Farmers who attended the Irish Grassland Association beef conference sponsored by Mullinahone and Gene Ireland in Limerick last week got a real flavour of mixed farming – Welsh style.

Glasnant Morgan farms 800 ewes and 50 suckler cows on 450 acres of land, some of which rises to 400m in mid-Wales. The annual rainfall is 1.8m. He also has access to hill ground (commonage).

Income streams from environmental schemes, renewable energy and farm visits have also been added to the sustainability of the farm. But one thing he fears most is that Britain will exit the EU.

Suckler herd

The herd of 50 sucklers comprises Belgian Blue Cross Friesian put in-calf to Charolais. They calve in the autumn and spring with the offspring sold as forward stores.

“Our beef system has been to sell our cattle as forward stores in September each year. Factories are cutting carcase weights to 400kg, so specialised finishers are looking to buy them earlier. Selling them now at 350-450kg, I hope to get £900 (€1,154) to £950 (€1,257) a head.”

TB is the biggest issue in the area, and Glasnant’s strong view is that culling is the only way to reduce the issue. In a turnaround to the past, he grazes some of the cows on the hills over the summer and keeps all the sheep on the lowland. This helps reduce summer mastitis caused by flies due to the exposed nature.

Sheep

Out of the sheep flock of 850 ewes, around 400 ewes are lambed in mid-January. No meals (creep) are fed to lambs or ewes, with forage crops and grass used to keep cost down, making the early season lambs the most profitable.

Prices are currently £3.80/kg (€5.11 including VAT)/kg deadweight, with factories trying to impose a 20kg cut-off.

Glasnant moves to sell lambs live earlier at current prices of £2.20 (€2.97 including VAT)/kg liveweight though the local mart. Hoggets are down to £1.70/kg (€2.29 including VAT). The best Texel, Charollais and Suffolk-cross lambs from the farm’s 250 Talybont-on-Usk type Welsh Mountain ewes are selected for breeding.

Focus on grass

Grazed grass is integral to the farming system. The aim is to get the most from pasture to maximise self-sufficiency. In the spring, 10% of the farm has grass seed stitched in with a grass harrow and hopper. A paddock system is used for sheep.

With up to 1,000 mouths to feed, the sheep get moved nearly every day to fresh pasture. “We used to breed and train sheepdogs but now don’t own one. By moving them every day we found it easier to train the sheep,” said Glasnant.

Direct payments

In Wales, 15% of all farmers’ direct payments were cut and put into Pillar II schemes. The country is moving to a flat rate by 2019 (average £176 (€226)/ha), with a higher payment for the first 54 ha.

“Due to the large area of hill commonage, my basic payment will not fall too much over the next few years,” said Glasnant. He is trying to access some of the money moved into Pillar II under the new Farm Sustainability programme.

He has applied to build a pond and a shed to house 400 sheep.

“As well as reducing carbon, a key focus of the scheme is to reduce flooding.”

The reason for the pond is obvious but housing the sheep allows more grass to be carried over the winter, slowing down rainfall from the rivers. It’s one more advantage of closing the farm early in the autumn that we had not thought of.

Environmental scheme

“We are in the environmental scheme for the 70 acres of farm woodland and a crop rotation policy of swedes, whole crop and grass. The previous environmental scheme on the farm brought it £18,000 (€23,077). Under the current scheme, it is split into two levels. You have to do more but the payments come in at around £12,000 (€15,384).

Renewable energy

Glasnant has taken full advantage of the UK incentives to bring in extra income streams to the farm. A 4kW solar system on the roof gives the best return of up to 50p (64c)/kWh, paying back the cost of the system in just over six years.

A new 75kW boiler costing £23,000 (€29,484) was installed. It uses wood from the farm and heats the two houses and brings in around £4,500 (€5,769) a year in payments. “We now get paid to heat ourselves,” said Glasnant.

The biggest project, a 75kW hydroelectric station, cost €200,000 (€256,000) but brings in £35,000 (€44,870) a year. Talking about the subsequent drop in incentives for renewable, he said it is vital to get in early to any scheme as the payments never increase.

Brexit

“I will definitely vote to stay but I’m surprised how many farmers think leaving would be better. The problem is that if all farmers voted to stay it would only be 2% of the vote. My real concern is that younger people will vote for change without realising the impact.

Mentoring young farmers

“I have been involved in a mentoring programme in Wales called the Young Entrants Support Scheme. I am mentoring 41 farmers. The scheme entitles young famers under 40 up to four days free mentoring. It involves us calling to the entrant’s farm and looking at the accounts and making a business plan for the farm. They also come to visit the mentors’ farms and see how they are run. This is very good because it keeps us on our toes as well. We have to do some homework on developing the farms and making sure they are run as efficiently as possible. Fertiliser and lime are usually the two keys costs which are analysed and are also the key behind good grassland management.

Listen to Glasnant discuss his mentoring experience in our podcast below:

Succession

Glasnant talked openly about the need for succession plans for a truly sustainable business. “I’ve sorted out succession when I’m alive. We have three sons in the family, the eldest of whom farms at home with me. We have helped out the other two sons and they all know exactly the situation and what they will receive in the future. The hydro plant was put in a company in the three sons’ names and once the capital has been repaid they will equally get the returns”.

Being Welsh, he is also a great singer, performing locally. He firmly believes that for farmers to be really successful they have to enjoy what they do, especially on the farm.