A DAIRY farmer in Powys has thanked a Farming Connect representative who helped him to turn a potential environmental catastrophe into a success story.

Ifan Jones, a dairy farmer who farms around 200 acres in Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant, discovered a major structural failure at the base of his above-the-ground slurry tank.

The incident meant the contents were at serious risk of flowing out into the field below.

Natural Resources Wales’ technical team reassured him that he would be given time to implement a temporary solution to avoid the immediate risk of land pollution.

But it was also made clear that he urgently needed to put long-term plans in place to avoid failing cross compliance regulations. Realistic about the seriousness of his situation and the cost implications, Ifan was determined to do everything he could to save his herd of 110 high-yielding pedigree Holstein Friesian dairy cows, the farm’s main source of income.

NRW advised Ifan to seek professional advice from Farming Connect to provide an urgent but temporary solution to the pollution risk and help him consider his long-term options. Ifan applied for fully-funded advice at a one-to-one ‘surgery’ provided by approved Farming Connect specialist infrastructure adviser Keith Owen.

Mr Owen visited the farm shortly after and was quickly able to negotiate an achievable temporary solution with NRW.

This involved pumping the existing slurry store into a shuttered concrete silage clamp which was refurbished and converted into a temporary slurry store – this was accepted by NRW.

“This eliminated the immediate risk of the original store collapsing and gave Ifan a system for managing the slurry until the feasibility of building a new permanent storage facility could be considered and the necessary finance raised,” said Mr. Owen.

As well as help from Mr Owen, Ifan received financial support from the Welsh Government’s Sustainable Production Grant (SPG).

Ifan said: “I knew that whatever I did was going to cost money, so the future of the farm was at risk unless I could source funding.

“At the same time, I started to implement some of the grassland management and water efficiency recommendations in the business plan, which we decided to extend to five years from the original three year plan to give us an extra two years of forecasting.”

“The expert advice I was able to access through Farming Connect was first class and it gave me the confidence to proceed with my application for the SPG and invest in the farm’s future.”

After considering his options, Ifan appointed approved Farming Connect agri-consultancy AgriPlan to help with his permanent solution.

Entitled to access four separate instances of advice, all subsidised by 80 per cent or for some areas fully funded, he was able to access advice from a team of sector-specific AgriPlan experts were able to weigh up all the slurry storage options available.

Ifan was given a full infrastructure report which set out the capacity and specification of the replacement slurry store ensuring future compliance.

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Alternatively, call your local Welsh Government Farm Liaison Service officer or the Farming Connect Service Centre on 08456 000 813. Farming Connect is delivered by Menter a Busnes and Lantra Wales and funded by the Welsh Government and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development.