Agricultural campus welcomes ministerial visit
Coleg Sir Gâr’s agricultural team welcomed Deputy First Minister Huw Irranca-Davies, Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs in Wales, to their Gelli Aur campus.
The visit included seeing the Tywydd Tywi Weather Project’s weather station on campus which evidences decision making in soil nutrient management, through an app that has been made widely available to farmers.
With the aid of sensor technology, the system measures soil temperature, leaf moisture and soil moisture on strategically placed farms within the catchment area of Tywi Valley, and more recently Usk and Cleddau.
The work of the team on Prosiectslyri Project, a ground breaking slurry and water separation system, was recognised with a further need for development and funding which has sparked further discussion.
Gelli Aur’s farm manager, Huw Davies, explained the workings of the farm, with dairy at its core enterprise with a 500 herd of cows with half Spring and half Autumn calving.
Utilising the on-campus weather system is useful in the college’s preference to allow cattle to graze as much as possible which helps to provide quality milk for cheese production.
Sheep are also on campus where they are used for studying practical work and a new small trial is underway in collaboration with an industry contact to explore beef herds from dairy-born males.
Liz Bowes, head of agriculture at Coleg Sir Gâr explained the college’s commitment in providing pre and post university agricultural and land-based training opportunities with some students travelling from as far as Dale and St David’s.
Gelli Aur campus is also home to the Agricultural Resource Centre which has housed many Welsh Government funded industry-specific projects, such as The Gwaredu BVD programme, which is aimed at eradicating Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) in Wales.
Currently, the team is working on the Gwaredu Scab project, which is an initiative to eradicate sheep scab, which is the first nationwide test and treat project of its kind and free of charge to sheep farmers across Wales and led by Coleg Sir Gâr.
John Griffiths, head of agricultural research and development at Coleg Sir Gâr, organised the visit. He said: “We were thrilled to welcome Huw Irranca-Davies to Gelli Aur campus.
“It’s always a positive experience to meet with a minister so that our work and efforts within the industry and within providing education in agriculture can be more widely shared.”
Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/colegsirgar/albums/72177720320029705/
