David Griffiths of Tyisha Farm, Broadlay, Ferryside reflects on a lifetime of dairy farming. He helped build the milk stand that stills stands in Broadlay. This replaced the earlier wooden milk stand. The milk stand was shared with two neighbouring farms. Photograph of the milk stand has been upload to this website.

David Griffiths has lived in the Broadlay and Ferryside area all his life. Born at Ty Isaf Farm,, Broadlay, Ferryside,  he began milking cows by hand while still in school. After taking over the farm in the late 1950s or early 1960s, he developed the dairy business, eventually milking around 40 cows and producing six or seven churns of milk daily.

Milk was collected from a raised milk stand outside the farm. The original stand, built from railway sleepers, was accidentally burned down on Guy Fawkes Night during his childhood and later rebuilt in concrete — a structure that still stands today.

David recalls the physical labour involved in lifting heavy churns onto the stand and the importance of keeping milk cool, especially during summer. Before bulk tanks were introduced, churns were cooled in a flowing well to prevent spoilage. Milk was tested at the creamery by a “sniffer,” and churns that failed were returned with a red label — something that happened more often in warm weather.

During harsh winters, when lorries could not reach the farm, milk was transported by trailer to accessible roads or even taken to Ferryside railway station to be sent onward by train to Carmarthen.

Milk quotas introduced in the early 1980s eventually made dairy farming uneconomical for David, leading him to stop milking. He reflects that farming today is easier in some ways, with modern parlours and bulk tanks, but acknowledges that times have changed significantly. The milk stand, once central to daily farm life, now serves a quieter purpose, decorated with flower pots — a reminder of a way of life that has largely disappeared.