Farmer gets best from crops with Farming Connect-supported agronomy course

Populations of weeds, pests and diseases can seriously impact arable yields but one Pembrokeshire grower is better armed to combat these since embarking on a course in agronomy, integrated crop protection and crop nutrition.

Eurig Jones farms 1,200 acres around Boncath with his father Wyn, growing 250 acres of winter and spring barley, mostly as feed for the 500 store cattle, 80 suckler cows and 1,500 ewes.

Peas and beans are also grown as an alternative protein source to bought-in blend and 50 acres of permanent pasture have been reseeded with herbal leys.

“Our aim is to be sustainable, growing what we can without buying anything in. I think that’s the way forward for us as beef and sheep farmers,” says Eurig.

He is an experienced farmer but admits: “I don’t presume to know everything. Experience will only get you so far, there is always more to learn and I always try to push myself to do that because there are always different ways to do things with regards to crop rotations and choosing what to plant for example.”

With that mindset, in October 2023 he attended a five-day BASIS Foundation in Agronomy course at Coleg Sir Gar at Gelli Aur with 80% of the course fee funded by Farming Connect.

This has given him a better understanding of everything from different ways to control pests, diseases and weeds to visually assessing and analysing soils.

The main weed pressures on Eurig’s land come from annual meadow grass.

When he assesses his crops, he now understands how to deal with some of these issues in conjunction with advice from his agronomist.

The BASIS course pushed him out of his comfort zone, learning how to get the best out of the crops that he grows.

Eurig says he would definitely recommend that others take the opportunity to sign up for the course too – the application window for the autumn is now open.

His farm, Pantyderi, was a former Farming Connect Our Farms Network Farm, an experience which he says improved the way he farmed.

“Being part of the network was extremely valuable because I was trailing innovative new ideas and technology whilst learning on the job. As a practical learner, this suited me really well.”

Eurig has been introducing regenerative practices, including growing herbal leys incorporating red clover, plantain, chicory, timothy and other plants to finish lambs, and cover crops of rape, stubble turnips and kale after barley, projects supported with funding from the Welsh Government’s Growing for the Environment scheme.

Herbal leys were a good option for rejuvenating the loam clay soils while providing a high protein feed source, and lambs have thrived on it – daily liveweight gain (DLWG) in some cases increased from 150g to 200-300g.

“It was partly why I did the BASIS course because I am still learning with herbal leys,” says Eurig. “As farmers, when we do something new the gap in knowledge can be filled with learned information.”

He is also a member of two Farming Connect discussion groups, one focussing on arable and the other on sheep.

The groups meet four or five times a year, meetings he goes to with an open mind.

“I always come back with new ideas, some I might try,” he says. “It is important to go to groups to keep yourself fresh, if we keep doing the same thing, we can get a bit stale and fall behind.”

Eurig says the services he has accessed through Farming Connect have helped him to push forward with his business.

“For me Farming Connect has been brilliant, I have learnt a lot. It allows me to be more progressive – it opens your mind to things you hadn’t thought about, and fine tunes what you do.”