Agriculture

Aberystwyth University is the ideal place to pursue a research degree in agriculture. The University farms based at Gogerddan (sheep and beef farm), Morfa Mawr (arable production), Trawsgoed (dairy farm) and Pwllpeiran (upland) extend to over 800 ha in total, and range from 0-600 meters above sea level.

Between them, these four sites exploit the geography of West Wales to provide a spectrum of environmental challenges that are broadly representative of the growing conditions of approximately 80% of UK grasslands. Our enterprises include commercial and pedigree sheep flocks, a robotically milked dairy herd, dairy heifer replacement unit, beef fattening unit, and arable production focused on homegrown feeds including barley, wheat, oats and lupins.

Our crop and grass breeding programmes are internationally recognised and play a major role in shaping UK and international agricultural production through the development of high sugar forage grasses, white and red clover forage protein crops and 65% of all oats in the UK are from varieties developed at Aberystwyth.

Aberystwyth University conducts the annual Farm Business Survey in Wales on behalf of the Welsh Government. The survey is the most authoritative source of financial information on farming businesses, and collects financial and physical data from some 600 farms which is used by policy-makers and researchers to assess the economic factors affecting farming in Wales.

Aberystwyth university is home to VetHub1, an animal health research facility focusing on bovine tuberculosis, and the Barrett Centre for Helminth Control, an interdisciplinary research centre leading the fight against helminth diseases of livestock such as liver fluke.