A life of hard work on the hills of a Welsh valley – photo essay

Driving out to his mountain farm in the Dyfi valley, John Pughe is on the lookout for holly branches. Cutting the holly, to be used by market traders for Christmas gifts alongside wood to be sold for burners, John is always looking out for extra income. He and his farm-trained son, Alwyn, rear sheep and cattle over steep rocky hills following the generational family tradition.

• Some upland farmers are being negatively affected by changes to the basic payment scheme, an annual grant to farmers. Now they have to have 10% of their land as habitat and woodland – which is often unsuitable for hill farms – to receive the grant

The Pughe family includes Dafydd, who has three children, of whom one plans to have her own farm. His brother John runs a nearby farm with his son Alwyn. For farmer and livestock alike, their lives on the land are generational.

• Top: John collects his ewes for scanning for pregnancy. Middle left: Dafydd Pughe (left) with his brother John (second left) and his son Alwyn (right) reading the results after a day scanning ewes for pregnancy. The farmers often assist each other with the bigger jobs. Middle right: Dafydd and Heledd, his eldest daughter. Above: Dafydd with his daughter Catrin at Dolgellau livestock market. Catrin has recently finished studying agriculture at university and aims to one day follow the family trade and have her own farm

The Dyfi valley sits on the southernmost reach of Snowdonia. The valley straddles the River Dyfi, which starts high up on Aran Fawddwy, then weaves its way through the valley getting wider until it meets the Irish Sea in a large estuary at Aberdyfi. The valley is a Unesco biosphere, meaning it is an area where conservation protections and sustainable economic development policies are in place.

• The next generation of farmers in the Dyfi valley are adapting and changing their practice. Although not necessarily in a traditional way, as long as one child from each family keeps farming, their legacy continues

The valley has an industrial history, with slate mining predominate in the 1800s to early 1900s. Alongside this, hill (upland) farming has been another staple industry in the area with longstanding farming dynasties tending livestock in the hills surrounding the valley.

• Upland farmers working in the hills of the Dyfi valley lead a life of hard work. Alongside constantly battling the elements, tending livestock in tough terrain, they are also vulnerable to economic difficulties and a farm’s success is never certain. Left: the hills of Rhiwgriafol farm, shrouded in mist. Right: Rhidian’s land, which will not be affected by the basic payment scheme change because it has been left as natural heath. Many farmers will not be able to change their land to the natural requirements demanded by the new scheme

This lifestyle, for many farmers in Wales, is a significant part of their identity, with farms and homes being passed down through multiple generations. Most upland farmers use traditional agricultural techniques, raising sheep and cattle on the high hills. However, in a changing world with new economic and environmental pressures, the next generation of farmers are having to change their practice.

• Cattle being brought in to be milked on Rhiwgriafol farm. Rhidian Glyn, the descendent of generations of sheep farmers, has recently started pivoting the farm from traditional sheep rearing to diary

Many upland farms are vulnerable to the government’s changes to the basic payment scheme, an annual stipend to farmers which on average makes up 60% of a farmer’s income. The new funding scheme requires farms to use 10% of their land as woodland and habitat, which is often unsuitable in the high terrain. Alongside this, the 2024 autumn budget has changed the rules around inheritance tax on agricultural assets worth more than £1m, which may negatively affect UK family farms.

Aled Jones, the president of the Cymru National Farmers’ Union (NFU), says farmers are already under an extreme amount of pressure, whether that be due to rising costs, the weather, regulation or policy changes to name but a few.

NFU Cymru members travelled to London this week to join a protest about the changes in Westminster.

• Rhidian is successful in making his farm economically sustainable. He uses data and selective breeding, and everything is methodically thought out to produce the best product. Here he is measuring the length of the grass so he knows which fields are best to feed his cattle

Some farmers are reacting to these changes through modern and progressive techniques. Rhidian, John and Dafydd’s nephew, has studied agriculture at university and now runs a successful farm where he uses data and selective breeding to produce profitable results. He uses the land in an intensive style and is converting his traditional sheep farm to a dairy farm.

• Top: Breakfast at Dolgellau farmers’ market. Above: Livestock under the hammer at the market.

• Top: Farmers and livestock traders watch the results of the auction at Dolgellau farmers’ market. Above left: John serves tea at the Machynlleth livestock market. These markets act as social hubs, where farmers who live and work in isolated places come to meet. Above right: John Pughe discussing the day’s happenings with the auctioneers at Machynlleth farmers’ market

The Dyfi valley has always been a place of innovation. Since slate mining, it has become a place of sustainability and is the home of the Centre for Alternative Technology, where green ways of living have been championed since 1973. The next generation of farmers inheriting the traditional lifestyle are also learning to be sustainable in a changing world order and environmental landscape.

• John Pughe feeding his cattle on Morben farm. Mairwen and Willie Pughe were running the farm up until the 1980s when their eldest son, Dafydd, gradually took over. They brought up four children – Gwen, Dafydd, Rwth and John – on the farm. Following the tradition, Dafydd is now manning Caeadda. John runs and lives on Morben farm on the other side of the valley, and Gwen moved to a farmhouse called Cynffyrch, close to Morben farm

Caeadda, which translates to “Adam’s Field”, is the name of the farm where this family grew up (or are the descendants of previous custodians). The community has a deep and personal relationship with these hills.

• Sheep are traditionally the main product of Welsh farming, however cattle are also reared

The land, way of life and knowledge has been passed down through generations. They will manage it with care until it’s time for the next cohort to start their guardianship.