Farming
Alpaca settle in on Welsh hills

A HERD of alpaca at Aberystwyth University’s upland research centre welcomed two new arrivals during the Covid-19 lockdown.
One male and one female baby alpaca, known as cria, were born at the Pwllpeiran Upland Research Platform and are settling down to life in the Cambrian Mountains.
They are the first cria to be born on the University’s land and to be registered under the centre’s new stud prefix ‘Peiran’.
Peiran Champagne and Peiran Cosmopolitan join a small herd of alpacas who arrived at Pwllpeiran in October 2019 as part of a new research project.
Scientists want to see whether the South American alpaca is suited to life in the Welsh hills and could provide new opportunities for uplands farming.
These long-necked animals, similar to the llama, are renowned for the quality of their fibre (wool) and are happy to feed on low quality grasses which are often snubbed by sheep.
The research project is being led by Dr Mariecia Fraser at the Pwllpeiran Upland Research Centre, which is part of the University’s Institute for Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS).
“These are changing times for Welsh upland farming, with the next round of support payments expected to push for a shift away from primary agricultural production towards nature conservation and carbon reduction. In setting up a research herd of alpacas at Pwllpeiran, we want to test whether the alpaca could offer hill farmers a viable alternative to sheep.
“As well as producing high quality fibre, camelids like alpacas have evolved adaptations to enable them to live off poor quality tussock grasses in the Andes, and are happy to tuck into invasive grasses such as Molinia. These forages grow in abundance on the Welsh uplands but tend to be shunned by native sheep. We’ll be looking at the impact of their grazing and how well they could fit in to traditional patterns of farming here,” said Dr Fraser.
The establishment of the initial research herd is being funded by the Joy Welch Educational Charitable Trust, which was set up by the Aberystwyth alumna in 1988.
Farming
Value of hedges in storing carbon below ground studied in soil project

THE ROLE hedges play in capturing carbon and storing it in soils is being investigated as Farming Connect gathers soil samples from across Wales in an initiative that will provide important benchmarking data for farmers.
Data collection for the second year of the Welsh Soil Project is underway, and this time soil samples have also been taken from land within a metre from field hedges, in addition to within-field samples.
Dr Non Williams, Farming Connect’s Carbon Specialist Officer, said the aim is to compare soil carbon stocks within fields and under woody vegetation.
“We often get questions from farmers about this, and we hope that the results of this project will provide them with the answers,’’ she said.
“Estimating the soil carbon levels by hedges will help to highlight their importance for climate change mitigation.’’
Farmers have a key role to play in tackling climate change and soils can play an important part in that.
The Welsh Soil Project samples are being analysed ahead of Wales Climate Week in December.
Over 1,000 samples were taken from farms that are a part of Farming Connect’s Our Farms Network, which were then analysed for organic matter content and bulk density, as well as other measurements.
For uniformity, all samples were collected within the same period this autumn and from grass fields including permanent pasture, hay and silage fields, and reseeds.
“This project looks at how varying management intensities, along with geographical factors, are impacting soil carbon stocks across Wales.”
Soil was taken from multiple depths, from the top 10cm layer to a depth of 50cm.
Dr Williams, who is leading the project, is a speaker at a major soil science event in Belfast in December.
At the British Society of Soil Science and the Soil Science Society of Ireland Annual Conference, she will deliver a presentation on the preliminary results of the project.
Soil carbon and carbon in general are also themes at three Farming Connect Masterclasses taking place in February 2024.
Dr Williams, who will lead these workshops, said it will give farmers an opportunity to improve their understanding of the basics of carbon footprinting prior to carrying out a carbon audit for their farms.
“These interactive workshops will focus on breaking down the carbon jargon, allow farmers to learn about the significance of the carbon cycle to their farm, and how it can be influenced to help reduce the farm’s carbon footprint in the future,’’ she said.
The events will take place at Llety Cynin, St Clears, Carmarthenshire, on 6 February, at Elephant and Castle, Newtown, on 8 February, and at Nanhoron Arms Hotel, Nefyn on 20 February, all from 7.30pm to 9pm.
Further details on how to book a place can be found on the Farming Connect website.
Farming
Time to ‘protect Welsh farming from the Welsh Government’ – Gwlad Gwlad

GWYN WIGLEY EVANS, leader of Gwlad Gwlad, the Welsh Independence Party that believes in a working economy (www.gwlad.org) has spoken out on the threat not just to Welsh farming but the lives of Welsh farmers posed by the Welsh Government’s new Habitat Wales scheme.
Gwyn Wigley Evans explained the impact of the scheme: “The Welsh Government’s new scheme will reduce farmers to badly paid environmental managers. It is equivalent to planting trees on rugby pitches and still expecting games of rugby. The former farmers will see incomes fall by 50 to 90%. Each family farm supports 7 businesses within 20 miles. They can all expect massive reductions.”
Gwyn Evans has direct engagement with the social impact of difficulties in rural communities. He has been a Samaritan and CRUSE (Bereavement Counselling) counsellor for 23 years. Addressing his remarks to Lesley Griffiths, the Welsh Government Rural Affairs Minister, he pointed out “This policy will leave blood on the Welsh Government’s hands. The Samaritans, DPJ, Tir Dewi are going to be busy. This policy will pull the trigger on the guns. The effects of the Habitat Wales scheme will clear the environment of people as deliberately as the Highland Clearances.”
When addressing actions to follow he said “Plaid Cymru is no use to Welsh Farmers. They support Mark Drakeford’s Rural Affairs policies meeting the goals of London Labour environmentalists not Welsh Farmers. Gwlad Gwlad will hold a meeting at the Royal Welsh Winter Fair in Builth Wells on 27 November 2023 to focus on how to resist the worst impacts of the Habitat Wales scheme.Exports of Food and Drink were worth £797m to the Welsh economy in 2022 and are growing faster than the UK as a whole.
The world is full of small countries which have powered ahead, economically and socially, since achieving their independence. Gwlad Gwlad believes that Wales should be one of them: a prosperous, successful independent country enjoying good relations with its neighbours and comfortable in its own skin.
Farming
Leader of Welsh Lib Dems visits Carmarthenshire farm to highlight farmers concerns

LAST WEEK (Nov 16) the leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Jane Dodds MS visited Blaencennan farm in Llangadog to highlight issues affecting common land farmers in Wales.
During the visit, the following issues were raised:
-Concerns around the Habitat Wales Scheme.
-The importance of Welsh communities and the Welsh language and how the farming industry ties into that.
-The willingness of farmers to diversify their businesses.
-Commonland farming being included in the Universal payments in the Sustainable Farming Scheme.
-Ensuring that land is being farmed and not just being left, with non-grazed dry land presenting a potential fire risk.
Mrs Dodds also welcomed on the visit the Rural Affairs Minister for Wales Lesley Griffiths MS, as well as representatives from the National Farmers Union.
Commenting, Jane Dodds MS said: “It was a pleasure to visit Blaencennan farm today alongside the Minister Lesley Griffiths MS and representatives from the National Farmers Union.
Many farmers across Wales are being faced with an uncertain future and they desperately need our support.
My hope from this visit is that the concerns of the farming community are listened to and acted upon.
The Habitat Wales scheme is laden with pitfalls caused by incorrect mapping of farmland areas and a considerable low compensation offer to farmers that will leave them worse off.
If we are going to be serious about the creation of a sustainable farming model, then it is vital that we fix these errors before the scheme is launched.
It is clear to see that farmers want to do the right thing by helping the environment and by working together we can bring a brighter and greener future for Wales.”
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