Bremenda Isaf Project Update Final update

Trialling legume-cereal production as food for human consumption

Key results

  • The farm gained a good understanding of the chosen varieties, despite the impact of a cooler, wet season
  • The trial proved Carlin peas can be successfully grown as far west as Carmarthenshire
  • The trial has built an evidence case for more local and accessible processing, drying and storage facilities in Wales for cereals and legumes

Background

Bremenda Isaf is a 100-acre county farm in Llanarthne, Carmarthenshire, acquired in late 2023 by Bwyd Sir Gar Food Partnership, for an innovative food system development project. The partnership, led by Carmarthenshire County Council, aims to demonstrate diversification into multiple ventures with a focus on climate friendly, low carbon methods to minimise environmental impact and increase resilience and biodiversity. Menu redesign by Carmarthenshire County Council is examining food sourcing and sustainability, and replacing where possible items that can be produced more locally and sustainably. In the longer term, the farm aims to produce food at scale that can supply the local procurement system, contributing to the menus in schools, care homes and other public settings.

 

In its first season, the farm has successfully set up a market garden and launched a machinery ring for small scale producers. In an effort to explore future field-scale crops, Bremenda Isaf trialled field-scale legume and cereal production with a focus on production of food for human consumption.

 

Purpose of the work:

 

  • Identify and demonstrate the production of legume and wheat varieties suitable for cultivation in Carmarthenshire, which, in addition are suitable for human consumption
  • Demonstrate a cereal-legume intercropping method
  • Explore cultivation, harvesting and processing methods for chosen crops
  • Identify a supply chain for the crop, including public, private and community sectors

 

What we did:

 

The ground was cultivated in four 60x5m plots over a 1500m2 area using a rotavator and harrow attachment on a BCS pedestrian (two-wheel) tractor. The ground was not rolled due to lack of time.

 

Varieties used in trial

  • ‘April Bearded’ wheat
  • ‘Mulika’ wheat
  • Carlin peas
  • ‘Daytona’ peas
  • ‘Daytona’ peas and ‘Mulika’ wheat intercropped

 

The wheat varieties were chosen to compare the respective qualities, resilience and performance of a more locally adapted older heritage variety with a modern, more genetically uniform variety.

 

The carlin peas are a highly nutritious chickpea alternative traditionally cultivated in the Northeast of England. The farm wanted to test its growing potential in the comparatively wetter conditions of Southwest Wales.

 

Daytona pea was recommended as a variety that would ripen at approximately the same time as the wheat, and therefore suitable for one harvest.

 

Sowing was done by hand using quadrats to ensure even coverage at standardised sowing rates recommended for each crop.

 

Additional advice was provided by:

  • Mark Lea at Green Acres in Shropshire, an arable farmer specialising in diverse heritage wheat varieties, legumes and intercropping trials.
  • Jerry Alford, Arable and Soils Advisor at the Soil Association and coordinator of the Innovative Farmers Field Lab ‘Leguminose’ trial.

 

Outcomes

 

All crops were sown very late in the first week of June. This was due to a wet spring causing unfavourable ground conditions for preparation and cultivation of the trial plots. Additionally, delays in contractors for liming and grass cutting, and delays in the arrival of attachments for the pedestrian tractor.

 

Weed pressure was higher in the intercropped bed, partly due to patchy germination of peas with more gaps for weeds to establish in generally. For harvesting at scale, this could cause added complexity.

 

After one of the wettest years on record, and despite late sowing, both wheat varieties were ready to harvest in the first week of November. A sample yield of wheat was taken for a processing trial, with the rest to be ploughed back in, in early 2025.

 

Both pea varieties did not fully ripen due to late sowing. Germination rates of both pea varieties were patchy. This could be due to the lack of ground preparation to create a finer tilth. However, the pea plants that did grow were healthy and strong. This trial proved that Carlin peas can successfully be grown as far west as Carmarthenshire. Prior to this trial the furthest West growing site known was Shropshire. These peas can produce a high-quality protein-packed legume fit for human or livestock consumption.

 

The long stem of the ‘April Bearded’ heritage variety wheat (traditionally used for thatching) meant that it was more prone to fall over adding an additional challenge for mechanised harvesting.

 

From this one season there was no appreciable difference in the resilience of the two wheat varieties to pests and diseases.

 

Comparative soil samples from the intercropped and non-intercropped ‘Mulika’ wheat trial plots were submitted as part of the Innovative Farmers Field Lab ‘Leguminose’ trial to test for micronutrient variation between the plots. The results are expected in Spring 2025.

 

Observations and reflections

 

Despite the setbacks on timing due to a wet Spring, a full harvest couldn’t be conducted. However, it was clear that all varieties trialled grow well in Carmarthenshire at the site (approximately 57 metre above sea level and clay-loam alluvial soil type).

 

Despite the potential benefits of intercropping in maintaining soil health, there remain several practical difficulties with such an approach. The first is the variability in ripening times of the cereal and legume crop which could impact on the quality of the crop at time of harvest, secondly the weed pressure within intercropped areas potentially bringing in more weed seed contamination to a harvest, thirdly the specialist equipment required to sort and separate the crops.  

 

Due to lack of appropriate machinery, processing and storage at the site for cereals and legumes currently, the farm will continue to trial cereal and legume varieties, but at a small scale to learn about their qualities and potential to grow on the site at a larger scale in future.  When eventually upscaling to field scale, the farm has concluded that they do not see the benefits of intercropping over longer traditional rotations and rest periods for the land, which include a legume as part of that rotation. They await more evidence as to the benefits over the practical disadvantages before using intercropping again.

 

The lack of processing, drying and storage facilities are an issue. This trial has built the evidence case for more local accessible processing facilities for cereals and legumes. Alongside hosting other shared facilities for vegetable production, including a processing and packing unit, and machinery ring for growers, a public county farm such as Bremenda Isaf is well placed to host publicly accessible processing facilities, as well as shared routes to market. Therefore, the trial has built a case for funding bids for such facilities and equipment.