Why Geraint would be an effective mentor

  • Welsh speaker Geraint has worked in agriculture for more than 25 years. This progressive farmer combines actively farming - mainly organically - and food production with managing the natural environment and resources in a sustainable way. 
  • A respected and knowledgeable spokesperson on rural matters, Geraint holds numerous advisory roles with leading rural organisations.  A good listener, confident communicator and problem-solver, he is looking forward to his mentoring role and sharing his wide-ranging knowledge and expertise with others.     
  • He has first-hand experience of integrating numerous farming schemes into his own businesses, successfully accessing different funding pots available through the Welsh Government, Natural Resources Wales, The Woodland Trust and Eryri National Park etc. 
  • Geraint’s focus is to produce high quality food alongside maintaining and enhancing the natural environment.   He has personal experience of numerous sustainable farming practices including capital works designed to improve the farmed environment, green infrastructure connectivity, hedgerow creation, management and coppicing.
  • An experienced woodland manager, his focus is to plant trees on farms in the ‘best’ place without impacting on productivity, and in a way that encourages biodiversity.  He has also planned and undertaken riparian planting along migratory streams. 
  • An experienced negotiator, he has personal experience of managing contracts in relation to land management agreements with Welsh Government and Natural Resources Wales as well as tenancy agreements. 

Current farm business

  • 1,200 acres of upland and hill (part owned, part rented) with some woodland that raises from 750ft to 2200ft. 
  • The farm lies within the Eryri National Park with 85% of the land classified as SSSI with 960 acres organic with the rest farmed conventionally.
  • 750 ewes are kept with a scanning of around 145% lambing outdoors mainly with most lambs going directly to the abattoir with crossbred lambs killing out at around 19.9kg and hill lambs around 14.5kg. A small percentage go as store lambs especially if the trade is good.
  • Currently there are 70 suckler cows with calves sold as stores.
  • The farm produces high quality forage to eradicate the need to purchase concentrates and optimise growth rates. They have focused on multi species leys for the last ten years, bringing multiple benefits to the business, with a particular focus on legumes for their nitrogen fixing properties. In recent years, introducing arable silage has increased the protein content of the winter ration.
  • Water management is a key farm resource as well as an eco-system service. Geraint has created and restored countless ponds, established a leaky dam system and undertaken peatland restoration with grip blocking in addition to harvesting water for stock use.
  • Crop rotation and planning for the farm’s reseeding programme from soil nutrient planning through to crop choice has proved beneficial. 
  • The hill grazing management has improved over the last ten years from only sheep grazing the hills to the introduction of cattle.  These are transforming the flora and opening up access to areas sheep had ceased to graze due to overgrown vegetation. The cattle grazing benefits the sheep and wildlife thus returning a healthier ecosystem for the business. 
  • Off-farm holiday let.

Qualifications/achievements/ experience

  • FWAG Cymru Director

  • Natural Resources Wales Non-Executive Director
    • National Access Forum, Chair
    • Flood Risk committee
    • Protected Areas committee
    • Land Estate committee 
  • RSPB adviser on integrating farming practices into environmental systems
  • Partneriaeth Penllyn Director 2009 - 2023 
  • Cyngor Plwyf Llanycil 2006 – 2023
  • Bala Sheepdog Society, Treasurer
  • Nature Friendly Farming Network, Wales Chair, UK Steering Group member & Director, 2017-2018 
  • Farmers Union of Wales, Chair Younger Voice Committee, 2016- 18 
  • Meirionnydd Grassland Society, Chair, 2019
  • Farmers’ Union of Wales, Chair, Meirionnydd 2017-19 
  • Farming Connect Agri-Academy Rural Leadership programme, 2016

Awards

  • 2015 Silver lapwing UK award – UK runner up 
  • 2008 RWAS Agri-environmental award young farmer – winner 
     

Top tips for business success

“View your farming business holistically and not in silos, understand where and how things can work together, particularly in relation to the natural environment.”
“Identify opportunities to ‘stack’ enterprises on farm.”

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