I am a documentary photographer from a farming background in north Wales, Honest Agriculture is a photographic series documenting farms in the Dee Valley where my family farm resides.
This unique way of farming is dependant on the current economic landscape in order to help local rural development. Unlike commercial farming & food production these family run independent farms employ physical labour over mass production and machinery.
The work looks at the local economy in the area, documenting the conditions of agriculture before Brexit as issued EU funding will be affected and could destabilise the whole agricultural community. Government funding has become a crucial part of our annual income and will directly affect our future grazing plans as the land we rent in addition to what we own allows us the freedom to regulate grazing and maintain the soil quality. Told through the working lives of family and friends in the area these intimate images of farming reveal the demanding lifestyle and subsequently the often under appreciated results of their labour.
The broader aim of this work is to raise awareness and support for an industry already under strain which may soon be threatened as a result of the political upheaval to which Brexit is the catalyst.
When I started my project, it was for fun and a way of remembering my life while living on the farm. But it wasn’t until I moved to Cambridge to study I realised how underappreciated agriculture was and how little people in the city knew about it. I grew up in north wales on a farm in the Denbighshire county, which is known for hosting the international eisteddfod and surrounding an area of the river Dee.
There photographs depict the working lives of farmers and the work they do.
Information
Name: Jac Williams
Email: jacwilliamsphotography@gmail.com
Social:instagram - @mountainmanofwales
Platform: DSLR