Resilient Rotations

This supply chain project brings together producers for Puffin Produce and Pembrokeshire Creamery in a focussed trial highlighting the benefit of technology to aid soil management for high-risk crops in West Wales. It will reflect on the local and national challenges of a changing climate and will focus on knowledge sharing, innovation and collaboration to support the future productivity, profitability and resilience of agriculture for the wider community.

The farming system in West Wales is famously diverse, incorporating beef, sheep, dairy, arable, horticulture, potatoes and root crop systems within the agricultural landscape. Five workshops will deliver production, environmental, financial and social insights of how action can be taken on farm to increase business and ecological resilience across the rotation. For each workshop an industry-leading guest speaker will bring their own knowledge and experience to practically engage and communicate what can be done on farm to increase resilience throughout the rotation regardless of the agricultural production system. 

The project trial will also demonstrate the ‘Wonder Wheel’ from Bye Engineering which has successfully reduced the risk of water run-off, soil erosion and nutrient loss in English river catchments but is yet to be used at scale across the multiple ‘high-risk’ cropping systems in Wales. Soil health and erosion assessments, alongside understanding the impact on the yield of annual crops will be investigated, with the aim of encouraging uptake of this technology as standard best practice.

Additionally, the Wonder Wheel technology provides an opportunity to introduce greater biodiversity to support pollinators, capture atmospheric nitrogen and mitigate soil loss through the addition of a seed hopper – a further innovation to be trialled in this project and a first in terms of application of use, for both the cropping systems and Wales.

This trial correlates with Sustainable Land Management objectives through aligning with actions to integrate new technology to meet Net Zero 2050, improve water quality, maximise resource efficiency, mitigate flood and drought risk, maintain and enhance the resilience of ecosystems, reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and maximise carbon sequestration, all for the greater resilience of both the environment, agricultural systems and wider communities.