Royal Welsh: YFC premium as lamb scheme launches

Officially launching the scheme at the Royal Welsh Show, the supermarket’s head of brands, sustainability and agriculture, Annie Graham, said it was becoming increasingly critical to build relationships in the supply chain.

This latest initiative – originally conceived by Wales YFC chairman, Rhys Owen, and taken forward in collaboration with the supermarket, and processor Dunbia in just 12 months since the last Royal Welsh Show – was not just about price but also about relationships and information sharing.

It draws lambs from suppliers under 40 years of age and markets the meat as a branded product in all Sainsbury’s Welsh stores.

It has now been running since the beginning of July and has benefits for the YFC movement as well as the producers.

Lambs meeting the target 14-20kg attract a bonus of 10p/kg for R2 and 3L; 15p for U2 and 3L, and a maximum 20p/kg for those grading E2 and E3L.

Additional ‘bonus’

A producer achieving 65 per cent or more of his consignment within-spec, will receive an additional £1/head for those lambs. The YFC movement benefits to the tune of 40p per lamb marketed through the scheme.

Managing director at Dunbia Llanybydder, Paul Edwards, said it was a 52 weeks a year scheme and just one means of addressing the worrying reduction of critical supply mass.

He said any investment individual processors might make in their business – for example, Dunbia’s £1.4 million in waste water cleaning at Llanybydder – was wasted unless they could be confident of their supply base going forward.

It was important to ensure young farmers could see sustainable profit in producing.

Rhys Owen described the initiative as niche marketing on a macro scale but believed it had considerable potential..