A MACHYNLLETH farmer has spoken of his plans for future proofing the business with a little help from science.

Making more from grazed grass with Innovis sheep genetics, specifically bred for forage-based systems is key to Eifion Pughe’s future proofing strategy on Fferm Cil-y-Winllan.

“It’s all about stepping up output from fewer inputs if a farm like this is to remain profitable,” he says.

“Exploiting grass — the cheapest form of feed — offers an obvious solution together with Abermax and Primera genetics.

“We’ve been able to improve output and reduce costs by 30 per cent in the last five years since I joined Farming Connect’s Prosper From Pasture programme in 2017 and introduced a simple focused plan.

“So far, 50 per cent of traditional grazing and silage fields have been reseeded with red and white clover mixes, whilst we’ve also added plantain and chicory to the grazing sward mixes to safeguard against drought, improve soil health and structure, as well as animal health.

“These species are also enhancing soil fertility along with FYM from the cattle rearing which is enabling us this year for the first time to completely cut out applying fertilizer on grazing ground and make savings of up to £5,000.

“Better quality grazing has also enabled us to cut the unit’s feed bill by 300 per cent to just one tonne fed solely to ewes carrying multiple lambs two weeks prior to lambing to ensure sufficient milk. We used to feed concentrate to ewes with multiples for two to three weeks after lambing, however it’s no longer necessary since we’re now turning them out immediately afterwards, from late March, on to grass analysing 25 per cent CP and both our Abermax and Primera ewes are really good grazers; that’s what they are designed to do.

“We’ve reduced the paddock area to an average of four acres, which can be cut down further with electric fencing, and introduced rotational grazing. I keep an eye on availability and demand, measuring dry matter content every two weeks. Ewes overwinter on strip grazed root crops and deferred grazing or silage, and they’re eventually housed for ease of management three weeks prior to lambing or when the roots run out.”

Eifion’s sheep breeding strategy has similarly evolved. “We farmed a hardy, low input Lleyn cross Welsh flock. However, I wanted to improve output and in particular maternal traits, and was influenced by my neighbour who had successfully invested in an Aberfield maternal sire. Initially, I was very sceptical simply because of the outlay, however I took the plunge and was convinced. I introduced one Aberfield ram to 100 ewes, they scanned 164 per cent and the lambs finished without concentrate four weeks earlier. In comparison, we’d been putting our Lleyn ram to 60 ewes to achieve a scan of between 150 per cent and 165 per cent.”