21 February 2020

Meinir Howells is often seen on S4C presenting stories about agriculture in Wales and beyond.

But when the 34-year-old presenter is not on screen, she spends her time with her young family looking after the sheep and cattle on the family's busy farm near Llandysul.

And next Monday, 24 February in a Ffermio special, viewers will join Meinir live in her sheep shed as she looks after several hundred pregnant sheep during one of the busiest times of the year - the lambing season.

"I'm very fortunate to meet farmers all over the country as part of the Farming delivery team," says Meinir who farms in partnership with her husband Gari.

"But this time there is an opportunity for S4C viewers to come to our farm, where it's bound to be very busy. '

Meinir grew up on her parents' farm near Llandeilo, before building a career in agriculture both on and off screen. A successful Balwen sheep breeder, she met her husband Gari at a pre-wedding sheep auction in 2014.

The couple now have two children, three-year-old Sioned and one-year-old Dafydd, a flock of 600 pedigree breeding sheep of various breeds as well as breeding cows.

February and March are the busiest periods of the farm as lambs and calves are born, and in the special program viewers will have the opportunity to see lambs being born, and the care of the flock.

"Almost everything that is now born on the farm is for the breeding market," explains Meinir.

"We have created a market for ourselves within the breeding chain, selling rams and breeding cows - it is an important part of food production systems in the UK and internationally," he said.

Joining Meinir on the evening will be her co-presenters, Daloni Metcalfe and Alun Elidyr as well as other guests.

The special program will mark Ffermio's new time at 9 o'clock as S4C's nightly News moves to 7.30pm.