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A knock-on effect of positive change is being tested on farms and other agricultural businesses across Wales thanks to the Farming Connect Mentoring programme.
Farmers like Dai Evershed, who benefited from the guidance and expertise of a friend and colleague when he returned to his family's farming business in Ceredigion in 2022, are "paying the support forward" as a mentor.
For his mentors, including Powys-based sheep farmer Aled Haynes, the mentoring relationship has given them the knowledge and confidence they need to move forward with new aspects of their own businesses.
It was Dai's experience of using smart sensor technology at Wallog, the 194 hectare holding near Clarach that he farms with his father, Jack, that brought the two men together.
Dai uses LoRaWAN technology to monitor water supply and use across the farm, and to detect and prevent leaks as quickly as possible, thereby, protecting the limited spring water supply for its farm.
With support from Farming Connect as an 'Our Farms' project, water levels in different reservoirs are monitored alongside water flow rates, and that information is used to inform decisions about when pumping is needed.
Aled was keen to use this technology to help protect his own water supply at Lower Trefnant farm, Welshpool, and applied to Farming Connect to be mentored by Dai.
He had attended one of Wallog's Farming Connect open days in 2024, where he had learned about the Dai project.
The two men had an initial meeting at Trefnant Isaf farm and have since followed that up with a second site visit, as well as video and phone calls.
"Aled's farm is similar to mine,'' Dai said. " When I visited, we had a walk around and discussed what needed to be done.''
But Dai stressed that a mentor is not a consultant; The role is one intended to helpย menteesย find solutions of their own, albeit by "developing collective ideas".
"It's about encouraging those being mentored to focus on what their goals are and what can be achieved,'' explains Dai.
"Aled considered my personal experience though and looked at what was feasible in his situation.''
Since then, Aled has invested in two sensors, one that monitors water levels in the intake tank and the other that monitors the flow rate of water.
This data will enable it to know how much surplus water is available in winter and therefore the additional capacity in the system to supply it during the drier months.
The next step is to determine how much is consumed by their livestock and how to get that water to different parts of the farm.
Dai also works at the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) at Aberystwyth University, and developed his own knowledge of LoRaWAN technology with the help of his colleague, Jason Brook.
"Jason was very knowledgeable in the use ofย LoRaWANย after implementing it in the controlled environmental growing facilities at the university,'' he said.
"He helped me in the early stages and with any issues more recently."
It was that experience, in part, that encouraged Dai to engage with the Farming Connect Mentoring programme.
"I got help when I needed it, and I'm grateful to be that person who can now cash it forward with what I've learned.''
He was certain that the information he had gained could be useful to other farmers.
"It's a specialist area that could be valuable for farmers who want to do something similar and need help.
"Most farmers are unlikely to have been exposed toย LoRaWANย and sensors, and it's perhaps twice as challenging, in terms of the fact that it can also be a complex subject.''
As a result of his innovative approach to water efficiency, Dai was runner-up in the Farming Connect Farming Innovator Award at the recent Lantra Cymru Awards 2024.
It's not only theย menteesย who benefit from mentoring, according to Dai, who is now a mentor to three farmers.
"I've learnt so much from the farmers I've mentored, it's a two-way partnership, a way to exchange ideas.
"It's a great way for me to see different farming systems and, as someone who is relatively new to farming, that's been really beneficial.''
What makes a good mentor? In Dai's view, to have an unlimited ability to listen and to be open to the ideas of others, to help those being mentored develop their own ideas.
"We're there to help the people we mentor grow and find the motivation to move forward with their ideas,'' she said.
There are also occasions when a mentor can draw on their own experiences to help those they work with solve problems.
"Aled called me when a sensor wasn't working, and it sounded like a situation similar to one I'd experienced before, when a wolf found its way inside the detector,'' Dai explains.
"I suggested he check for wolves and, that was the problem, and he was able to solve it. Sometimes problems have simpler solutions than you can dare imagine!'''
For Aled, the opportunity to discuss some of his ideas with Dai has greatly benefited him personally and his business.
"Every situation is different, so having someone come to the farm, to have a look at the arrangement and share and discuss ideas with him, is very rewarding,'' he said.
There is a large range of potential mentors with different areas of expertise listed in the Farming Associate Mentoring directory, so Aled encourages others to take advantage of the opportunity and benefit from that wealth of knowledge.
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