North Wales farms pioneer green initiatives to tackle climate crisis

On a visit to the Rhug Estate near Corwen, the Minister met proprietor Lord Newborough and his team and heard about their pioneering low carbon project to measure and monitor the business’ carbon footprint and take action to mitigate it, with the aim of reaching net zero across all business operations within Rhug.

The estate operates a diverse business model which embraces sustainable organic farming as well as renewable energy, retail, wholesale and most recently, skincare.

By the nature of the way the land has been managed over the last twenty years since the farm went organic, a very significant amount of Carbon has been sequestrated into the ground making it a carbon positive estate. The carbon positive result has been greatly assisted by its green energy projects in solar, wind, hydro and geothermal, and the EV chargers on its estate.

The data they are collecting is being used to modify carbon management.

The team spoke about their drive towards further improvements in carbon savings and green energy projects and the challenges and opportunities ahead of them.

In Ysbyty Ifan, the Minister heard about the work of the group of 11 innovative farmers on the Ysbyty Ifan estate and what they have done to improve the area’s ecosystem resilience, especially that of the Migneint SAC.

They explained to the Minister how collaborative working has been vital in helping meet their goals to improve land and water management and deliver multiple ecosystem services for now and future generations.

Rural Affairs Minister, Lesley Griffiths said: “It has been great to visit and hear about the important work taking place at the Rhug Estate and in Ysbyty Ifan to decarbonise their farms and support our environment.

“As a Government, we will continue to work with and support farmers and land managers to meet the challenges of the climate and nature emergencies.

“It is important everyone works together across geographic and sectoral boundaries. Collaboration is essential if we are going to be successful.”