Robert Lloyd - a Sir Gar Blog of random news . . . and some Clecs!

Bosses at the award-winning Cwmcerrig Farmshop have a simple message to consumers in the wake of the horsemeat beefburgers scandal. “It pays to shop at places where you can genuinely trust the standard, the quality and the origin of your meat products,” Cwmcerrig partner Roland Watkins said. “The consumer has some clear choices. Yes, the big supermarket chains are popular, but we are increasingly finding that people are starting to care much more about the origin of their meats and what goes into different meat products. “This is where shops like Cwmcerrig win hands down. We cut down on the food miles and where possible we use our homebred Hereford cattle and farm-raised Texel sheep and lambs. “We have the finest venison sourced from the prestigious National Trust farm at Dinefwr Park. “All our other meat products are from local suppliers. We care passionately about the environment and cutting down on food miles is very important to us. “The fewer miles between the animal and the pla...

The award-winning Cwmcerrig Farmshop family business in Carmarthenshire has promoted three members of the team to junior partner level. The business already employs more than 20 members of the extended Watkins family, with a total workforce of 60. “As a business, we continue to make great strides forward,” said senior partner Roland Watkins. “We are a close-knit team and a family business through and through, so we have decided to promote three of the younger generation to junior partner level.” Nick Bowen, 29, William Watkins, 27, and John Watkins, 32, took up their new junior partner status this month. Senior partner Mr Watkins said: “It is good to have the younger generation closely involved with the development of the business. The last few years have seen us move very rapidly to the point where we now have an established business offering quality local produce to a wide range of customers. “We don’t intend resting on our laurels and the objective must always be to keep the ...

Cwmcerrig Farmshop has scooped two National Trust Fine Farm Produce awards. The business has been rewarded for its Dinefwr Venison and Dinefwr Venison Red Wine and Onion Sausages. The popular Farmshop and Grill in Gorslas, Carmarthenshire, has developed the products in partnership with the National Trust’s Dinefwr Estate near Llandeilo. One of the partners in the Watkins family business, Roland Watkins, said: “It’s the first time for us to be entered into the awards and we are delighted to receive the prizes. “The judging process for the awards is very strict and that makes it all the more rewarding to be recognised by the National Trust. “We have built up a great reputation for our meat here at Cwmcerrig and we take pride in producing quality, value-for-money products which are appreciated by our customers.” The news of the National Trust Fine Farm Produce awards follows hot on the heels of Cwmcerrig being nominated for two prestigious UK Farm Retail Awards run by the National Fa...

The Farmers' Union of Wales' "Help Cut Food Miles...Buy The Welsh One" campaign is just as important now as it was when launched over three years ago, the union's president Gareth Vaughan has stressed. Speaking at the Wales the True Taste retailer of the year gold medal award winner, Cwmcerrig Farm Shop at Gorslas in Carmarthenshire, Mr Vaughan said there was a greater demand for local food produced in Wales than ever before. "Recently our Rural Affairs Minister Elin Jones expressed a wish to see all supermarkets in Wales give prominence to local and Welsh food," said Mr Vaughan. "And I wholeheartedly agree with her suggestion that if supermarkets fail to stock Welsh goods people should move their trade elsewhere. "Cwmcerrig Farm Shop, where the Watkins family runs such an impressive enterprise and are passionate about producing good food, is the ideal place for people to shop for local produce. "The Minister conceded that a number of supe...