University of Memphis to the city's zoo. 'FedEx is the engine of our economy, and Fred Smith was its visionary founder. But more than that, he was a dedicated citizen who cared deeply about our city.' Smith rarely publicized the donations he and his family made, but he agreed to speak with AP in 2023 about a gift to the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation to endow a new scholarship fund for the children of Navy service members pursuing studies in STEM. 'The thing that's interested me are the institutions and the causes not the naming or the recognition,' Smith said at the time. Asked what it means to contribute to the public good, he replied: 'America is the most generous country in the world. It's amazing the charitable contributions that Americans make every year. Everything from the smallest things to these massive health care initiatives and the Gates Foundation and everything in between,' he said. 'I think if you've done well in this country, it's pretty churlish for you not to at least be willing to give a pretty good portion of that back to the public interest. And all this is in the great tradition of American philanthropy.'

Scottish Sun

4 hours ago

• Scottish Sun

Gang thugs torch scaffolding firm with links to caged kingpin Mark Richardson in latest firebomb attack

The business is said to be owned by a relative of one of the dealers blamed for using fake notes in a £500,000 cocaine deal 'WAR WON'T STOP' Gang thugs torch scaffolding firm with links to caged kingpin Mark Richardson in latest firebomb attack Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A SCAFFOLDING firm has been torched in the latest sinister firebomb attack linked to Scotland's raging gang war. RTR in Loanhead, near Edinburgh, was set alight by marauding maniacs in another late night blitz as the months-long chaos shows no sign of stopping. 4 A scaffolding firm was firebombed in another attack linked to Scotland's raging gang war Credit: The Scottish Sun 4 Forensics at the scene in Loanhead, Edinburgh Credit: The Scottish Sun 4 The business is said to be owned by a relative of one of the dealers McGill blames for using fake notes in a £500,000 cocaine deal Credit: The Scottish Sun 4 It is the latest in a series of attacks in the months-long feud Credit: The Scottish Sun Sources say the blaze is the latest assault by thugs working for Dubai-based hood Ross 'Miami' McGill who launched a revenge campaign on rivals over claims of a drug deal gone wrong. The business is said to be owned by a relative of one of the dealers McGill blames for using fake notes in a £500,000 cocaine deal. It sparked a wave of attacks on associates of caged Edinburgh kingpin Mark Richardson and the notorious Daniel clan in Glasgow. It's also claimed the latest target is a pal of a hood who was slashed in Thailand over his alleged involvement in the rip off. A source said: 'This war isn't going to stop. The business is connected to one of the guys McGill blames for ripping him off. 'He is an associate of the guy who got attacked in Thailand and they are both being blamed for the fake notes scam that kicked off this whole war. 'Lots of innocent people's lives are being affected by this madness. "It's being going on for months and who knows what will happen next.' Earlier today cops were standing guard at the site and a forensic officer was seen taking pictures of the scene. A charred container could be seen from the street. Spanish cops insist hitman who executed Ross Monaghan & Eddie Lyons Jr killer WAS member of rival Daniel clan Detectives were also spotted at the industrial estate carrying out their investigation. It's understood the company employs many local people who will now be worried about their jobs. One nearby neighbour told how 'billowing smoke' could be seen out across the small town. The man, who declined to be named, said: 'I was heading home after a night out and I could smell the smoke in the taxi. 'As we got closer you could see billowing smoke right across the area. 'We arrived in town and the police were diverting traffic away from the street. 'When I got home I could smell the smoke in my home. 'RTR employs lots of local people so I hate to think what that means for these guys' jobs.' The attack comes days after we told of a video threat by a group known as Tamo Junto who are said to be acting for McGill who is calling the shots from his desert bolthole. A Police Scotland spokesperson said: 'Police received a report of a fire at a premises on Engine Road in Loanhead around 11.50pm on Saturday, 21 June, 2025. 'Emergency services attended and the fire was extinguished by Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. No-one was injured. 'The fire is being treated as wilful and enquiries are ongoing.'

Daily Mirror

6 hours ago

• Daily Mirror

FedEx delivery founder dies aged 80 as billionaire leaves behind 10 children

Billionaire FedEx founder Fred Smith, who was the pioneer of modern delivery services when he started the company in 1973, has died at age 80, the company has revealed. FedEx started operating in 1973, delivering small parcels and documents more quickly than the postal service. Over the next half-century, Smith, a Marine Corp. veteran, oversaw the growth of a company that became something of an economic bellwether because so many other companies rely on it. Memphis, Tennessee-based FedEx became a global transportation and logistics company that averages 17 million shipments per business day. Smith stepped down as CEO in 2022 but remained executive chairman. Smith, a 1966 graduate of Yale University, used a business theory he came up with in college to create a delivery system based on coordinated air cargo flights centered on a main hub, a "hub and spokes" system, as it became known. The company also played a major role in the shift by American business and industry to a greater use of time-sensitive deliveries and less dependence on large inventories and warehouses. Smith once told The Associated Press that he came up with the name Federal Express because he wanted the company to sound big and important when in fact it was a start-up operation with a future far from assured. At the time, Smith was trying to land a major shipping contract with the Federal Reserve Bank that didn't work out. In the beginning, Federal Express had 14 small aircraft operating out of the Memphis International Airport flying packages to 25 U.S. cities. Smith's father, also named Frederick, built a small fortune in Memphis with a regional bus line and other business ventures. Following college, Smith joined the U.S. Marines and was commissioned a second lieutenant. He left the military as a captain in 1969 after two tours in Vietnam where he was decorated for bravery and wounds received in combat. He told The Associated Press in a 2023 interview that everything he did running FedEx came from his experience in the Marines, not what he learned at Yale. Getting Federal Express started was no easy task. Overnight shipments were new to American business and the company had to have a fleet of planes and a system of interconnecting air routes in place from the get-go. Though one of Memphis' best-known and most prominent citizens, Smith generally avoided the public spotlight, devoting his energies to work and family.