Welcome/Croeso to Llannon Young Farmers’ Club

Tuesday, 5th April was a significant day for us here at Shufflebottom. It marked the return of welcoming Carmarthenshire’s Young Farmers’ Clubs to our offices and manufacturing facility at Cross Hands once again. We have missed them during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

It was a significant milestone too in that it was the first time we’ve hosted Llannon Young Farmers’ Club. Twenty members of the club enjoyed an evening with us as part of our ongoing commitment to the local community. The group was made up of male and female, ranging from twelve-years-of-age to those in their twenties and drawn from a variety of backgrounds, including students, accountants as well as farmers.

Despite the variety of ages, Young Farmers’ Clubs enable those (aged 10—28), with a love of rural life to come together for a great social life with like-minded people, to make friends for life, and importantly, to learn new skills that benefit themselves and their community. We are fortunate that Carmarthenshire, ‘the garden of Wales’, derives much strength from its thriving YFCs.

Shufflebottom Director, Alex Shufflebottom, gave the group a presentation of the history of Shufflebottom, telling the story of how it has grown from a business that started with the commissioning of a garden gate made from steel in 1977, to a £22 million operation with 89 staff in 2022.

Following the presentation, the group was taken on a tour of the factory by Factory Foreman, Eddie Roche, where they could see the manufacturing process first-hand and the specialist machinery involved. Importantly, they were able to see the Health & Safety regulations in operation and ask Eddie any questions.

Just as Carmarthenshire, and indeed the UK, derives much of its strength from Young Farmers’ Clubs, Shufflebottom derives much of its strength from Young Farmers’ Clubs such as Llannon and others throughout Carmarthenshire. These young people are our future in many senses – perhaps as customers down the line, or perhaps as apprentices here at HQ sometime hence.

For this reason, we will continue to develop strong relationships with the local community. We look forward to welcoming Llannon YFC back soon and also other YFCs throughout Carmarthenshire. Croeso!

For more details on Carmarthenshire’s Young Farmers’ Clubs please visit www.carmsyfc.org.uk