A new farm in Wales has joined the Agri-EPI Centre Satellite Farms network which is tasked with encouraging the uptake of new hi-tech ways of farming.

Newton Farm, in Brecon, is owned by Richard and Helen Roderick, and their son, Tudor. It runs to 850 acres, including 200 acres they’ve recently rented and plan to farm regeneratively.

The family have a diverse business, including an outwintered herd of Stabiliser cattle, a flock of 800 ewes, and an arable enterprise. The Rodericks are passionate about a number of farming topics, including carbon sequestration, grassland management and animal health.

Newton Farm has been a Farming Connect demonstration farm for several years, giving Agri-EPI a unique opportunity to work with the Welsh government and farmers across Wales to encourage innovation and share best practices further afield.

Richard and Helen’s vision is for Newton Farm to be a profitable mixed farm, which maximises the use of its own resources, while increasing biodiversity and conserving the wildlife and historical features of the farm. To achieve this, their strategy is to focus on sustainability, genetics, and maximizing the use of forage and root crops.

This venture is the first Welsh farm to join the Agri-EPI Centre network to trial technology to improve farm efficiency.