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Tuesday, 22-May-2012 10:29:54 BST
Back to the Future for Welsh farmers at Winter Fair
Farmers and consumers visiting IGER's stand at this year's Royal Welsh Winter Fair will be invited to air their views on the future direction for land use in Wales. A wide ranging survey instigated by the Institute will prompt responses on such issues as energy and food production, forestry and woodland, habitat creation and leisure pursuits.
A prize draw will result in a hamper of Welsh food products for one lucky respondent.
Of specific interest to farmers will be a wide range of exhibits reflecting this year's theme of "Land Use for the Future". Breeding forages for the future will receive prominence reflecting the shift in IGER's breeding programmes in response to increasing concerns over the environmental impact of livestock agriculture in the UK.
"Breeding programmes in grasses and clover have the potential to contribute to reduced greenhouse gas emissions and this is a major focus of current efforts at IGER", according to Michael Abberton, leader of IGER's plant breeding programme.
With margins on livestock systems getting tighter and tighter there is a real incentive for farmers to look at other possible land-use options. Growing biomass crops is an excellent opportunity for them to tap into a rapidly growing energy market and provide a separate income stream to the farm. The Willow for Wales project, which began in 2004, has demonstrated that short rotation coppice willow can be successfully grown across the country. As the project moves into its final year the crops will be harvested and our growers will be able to take advantage of a very strong woodchip market. The value of high quality woodchip has risen by around 30% over the last 18 months and is likely to continue to rise as more and more wood fuelled power stations and boilers come on line.
To learn more about growing willow and the Willow for Wales project come and visit our stand at the Winter Fair and look out for our Willow Demo Farm Open days this winter.
Winter management options for Welsh livestock farmers could help farmers cut costs will be the message of the Grassland Development Centre at the Fair.
"Farmers are looking at reducing the cost of finishing and wintering animals, including extending the grazing season, grazing a range of forage crops, using woodchip stand off pads, and off-farm wintering", according to Heather McCalman, Grassland Development Centre Manager at IGER, Aberystwyth and whose team has been working with many of the crop options on the network of Farming Connect Demonstration farms.
Livestock producers are invited on to the stand to discuss possible options for their farms and to receive copies of relevant factsheets. Farmers can take part in a quiz to test their knowledge on the feed values of forage crops; which provides the highest energy, the most protein and most important, which is the cheapest to grow. An added incentive will be the prize of 5kg of clover seed from British Seed Houses.
IGER's recently appointed Agricultural Outreach Manager Dave Davies will also attend the Winter Fair along with colleagues to engage and discuss issues and options with farmers and consumers.
"Increasing pressures on land for both food and fuel production, together with the increased global demand for meat and milk products, mean that now is a good time for UK agriculture to benefit from existing and new scientific developments where IGER in Wales plays such an important role", he said.
Elsewhere on the stand, farmers with an eye on costs might wish to look at the possibilities opened up by using remote sensing. As a result of rapid improvements in technology the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for agriculture, forestry and environmental mapping could be the way forward. Again IGER is the lead partner in the UMAP partnership in the development and use of hyperspectral sensors to manage crops and monitor the environment (1).
"Remote sensing will allow farmers and growers to monitor biodiversity of grass swards leading to improved grazing management or more accurately determine crop requirements, so that they can apply fertiliser, fungicide or herbicide exactly where it is needed, saving money and reducing pollution", says Tim Stewart
IGER's research on the agricultural applications of remote sensing (2) will be on display along with the other exhibitions on IGER's stand at The Royal Welsh Showground on the balcony area in Hall 1 on Monday 26th and Tuesday 27th November.
Contact: Emma Shipman, IGER Business Office. Tel: 01970 823002
Notes:
1. UMAP is a partnership between IGER, QinetiQ, The Boeing Company and University of Wales Aberystwyth. UMAP is funded by the Welsh Assembly Government and industrial partners Qinetiq and The Boeing Company.
2. IGER's research on remote sensing in barley is part of PIMHAI (Platform for Analysis of Multispectral and Hyperspectral Images from Acquisition to Interpretation for Environmental Monitoring and Decision Making), a project with research contributions from France, Portugal, Spain and UK. PIMHAI is project No 190 supported by the European Regional Development fund under the Interreg IIIB Atlantic Area Programme, priority B which aims to develop transport and the information society.
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