Lower Genffordd, Talgarth
Lower Genffordd, Penbont Road, Talgarth LD3 0EG
- 1 or 2 places available
- Accommodation planned to be provided
- Static caravan on site
Privately owned, Lower Genffordd is a c. 7–8-acre, non-commercial smallholding at c 800 feet, across the valley from BMC. Roughly half of the land is well established mature secondary woodland. The other 3-4 acres is pasture/meadow, a traditional orchard (replanted in 2020) and mixed poultry run, a large vegetable garden/soft fruit cage and polytunnel and a farmhouse used as a holiday let. Lower Genffordd also has two horses on the neighbor’s adjoining land which provide most of the manure needed for horticulture and orchard. They don’t use machinery, so all work is done manually with hand tools.
Both house and barn were refurbished 2020-23 which was a more than full time job – and the owners are only now fully getting to grips with the farm work. Phil and Katja run Lower Genffordd, although Katja works full time for a German company and is away from home quite a lot which means that Phil runs the place single handedly much of the time.
Since the owners arrived in 2019, the whole farm has been completely organic, with no fertilizer, pesticide herbicide or other chemicals. They operate a no dig system with the market garden and aims to operate in a completely agroecological way. After 5 years, they can begin to see some differences, for example in the range and numbers of birds present and nesting, the smallest pasture being allowed to rewild and a good range of mammals present. The owners also forage and preserve food from the locality (Phil is an experienced wild fungi forager).
Currently they scythe the orchard during the summer months as the trees are too young to allow livestock in yet, and feed the horses at the adjoining stables with the grass. The site is heated with a log boiler.
They aren’t currently commercial but grow food for themselves, friends and family, although once the orchard is fully mature they hope it will provide potentially commercial quantities of apples pears and soft fruit.