As we develop our Group sustainability proposition, a key part of this focuses on our primary mission centred around delivering a sustainable farming future. We aim to develop closer relationships with our farming customer base taking a Holistic Whole Farm view with any knowledge transfer or product recommendations to ensure we build profitable, efficient, resilient farm businesses that tackle climate change and reverse biodiversity loss.
Crops and Forage
Over the last 12 months, Wynnstay have invested in upskilling staff knowledge with more qualified personnel as FACTS qualified advisors (FQA’s). FQA’s promote farming methods that optimise crop nutrition alongside protecting soil, water, and air quality.
We have been progressing with our seed offering, aligning mixtures to current and future demands to integrate diversity into arable and livestock cropping rotations. We have seen increases of over 50% in sales of cover crops this year due to the greater focus on the positive impacts cover crops can have as well as reducing inputs. The affinity between good farming practice, the surrounding environment and soil health whilst focusing on productivity remains at the forefront of many conversations.
Health
As we work towards our mission to deliver a sustainable farming future, ensuring livestock are healthy and productive is essential in building profitable and environmentally sound farm businesses. Wynnstay have continued to invest in skill sets to facilitate this. During 2022, 14 Wynnstay specialists qualified through a 2-day training course to become qualified Cow Signals advisors. This focuses on removing bottlenecks in health and performance of livestock to increase the productive life of cows.
Nutrition
In 2021 we introduced a climate range of livestock feed focused on raw materials with a range of soya-free and palm-free rations. In 2022 this range has been expanded to include a methane reducing additive. This reduces methane emissions and increases livestock efficiency. We are seeing good growth in this product category with a 30% increase in sales over the last 12 months. We envision this climate ranges will continue develop as a result of further supply chain requirements from processors, retailers, and consumers and the need for farms to reduce their environmental impact.