Young Farmers Offered a Chance to Run £1 Million National Trust Farm

Cast your mind back a year or so, when the National Trust launched an appeal to buy Llyndy Isaf, a remote farm located in the Nant Gwynant valley in Gwynedd, North Wales. The appeal was successful, and attracted support from high profile celebrities such as Catherine Zeta Jones and Matthew Rhys. With a target figure of £1 million, it was the largest such appeal since Sir Anthony Hopkins led the Snowdon appeal a decade earlier.

Having now established ownership, it is the intention of the National Trust to offer what will be known as the Llyndy Isaf Scholarship, handing the keys of the farm over to specially selected young candidates to run the farm for a period of a year.

The Wales Federation of Young Farmers Clubs (YFC) will select candidates. To be eligible for the Llyndy Isaf Scholarship, candidates have to be members of Wales YFC and aged between 18-26. Candidates will be invited for interview and shortlisted before the first successful candidate is revealed next year.

The farm includes Llyn Dinas Lake, and includes threatened species like kingfishers and otters. Trystan Edwards, who is the the National Trust's farming adviser for Wales said that the successful person will have the support of specialists at the Trust. "This initiative will ensure that the successful candidate can build their confidence and develop their skills," said Mr Edwards.

Wales YFC chief executive Nia Lloyd said the successful candidate would have the opportunity and responsibility of managing all aspects of running the farm from practical work and stock management to administration.

Dafydd Jarrett, NFU Cymru policy adviser, said the union welcomed any development that provides an opportunity for young people in agriculture.

"Welsh farming needs highly skilled young people to help take the industry forward in future," he said.

"Skills development for running and taking management responsibility for a hill farm will be an unmissable opportunity."

The farm was put on the market by the former owner who was retiring and had no one to carry on the work. It took only eight months of campaigning to raise the necessary funds.