Born and brought up on a Welsh hill farm, I was always going to farm. Sarah and I tenant our 118- acre upland livestock farm in east Monmouthshire. We rent from Kate Humble and Ludo Graham, who set up Humble by Nature, a rural skills centre, on the farm.

Wool is such a versatile material and we’re delighted to be working with the Welsh Wool Company to showcase its real value.

We run 240 breeding ewes, mainly Texels and mules with some Welsh. We also keep a small flock of

Badger Face Welsh Mountain, a few Jacobs and rare breed Horned Dorsets. These breeds are great

for hands-on experience for guests on our smallholding and sheep courses on the farm.

We also run 12 Hereford cross suckler cows and calves and currently have one Welsh, one Berkshire and one Oxford Sandy and Black sow.

Giving people the opportunity to experience farm life when they come to Humble by Nature –

learning animal husbandry, rural skills and crafts – has been an enjoyable and rewarding experience

for me. I reluctantly became a course tutor (teaching sheep, lambing and hedging courses) but this

soon became something I looked forward to and a really enjoyable part of being on the farm. It’s

very rewarding to know that we’re helping people along their journey keeping sheep.

I feel very passionate about supporting local producers and farmers, as well as demonstrating that

you can farm with care to look after the environment. We have restored several miles of hedging,

rebuilt stone walls, planted trees and wild flowers, it has been wonderful to see the positive impact this has had on wildlife on the farm.

Texels are a hardy, tough, yet docile breed. They’re particularly suited to grass-based rearing and

don’t mind our welsh weather. They do well at lambing and give a reliable performance.