By Debbie James

AGRICULTURE support payments post-Brexit will almost certainly be weighted towards rewarding farmers for managing land in a nature-friendly way but this holds no fears for the man granted the UK’s most talked about farm tenancy.

Dan Jones is three months into his new role as National Trust tenant of Y Parc, an iconic farm perched atop the Great Orme, and he is on a mission to fine tune the conservation grazing strategy that will protect and encourage populations of the silver studded blue butterfly and the foraging chough.

His every step will be subject to scrutiny because so many other farmers had competed for this 10-year tenancy but Dan is unfazed by the weight of that potential judgement.

“With the conservation grazing aspect of the tenancy there are lots of different organisations involved so one of the challenges will be to keep everyone happy but I’m flexible and adaptable. This is a new grazing programme and I know where I want to get to with it but there is a lot of learn on that journey.’’

That journey started on the day he was bombarded with Facebook notifications referencing the National Trust’s search for a tenant to farm Y Parc.

“I hardly ever get any notifications but it was like my birthday that day!’’

The National Trust was offering the tenancy at a peppercorn rent of £1 and, given the farm’s spectacular location and the opportunities that came with it, there was an astonishing level of interest.

For Dan and his wife, Ceri, who have an eight-year-old son Efan and were running a successful farm and bed and breakfast business on Anglesey, there was a lot to consider.

But any doubts were lifted when they attended an open day at Y Parc. “We could see it was a fantastic opportunity, both financially and for other reasons.’’

The farm’s close proximity to the bustling seaside town of Llandudno also offered a good balance to living in the countryside.

Hundreds of other people applied too but, despite the fierce competition, Dan was hopeful of getting onto the shortlist of six. “I did seem to fit the criteria and have the experience.’’

He is now three months into the new job – and he does bring plenty of experience to the position.

He had his first experience of conservation grazing when he was approached by the Bodorgan Estate on Anglesey to improve habitats by grazing rough land.

In 2015 his relationship with National Trust began, when he was appointed conservation shepherd on Mount Snowdon, managing grazing to improve habitats.

This experience will be good grounding for his first winter on a farm where the wind is at times so ferocious there is but a solitary tree.

In addition to the 144 aces inside the farm walls, there are grazing rights for 416 ewes on the open land that runs to the cliff edge.

The Plantlife sheep will be run as a hefted flock on this land and Dan will also establish a commercial flock of Lleyn and Lleyn-cross ewes to produce prime lambs.

The family also has plans to diversify into tourism by offering shepherd’s hut-style accommodation and to market their own lamb one day. Ceri will continue in her role as outdoor sports development officer at Anglesey County Council.

“She is very supportive of the farm but really enjoys her job so she will keep that going,’’ says Dan.

His personal challenge at Y Parc is to prove that modern day farming and conservation can exist in harmony. As the UK prepares to enter a new era of farm support, he supports a move to a system that might allow farmers to choose between support for producing food or support for conservation.

“We have to be open-minded about the future. Perhaps we will see support leaning more towards conservation and we need to embrace that,’’ he insists.