A Powys agricultural contractor and engineer says he hopes to revolutionise farming practices with a new carbon reduction technology.

Phil Hughes, of J&H Spreading and Agri Engineering Ltd, wants to help farmers remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere using basalt dust, which can capture carbon from the atmosphere.

He says it also adds nutritional value to increase crop quality and yields.

Mr Hughes, who has been spreading agricultural products for 20 years, started his agri-engineering firm in 2018.

He discovered the benefits of basalt spreading after testing the method on his own farm.

The results were immediate, with unprecedented grass growth just four months after application.

Mr 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."

With support from Business Wales, Mr Hughes created a business plan to attract private funding for the necessary equipment and technology.

The collaboration with Business Wales relationship manager, Phil Summers, revealed a larger potential customer base for the basalt dust spreading service than initially anticipated.

Mr 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."

Decarbonisation advisor, Sarah Gore, helped Mr Hughes link with the Soil Association to confirm that the product is organic.

Mr Hughes shared his gratitude for the support and guidance received from Business Wales and Ms Gore, saying: "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 now plans to expand and implement procedures to demonstrate how its services can help achieve net zero, carbon insetting, and carbon offsetting.

Full compliance audits and tests are in place to eliminate any potential for greenwashing.

More information on carbon credits can be found on the Welsh Government website.