The Environment Baselining Project is a pioneering sustainability project which aims to assess the environmental impact of farms across the UK.
It is a collaborative pilot initiative between red meat levy boards HCC, AHDB and QMS. The work is intended to redefine how farmers are recognised for delivering both food and environmental goods, the scale and potential of natural carbon stocks and sequestration, and the industry’s progress towards net zero.
Main project aims:
- Provide the industry with accurate on-farm environmental data, reducing reliance on national and international averages.
- Demonstrate the critical role GB agriculture plays in reducing greenhouse gases, building carbon stocks, enhancing soil health and supporting biodiversity.
- Enable farmers to take insight-led action towards a more sustainable future.
Eight farms in Wales have been selected to participate in the pilot project, based on factors relating to geographical location, topography, soil type and enterprise systems. They will measure the following:
- Carbon stocks: carbon above ground in the trees and hedges, and below ground in the roots and soil, which will provide an indication of the sequestration potential – the ability to capture, secure and store carbon.
- Net carbon position: a carbon audit will review the balance of a farm business’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions against its carbon removals and sequestration, providing an estimated net carbon position for the farm.
- Water run-off: The project will also deliver a water run-off map from the measurements taken.
These measurements will provide a baseline of the eight farms’ environmental credentials and a starting point for tracking changes over time. Remeasuring is planned for year five of the pilot project, allowing improvements to be measured, reported and recognised.
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Meet the farmers
Penygelli Farm is a lowland, beef and sheep farm situated near Caernarfon. The farmed area is around 63 hectares and includes 3.61km of hedges. The area of grassland (63 hectares) supports a beef suckler herd of around 30 head (including calves) with the progeny sold as stores, using silage produced on the farm. Alongside this, they operate a closed flock policy and keep 200 Poll Dorset and 200 Texels, all of which are performance recorded. Shearling rams and fat lambs are all finished off an intensive grazing system and some finishing concentrates.
Andrew manages Whitehall Farm – a 170-acre family-owned holding with a predominantly forage intensive system, consisting of an upland suckler herd and a lamb finishing enterprise. The farm is located 550 ft above sea level in Llanfabon, near Nelson in Mid Glamorgan and sits on a mainly sandy clay loam soil. The beef enterprise includes 18 single suckler cows, all wintered indoors, with calves sold at 12 months as stores. The sheep enterprise totals 240 Welsh Mountain ewes. The lambs are sold from the end of August through to January. 80% are sold, with 20% sold as stores after selecting 50-60 replacements each year.
Mr Edwards is environmentally conscious and chose to participate in this project to put a figure on the farm’s environmental performance, identify areas for improvement and assess carbon stocks. The business has been involved in the Habitat Scheme Wales, and previously Glastir and Glastir Advanced. Woodland on the farm is both managed and unmanaged.
Tirlan Farm is a hill and upland, beef and sheep farm situated near Brechfa. The farmed area is around 88 hectares in total and includes 17.3 hectares of woodland and 8.5km of hedgerows. It is a mainly grass based system, with a free draining soil type. The area of grassland (69.5 hectares) supports a beef suckler herd of around 18 head (with additional followers on). There are two sheep enterprises including Beulah Speckled face (200 head) and a crossbred flock of around 150 ewes. These flocks produce fat lambs which are finished on grass.
Rhoswen is a hill farm located outside Blaenau Ffestiniog, North Wales. The farm consists of 61 Hectares, all of which is used for grazing and parts for silage, as well as 5 Hectares of woodland. The farm’s main enterprise is a flock of 300 ewes. An average of 250 lambs are finished over a 12-month period. There are also 21 suckler cows, with an average of 21 calves reared over a 12-month period. Soil sampling was carried out on the farm four years ago by ADAS which identified a mainly heavy soil type with some peat.
Ciloes Uchaf is an upland farm near Oswestry. The farm totals 126 Hectares with the majority being productive land used for grazing, silage and growing turnips (19.85 Acres) with 11 Acres of woodland. The main enterprise of the farm is a flock of 640 ewes, and an average of 1150 lambs are finished. There are 39 suckler cows and 1 bull, with an average of 24 stores fattened until 14 months. The farm operates a rotational grazing system with herbal leys, and soil testing is carried out every three years on fields that are farmed intensely. The main soil type is Clay Loam and is classified as heavy.
Glwydcaenewydd is an organic beef and sheep farm based in Crai, near Brecon. The farm consists of 300 acres of upland ground on a red sandstone soil base. The operation consists of a beef herd of 45 Stabiliser suckler cows and a sheep flock of 145 Black Face early lambers, along with a flock of 100 late lambing pedigree Lleyns and 250 Aberfields.
The Davies’ are part of the Growing for the Environment Scheme and Beacons Water Group.
Brownslate Farm is managed by Peter, his wife and son, and comprises a 300-acre organic family-owned holding with a predominantly extensive forage (grass, silage and hay) low input system, a lowland suckler herd and a lamb finishing enterprise. The farm is located adjacent to the Milford Haven estuary and sits on a mainly light loam soil over red sandstone base.
The beef enterprise totals around 70-80 cattle which include 25 organic single suckler Charolais x Welsh Black cows with followers. The cattle are all outwintered and kept until finished. The sheep enterprise total 160 organic Suffolk x Texel x Lleyn ewes lambing from February to March.
Lambs are sold from the end of June through to April while store lambs are overwintered and sold fat. All the cattle are sold finished to ABP Ellesmere, while the lambs are sold to Dunbia, Llanybydder with cull ewes being sold at Whitland Mart.
The Morris’ are environmentally conscious and chose to participate in this project to put a figure on their environmental performance, identify areas for improvement and assess the carbon stocks. The business was very organically and environmentally proactive in the 1990’s and was heavily involved in the initial habit scheme, followed by Tir Gofal and then Glastir. The farm is now part of the Habitat Wales Scheme and Organic Scheme. Woodland ares are both managed and unmanaged.
Upper Talcoed Farm is an upland, beef and sheep farm situated near Llandrindod. The farmed area is around 149 hectares in total and includes 16 hectares of woodland and 8.64km of hedgerows. The soil type is clay and the system is mainly grass based.
The area of grassland (131 hectares) supports a beef herd of around 25 head (with additional followers-on) selling the progeny as stores. Alongside this, a beef Wagu system is run. There are two sheep enterprises including a pedigree Texel flock (50 ewes) and a commercial flock of around 700 producing ewes. These produce fat lambs which are finished using grass and concentrates.
