Farmers Weekly Awards 2024: Livestock Adviser of the Year

Jonathan Crimes is the Farmers Weekly 2024 Awards Livestock Adviser of the Year.

His all-round ability to help clients with farm finances, family involvement, efficient production and environmental needs sees Jonathan Crimes scoop the award.

The Welsh farming consultant says financial planning is becoming a more important part of his work, while he offers clients a friendly ear and shoulder as finances become tighter and mental health weaker.

See also: Farmers Weekly Awards 2024: Livestock Adviser of the Year finalists

One of his successes, as senior consultant with advisory group Cara Wales, has been to have guided one family farm through giving up dairying and turning to beef cattle, and so chart out a brighter future for the farm and family.

Jonathan set out a two- to three-year plan for Gwyndaf Davies, farming in south-west Wales, to move to beef fattening, and so enthuse one of his sons to stay in day-to-day farming.

“We helped with the transition from dairying to beef over three years, emphasising that cashflow would be more acute, and producing lots of data to make sure we were getting good liveweight gains,” says Jonathan.

Technical knowledge

The biggest challenge in the transition from 2017 to 2020 was getting beef numbers up, so they turned to meat processor ABP’s Blade GameChanger scheme to provide weaned calves.

This source of Holstein-Angus calves makes up 50% of the 300-strong herd, with a guaranteed finish price at a small premium for Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference range.

The rest of the calves come through a dealer.

Cattle are fattened on grass, and in the winter, on a home-grown ration of grass, maize. lucerne silage and rolled barley to limit any expensive bought-in inputs.

Great focus was put on measuring liveweight gain and achieving 1kg/day.

When the weight gain fell, he quickly realised wholecrop barley was giving too much fibre and not enough starch, and adjusted the ration accordingly.

Environmental credentials

The exit from dairying has seen a better crop rotation with more maize grown – a majority on contract for a neighbouring dairy farmer – while maintaining an area of woodland.

The big challenges going forward will be continuing to comply with nitrate vulnerable zone legislation – which the whole of Wales is under – as this limits livestock numbers and sets storage capacity for slurry.

As Wales edges towards its Sustainable Farming Scheme to replace direct subsidies, the farm aims to use more rotational grass and herbal leys for more sustainable production.

Client relationship

Jonathan has worked with Gwyndaf for 24 years, even before he helped set up Cara Wales. He has built a strong relationship, aided by Jonathan himself farming near Lampeter with 240 beef cattle and 150 sheep.

His advice helped Gwyndaf’s son Dion become interested in the farm’s future, when previously he was not keen to continue dairying. Dion’s twin brother and his sister have also shown interest in the farm.

“Jonathan has been a rock and was very supportive in overcoming the stigma of leaving dairying, helping with bank manager conversations and key in my three children having involvement in the farm,” says Gwyndaf.