21/10/08

Meeting the challenges of upland organic farming

An event for upland organic beef and sheep farmers will be held at ADAS Pwllpeiran, Cwmystwyth, on Tuesday 4 November. It is being organized as part of the Organic Development Programme, which is run by Organic Centre Wales on behalf of Farming Connect.

The event will be a chance to find out about the key issues in converting an upland farm, and will include a tour of organic inbye and hill land at Pwllpeiran. It is suitable for farmers who are already farming organically, as well as for those in conversion or thinking about it.

Staff attending the event will include Owen Davies and David Frost of ADAS, and Heather McCalman of the Grassland Development Centre at IBERS.

“The Pwllpeiran organic unit was set up in 1993 to see if organic farming methods could be adopted by hill livestock farms,” said David Frost, organic adviser with ADAS Wales. “The unit has only a limited area of improved grassland and it’s also in a whole-farm ESA agreement so it has been a real long-term trial of the practicalities of organic beef and sheep production in upland Wales. This is an opportunity not to be missed”.

The event starts at 10am and finishes at 3.30pm, and light refreshments will be provided.

For more information or to reserve a place, contact Mair Morgan at ADAS on 01974 282229 or Philip Jones at Organic Centre Wales on 01970 622248.

Ends

More information

David Frost, Senior Consultant ADAS Environment Group, 01974 272567, mobile 07879 435709, e-mail david.frost@adas.co.uk 

Notes for the editor

1. Organic Centre Wales is funded by the Welsh Assembly Government to provide information on organic food and farming to producers, food businesses, consumers and others. It is based at Aberystwyth University and run by a partnership consisting of the ADAS, the Organic Research Centre Elm Farm, and the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences at Aberystwyth University.

2. The Organic Conversion Information Service (01970 622100) is funded by WAG to provide information to producers considering conversion – an information pack and up to two free on-farm visits are available.

3. The Organic Farming Scheme is open for applications – further information can be obtained from WAG Divisional Offices and OCW. To qualify, farms need to be certified as organic by a recognised body and have completed an OFS application form which needs to be accepted by WAG.

4. Farming Connect, working closely with its partner organisations, provides one to one support, knowledge, expertise, training and advisory services tailored to the needs of farmers in Wales. Many of these services are fully funded or subsidised and the service is both flexible and accessible. You can register with the Farming Connect Service Centre on 08456 000 813 or contact Farming Connect directly at your nearest WAG Divisional Office. OCW is funded by Farming Connect to deliver the Organic Development Programme.

5. The upland organic unit at ADAS Pwllpeiran in mid-Wales was set up in 1993 to examine the feasibility of organic beef and sheep production in the hills. Pwllpeiran is a 1300 hectare ADAS research farm located in the Cambrian Mountains.

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