Wales Farmer 16 NEWS June 2013


Reaping benefits of opting for Glastir


AGRI-ENVIRONMENT schemes have played an important role in the way livestock pro- ducer Siôn Jenkins manages his farm, so when the


Welsh


Government unveiled Glastir he was deter- mined to make it work


SIGNED UP: Siôn Jenkins was determined to make Glastir work for him.


Glastir Open Days


● June 3rd: Gelli, Cymmer, Neath Port Talbot, SA13 3NN


● June 5th: Bodrida, Brynsiencyn, Anglesey, LL61 6NZ


● June 10th: Clearwell Farm, Michaelstone-y-Fedw, Cardiff, CF3 6XT


● June 12th: Trewylan Ganol, Llansanffraid, Powys, SY22 6TJ


● June 14th: Cwmwhitton, Knighton, Powys, LD7 1NL


● June 17th: Tan Llan, Llanefydd, Dinbych, Conwy, LL16 5DY


● June 19th: Slade Farm Organics, Pitcot Farm, St Brides Major, Vale of Glamorgan, CF32 0TE


● June 24th: Dolobran, Dinas Mawddwy, Machynlleth, Gwynedd, SY20 9LX


● June 26th: Goitre, Kerry, Newtown, Powys, SA16 4NA


● July 3rd: Rhosferrig, Builth Wells, Powys, LD2 3PT


● July 5th: Caerhys Organic Farm, St Davids, Pembrokeshire, SA62 6DX


All open days run from 1pm to 5pm.


for him. Morethan ayear into his


agreement and Siôn is reap- ing the benefits of morefer- tile soil and improved fenc- ing at MoelhebogUchaf,an 84-acreholding on the out- skirts


of Pontsian,


Llandysul, which he farms with support from his wife, Wendy, and twoyoung daughters,Beca and Lisa. They rent Moelhebog


Uchaf on aseven-year Farm Business Tenancy (FBT) agreement. As adairy farmer’sson, Siôn has been keen to establish his own business.In1998 he first had the opportunity to farm MoelhebogUchaf on an 11- month agreement. He repeated this agreement 11 months later beforesigning up to an FBT. The farmisrun as abeef


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Glastir Drop-In Surgeries


● May 29th Beaufort Park, Mold, CH7 6RQ


● May 30th Public Hall, Back Chapel Street, Llanrhaeadr y Mochnant, SY10 0JY


● June 4th Nant yFfin Motel, Clynderwen, SA66 7SU


● June 6th Sennybridge Village Hall, Sennybridge, Brecon,


For the latest Wales farming news: walesfarmer.co.uk LD3 5RR


● June 11th Congl Meincia, Botwnnog, Pwllheli, LL53 8RA


● June 13th Clwb Rygbi Rhuthin, Cae Ddol, Rhuthin, LL15 2AA


● June 18th Holt Lodge, Holt, Wrexham, LL13 9SW


● June 20th Neuadd Rhydypennau, Bowstreet, Ceredigion, SY24 5BQ


● June 25th Village Hall, Talybont-on-Usk,


Brecon, LD3 7YQ


● June 27th Talbot Hotel, Tregaron, SY25 6JL


● July 1st Marchnad y Trallwng, Buttington, Y Trallwng, SY21 8SR


● July 2nd Parish Room, Cerrigydrudion, Corwen, LL21 9SR


● July 4th Alice Springs Golf Club, Kemmeys Commander, Usk, NP15 1PP


Drop in to surgeries any time from 10am to 4pm.


GATES OPEN: Siôn and Wendy Jenkins hosted aGlastir open day on their farm near Llandysul.


Garnwen Quarry


and sheep enterprise.They have apedigree herdof20 Limousin suckler cows and a flock of 250 Highlander ewes, tupped with Primeras to produce lambs forthe slaughter market. The lambs aresold through the Wales YFC


By Debbie James


Lamb Initiative,apartner- ship project with processor, Dunbia and supermarket, Sainsbury’s. Siôn receivedsupport


through Tir Mynyddand Tir Cynnal and knewthere would be avoid when they ended. He explored Glastir and decided to put in place a series of improvements and environmental measures to gain thepointsneededto qualify. The advice he receivedata


Glastir drop-in surgery arranged


by Farming


Connect wasanimportant part of thatprocess. “I wasabletoget all the


information Ineeded to makeaninformed decision on howGlastir would fitinto my system and howto achieve the points Iwould need to


qualify,” he


explained. “The drop-in surgery I


attended at Llanybydder was an excellent opportunity to get expert advice and asec- ond opinion.” Siôn has chosen to plant


twohectares of unsprayed root crop to contribute to achieving the Glastir entry points threshold. Turnips are established annuallyand this has benefited soil fertility. “Planting turnips has


improved soil fertility and the lambs have fattened well offthe crop,” said Siôn. “Wehavegrown turnips on my parents’ farmthrough


Tir Gofal and we noticed thatthe barley crop thatfol- lowedthe turnips performed better than the crops grown on other parts of the farm and it achievedahigher yield.” By signing up to the


Farming Connect Farm Advisory Service he quali- fied for80% funding fora nutrient management plan and consultancy advice from Grant Hartman of Kite Consulting.


This plan


formed part of Siôn’s appli- cation forgrant assistance through Glastir efficiency grants.Asayoung farmer, under 40, he wassuccessful in securing 50% funding for anew trailing shoe slurry applicator;hehad previously used the traditional splash plate method to applyslurry. Siôn’s Glastir contracts complement his existing enterprise and compensate him forthe environmental improvements he has made to the farm. The contract, he said, is important to his enterprise. “Glastir is not apot of


money Iwould have got from anywhereelse.Aswith anyother business when you remove something it leavesa hole,any good businessman has got to takewhatison offer and makeitworkfor them.


“My approach wasthatI


would makeGlastir work for me.Ihaven’t had to bend the farmsideways to achieve this.”


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