How gauchos, Incas and advisers evolved Welsh farm system

A Welsh grazier has taken life lessons from indigenous peoples and farming lessons from leading farmers and consultants to ring the changes at home.

Wil Evans’s experiences inspired him to change the genetics, machinery inventory, grazing system and business approach at Hendreseifion, near Machynlleth.

See also: Organic grassland farm seeks £73/ha profit lift with less output

His travels started when he left full-time education to work on a Warwickshire farm three hours away in what was a rite of passage for the family.

Father Huw and brothers Robert and Dafydd had also worked off-farm after school.

Since then, Wil has worked in the southern hemisphere and enjoyed exchanges through the National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs.

But he says there have been three stand-out opportunities that have had a major influence on the farm.

Farmers Weekly asked what they were and how Wil changed the farming business, which he runs in partnership with parents Huw and Gill, and wife Nia.

Wil Evans © MAG/Michael Priestley

1 Scholarship

Wil travelled to visit ranchers and gauchos in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Chile on a Hybu Cig Cymru (HCC) scholarship to study South American beef production in 2010.

What he saw

Wil witnessed how finishing easy-to-manage cattle on forage made a profit. Many Brazilian herds boasted 3,000 cows or more, and some were into the tens of thousands, meaning systems to handle cattle effectively were essential.

“One Brazilian farmer produced 280kg of beef/ha by rotationally grazing white clover, ryegrass and lotus cornicalatus [bird’s-foot trefoil],” explains Wil.

“Feed costs on the platform were were £2 a head a year for minerals and nothing was spent on fertiliser. On irrigated land they produced 1,100kg of meat/ha.

“I was impressed at the Simmons Valley Research Centre in Chile where cattle were finished through winter on stubble turnips and straw for roughage.”

Take-home messages

• Have good, safe handling systems
• Maintain low-cost bases with forage-based production
• Prioritise fertility and weaning efficiency
• Inform decisions with weight data

Changes

• Handling system reconfiguration Rearranging the crush on his return home-made working cattle a one-person job rather than needing two or three people. Being an HCC demonstration farm at the time gave Wil access to independent animal behaviour and safety expert Miriam Parker of Livestockwise, who helped redesign the system.
• Breed switch The suckler herd at the time consisted of 100 cows, of which 30 were pedigree British Blues and 70 were crossbred continental cows. Wil bulled the crossbreds with an Angus to moderate cow size, increase ease of fleshing and tighten up the calving period. In 2017, the Blues were dispersed and a herd of 100 Stabilisers was then graded up.
• Reduced concentrate use The farm’s switch to an easy-fleshing breed means the cattle have been free from hard feed for seven years. The lambs were concentrate-free for 15 years, but this year’s wet summer led to 4t of lamb finisher pellets being bought.

2 Documentary making

Over a period of 10 years, Wil made five rural/farming travel shows with friend Aeron Pughe for S4C after pitching an idea for a ranching documentary.

The pair lived with Sami people (Norway), Quechua-speaking people (Peru), Romani people and farmers, tenants in the Scottish Highlands, and Texan ranchers.

What he saw

Living with Incas at 4,500m was an eye-opening experience, says Wil.

“An alpaca was killed, and the family was excited. But all the best cuts were sold to wealthier people in town. They were excited about eating a soup of offal and intestines they had washed in the stream.”

He was also impressed by the Sami people, who milked sap from pine trees to make glue or waterproofing materials.

“In challenging environments, I saw how important co-operation was,” says Wil. “It made me think that I was less resourceful than they were. British country people have lost so much knowledge.”

Take-home messages

• People who work with livestock and the land have a lot in common
• Family is vital. Everybody can be a cog in a machine
• Happiness is not having the most, it is needing the least

Changes

• Mindset Wil’s focus shifted from turnover and annual performance to a longer-term view of stewarding the land.
• Sharing responsibility Nia became the day-to-day farm accountant alongside working off-farm three days a week.
• Diversification A luxury glamping pod was installed for the 2021 summer season. This brought in additional income and created simple routine work for family members.

© MAG/Michael Priestley

3 Farm open day

In 2020, Wil attended a farm open day hosted by new entrant Rhidian Glyn, Rhiwgriafol, and farm business and grassland consultant James Daniel of Precision Grazing.

What he saw

Wil says he discovered how rotational grazing could be the basis for resilient farming, improving soils, cost structures and margins.

“I learned how measuring grass and reducing costs made you more resilient, and scenario planning and forage budgeting informed cashflow decisions.

“The day pulled together lots of techniques into something [tangible] to instigate at home.”

Take-home messages

• Get other people to look at your business
• It is better to do the right things wrong, than the wrong things right
• Measure grass with a plate meter and start rotational grazing
• Improve and tweak your system constantly

Changes

• Consultancy Wil got Rhys Williams of Precision Grazing to consult on his farm business. Now, costings are done monthly instead of annually to aid business analysis.
• Focus on growing stock Rather than running 100 suckler weighing 750kg cows year-round to produce 90 calves weighing 300kg, he switched to contract-rearing 320 New Zealand-cross dairy heifers for block calvers (based on cost a head a day) and contract-growing 120 dairy beef cattle. Youngstock have a four-month indoor winter, two less than the suckler cows did. Cattle move to finishing farms and dairies before wintertime, maximising summer stocking rate, when costs are lowest.
• Simplified sheep system Wil cut sheep numbers from 1,500 to 1,250 and created an “A” flock, which uses performance-recorded rams (Prohill). An Easycare was used on 450 ewes to reduce tail docking and shearing work. Lambs averaged 12.9kg carcasses this year, 1.4kg heavier than six years ago (worth £8.40 a lamb at £6/kg). The “B” flock (280 ewes) is sired by an easy-lambing Texel or Charollais tup. The farm used to lamb 450-550 crossbred ewes indoors, but now everything lambs outdoors.
• Invested in rotational grazing Spending £40,000 on a mains wire installation and a header tank helped create one- to three-day moves on the in-bye areas of the home farm. In-bye grassland production has increased from 4t to 7t dry matter/ha in four years with no fertiliser.
• Reduced machinery Silaging equipment was swapped for a contractor’s bill, which this year was £7,684 for 45ha (111 acres) of silaging. In comparison, the cost of a machine’s new tyres or servicing could cost £6,000.