The future looks bright for a Ceredigion farming couple and their new young business partner…

It’s 12 months since Gareth Stephens voiced concerns about the future of his 250-acre beef and sheep farm at Pentwd Uchaf to one of his old school friends at Cardigan market.

It was a fateful conversation! He was chatting to the dad of the young farmer who is now a share partner in the business.

The subsequent introduction to Aled Morgan and then tapping into the services of Farming Connect’s Venture programme gave Gareth and his wife Pam, whose three grown-up children have their own careers, the perfect opportunity to scale back their day-to-day involvement with farming while remaining in their own farmhouse and continuing to run their caravan business.

Aled, in his early 30s, an agriculture graduate of Aberystwyth University and an experienced stockman whose family farm locally, is now an equal share partner in the 250-acre beef and sheep holding, having attended a Farming Connect succession planning surgery last year,

Gareth and Pam already knew about Venture. Once they realised they had found the perfect business partner, they knew a joint venture would be a more satisfactory solution than employing a stock person.

Although they didn’t need to utilise the matchmaking element of the service, they were able through Farming Connect’s advisory service to commission a new business plan which was provided by Wendy Jenkins of Wales-based agricultural consultancy CARA.

“I worked with both the Stephenses and Aled, enabling them to take stock of all the farm assets and resources to be included in any new formal share-farming arrangement and providing a strategic business plan which set out how the farm could further develop and progress going forward.

“It was an opportunity for both sides to consider what they could bring to the partnership, their expectations of how the arrangement would work in practice and what they wanted to achieve long term,” said Mrs. Jenkins.

Aled now owns and has sole responsibility for half the farm’s stock. With all farm outgoings and running costs offset against income, remaining profits are split between the Stephens and Aled. Aled, has been provided with accommodation by Gareth and Pam, which means he is on site during especially busy times.

Just 18 months on, the Stephens are delighted with the outcome of the new joint venture.

“We didn’t want to either sell or rent the farm, but involving a young farmer who is incredibly hard-working, knowledgeable and deserving of a helping hand.”

Aled’s long-term plan is to earn his livelihood from farming without taking on additional contracting work, so he’s hoping to acquire more land locally. He says that Gareth and Pam have given him the opportunity of a lifetime.