A Shout-out for Câr-Y-Môr in support of their Crowdfunding
Just as Torth y Tir is working on food security and regenerative farming by growing grain naturally and locally, as many of you will know, Câr-Y-Môr -- our fellow Community Benefit Society in St David’s -- is blazing a similar trail off our cliffs, farming seaweed and shellfish.
Happily, our paths actually do cross in practical terms, as Câr-Y-Môr is currently
trialling its Liquid Seaweed Biostimulant on fields where we are growing several
acres of heritage wheat, hopefully, to be harvested this summer and then milled.
For you soil and seaweed aficionados, please see Alma’s detailed note on the trials using drone technology below, but first can we at Torth y Tir take this opportunity to ask if you can support Câr-Y-Môr in its time of need through its crowdfunded Community Share Offer.
Câr-Y-Môr is now employing 20 people and trading its Pembrokeshire Beach food products. The future is also taking shape in the form of its new Sied Y Môr - Sea Shed - processing seafood and seaweed, which is 70% complete.
But rising costs, delays in developing sea farm licensing criteria required by the
multiple stakeholders, and a drying up of suitable funding are all conspiring to
jeopardise this Community Business which remains the only seaweed and shellfish farmer in Wales. As a result, Câr-Y-Môr says it is now critically short of the money needed to become viable, and then to be an open resource to help start the sector.
Money raised through the community share offer will hopefully keep Câr-Y-Môr afloat long enough to convince bigger funders that the potential it has created is worthy of urgent backing before the opportunity is lost.
And on that solemn but still hopeful note, here is Alma Joensen to explain those seaweed and grain trials in full:
”Câr-y-Môr has over the last years developed a Liquid Seaweed Biostimulant, and is now building a refinery that uses a cold water extraction process to refine their rope-grown seaweed into a liquid seaweed extract. Seaweed is known for improving yields, quality, stress tolerance and vitality of crops, whilst supporting soil health and nutrient uptake. To prove this, Câr-y-Môr is running a number of on-farm trials, gathering evidence to help farmers and growers enhance their crop health and yields whilst reducing their synthetic
fertiliser input.
Romeo Sarra’s Peepout Farm and the Millers Choice crop is part of these trials, where the Liquid Seaweed Biostimulant will be applied on parts of the field in different dosages. The Biostimulant will be applied with a drone sprayer in collaboration with HighVantage, to reduce soil compaction and allow for early applications. Data will be collected in the form of soil samples, microbiology tests, yield measures, quality and more. “
Pictured above: Left: Alan and Romeo surveying a field and wondering if the wheat is coming or not… Centre: Alma and Romeo Sarra and Millers Choice heritage wheat growing. Right: Romeo and the field of our Millers Choice.
Diolch yn fawr. Thank you
Guy, Alma and the Torth y Tir team