When Louisa Harry Thomas’s husband founded a new business on the family’s Gower farm, running lorries and heavy machinery was never meant to be her job.
A former journalist, she had married into farming rather than grown up in it.
But when ill health forced her husband to step back from the venture he had started, she found herself in charge of it all.
Five years on, that business — Gower Granary — now supplies customers across Wales and southern England, and employs the equivalent of more than six local people.
“Running men, lorries and heavy machinery was never part of my life plan,” Louisa said.
“But when circumstances change, you find strengths you didn’t know you had.”
The Rhossili farm first ventured into animal bedding in 2021, as the family looked for a way to keep going while traditional farming grew tougher.
Using straw left over from the family’s arable operation, they began producing sustainable bedding and forage for horses and other animals.
The straw is double de-dusted during milling, leaving it dust-free — better for horses, and for the people handling it, who can be prone to respiratory problems.
The venture got off the ground with start-up support from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development.
It was shortly after launch that Louisa’s husband, the farmer who founded it, was forced to step back because of his health.
Alongside caring for him and supporting her family, she kept the business going — and growing.
Past customers have included Folly Farm in Pembrokeshire, which has used the bedding for animals from sheep to guinea pigs, and the equine centre at Aberystwyth University.
Today the company supplies stockists, universities, visitor attractions and equestrian venues across Wales and southern England.
That growth has come against a difficult backdrop, with the business reporting rising costs for staff, raw materials and packaging, on top of the wider pressures squeezing rural firms.
“We’ve focused on serving our customers well, controlling what we can control and continuing to move forward,” Louisa said.
Sales, the business says, have continued to climb regardless.
There is an environmental thread running through it all. The products use locally sourced materials and recyclable packaging, and are designed to support animal welfare while cutting waste.
Even the leftovers find a use — waste from the bedding process is sold into the sustainable construction sector, where it goes into breathable building materials.
The Red Tractor approved farm also keeps a herd of Welsh Black cattle on its cliff land to support biodiversity, and grows herb-rich grass on a five-year rotation to leave nutrients in the soil.
Beyond its own staff, the business says it supports a wider network of local suppliers, contractors and tradespeople across the peninsula.
Louisa’s efforts have not gone unnoticed, with a place on the shortlist for an Inspiring Business Person of the Year award.
She is among the business owners backing UK Small Business Week, a national campaign running from 1 to 7 June to mark the part small firms play in their communities.
The campaign, run by the Entrepreneurs Circle, sees independent businesses across the country take part in local events and community activity.
For Louisa, the milestone is less about awards than about having kept going when stepping away would have been the easier choice.
