British Grassland Society Grassland Farmer of the Year 2024

Dylan and Wyn Jones, from Castellior, Menai Bridge, Anglesey, were announced winners of the British Grassland Society Grassland Farmer of the Year competition for 2024.

 The announcement was made at an Awards Dinner jointly hosted by BGS and the East of Scotland Grassland Society at The Park Hotel, Peebles on Wednesday 23 October which was attended by 50 guests. The competition and the Awards Evening are kindly sponsored by Germinal, Nufarm and Yara.

 Dylan and his father Wyn, who are members of Anglesey Grassland Society, farm just over 330 hectares and finish 1500 beef steers per year. Cattle are bought in at 16-24 months of age weighing 420-480 kg. They are mostly Holstein, with some dairy crosses, and 95% of them are from the North Wales area.

 Around 100-150 of the cattle are weighed weekly and are sold when daily live weight gain (DLWG) falls towards 1.0 kg. The finishing period is 92 – 140 days with an average DLWG of 1.7 kg/day. They are sold at 630 – 680 kg with carcass weights of 310 – 380 kg.

 The grazing platform is around 120 ha. Cattle graze from 25 March until the end of October at a stocking rate of 1.4-1.7 animals/acre. The farm is self-sufficient with barley and peas grown on the farm. These are crimped and fed to the beef cattle along with silages made from high protein grasses, red clover, and Westerwolds ryegrass on a multi-cut system.

 A typical rotation on the farm is winter barley, spring barley, then two to three year leys. Fertiliser use has been reduced through using legumes, and foliar nitrogen is used on grassland.

 Between 500-600 ewe lambs are bought in September-October. They are used as a grazing tool to clear surplus growth and encourage tillering. They are sold the following July-August for breeding.

 Carbon foot printing carried out on the beef production system has shown to be very low. Dylan is active in promoting farming on social media, and also featured in a 2022 TV series on S4C that followed his work to move towards net zero on the farm.

 Head judge Hugh McClymont said that the beef unit was very well managed with a tight handle on the costs of production and that Dylan knew the cost per kg weight gain down to the penny.

 The competition is always hotly contested, and this year was no exception. The judging panel commented that all the farms were at the top their game and were worthy of being in the final three.

 The runners-up were Philip and David Clarke from Fermanagh Grassland Club and Peter Done from Cheshire Grassland Society.

Father and son Philip and David Clarke farm 46 hectares at Augher in County Tyrone.  The 80 spring calving cows are predominantly Irish and NZ Friesian crossed with Jersey. The average yield is 5,747 litres/cow with 4,193 litres (73%) from forage. The fat and protein content of the milk 4.70% and 3.60% respectively.  The cows are turned out during the day in early February and are out full time in early-mid March. A paddock grazing system is used with grass measured every fiev to seven days.

 Cows are housed by mid-late September. They are fed silage using an easy feed system, with flat rate concentrates in the parlour. The utilisation of forage and the financial figures impressed Hugh McClymont, and he also commented on how the Clarke's have achieved a good work-life balance.

 Peter Done runs a herd of 180 Friesian-type cows, calving all year round, on the 106 hectares at Larkton House, Malpas. The average yield is 6,250 litres, with 3,900 l from forage (62%), and fat and protein contents of 4.44% and 3.34% respectively. Cows are turned out during the day on 25 January, and full time two months later. A paddock grazing system is used, utilising 2.25 km of concrete sleeper cow tracks. Cows are housed in October and fed silage using an easy feed system, with concentrates fed in parlour. Three cuts of silage are taken per year, with a 'bonus' fourth cut where possible. Hugh McClymont mentioned that the staff use pushbikes to travel round the farm to check the cows, and he was particularly impressed by the enthusiasm of the team who work on the farm.