John Ceiriog Jones from Derwen, Corwen, will visit Ireland
Sector: Beef and Sheep
Details of the exchange:
Visiting Ireland to research the use of Cobalt in profitable sheep production by visiting farms involved with ‘Mayo Healthcare’ in Westport County Mayo, Ireland, together with the Agriculture and Food Development authority Teagasc, both of which are leaders in the field of innovative development in the agri-food sector. Also visiting Irish quality assurance scheme ‘Bord Bia’.
Why did you apply for the Management Exchange?
To expand my knowledge of profitable sheep production on upland farms in Wales, and have a better understanding of farm assurance standards in Ireland.
What are you hoping to gain from participating in the Management Exchange?
We have started looking into the effect of Cobalt use on the sheep flock at Cilgoed and also lamb shearing at 12 weeks, to improve daily liveweight gains and reduce the use of chemical treatments for fly control. I’m confident that skills learnt on the exchange could be implemented for forward planning on the farm, and have a wider scope for the business.
Visiting Teagasc monitor farms and Mayo Healthcare Ltd would enable me to learn about the topics currently being explored on our home farm. Knowledge gained would enable our business to further implement new innovative ideas by putting them into practice, building on current initial trialling of Cobalt boluses, lamb shearing and crop selection.
By visiting Bord Bia I hope to compare the standards between Ireland and Wales on quality assurance, food production quality and market supply.
Management Exchange Report
