Bryn Perry had no experience of milking dairy sheep before he established his own flock in Pembrokeshire but no learning curve is too steep when fuelled by ambition.

In less than two years Bryn has doubled ewe numbers, is processing his own milk and is on a mission to grow producer numbers in Wales.

As a first generation farmer, it was a county council tenancy that provided his route into farming.

He had a degree in business management and experience of working in different industries and roles but he saw his future in agriculture, ultimately to have his own farming enterprise.

The first of those ambitions was achieved when he secured a job as a herdsman on a dairy farm in Pembrokeshire.

Bryn had found his calling – he quickly realised that he loved working with livestock and everything involved in producing milk.

As he looked to the future, finance was a limiting factor to establishing his own herd because of the capital-intensive requirements of dairying but by shifting his focus to a different species – dairy sheep – that prospect became a realistic one.

“The infrastructure requirement wasn’t huge and it only needed a small area of land,’’ he explains.

“I could see how I could make dairying with sheep work and how to make money from it by adding value to the milk.’’

Armed with confidence and knowledge gained as a member of the NFU Cymru Next Generation Group and a Farming Connect ‘business bootcamp’ and its Agri Academy, he set about making his dream a reality by applying for the tenancy of a Pembrokeshire County Council farm at Welsh Hook, near Haverfordwest.

“It was only 35 acres but was perfect for what I needed to get my foot on the ladder,’’ says Bryn.

He moved to Wernllwyd with his partner Becca Morris in early 2021 – she was his initial link to Pembrokeshire as she had grown up in Moylegrove where her family still lives.

The couple got to work, investing £60,000 in a 12-point rapid exit parlour and other infrastructure and 67 East Friesian ewes and 50 lambs from a dispersal sale in High Wycombe.

Fast forward two years and the flock now numbers 120 ewes, the maximum the farm can carry.

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It is a grazing-based system, capitalising on the farm’s ability to grow grass, but it has exposed flaws with pure-bred sheep.

“Lameness is an issue because their genetics are not suited to a wet climate,’’ says Bryn.

“It is a bit like running a Holstein on a New Zealand grazing system when you really need a Jersey-cross.’’

To get a hardier ewe and with one eye on producing a carcass that maximises the value of that secondary product, he is now focussing on breeding hybrid sheep that are better suited to the Pembrokeshire climate.

Maneche rams, a breed bred to thrive in the French Pyrenees, are used and the flock now has a Maneche, East Friesian and Lacaune influence.

The ewes produce a daily milk yield average of 1-1.5 litres at 5% butterfat and 5% protein from a 180-day lactation with just a small amount of concentrates fed in the parlour.

The milk is used to produce cheese and a whey-based vodka, products Bryn developed at Food Centre Wales; the milk is frozen and transported to Horeb where he makes the products.

His semi-soft blue cheese won a silver award at the World Cheese Awards in 2022. “I think I can call myself a cheese maker now!’’ he laughs.

He is also developing a Cheshire-type hard cheese.

The Ewenique Spirits vodka, made from the whey by-product of the cheesemaking process, is made at a distillery in Ceredigion.

The market for sheep milk and the products made from it is one that is growing, appealing to those who can’t tolerate the lactose in cow’s milk and to people who want to buy locally-produced sustainable foods.

Bryn would like to grow his business to capitalise on that but currently there are no opportunities in the county council system to take on a bigger holding while the value of farmland is an obstacle to buying.

“I’d like to find a bigger place to expand the flock and keep growing but it is a challenge in terms of finance and farmland value,’’ he says.

“I am always on the lookout for opportunities and potential partnerships to expand our business.’’