About Us and the Family Farm
Mike’s father, Edward Hardy, started “Hardy’s Dairies” in High Street Barry and delivering milk locally by horse and milk cart. The original site of 23 acres, where the horses grazed, was here at New Farm.
Having studied at Harper Adams Agriculture College Mike started farming the 23 acres with Dorothy whom he met at a nurse’s dance in North Staffs general hospital.
The house at the site dates back to the early 17th century when it was a farm workers cottage and stable. The two sides became two homes and had a communal doorway with Mr and Mrs Morgan often called upon to help out! This was how life began for the newly married couple in 1957. During their early days Mike worked on other farms and Dorothy in the local hospital to bring in extra income to support the growth and development of their farm, starting with a pig and poultry unit. Ian and Sue were born and so the farm slowly expanded. Pigs were sold in Cowbridge market and egg sales were made door to door, local shops and cafes
Gradually the farm expanded with a large pig and poultry unit. Mike and Dorothy set up a farm shop in 1977 as pig farming found margins precarious. Using a local slaughterhouse, they began selling their pork produce and a ‘Field to freezer’ business was established. This new diversification led to rearing of calves for the beef market and selling home produced beef packages. The farm shop excelled with a reputation for providing quality, local reared produce.
During the explosion of supermarket growth in the area and compounded by the feed price of corn, the family made a difficult decision to close the poultry units. This coupled with the demise in the pig industry another major decision was made and the pig unit closed in 1995 and therefore the farm shop.
In 1984 the family decided to convert the farmhouse into a B&B with Ian and Sara helping to drive the business forward . A breeding programme of Blonde Aquitaine and Charolaise suckler herd was commenced and the pig and poultry units were phased out. Now, their son Rhys has taken the reins and has established a successful herd of exceptional quality cattle. The cattle graze on 300 acres of grassland from May until October/November and the remaining acres of mixed arable land provides the cattle with their winterfeed of home milled barley, beans and minerals.
The cereals that are not consumed by the cattle are sold via a home and world grain market.
The farm is a close walk to the beautiful picturesque Porthkerry Park a 200 acre valley where you can enjoy the nature trails, woods, open parkland and children’s play area.
The parkland leads onto “The Pebbles” beach and the “Heritage Coastal Trail” winds its way through the park and along the coast. There is a small café open weekends and daily in the summer months. The large impressive viaduct stands in the park which serves the railway through the Vale. Barry has many beaches of Jacksons Bay, The Knap and the wonderful sandy beach of Whitmore Bay which has an elegant promenade and Barry Island fun fair.
