James Powell
Dolygarn, Llanbadarn Fynydd, Llandrindod Wells, Powys
Key areas you wish to focus on as a demonstration farmer?
Soil health: our aim is to fatten everything from grass but heavy soils are our limiting factor. Understanding the symbiosis between plant life, soil life and animal life to improve our soils will help us to increase the amount of winter fodder we can grow.
To consider ways of reducing inputs by growing diverse species: we want to gain a better understanding of what species will grow on our land, what species will feed organic matter and increase the mycorrhiza fungi.
Subdivision of grazing infrastructure: we operate a rotational grazing system but would like to consider how we can further maximise the utilisation of grass.
Dolygarn Farm Facts
“As Welsh agriculture moves away from direct subsidies it is more important than ever that we make every hectare work for us. We have brought marginal land into production and are moving to the next step of fully utilising it. By working with Farming Connect we hope to put in place systems that allow us to increase output per hectare and to share our findings with other farmers who are moving in the same direction.’’
– James Powell