A market garden that has supplied Llanfyllin with vegetables throughout 2023 has announced that it has “called it a day”.

After opening their own shop, partnering with the town’s Spar and supplying locals with freshly grown produce, Pili Pala Farm owner Tom Edwards said that he is adopting a new strategy for the chemical free food grower.

Mr Edwards revealed that from next year, the market garden farm will be focussing entirely on its small scale garlic production, citing it as a better way forward in balancing the challenges of running the operation.

In a blog post, Mr Edwards said: “Through all of the immense successes, and there have been many, I've been constantly mythered by the stark reality that the current strategy is simply not viable, and have even started to question if it's actually what I want.

“In truth, the long hours spent on a lonely hillside, wiping the relentless summer rain from my weary eyes, have ground me down. Combined with the fact the economics have struggled to add up, I have had no time off, and I am seeing less of my family than I have perhaps ever done, things have had to change.

“It's a big shame as Pili-Pala Farm has been a roaring success. We’ve made the local and regional papers more times than I can remember, built a good reputation for quality amongst an appreciative community, opened a successful honesty shop, regularly sold out at the local Spar, hosted numerous farm tours, and even entertained senior politicians, all fascinated by what we are doing.”

In October Plaid Cymru’s Shadow Rural Affairs minister Llyr Gruffydd MS hailed the initiative as “fantastic” during a visit.

The market farm also started a partnership with Llanfyllin Spar in July, supplying them with freshly harvested food, leading to a section of the shop being devoted to selling produce from Pili Pala.

Moving forward, Pili Pala plans to focus on its garlic production, aiming to build up stock grow around 20,000 bulbs.

Mr Edwards added: “For me, It's been a magical, cathartic and profound learning experience.

“A market garden is essentially an all encompassing lifestyle that will absorb you, exhaust you, and is unlikely to financially reward you but it will reward you in so many other ways.

“This story is by no means over. I'm just turning the page of another chapter.”