Amman Valley farmer Andrea Stanley is calling on sheep, beef and dairy farmers to plant more trees, and features in a new online guide to tree planting published today by RSPCA Assured - the RSPCA’s farm assurance and food labelling scheme.

Andrea, who rears beef and sheep with the help of her husband and six-year-old son, near Ammanford, has planted an impressive 750 trees and hedgerows over the last three years.

This achievement is made even more notable by the challenging planting conditions they face farming on the west side of the Black Mountain.

Aside from the benefits of tree planting in combating climate change, research shows that trees can directly benefit livestock welfare, including supplementing diets, providing scratching posts and improving overall wellbeing.

Andrea, who is an RSPCA Assured farm assessor as well as a member of the charity scheme herself, aims to plant a further 500 trees this coming winter.

She says: “It’s incredibly important for farmers to plant more trees. Not only are trees and hedgerows beneficial to livestock and wildlife but the environment too, as they capture carbon and help to manage surface water. And, of course, they also look great!”

“I am delighted to feature in RSPCA Assured’s new guide. It brings together a wealth of independent research and practical advice in one accessible place, and I hope it will inspire more ruminant livestock farmers in Wales, and beyond, to start planting more trees.”

The guide hosts practical and applicable advice – backed up by research from the Woodland Trust and Forestry Commission – for farmers to educate themselves about tree planting.

Find out more at https://www.rspcaassured.org.uk/treeplanting/