12 July 2012

 The ten brave farmers who'll be taking on S4C's Fferm Ffactor 2012 challenge have been announced.

At 19 years old, Carwyn James of Crymych, Pembrokeshire, is the youngest contestant, and he is joined by fellow young farmer Geraint Jenkins, 24, from Talybont, Aberystwyth.

This will be Rhodri Evans' second attempt to claim the Fferm Ffactor title. Rhodri, from Parc near Bala, reached last year’s shortlist but was sent home before the start of the series after an elimination challenge at The Royal Welsh Show.

Anna Jones of Eglwyswrw, Pembrokeshire, is the first female to make this year's final ten and she’s joined by Caryl Hughes of Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog near Llangollen.

Anglesey will be represented in the competition by two farmers Dilwyn Owen of Llanedwen and Eilir Pritchard of Cerrigceinwen. Another two from north Wales are Gethin Owen of Betws yn Rhos, Conwy and Robin Williams of Tudweiliog, Llŷn Peninsula.

And last, but not least, is Wyn Jones of Whitland, Carmarthenshire the tallest contestants standing at 6'5"!

Fferm Ffactor returns to S4C in October, but visitors to The Royal Welsh Show will not have to wait for their first taste of the competition.

At the Cattle Ring on Tuesday 24 July (5.00pm), three of the hopefuls will go head-to-head in a quad bike challenge with the chance to win a brand new ATV farm bike worth £7,800 presented by Honda.

Non Griffith of Cwmni Da, producer of the S4C series, says, "The response to our call for entries was excellent once again this year. After the difficult task of choosing the final ten we now look forward to putting them through their paces.

"The event at The Royal Welsh will give viewers their first chance to meet the contestants. It's a taster of what to expect in the series come October, and we’re really grateful to Honda for agreeing to sponsor this first task."

The series returns to the screens in October. Tune in each week to see the ten farmers tackle a series of agricultural challenges to test their farming skills to the max.

Keeping a watchful eye on their progress will be the judges - Professor Wynne Jones and former winner Aled Rees. One by one, the weakest of the group will be sent home, leaving one winner to claim the title of S4C's 2012 Farmer of the Year and drive home an Isuzu D-Max Yukon 4x4 pick-up.

Last year saw the prize go to north Wales for the first time as Malcolm Davies drove his 4x4 Isuzu Rodeo Denver home to Dinas, near Pwllheli.

See more about each contestant on the website – s4c.co.uk/ffermffactor

Ends