Wern Farm Facts

Wern Demonstration Farm is a 486 hectare (ha) mixed holding farmed by Osian Williams and his parents, Dafydd and Eleri, and his partner, Nikki

Osian is the fourth generation of the Williams family to farm Wern, an upland farm rising from 700 to 1400 feet

The farm specialises in beef, lamb and free range laying hens

The poultry enterprise was established in 2011. The unit houses 32,000 Bovan Brown hens on a multi-tier equipment system. The farm recently introduced its eighth flock to the system, keeping the flock from 74 – 80 weeks of age.

Other farm enterprises

1700 Welsh Mountain ewes and 500 crossbred Mules are tupped in November to lamb at the end of March

There are facilities to house up to 1000 ewes at lambing; some of the flock lambs outdoors

Texel, Aberfield and Tregaron-type improved Welsh tups are used for breeding

The Welsh Mountain ewes scan at an average of 125% and the crossbreds at 160%

Welsh Black cows account for two thirds of the 150-head suckler herd; the remainder is Hereford-cross

The herd calves in two blocks – in the spring and in the autumn

Some of the herd is sired to a Charolais to produce offspring for fattening while Welsh Black genetics are used for breeding replacements

A Glastir Advanced agreement has been in place since 2012; 10 acres of wholecrop are grown as part of that agreement

Two cuts of silage totalling 250 acres are made annually, mostly clamp silage but some round bales too.

Diversifications

The farm has solar panels and a ground source heat pump as well as a 225kW wind turbine capable of generating 600,000kW of energy annually. The business utilises 130,000kW of that energy and sells the remainder to the National Grid.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

To maximise numbers of eggs produced per bird – the seventh flock produced an average of 342 eggs in 74 weeks
To maintain low bird mortalities – the current mortality rate is 2.7%