Welcome to IBERS Aberystwyth University Farms

The Aberystwyth University farms extend to a total of some 1000ha across a number of sites in and around Aberystwyth, and are managed on the University’s behalf by IBERS. 

Trawsgoed Farm, 15 miles east of Aberystwyth, is the location of both the 500 cow commercial dairy herd plus followers, together with the specialist ruminant metabolism research unit. The Plas Gogerddan / Penglais / Frongoch farm complex close to the main University Campus is the main location for beef rearing and sheep production, the latter including both commercial lowland sheep and performance-recorded pedigree flocks (Texel, Suffolk, Bluefaced Leicester and Beulah Speckled Face breeds) that sell high genetic merit rams to commercial producers.  The remaining land at Frondeg and Morfa Mawr Farms, 5 and 14 miles south of Aberystwyth respectively, are used in a supporting role for supplying feeds for the main farm units and providing land for plant breeding purposes.  In addition to commercial production there are also specialist research facilities (e.g. beef research unit, dairy production research unit, biofermentation research unit, sheep metabolism research unit, glasshouses, etc.) for both livestock and crop research managed and operated by IBERS technical staff.

The overall strategy for the University Farms embraces:

• the need to be financially sustainable;
• the demonstration of best practice in pastoral agriculture to underpin both teaching and knowledge transfer to the wider farming community;
• provide land and livestock on a fully charged out basis to underpin research in pastoral agriculture, plant breeding, bio-energy and environmental research for both IBERS and other Departments of the University as required;
• to supply high quality beef and lamb into the catering arm of the University’s Residential and Hospitality Services.

These sometimes competing demands provide interesting challenges for management of the Farms, but they also provide an opportunity for direct linkages for implementing the outcomes of research within IBERS into commercial production, thereby enhancing our ‘science into practice’ outreach mission.

Facilities

A major new development on the Farms is the installation of a new 50-point rotary parlour and additional cubicle housing at the Trawsgoed Farm, due to be commissioned shortly.  This incorporates automatic teat dipping and cluster sterilisation, and electronic identification of cows linked to a computer database, facilitating automatic milk yield recording at every milking, pedometers to assist in heat detection, and automated gait analysis to aid in lameness identification and treatment before it becomes a significant welfare problem.  It will also be significantly more labour efficient than the existing parlour.  Collectively, these factors will all aid considerably in herd management.