Welsh award for former Shropshire farmer
Lord Newborough, owner of Rhug Estate near Corwen, has been announced as the winner of NFU Cymru Clwyd Branch’s Dafydd Jones Memorial Award.
The ward is presented annually to the NFU Cymru Clwyd member who has made a great contribution and a lasting, positive impact on agriculture in the county.
Dewi Jones, NFU Cymru Clwyd County Chairman, said, “Congratulations to Lord Newborough on winning this year’s award. He has made an enormous contribution to the local economy and the organic farming industry over many years. His endeavour and dedication to his work sees him frequently travelling between Corwen, London, the middle and far east to meet customers face to face to explain the virtues of buying their meat from Wales.”
Lord Newborough moved to the family estate near Corwen from Shropshire where he also farmed.
At the heart of Rhug is Lord Newborough’s commitment to an organic lifestyle. Rhug Farm is a self-contained ‘field to plate’ operation.
Using the most sustainable farming practices the organic farming enterprise extends to two farms and has grown over the past 20 years to nearly 8,000 acres. Organic beef, lamb, chicken, deer, bison, turkey, goose, and game when in season, are reared on the farms. Rhug Farm Shop stocks almost 3,000 products from local suppliers and small businesses.
The Dafydd Jones Memorial Award was created in 2019 in memory of Dafydd Jones, from Pencoed Ucha, Pwllglas, who was the Clwyd County Chairman in 2019 but suddenly passed away after he courageously battled with Myeloma throughout the previous 18 months. Dafydd had represented his county on NFU Cymru’s Rural Affairs Board for eight years.
Lord Newborough, said: “I am truly honoured to have been chosen for this award by my fellow local NFU Cymru members. It is particularly special this year as we have just celebrated our 20th anniversary of the farm being certified organic. This has been a tough year for the business but work on the farm has continued regardless of the pandemic as we, like all farmers, have continued to produce food for the nation.”
The estate also includes Cafe Rhug, a takeaway and a drive through the first for a farm in the UK.
