29th January 2021

The future of Ioan Humphreys’ traditional beef and sheep farm near Carno, mid Wales, was uncertain when his father fell ill but after seeking the advice and planning expertise of Roger Parry & Partners he has turned his family’s fortunes around. 

To give Felin Newydd farm a secure future, and to keep the family together, Ioan invested £1million in a state-of-the-art chicken shed and now keeps 32,000 free range hens.

Richard Corbett, Partner with Roger Parry & Partners said, “We were delighted to be able to help Ioan and his family gain planning permission for his chicken shed and we wish him all the very best for the future. We have turned the fortunes around for many traditional farmers by giving them good sound advice on what diversification would work best to future proof their farm business. Keeping chickens isn’t the answer for everyone but it suits Ioan and his family’s situation.”

Ioan has described his first year in his new business as ‘amazing’ and the successful young businessman is looking forward to a successful future. Things have turned out much better than Ioan expected and the farm now provides work for his sister and her partner. Around 30,000 eggs are produced every day on the farm which go to supermarkets in the main.

Ioan said, “Some eight years ago dad fell ill and we had halved the number of stock on the farm so we were just ticking over really but it wasn’t sustainable so I thought investing in hens would help us and make things better. I feel that the chicken shed gives us a bit of certainty and secures the future of the family and the farm.”  

Richard said, “Farms can be revitalised by the creation of a new enterprise. These opportunities are exciting and rejuvenate businesses and operations in the rural sector. Our team of professional chartered surveyors have a long and successful track record in helping farms diversify. If you would like us to help facilitate family discussions, consider values, or the planning landscape please feel free to get in touch.”

Ioan Humphreys is pictured outside his chicken shed.