Beef farmer with ambitions to turn his hand to dairy business
FUW Montgomeryshire young farmer John Wrench, 32, lives at Beeches Farm, Hawarden, with wife Jenny and son Harry, who is 22 months old. The couple are expecting their second baby in August.
John farms in partnership with his parents Stephen and Anne Wrench, and grandparents John and Vera Wrench.
He farms a total of 467 acres, most of which is rented from the Hawarden estate.
John and Jenny moved into the farmhouse in 2013, on one condition – that the sheep would move out.
The farm is beef and arable, and John currently has 200 bullocks (a variety of mixed breeds), 48 acres of winter wheat, 36 acres of barley and grows 120 acres of maize.
The maize is mainly contractgrown for local dairy farmers, but he also grows 30 acres for the home farm.
He has been working to gradually increase beef numbers to 200, with plans in place to move up to 250 in the coming months.
By changing to a TMR (total mixed ration) feeding system recently, which will replace feed trailers, John aims to finish the beef sooner and house cattle for longer to avoid soil damage in wet winters. He buys stores from a local cattle dealer and when finished he sells direct to the abattoir.
Here he talks about his plans for the farm and the challenges and opportunities of Brexit. Jobs on the farm “In the last week we have had a few new cattle which have been vaccinating with 10 in 1 and they also had a pneumonia jab.
“With the weather picking up and the land being a little drier, I have been busy putting fertiliser on the grass and wheat and barley too, and I have pressure-harrowed the grassland. All being well, I can hopefully roll it all next week.” Future plans “I have always wanted to branch out into dairy farming. After studying dairy at Llysfasi College in 2002, I developed a keen interest and that’s why I went to New Zealand in 2010 to work on a dairy farm for six months.
“Following this experience, we planned to start a spring block calving system in 2016 but after finding it impossible to obtain a milk contract for spring milk, we had to shelve the idea. “I was keen on this system for its simplicity and it was the cheapest way to get into dairy farming on a mainly tenanted farm.
“More recently, we have been looking into organic dairy as it is also a grass-based system and we could be virtually self-sufficient with our low food miles. The main thing which appeals to me with organic is that the milk price does not seem to be as volatile as conventional milk price.
“We have applied for the WG Sustainable Production Grant, but on our first attempt we were not successful. I hope another window for expression of interest (EOI) application forms will open again soon so that we can reapply.
“The SPG grant would enable us to build a slurry system, cow shed and milking parlour. Being tenant farmers, I am not sure if such a large and expensive infrastructure would be viable without this grant.
“I am also looking into rearing young stock. We trialled this in 2012 with a small group of calves and had a positive outcome. My wife would like a more active role in the farm business and this would provide her with an enjoyable opportunity.” Brexit “Although the future is uncertain, I’m hopeful that Brexit could be a positive thing for agriculture. That, of course, depends on the UK Government handling it properly by supporting active farmers and promoting British produce worldwide.
“I feel the current subsidy system is flawed and think it could – and probably does – encourage less effective producers to carry on.
“This, I feel, might prevent keen farmers or new entrants from taking the opportunity to farm the areas more efficiently, with lower land values and rents and margins currently being very tight for tenants.
“Having said this, I fully understand the current concerns and pressures facing sheep farmers in Wales.
“I have spoken to people during my time in New Zealand about subsidies and the majority felt that the removal of the subsidy system in the 1980s has benefited agriculture in the long run.
“The view held was that it helped encourage less effective farmers to release their land to make way for keen farmers to expand and develop their businesses sustainably.”