Farming

Red clover plays important role in reducing livestock farm’s input costs

Published

2 years ago

September 27, 2023

PROTEIN-RICH red clover is helping a Welsh livestock farm achieve a total cost of production of less than £3/kg deadweight in its lambs.

Dafydd and Glenys Parry Jones have been farming organically at Maesllwyni since 2001, running a flock of 700 Texel and Aberfield cross ewes and 60 Hereford cross cattle on the upland holding near Machynlleth.

Red clover has been a key component in their system since then, and increasingly so – in the last three years cattle have been fattened solely on it and lambs spend their last two weeks before slaughter grazing these leys.

By continually fixing nitrogen and releasing it when grazed and cut, red clover is not only an important source of feed for the livestock at Maesllwyni but for soil health and nutrition too. At a recent Farming Connect open day at the farm, Mr Jones shared the knowledge he has gained from two decades of growing and feeding the crop.

Twenty hectares (ha) are grown within a rotation on 60ha of silage ground where fields are reseeded every 11 years. By favouring varieties including AberChianti and AberClaret, leys have a five year longevity if looked after, including by not grazing in the winter.

The crop is established in May after ploughing. The farm’s top soil layer is shallow therefore only the top 10cm are cultivated.

Oats, barley, peas and vetches are incorporated in the mix. “The arable mix cleans the field up and creates a canopy to keep the weeds down,’’ said Mr Jones.

The silage is mainly fed to pregnant ewes in the last two weeks before lambing.

Red clover seed is established at a depth of just 5mm and the arable silage at 7.5-10cm.

“We just let the arable seed sit on top of the furrows and find that it works fine,’’ said Mr Jones.

Establishment had previously been in July but by getting the seed into the ground in May it gives red clover an advantage in that first year. “The clover really starts to take off in the middle of the summer,’’ said Mr Jones.

The soil is chain harrowed and rolled after seeding. A bulky first cut is taken in June, the forage wilted for 24 hours, and a second, higher quality cut at the beginning of August, with 48-hour wilting.

“We cut the red clover at a young stage for silaging, to prevent the stem becoming unpalatable for sheep,’’ Mr Jones explains.

The first cut is clamped and the second preserved as big bales. A plastic conditioner is used on the mower to decrease leaf damage.

At over 18% protein, it is a protein-rich crop therefore it is established with companion grasses to provide fibre and energy to help retain that protein in the rumen for longer.

“Producing protein is one thing but you need to have something to absorb it,’’ said Mr Jones.

There are other benefits too from plants and herbs included in the mix, he said.

“Trefoil has tannins which help keep livestock healthy and, as our soils are low in copper, chicory helps to bring that mineral up the soil structure.’’

The target analysis for red clover silage is at least 18% protein, metabolic energy (ME) greater than 11, a digestibility (D) value of over 70 and dry matter at more than 30%.

“Clover doesn’t have a lot of sugar in it so I use an additive to help with the ensiling and to quickly get the pH level down,’’ said Mr Jones.

He doesn’t allow red clover to grow too high before turning sheep onto it. “The stem mustn’t get too thick because the sheep don’t like it when it gets to that stage.’’

For grazing, ewes and lambs get priority in the spring, to get lambs fattened and sold, and after 1 July it is cattle that get the first bite.

“We fatten lambs on red clover but not for too long otherwise they get too big and fat,’’ Mr Jones explained. They are grazed for two weeks and then weighed.

No concentrates are fed, largely thanks to the high-quality red and white clover silages and excellent grazing management.

This has helped decrease total cost of production to under £3/kg deadweight in lambs.

“In many systems it is the Single Farm Payment that is the profit but by keeping our costs down the lamb is the profit and the payment is a bonus,’’ said Mr Jones.

Carbon footprint in his lamb system is 11.4kg C02/kg liveweight. Cattle are finished at 20 months – they can achieve daily liveweight gains of up to 1.6kg when grazing red clover.

Soil is regularly sampled – the red clover and herbal ley fields consistently at 6-6.5pH. Healthy soils are important for beneficial insects too, such as the dung beetle, which is adept at recycling nutrients.

Lynfa Davies, Farming Connect Biodiversity Specialist, advised farmers attending the open day that the dung beetle plays a vital role in livestock systems through dung pat management and parasite control.

“Having good populations of dung beetles is a ‘win win’ as it reduces parasite loads as well as getting nutrients underground to feed that next flush of grass, and they also provide feed for other wildlife and birds,’’ she said.

Good populations of dung beetles also help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from livestock production as they draw faecal matter down into the soil. They are very vulnerable to anthelmintics, in particular ivermectins.

Ms Davies said, treating animals that have a proven parasite burden, by using faecal egg counting to establish worm levels, will promote and preserve dung beetle populations.

Grazing livestock all the year round is beneficial too as different species of dung beetle are prevalent at different times of the year.

“It doesn’t have to be prime cattle, perhaps some youngstock or sheep,’’ said Ms Davies. “If there are farms in the locality that have stock in fields all the year round that will help too.’’

The open day was facilitated by Farming Connect Red Meat Sector Officer Owain Pugh.

He said the Jones family were demonstrating how important crops like red clover were in reducing inputs.

“The image of Welsh farming is very important now and will be even more so in the future and cutting out proteins with high carbon footprints such as soya is paramount,’’ he said.

A number of projects trialling systems for reducing inputs are being carried out on the Farming Connect Our Farms network.

Farming

Basic Payment Scheme 2025 balance paid to 95% of Welsh farmers

Published

2 days ago

December 14, 2025

Tom Sinclair

Final year of BPS as transition to Sustainable Farming Scheme begins

The WELSH Government says more than ninety-five per cent of farm businesses have now received their full or balance payment under the final year of the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS), ahead of the introduction of the new Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) in 2026.

Announcing the update on Friday (Dec 12), Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs, Huw Irranca-Davies, confirmed that over 15,400 Welsh farm businesses have been paid £68.7m. This comes on top of the £160m issued in BPS advance payments since 14 October.

Final round of BPS payments

The Basic Payment Scheme, which has been the backbone of farm support in Wales for a decade, provides direct income support to help farmers plan and manage their businesses. BPS 2025 marks the last year in which full BPS payments will be made before the scheme begins to be phased out.

The Cabinet Secretary said officials would “continue to process the outstanding BPS 2025 claims as soon as possible,” adding that all but the most complex cases should be completed by 30 June 2026.

Payments issued today represent the main balance due to farmers following earlier advances, giving many businesses the cash flow they need during the quieter winter period—traditionally a challenging time in the agricultural calendar.

Shift to Sustainable Farming Scheme in 2026

From 1 January 2026, the Welsh Government will begin rolling out the Sustainable Farming Scheme, a major reform to how agricultural support is delivered. The SFS will reward farmers for environmental outcomes such as habitat management, carbon reduction and biodiversity improvements, alongside continued food production.

The government has argued that the new scheme is essential to meeting Wales’ climate and nature targets while ensuring long-term resilience in the sector. However, the transition has been closely watched by farming unions, who have raised concerns about the administrative burden, income stability, and the speed at which BPS is being phased out.

Mr Irranca-Davies reaffirmed the government’s stance, saying: “This government is steadfastly committed to supporting Welsh farmers to sustainably produce quality food. This is demonstrated today in our payment of the BPS 2025 balance payments and will continue throughout the transition period.”

Sector reaction

Farming unions are expected to scrutinise the detail of today’s announcement, particularly around remaining unpaid cases. Last year, late payments led to frustration in parts of the sector, with unions calling for greater certainty as the industry faces rising input costs, supply chain pressures and continued market volatility.

The move to the SFS remains one of the most significant agricultural policy changes in Wales since devolution. Ministers insist the shift is designed to support both food production and environmental stewardship, while critics warn the transition must not undermine farm viability—especially for family-run livestock farms that dominate rural areas such as Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire.

What happens next

Farmers still awaiting their BPS 2025 balance will continue to be processed “as soon as possible”, the Welsh Government said. Officials will also publish updated guidance on the Sustainable Farming Scheme ahead of its launch.

The coming year will therefore become a pivotal moment for Welsh agriculture, as the long-standing BPS framework—which provided over £200m annually to Welsh farmers—makes way for a new results-based model that will shape the industry for decades to come.

Community

Wolfscastle farm’s new shed sparked ‘noise nuisance’ claims

Published

1 week ago

December 5, 2025

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

A PEMBROKESHIRE farmer “jumped the gun” in his enthusiasm to build a new cattle shed which includes ‘robot slurry scrapers’ that have been causing a noise nuisance for neighbours, county planners heard.

In a retrospective application recommended for approval at the December meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council’s planning committee, Aled Jenkins sought permission for a replacement cattle housing and silage clamp at Upper Ty Rhos, Wolfscastle.

An officer report said Upper Ty Rhos consists of a herd of 630 youngstock beef cattle, the applicant seeking permission for the replacement 100-metre-long cattle housing building.

It said the building benefits from a robotic scraping system to internally clean it to improve animal welfare and efficiency.

However, the slurry scraper system in operation has been found to constitute a statutory noise nuisance.

“The introduction of the slurry scraper system has resulted in a new noise source to the locality that is having a significant detrimental impact upon local amenity. The nuisance noise is directly associated with the extended hours of operation of the slurry scraper system and the noise created by the two motors powering the system including the drive mechanism that moves the scraper through the building to remove slurry produced by the housed cattle.

“To further exacerbate the situation, the building has open voids to the eastern gable end, which is within close proximity to the neighbouring property resulting in the building being acoustically weak.

“An acoustic report has been submitted with mitigation methods provided including relocating motors and associated equipment into external enclosures, reduction of noise egress through openings by installing hit-and-miss louvres and/or PVC strip curtains and consideration of blocking the gap between roof pitches along the ridge of the building.”

Three letters of concern were received from members of the public raising concerns including visual and environmental impact, noise issues and a potential for the herd size to increase.

Speaking at the meeting, neighbour Dr Andrew Williams, who stressed he was not seeking to have the shed removed, raised concerns about the noise from the ‘robot scrapers,’ exacerbated by cattle being concentrated in the immediate area from the wider farm complex.

Agent Wyn Harries addressed concerns about the retrospective nature was a result of over-enthusiasm by his client who “jumped the gun”.

He said there was now a scheme that was “fully worked through,” dealing with noise and other issues.

Members backed approval, which includes noise mitigation to address the impact of the robot scrapers; one member, Cllr Tony Wilcox, abstaining on the grounds of the retrospective native of the building “the size of a football field”.

Farming

FUW urges government action as plunging dairy prices threaten family farms

Published

1 week ago

December 5, 2025

Tom Sinclair

THE FARMER’s UNION OF WALES has sounded the alarm over a sharp and sustained collapse in dairy prices, warning that the situation is placing intolerable pressure on family farms already grappling with regulatory change, rising costs and wider economic uncertainty.

The Union convened an emergency meeting of its Animal Health and Dairy Committee last week to assess the scale of the crisis. Representatives from across Wales reported widespread anxiety, with many members seeing milk prices fall dramatically through the autumn. Processors are now signalling further cuts in early 2026, while commodity markets offer little sign of stability heading into spring.

Farmers, fearful of jeopardising commercial relationships, have approached the FUW confidentially to express grave concern about projected milk payments for the coming months. Many say the offers being made will fall far below the cost of production.

Average milk prices are forecast at just 30–35 pence per litre, against estimated production costs of 39–44 pence per litre (Kite Consulting). On current trajectories, the FUW warns a typical Welsh dairy farm could lose thousands of pounds per month for as long as the downturn persists.

Following its committee meeting, the Union raised the matter directly with Deputy First Minister Huw Irranca-Davies MS during talks in Cardiff on Wednesday, December 3. Officials stressed the immediate threat facing family-run dairy farms and called for urgent consideration of government support to prevent long-term damage to the sector.

Gerwyn Williams, Chair of the FUW Animal Health and Dairy Committee, said the pace of the price crash was “unprecedented”.

“Farmers are facing an impossible situation where input costs remain high while the value of their product plummets. The viability of many family farms is now at serious risk. We need immediate assurances that this crisis is being treated with the urgency it deserves.

“Some can weather a short storm, but rumours that this could continue into summer 2026 will see businesses shut. These modest family farms have already invested heavily to meet regulatory requirements. Cuts on this scale will severely impact their ability to service repayments.”

FUW Deputy President Dai Miles warned that the consequences extend far beyond farm gates.

“Dairy farming underpins thousands of jobs in Wales and is central to the economic, social and environmental fabric of rural communities. When prices fall this sharply, it isn’t just farmers who suffer — local businesses, services and entire communities feel the impact.

“We have made it clear to the Deputy First Minister that government must work with the industry to provide immediate stability and a long-term resilience plan.”

The FUW says it will continue to work with the Welsh Government, processors and supply-chain partners to seek solutions and secure fair, sustainable prices for producers.