A livestock farmer in Radnorshire taking part in the Farming Connect ‘Our Farms’ scheme is to swap soya bean based feeds with peas and beans. Robert Lyone, who farms on Lower Houes Farm near Llandrindod Wells, is to change his way of feeding the animals in the name of reducing his carbon footprint and improving the resilience of his business.
Moving to peas and beans means that Robert can grow much of the feed that he needs on the farm and is therefore less reliant on soya-based imports and less exposed to the negative effects of price rises as we have seen recently. As beans and pea plant also fix nitrogen in the soil through their root systems, these are excellent crops to grow in order to improve the fertility of the land.
Farming Connect’s ‘Our Farms’ scheme aims to help farmers like Robert to research and evaluate how to make changes, and assesses the development of such projects as they progress. Dafydd Owen, Farming Connect’s Mixed Farm Sector Officer, said:
‘Utilising more home-grown feeds can reduce winter feed costs and reliance on imported soya, and improve a farm’s carbon footprint. It also alleviates the risk of sudden price increases in purchased feeds, and dependence on chemical fertiliser. The introduction of a pulse break crop can fit well into a rotation as being a nitrogen fixing crop, no nitrogen fertiliser is required for the subsequent crop,’’
For more details about the project, and to learn more about the ‘Our Farms’ programme, follow this link to Farming Connect’s website.
