RECYCLING BROTHERS PROVE WHERE THERE'S MUCK THERE'S BRASS
The old saying where there’s muck there’s brass has been proved by two Mid Wales farming brothers who have come up with a money saving way of recycling woodchips used for livestock bedding.
Aled and Gwyn Morris, who farm in partnership near Llanfair Caereinion, screen the dried bedding once a year to separate the larger woodchips from a nutrient rich compost. The recycled woodchips are then reused for cattle’s winter bedding.
The compost is currently used in the brothers’ tree nursery but can also be spread on the land as an effective fertiliser. The brothers are now also investigating the commercial potential of selling the compost material as a soil improver.
Aled and Gwyn belong to the Pontbren Farming Group, which comprises 10 neighbouring farmers who work together and innovate to reduce costs to ensure that their upland farms remain sustainable.
The group’s work with woodland and wood products has been supported by Coed Cymru based nearby at Tregynon, near Newtown. Coed Cymru has instigated more than 6,000 woodland projects, half of which are on farms, since it was established in 1985 as a public sector partnership to promote the management of broadleaf woodlands and the use of locally grown hardwood timber in Wales.
Aled and Gwyn recently hosted a demonstration event for CALU (Centre for Alternative Land Use supported by Farming Connect) Visitors were able to see the trommel mill in action and talk to members of the Pontbren Group about their experience of using woodchip.
Using dry woodchip rather than imported straw is cheaper and has reduced livestock foot rot when used indoors and the group’s joint tree nursery has cut the cost of buying trees for restoring hedgerows and establishing shelter belts.
As a result of the group’s work, farm costs have been cut by sharing facilities and resources and reusing waste products. Restoring hedgerows and shelterbelts has also increased biodiversity and productivity.
Aled, a beef and sheep farmer, said the livestock bedding is stored indoors from the spring to the autumn. We move it a couple of times to introduce air and it heats up and dries out naturally ready for screening, he explained.
We hire a screen for a couple of days and the woodchips are recycled ready to be reused for winter cattle bedding. Due to the rising cost of fertiliser, we may start using the compost on the land. We currently use the compost to grow trees but the next step would be to market it as a soil improver.
It’s a good way of make use of waste products and there is no reason why other farmers couldn’t do the same as us. Being able to turn to Coed Cymru for help and advice is very useful, as they are involved in other schemes with our group.
Mr Jenkins said Coed Cymru had worked with Pontbren Farming Group since its inception and various methods of screening the woodchip bedding had been tried unsuccessfully before the Trommel screen was found.
The farmers have developed a way of using local wood as a cost effective alternative to straw and at the same time enabled Aled to grow high quality trees with the nutrient rich fine material without having to rely on artificial fertiliser, he added.
They have shown that you can actually complete the whole recycling process without the need for special investment.
Ends
For more information please contact David Jenkins at Coed Cymru, 01686 650777 or Duncan Foulkes, public relations consultant, on 01686 650818
Coed Cymru, The Old Sawmill,
Tregynon, Newtown,
Powys SY16 3PL
Tel 01686 650 777
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