Powys Farm adds new ingredients to grow their own feed

Robert Lyon had been mixing a complete diet TMR ration using maize, soya and grass silage for his pregnant ewes at Lower House Farm, near Llandrindod Wells but to increase farm resilience and reduce its carbon footprint, he now wants to grow as much of the feed on farm as possible.

Mr Lyon has now embarked on a Farming Connect ‘Our Farms’ project to evaluate how peas and beans might help him to achieve that goal.

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To achieve this, over the winter, bought-in peas and beans will be incorporated into the diet of up to 600 ewes and 150 Belgian Blue heifers, with levels guided by analysis of the forage they will be fed with.

He said: “It will fit well as a break crop in rotation with the 3.6 hectares of barley I grow every year.”

Next year Mr Lyon will grow his own bi-crop to include in the 2024/25 ration. As peas and beans are a nitrogen fixing crop, it will mean he won’t need to apply synthetic nitrogen fertiliser to the crop that follows it and he hopes that their tap roots will be good for soil structure too.

Robert Lyon is experimenting with incorporating more peas and beans in his animal feed (Image: Farming Connect)

Farming Connect will analyse the performance of the ewes and cattle and the financial impact and carbon footprint of peas and beans compared to a controlled diet containing soya.

Dafydd Owen, Mixed Farm Sector Officer for Farming Connect, who is overseeing the project, said there are good reasons why more farms should consider growing more home-grown feed.

“Utilising more home-grown feeds can reduce winter feed costs and reliance on imported soya, and improve a farm’s carbon footprint,’’ said Mr Owen.

It also alleviates the risk of sudden price increases in purchased feeds, and dependence on chemical fertiliser.

“The introduction of a pulse break crop can fit well into a rotation as being a nitrogen fixing crop, no nitrogen fertiliser is required for the subsequent crop,’’ he added.

Driving these improvements in sustainability at Lower House Farm could also have important Sustainable Land Management outcomes too including “reducing greenhouse gas emissions, maximising carbon storage and sequestration, enhancing the farm’s ecosystem, as well as contributing to high flock and herd health and welfare”.

For other farmers who are also keen to grow protein crops, or mixed leys and unsprayed cereals, a new window for the Welsh Government’s Growing for the Environment grant is open until December 15.