New agronomy approach sees livestock farmer grow more with less fertiliser

A Welsh farmer who produces beef and lamb from grass and homegrown barley has cut fertiliser and pesticide inputs by 25% and captured higher crop yields and labour savings by changing his approach to grassland and arable production.

Arfon Evans farms 140 beef suckler cows and replacements and 550 Texel x Mule breeding ewes on 132 hectares at Bugeilus Fawr on the Lleyn peninsula.

He grows 12ha of spring barley in a rotation that includes grass, red clover and diverse herbal leys.

Despite having a strong focus on productivity and sustainability, Arfon was keen to improve that further and embarked on a Farming Connect Our Farms project in a bid to reduce fertiliser and pesticide use, supported by agronomist Gareth Mitchell, of ProCam.

The barley was established in ploughed fields using combination seeding and integrating fertiliser application with that.

Fertiliser inputs were guided by soil sampling and the AHDB RB209 guidelines.

Direct drilling was used for seeding a ryegrass-red clover mix to minimise soil disturbance and improve soil moisture retention.

Herbicides were applied before direct drilling to control perennial weeds including dock and chickweed.

Traps were set up to monitor slug numbers and insecticides only applied when aphid thresholds for barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) were exceeded.

Arfon’s applications of pesticides were guided by BASIS and FACTS-qualified professionals, including Gareth.

While Arfon was hopeful of capturing some positive results, the outcomes exceeded his expectations.

He grew more barley and grass by optimising fertilising and seeding techniques and weed controls.

“It was a good growing year in 2024 which helped but we grew 0.5t an acre more barley than in previous years,’’ says Arfon, who farms in partnership with his parents, Ianto and Iola.

The timely use of slug traps and molluscicides played a part too, preventing significant crop damage, while monitoring aphid numbers helped to minimise BYDV risks in Arfon’s crop of winter barley.

“We had a very clean crop of barley,’’ he reports.

Another big win was cutting pesticide and fertiliser use by a quarter by tailoring applications to need, which in itself is a route to improving soil and environmental health and minimising runoff.

Despite that significant 25% reduction, infestations of common dock, chickweed, and charlock were successfully controlled, improving plant establishment.

By adopting different and more efficient seeding and drilling methods, Arfon calculates that his labour inputs reduced by at least 30% compared to previous years.

“I didn’t have to replough or spread the fertiliser separately, everything was done in one pass so there was a big time saving there.’’

Gareth says it is possible for every farmer to capture gains by adopting some or all of these techniques.

He advises always soil sampling before drilling to assess nutrient levels and using the RB209 recommendations to create crop-specific fertiliser plans.

He is an advocate of conventional ploughing and combination seeding for establishing barley and direct drill perennial ryegrass and red clover mixes.

“Farmers will achieve better moisture retention and seedling establishment with direct drilling,’’ says Gareth.

Chemical pest controls can be reduced too. “Use of targeted herbicides and slug traps will effectively manage weed and pest pressures,’’ he adds.

Arfon says having the input of an experienced agronomist has been hugely beneficial.

“I would advise all farmers to use an agronomist, they know so much more than we do,’’ he says.

His message to other farmers is to never be afraid to ask for help. “What held me back from speaking to an agronomist sooner was a fear of perhaps looking foolish but having Gareth’s support through Farming Connect has been so valuable.’’

Through the Farming Connect Mentoring programme, with guidance from his Farming Connect North Wales Red meat sector officer, Huw Davies, Arfon has also benefitted from one-to-one mentoring from Llion Jones, of Moelogan Fawr, Conwy, one of 90 mentors who offer up to 15 hours of mentoring to those registered with Farming Connect.

“Huw has been fantastic and I will hopefully use more Farming Connect services going forward, it is a good relationship,’’ says Arfon.