A Builth Wells-based agricultural contractor and engineer is on a mission to help farmers remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through new technology.
Thanks to support from Business Wales, Phil Hughes has expanded his company, J&H Spreading and Agri Engineering Ltd, to help farms to incorporate a new carbon capture practice using basalt dust into their land management.
Basalt dust offers the opportunity to capture carbon from the air by safely locking it into the soil. In addition to its environmental benefits and ability to aid farmers efforts to become net zero, the process adds extra nutritional value to increase crop quality and yields.
Although the approach to basalt spreading is in its infancy, the data on its efficacy and impacts will be an important element of what the business can offer farmers looking to adopt this approach.
Phil has been spreading agricultural products for the past 20 years and started his agri-engineering firm in 2018. The firm specialises in the design and building of bespoke lime spreaders and has been at the forefront of basalt dust spreading for the last six years.
Phil Hughes said:
“I discovered the benefits of basalt spreading after testing the method at my own farm and witnessing unprecedented growth of grass after just four months. I quickly realised that I’d stumbled across something that was relatively unknown in UK farming, and that I’d need to build the company around supplying this service.”
At this point, he reached out to Business Wales for guidance in developing a business plan to attract private funding to acquire the equipment and technology needed.
Working with Business Wales Relationship Manager, Phil Summers, he discovered that the number of potential customers who could benefit from a basalt dust spreading services was higher than initially thought. He now believes that the product could in fact be used to help many farms and businesses on their way to achieving their net zero goal.
Phil’s hopes for the practice were supported by Decarbonisation Advisor, Sarah Gore. Sarah was able to link Phil with the Soil Association to confirm that the product can be classified as organic.
Business Wales Relationship Manager, Phil Summers, said:
“Phil’s work to promote the use of basalt dusting is a brilliant example of how smaller businesses can be pioneers in their sectors. However, turning a new discovery into a viable company is a demanding process. It’s incredibly rewarding to see how accessing specialist support via the Business Wales service has helped to both establish a Welsh SME and enabled it to bring a potentially revolutionary service to market.”
Phil Hughes said:
“I’m extremely grateful for the support and guidance we’ve received from Business Wales team and in particular, Sarah Gore for sharing her specialist knowledge on carbon secretion using basalt.”
The company is now set to upscale and put into practice procedures that further demonstrate how its services can achieve net zero, carbon in setting and carbon off setting, with full compliance audits and tests in place to eliminate any potential for green washing.
You can find more information regarding carbon credits here: https://www.gov.wales/carbon-credit-trading-guidance-farmers-and-landowners
