‘It’s about community, culture and language’: Welsh family farmers dig in

for their future
Level 3: Advanced
1
  Warmer

a. What do you know about Wales and Welsh people? Are these statements True or False?

1. Wales is bigger than Scotland.

2. Mount Everest was named after a Welshman.

3. More than half a million people speak Welsh as a first language.

4. The colours of the Welsh flag are red, white, and blue.

5. Queen Elizabeth II was born in Wales.

6. The capital city of Wales is Cardiff.

2
  Key words

a. Fill the gaps in the sentences using these key words from the text.

backbone blend census cherished circle fragile

haggle offset prosper vibrant volatility wrecked

1. If something is , you value and appreciate it very much.

2. A is a combination of different qualities or styles that

produces an attractive or effective result.

3. The of something is the part of it that makes it successful

or strong.

4. is a situation or state where things can change suddenly or

become more dangerous.

5. If businesses another business, they watch a situation and

wait for an opportunity to get something they want.

6. If you something, you balance its effect so that there is no

advantage or disadvantage.

7. If something is , it can easily be broken, damaged,

or destroyed.

8. A place is lively and full of activity.

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 ‘It’s about community, culture and language’: Welsh family farmers dig in
for their future
Level 3: Advanced
9. If something is , it is severely damaged or destroyed.

10. A is an occasion when government officials count the

people who live in a country and record other information about them.

11. To means to grow and do well.

12. If you , you argue in order to agree on the price

of something.

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 ‘It’s about community, culture and language’: Welsh family farmers dig in
for their future
Level 3: Advanced
The Davies family have farmed
their Welsh heartland for
generations – and neither trade
pressures nor tree-planters will
stop them
Steven Morris
29 December, 2021
1 John Davies’s family has farmed in the hills
and valleys of mid-Wales just north of Brecon
since the 19th century and his most cherished
times now are when he is working shoulder to
shoulder with his 91-year-old father, Elwyn, and
20-year-old son, Brychan.
2 “That’s incredibly rewarding,” says Davies, 55.
“There’s a balance there. Dad has seen it all,
done it all. Brychan brings in the new things
from college. It’s good to see that blend of
experience and ambition and I’m in the middle,
the bridge.
3 “Family farming businesses are incredibly
important in Wales, the backbone of our
industry. We don’t have a large agribusiness
kind of structure but we’ve lived in these hills
for six generations and we’d like to see it
carry on for another six. It’s about community,
culture and language. It’s about building for
each generation.”
4 But that building will not be straightforward.
10 Conscious that farms across Wales are under
“This is a period of great volatility,” says Davies,
who is standing down as president of National
Farmers’ Union Cymru (‘Cymru’ is the Welsh
word for ‘Wales’) after four years in office. “We
need to work incredibly hard to make sure we
get a fair deal.”
11 Its members heard that while, according to
5 The future of the Welsh family farm does
appear to hang in the balance. Post-Brexit
trade deals with countries such as New
Zealand and Australia make sheep and beef
farmers worry that they will not be able to
compete with cheaper imports.
12 While Elwyn speaks Welsh, John does not,
6 Other pressures – and temptations – include
the corporations circling family farms, buying
up their land to plant acres of trees to offset
their carbon emissions. Estate agents have
cold-called farmers in Davies’s neighbourhood
asking if they want to sell up. “We do need to
plant trees, but we need to make sure we do
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not lose farms to greenwashing operations,”
said Davies.
7 And farmers are feeling the pressure from
environmental campaigners, many of whom
would prefer re-wilding schemes to take the
place of traditional sheep and cattle farms.
“We have to get away from the idea that cows
and sheep are bad and woodland is good,”
says Davies. “It does not move the argument
forward when you talk about sheep-wrecked
landscapes. That is deeply offensive to our
communities and culture. We’ve got to move
the debate to a different place.”
8 People in Davies’s village, Merthyr Cynog,
know that farming life can be fragile. The village
lies beneath the upland of Mynydd Epynt
(‘mynydd’ means ‘mountain’ in Welsh), once
a vibrant farming community that was cleared
in 1940 to make way for a military training
ground. The 219 inhabitants of the 54 farms
had just three months to pack up and leave.
Livelihoods, a way of life and, to a large extent,
the Welsh language were wrecked.
9 Elwyn Davies, who was a young boy when his
family was forced to move, said it led to huge
changes. “It was good land, quite steep but
fertile. Everyone had a few acres and worked
well together. Everything was disrupted, a
whole community gone. It took many years
to rebuild.”
threat, the UK government’s Welsh Affairs
Committee has launched an inquiry into their
future, examining not just the economic aspects
but the damage the loss of every farm does to
the local community.
the last census, about 19% of people in Wales
speak Welsh, more than 40% of workers in
the farming industry speak the language.
Welsh farming heartlands tend to also be the
language strongholds.
largely as a result of the clearance. The revival
of the language in schools now means that
Brychan does speak Welsh.
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 ‘It’s about community, culture and language’: Welsh family farmers dig in
for their future
Level 3: Advanced
13 “For the language to prosper, farming is key,”
said John. “When we’re at the market in
Dolgellau, Welsh is the main language. You get
a better deal if you can haggle in Welsh.”
14 Davies is proud of the work his farm does
to improve the environment, from planting
trees on steep ground that cannot be used
for growing crops to creating new ponds
and wetlands.
15 “As an industry, we have a clear ambition to
be net zero by 2040 and provide the most
climate-friendly food in the world,” he said. He
remains hopeful. “We’ll have to evolve, adapt,
deliver what is wanted but we have a great
climate to grow food, a fantastic climate. And if
we’re backed into a corner, we’ll make a stand.”
16 Yet another problem for Welsh farming is
demographics. The average age of a farmer
in Wales is 60 and only 3% are under 35.
That makes the attitude of people like John
so crucial.
17 Like his father, young Brychan is optimistic.
“People are always going to need food and the
issue of food miles is a big one. I don’t think
we’ll going anywhere anytime soon.”
First published in The Guardian, 29/12/2021

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 ‘It’s about community, culture and language’: Welsh family farmers dig in
for their future
Level 3: Advanced

3
  Comprehension check

a. Answer the questions using the information from the article.

1. In what way is John Davies ‘a bridge’?

2. What is described as the backbone of the farming industry in Wales?

3. What problem has Brexit brought to Welsh farmers?

4. Why are corporations trying to buy family farms in Wales?

5. What pressure are farmers experiencing from environmental campaigners?

6. What happened to the upland of Mynydd Epynt in 1940?

7. Why does John Davies’s son speak Welsh?

8. Why is it a good idea to speak Welsh at the market?

9. What work does John do to improve the environment?

10. What is his ambition?

4
  Key language

a. Match the expressions with their meanings.

1. hang in the balance a. be put in a situation where you have to do what someone
else wants

2. shoulder to shoulder b. oppose someone or something

3. cold-call c. activities by a business that are intended to show that it is

concerned about the environment

4. be backed into a corner d. be in a situation that could end in success or failure

5. make a stand e. telephone someone unexpectedly to try to sell something

6. greenwashing f. side by side

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 ‘It’s about community, culture and language’: Welsh family farmers dig in
for their future
Level 3: Advanced

5
  Discussion

a. Discuss these statements.

• “Farming is the most important economic activity of all.”

• “We most stop eating meat to protect the environment.”

• “Re-wilding the countryside is essential.”

6
  In your own words

a. Open an internet search engine and find information about re-wilding schemes in Wales and in
your own country. Find out about the aims of the schemes, how much they will cost and what
the reaction of rural communities has been. Present your findings to the class.

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