Advice Categories

This category provides comprehensive business planning advice which encompasses the whole enterprise. This category will provide a clear picture of your current business profile, benchmarking where you are now. You will understand your strengths and weaknesses and know what you should realistically aim for in order to remain sustainable, efficient and profitable in the years ahead.  

Similar to the advice available under the Business Planning (BP) category, this category provides comprehensive business planning advice which encompasses the whole enterprise. This category will provide a clear picture of your current business profile, benchmarking where you are now. You will understand your strengths and weaknesses and know what you should realistically aim for in order to remain sustainable, efficient and profitable in the years ahead. This category will also focus on the particular needs and requirements of new entrants to the industry.

To get the best performance from your livestock, you need to address a whole range of issues including animal health and welfare. Measuring and recording performances are key to this.

This category will provide you with advice on a range of recognised tools and techniques to help you achieve optimum results from your livestock (incorporating EBVs, stocking rates, wintering options, feed planning, housing and many other relevant issues). 

Considering your grassland and crop regimes, addressing soil and nutrient management and managing farmyard manure is essential if you are aiming to run a business with top performing results.

This category will help you make best use of your resources, reduce outputs and address all the above issues, as well as providing you with Nitrate Vulnerable Zone (NVZ) advice and identifying any potential environmental risks.

If you are considering or already involved with either conventional or organic horticulture, advice within this category will enable you to apply the principles of sustainability and to assess and minimise environmental impacts of crop production including diffused pollution, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, adaptation to climatic changes and biodiversity. Advice will cover crop rotations, pest and disease control, harvesting, varietal issues, matching crops to your soil type and supply/marketing issues. 

To get the most out of organic production you need to be up to speed on all organic standards and Organic Farming Scheme agreements.

Advice within this category will ensure you understand the land/cropping/livestock management that you need.

Those new to the sector can receive advice on developing an organic conversion strategy. Both established and new businesses can receive advice on financial implications as well as practical advice on developing a marketing strategy. 

This natural resource management category will help you identify, protect and manage habitats including flora and fauna.

You will receive advice on how to protect and enhance both existing and new species on land, in water and in farm buildings.

You will also be able to identify and manage any sites of historical, archaeological or architectural interest, with the focus on the value of biodiversity and protecting the agri-environment.

A diversification enterprise could lead to improved ways of working or an additional income stream.

This category will help assess the feasibility of your proposal, and you will receive advice on aspects including business and financial planning, grant aid options, regulations, legislative processes, marketing research and other elements of the supply and marketing mix.

This category will provide business support to forestry/farming businesses wanting to process timber either as an additional enterprise or through diversification into processing, contracting, growing and marketing.

It will cover both business and financial planning.

Get your animal health plan completed with your local Vet, it will identify a disease profile of your livestock enterprise, and meet any health scheme participation requirements. The Vet will review the routine treatments used and advice on improving utilisation.

The advice will identify areas of improvement to increase health status of your livestock. They will also consider biosecurity measures to reduce the risk of introducing or spreading disease.

Specialist Vet advice is on hand to identify specific disease problems and to provide you with information on how to eradicate the issue. 

Advice on hand to consider woodland establishment, management or expansion and agroforestry systems.

Advisors will support with management specifications to meet UKFS requirements with associate costs/budgets, and implications for the wider farm business. 

The benefits for your business:

The category will look at the farm approach to use of water and energy and analysed to identify opportunities for improvements to ensure maximum efficiency within farm constraints,

The advice will look at the feasibility of saving resources and reducing costs by reducing use, reusing and recycling. 

The benefits for your business:

A farming business could look at opportunities for renewable energy installations, including solar - hot water and PV, hydroelectric, wind turbines, anaerobic digestion, heat pumps and biomass.

The adviser will look at it holistically and draw out the feasibility of the potential new development looking at financial and environmental benefits.

The benefits for your business:

Improving Carbon performance is fundamental within the industry, through the category of advice a carbon audit can be obtained. The advice can measure the farms net carbon footprint using a carbon calculator tool. This will review all elements of the business whilst also taking into consideration the sequestration of carbon that is already available. A mitigation plan for your business will be provided and various scenarios will be looked upon to reduce its carbon emissions.

The benefits for your business:

Support on offier to drive on farm adoption to achieve productivity and efficiencies by usage of agritech initiatives.

To consider, assess and advise on the on-farm risks to staff and visitors, such as:

• Livestock, 
• Machinery,
• Falling from height,
• Children on farm,
• and hazardous substances

To provide advice on implementing measures to control the risks in an action plan.
To advise on the development of health and safety policies and procedures.
To advise on the protocol of accident reporting.
To identify and develop a training plan for the business and its staff.

There are many historical features present in the Welsh landscape that we need to look after and manage such as earth remains, masonry works, traditional farm buildings and landscape features.  

This category will:

• Help you understand what features you may have on your farm
• Provide advice on how to conserve, care and manage the feature  
• Provide guidance on any legislation that might affect the feature such as scheduled monuments
• Advice on whether the asset can be integrated into any current or future land management scheme 

The benefits for your business:

Understanding the condition of your hedgerows and how you can monitor them will support you to better manage them as habitats for biodiversity and livestock.

This category will help you make the most of your hedgerows by supporting the creation of a hedgerow management plan that can:

• Identify opportunities for hedgerow creation, restoration and rejuvenation,
• Provide a maintenance plan,
• Advice on sourcing the right species of hedging plants
• Outline the benefits of hedges on farm e.g. livestock shelter and biosecurity