A Whitland farming family has made significant strides in reducing the environmental impact of their dairy farm business.
Roger and Catherine Howells of Blaengelli Farm, credit low carbon footprint of 1.06kg CO2 equivalent (CO2e) per kg of FPCM (fat and protein corrected milk) to years of steady investment in infrastructure and a dedication to maintaining high levels of animal welfare.
Recently, the Howells participated in further baselining activity through Soil Association Exchange, funded by Lloyds Banking Group. The assessment provided a holistic view of the farm’s environmental performance, examining six key areas: soil, biodiversity, animal welfare, water, carbon and social impact.
Roger said: “As part of our contract with our milk processor, we’ve taken part in sustainability audits for the past five years, so we’re pretty well versed in this area.
“However, we saw this as an opportunity to build a full picture of the farm and thought it might support us in looking more closely at our soil health. We knew the assessment looked at soil pH, phosphate and potash alongside copper and magnesium levels, which we hadn’t done before.”
The Howells scored highly on animal welfare due to their keen focus on herd management and disease prevention. Photo: Jonathan Cross-Jones, Limehouse Films (Jonathan Cross-Jones, Limehouse Films)
Sadly, a recent TB outbreak has forced the family to keep double the number of youngstock to replace lost animals. CO2e emissions rose to 1.27kg of CO2e/kg of FPCM.
Despite this, they are determined to continue making gains in other areas.
“We’ve already started applying farmyard manure to low phosphate and potash fields to correct indices and plan to apply lime to fields that weren’t at the optimum pH at the time of testing,” added Roger.
Blaengelli Farm’s achievements are part of a wider effort by Lloyds Banking Group to support farmers in transitioning to more sustainable practices by funding over 80 per cent of the farms participating in the Soil Association Exchange assessment.