FURTHER EDUCATION TIR GOFAL PAGE
Cannon is situated in central Montgomeryshire at
grid reference SH 958 074. It is located in the uplands of the
county on acid soils with land adjoining Afon Cannon and Afon
Gam. A further two parcels of land have been brought into the
agricultural business on Farm Business tenancy agreements, all
converted to organic status.
There are extensive tracts of upland habitat on the landholding
- blanket bog, upland heath, unenclosed acid grassland and semi-improved grasslands.
Cannon Farm is situated in the Severely Disadvantaged Welsh
Less Favoured Area at an altitude of between 240m and 450m (787' and 1476')
The farm area consists of the following:
| Natural Hill grazing |
216 Ha (535 acres) |
| Improved pasture |
114 Ha (282 acres) |
| Semi-improved hay meadow |
11.6 Ha (29 acres) |
| Rented land |
31 Ha (76 acres) |
| Total IACS registered land |
373 Ha (922 acres) |
| Forestry and shelterbelts |
109 Ha (269 acres) |
As part of the Black Grouse recovery Project (2001) 40 hectares
of forestry was thinned by 85% and brought back into agricultural management
to enhance the conditions to favour Black Grouse.
Organic conversion started in 1991, without organic aid, as
a means of diversifying our marketing without investing heavily in capital
work or labour. Full organic status was achieved in 1993 and the farm is now
certified by the Soil Association.
Livestock
The ewe flock of Hardy Welsh Hill Speckle Face sheep
was reduced by 10% in 2001 with 910 ewes put to the ram. A further
reduction down to 500 ewes took place in 2007 due to changes in
the agricultural support system and the need to reduce labour
input. The Welsh Black beef system is spring born single suckler
cows producing store cattle for sale at 18 months of age. The
fold of Highland Cattle produce calves that we intend to finish
at around 40 months of age for sale in a box scheme.
Tir Gofal
One of the main reasons for converting the farm to organic production
back in 1991 was a knowledge that the EU subsidy system would inevitably change
from a production basis to an environmental basis as the Union expanded to
include Eastern Block countries. Organic farming not only earned a significant
premium for it's products but would also enable the business to capitalise
on a changing subsidy system. The introduction of Tir Mynydd and Tir Gofal
(Cannon Farm Partnership signed up August 2000) has confirmed the belief.
Both schemes offer better entry qualifications for organic farms.
The opportunity to enter Tir Gofal came at a time when a number
of very wet and mild years had had a detrimental effect on the stock carrying
capacity of the farm. An opportunity to rent more land and become more extensive
whilst enhancing financial returns was seen as a good opportunity.
The main impact of the Tir Gofal scheme on the farm has been
with the management of the natural hill grazing, with maximum stocking rates
of 0.05 LSU Ha on blanket bog, with no grazing between the months of September
and May. This was in contrast to a traditional system that had hardy ewes
grazing the moorland over the winter time. The herd of Welsh Black cows that
had all previously been out-wintered had to have a proportion housed to reduce
stocking rates in the winter months. This involved converting some of the
sheep housing.
The overall stocking levels of grazing animals on all land subject
to Tir Gofal agreement can not be increased above the levels carried in 1998
unless it is necessary to achieve agri-environmental objectives. The management
guidelines have required stock reduction, or exclusion from, some habitats
and features on the farm with the result of the overall stocking level dropping
to 0.70 LSU/ha.