Booking is open for the upcoming East Lothian Monitor Farm meeting discussing soil health, organic matter and the outlook for arable crops. 

Running from 10am-3pm on Monday 19 January at Stenton Village Hall near Dunbar, the morning will focus on cover crops and green manures in a session termed ‘Grow it’. After lunch supplied by DRIFT, the East Lothian Monitor Farm’s cafe, the afternoon will focus on ‘Spread it’, discussing the availability and suitability of organic manures in the local area. 

Stevie Gray from Scottish Agronomy will tackle the ‘Grow it’ session, discussing the risks and rewards of growing cover crops and green manures. This will include species selection, establishment, and termination of cover crops and green manures, as well as a practical species identification session.   

The afternoon – ‘Spread it’ – will look at the range of organic manures available in East Lothian including mushroom compost, layer manure, thermally hydrolysed biosolids, food waste digestates, farm-based digestates and cattle manure. Within this session, Greg Dawson from Scottish Agronomy will look at nutrient management planning and valuing imported organic manures. He will also discuss key phytosanitary issues in rotations that include vegetables and potatoes. 

Adrian James, AHDB’s knowledge exchange manager for cereals and oilseeds, will round off the meeting, discussing the outlook for 2026.

Iona Smith, regional adviser says: “It will be great to start the new year with a practical look at these key topics, specifically tailored for East Lothian. This meeting is open to all growers, and I look forward to welcoming everyone to discuss the issues with Stevie, Greg and Adrian.”

With lunch provided, booking is essential for catering purposes.

• Grow it or spread it? – East Lothian Monitor Farm open meeting on Monday 19 January 2026 from 10:00–15:00 at Stenton Village Hall, Dunbar, EH42 1TE. Lunch included. Book here: https://GrowItOrSpreadIt.eventbrite.co.uk

Kirsten Williams, SAC Consulting, presented the findings of her 2024/25 forage crop work across four Aberdeenshire farms, at the recent Deeside Monitor Farm Open Meet, ‘Forage for Thought’. Kirsten studied ten systems on the farm, covering brassicas, deferred grazing and forage beet.

The presentation, found here, introduces the farmers, explains the main features of the project and discusses crop choices, covering costs and convenience.

Kirsten has created four papers covering Choice of Crop, Establishment, Weather Resilience and Utilisation & Nutrition. There is also a Case Study, featuring Duncan Morrison, the Deeside Monitor Farmer.

You can find these below the presentation report.

FAS TV returned to the Strathspey Monitor Farm in October 2025 to find out how the Smith Family have got on with trialling virtual fence technology with their bulling heifers on a species-rich hill that requires targeted grazing for biodiversity.

In this video, Hamish Smith explains how he uses the virtual fencing to manage his stock on a 200ha upland area which had been ungrazed for several years.

Peter Beattie, Monitor Farm’s North Regional Adviser talks about the Monitor Farms and the way they use virtual fencing to enable farmers to optimise pasture use.

NatureScot’s Anne Elliott discusses how important the use of the virtual fence technology has been in managing the species-rich hill at Auchernack, as she describes some of the many plant species which are benefiting from cattle grazing the hill while enhancing sustainability on-farm.

Strathspey Monitor Farm Winter 25 Meeting Report

Auchernack Farm, in the heart of the Cairngorms has been in the spotlight as the Strathspey Monitor Farm for the last three years.  The Farm’s Management Group, a collection of farmers and other professionals, proposed a winter discussion on Bluetongue and Ecological Focus Areas, two topics likely to top conversations across the Highlands in 2026.

Here is the report of the meeting with links to the presentations and key online webpages.

Monitor Farm Scotland has launched a new Management Accounting Guide, aiming to help farmers take more control over making timely financial decisions. The workbook helps turn profit and loss accounts into a decision-making tool, giving greater insight into financial performance and identifying successes and potential problems at an earlier stage.

The user-friendly guide, which is available in print and online, has been written by farm business consultancy Laurence Gould. It is designed to approach the task in a step-by-step process using data which is already available on-farm.

Grace Reid, Programme Manager for Monitor Farm Scotland said: “Our aim throughout our current four-year programme and beyond is to improve the productivity, profitability, and sustainability of Scottish farming businesses. Being able to make the right financial decisions is a crucial part of that, and it’s something that our Monitor Farms, management groups and meeting attendees have discussed at length.

“With our focus on being ‘Farmer Led, Farmer Driven’, this Management Accounting Guide is designed as a useful, practical workbook, helping to convert profit and loss accounts into a decision making tool. It’s not about adding more paperwork and office time to already busy businesses, but about getting much more from the figures and data farmers already have.”

Guide co-author Ian Thompson, Dunfermline-based associate director of Laurence Gould, said: “We were delighted to work with Monitor Farm Scotland to produce the Management Accounting Guide as it’s an opportunity to help a wide range of farmers benchmark their businesses from their own farm accounts. 

“We see daily the benefits that arise from farmers benchmarking and gaining the confidence to make positive changes that make their businesses more resilient and fit for the future.”

Callum Turnbull, Melrose based Laurence Gould consultant and guide co-author added: “By working through their own figures alongside the guide, farmers can quickly identify where their business is performing well, where costs are out of line, and where meaningful improvements can be made.

“Farmers are encouraged to use the guide in short, focused sessions, compare results with previous years and industry benchmarks, and revisit the process regularly. The aim isn’t perfection – it’s to give farmers clearer insight, stronger decision-making, and greater confidence in planning for the future.”

Monitor Farm Scotland will be launching a series of videos and workshops in spring 2026 to enable farmers to work through their accounts and the Management Accounting Guide template, with meeting dates and formats to be confirmed.

This November, Monitor Farm Scotland held impactful impactful sessions in Elgin (3rd Nov) and Edinburgh (7th Nov) whereby farming families came together to tackle some of the toughest conversations in agriculture—succession planning, management transition, and family communication.

Led by Lydia Carpenter, with remote insights from Elaine Froese, these workshops created a safe space for open dialogue and practical strategies to strengthen farm businesses for the future.

Why These Conversations Matter

These conversations are not always easy—but they are necessary. Succession isn’t just about legal documents—it’s about relationships, clarity, and planning ahead. Avoiding these discussions can lead to stress, conflict, and uncertainty. Participants willingness to show up, speak up, and lean into the tough topics is what makes the Monitor Farm Scotland programme truly farmer led and farmer driven.

Top Takeaways from the Events

• Start Early: Succession planning works best when it’s proactive, not reactive.
• Communicate Clearly: Use structured family meetings to reduce tension.
• Protect Business Continuity: Planning ahead safeguards both the farm and family relationships.

What Participants Said

“Future planning is essential regardless of how difficult it may be and it is so comforting to know there are resources out there to help.”
“Mindset is very important – we now have a plan for our next family meeting and will be able to move things forward based on what we learnt today.”

Resources & Next Steps

• Download the slides from the events → See below
• Listen to the Monitor Farm podcast: Field Talk for an introduction to the topic and a live round up from the events:
• 1. Discuss the Undiscussabull Comes to Scotland
• 2. Coaching for Clarity – Making a Positive Difference
• 3. Mediation Matters – Finding common ground in farming families
• 4. Tackling transition successfully – how it can be done
• 5. Discuss the Undiscussabull – The power of talking it through
• Watch Lydia Carpenter’s recap video → Monitor Farm Scotland YouTube Channel
• Access a copy of the Discuss the Undiscussabull Succession Planning Guide → contact greid@qmscotland.co.uk

Thank You

A huge thank you to our speakers, Lydia Carpenter and Elaine Froese, for sharing their expertise and compassion. And to RSABI, Farmstrong Scotland, and Gordon Davies your support has been invaluable and reminds us that help is always available.

Let’s keep the conversation going – at home, on the farm, and in our communities.

Sheep producers are being urged to plan their worming strategy and carry out faecal egg counts as the issue of resistance to wormers becomes more common and increasingly serious.

Speaking at the recent sheep special Banff and Buchan Monitor Farm meeting, vet Ewan Jamieson, director of Meadows Vet Centre, said testing on farms in Aberdeenshire had shown the issue of worm resistance to wormer was increasing. A trial across nine farms found that worm control after one drench was as low as 12% on one farm. “It just wasn’t working,” he said.

“Really, every time you use a wormer you are contributing to resistance developing, no matter how well you use them,” he warned.

“People have been talking about this problem for years, and we were seeing issues anecdotally, so we decided to do an on-farm trial in Aberdeenshire looking at wormer efficacy. The trial has opened our eyes to how bad the problem could be.”

It involved collecting fresh dung from five lambs on each farm at the time of initial dosing, with Ewan using the practice’s AI-powered kit to produce quick and accurate faecal worm egg count (FWEC) results. Samples were then taken from the same five lambs either a week after worming (yellow drenches) or two weeks later (white and clear drenches). “We could then compare the results before and after worming and calculate a percentage efficacy.”

Farms which were alternating between all three drenches achieved consistently good results, but efficacy across all farms varied from 12% to 100%, he said.

He says that where there are serious problems with resistance, it may force producers to rotate between two products rather than three (clear, yellow and white drenches). This in turn speeds up development of resistance to the remaining products. Where people are under-dosing or choosing to repeatedly use one product, eg a clear drench which is long-acting, this will increase the risk of resistance to that product.

“Also, ensure you practice the dose, wait, move approach. Think about your quarantine dose when you buy-in lambs or replacement ewes and make use of an end-of-year knock-out drench which should be based on the two new orange and purple classes of wormer.

He advises carrying out FWEC to assess worm burdens and worming accordingly. “I do understand why people don’t do FWEC, as it does take some planning and time. But we now have some farms struggling to control worms – in some areas, the issue has forced some farms to give up sheep altogether.

“I’d rather people didn’t have to use as much wormer. Besides FWEC, there are other management practices which will help reduce their use,” he said. Adopting management practices such as putting ewes and lambs onto new grass (reseeds), brassica or root crops or herbal leys including chicory, birdsfoot trefoil and sainfoin, all provide clean grazing. Grazing with cattle or older sheep would also help clean up pasture, as would cutting for hay or silage.

This year, Ewan worked with Monitor Farmer Bruce Irvine on a worming strategy for the farm’s 700 lambs based on FWEC results. Grazing pasture was risk-assessed according to the age of ley, grazing history and ongoing assessment according to weather.

Fresh dung samples were collected from pasture for FWEC, and lambs then wormed in early May with a white wormer. Dry weather kept burdens low, but nematodirus cases were then starting to be seen on Aberdeenshire farms. “There’s no preventative treatment for nematodirus, so treatment timing is critical.”

All lambs were treated at weaning in late July with yellow drench. Even though one of the two groups had a low FWEC, all were treated as they were being mixed at weaning which had management implications, said Ewan.

He added that the very dry weather initially helped to keep worm burdens down, but as grass growth slowed, fields were being grazed down to the soil and worm burdens were able to rise quicker into August.

“Dry weather this summer also seems to have reduced mineral levels in the grass. Cobalt, in particular, has impacts on gut health and so low cobalt may be contributing on some farms to higher worm burdens. Bruce’s lambs were treated with Smart-Shot B12 at weaning, but boluses or mineral drenches could also have been used,” he said.

About the Banff and Buchan Monitor Farm

Sauchentree Farm, at New Aberdour, on the north-east coast of Scotland, is run by Bruce Irvine in partnership with his wife Vicky and his mother. Help at lambing comes from art-lecturer Vicky, his sister and brother-in-law, and their two daughters are starting to get involved in the farm. A new chicken unit installed this summer has provided extra labour for the business.

In total, Bruce farms 263ha (650ac) with cereals, sheep and cattle. He believes the three enterprises are as important as each other, with livestock providing fertility for the arable side. Bruce markets their lamb and beef through Woodhead Bros, Turriff and ANM at Thainstone and enjoys competing with neighbouring farms on yield and lambing percentage. The family have been at Sauchentree for more than 200 years.

Knowing your farm’s costs of production and managing cash flow will be crucial for arable farmers this year after a tricky season for some crops, compounded by poor commodity prices.

Monitor Farm Scotland programme manager Grace Reid says: “While winter crops did well and we had an early harvest, dry weather has meant some spring barley crops have failed to make malting quality because of high screenings and in some cases elevated nitrogen levels. Combined with low commodity prices, these challenges are putting further pressure on farm cash flow and raising concerns for many growers when planning for the years to come.”

Scottish Agronomy’s Zach Reilly, who is involved as an agronomist on some of the Monitor Farms, adds: “Many farmers will be facing lower incomes, or still have a shed of barley that they have to get rid of. Now people are starting to look at buying spring inputs these issues will have a massive knock-on effect. The biggest problem for many will be cash flow.”

Zach says key to coping with these challenges is to focus on what you can control. “That includes managing income streams, understanding your cost of production, planning finances in the short term, and making informed decisions. Staying positive is just as important.”

He believes cash flow issues will delay input purchases, and the lower value from spring barley which is sold for feed rather than malting is likely to have a bigger impact over the longer term.

“Work out your cash flow, and then look at ways to ease the pinch. Knowing your costs of production will also mean you can consider what to do as this will be unique for every farm. For instance, many growers are looking at other crops, have planted more oilseed rape and are increasing the area of winter wheat too.”

He says help with working out cash flow is available as part of FAS Specialist Advice. “Under this, ScotGov will pay up to £1,600 towards business support and you only pay the VAT, which you can claim back. The help is specific, so if, for instance, if you need only a cash flow, you can do just that.”

For working out costs of production, AHDB knowledge exchange manager for cereals and oilseeds Adrian James adds that the AHDB Farmbench service is free to arable levy payers.

“It is totally confidential, and you can use this just on your own, benchmarking yourself against other UK growers, or you can choose to join a local group where you can share and discuss your costs, again in confidentiality.

“The people who get most out of Farmbench are those in groups, as you’re sharing and discussing your farm performance with eight to 10 others in the same area. It’s a really good discussion, helps keep on top of your costs and it’s social too. You’ll usually find there are plenty of others in the same boat as you.”

Adrian adds that this may be the year to look at something different rather than doing what you’ve always done. “Some growers have found new opportunities or niche crops which potentially offer better returns, but these crops aren’t for everyone. Look carefully at everything before you jump in and assess the risks.”

He suggests preparing cash flow budgets for two years might also be useful. “It will give a better idea of where you are going and the potential squeeze points as lower prices may be with us for some time – but then you can’t forsee what’s going to happen.”

Over the longer term, Zach advises looking at what can be done to boost resilience on-farm, particularly for soils. “The main issue for spring barley was that crops produced plenty of tillers, but when plants became stressed because of lack of water, tillers did not reach full potential. In severe cases, this happened to the majority of tillers on the plant, and we found that screenings were generally worse on lighter soils.”

Working on soil health by building soil organic matter and addressing soil structural issues will increase the resilience of farming systems, he says, but it is a long-term effort. “We will have weather like this again, so build resilience into soils so the water will be there for crops, whether it’s chopping straw or growing your own biomass if you can’t bring it in. Soil health is something we can do something about.”

Grace adds: “Knowing costs of production and having good insight into your cash flow situation will definitely help on-farm this year. Make the time to properly look at your situation rather than continuing the same practices. There is help and advice available, and agricultural accountants and banks are well aware of the situation for Scottish growers, so talk to them sooner rather than later if you are concerned or think you might have some financial challenges. Early conversations can open up options, alleviate stress and help you plan ahead with more confidence.”

• Farm Advisory Service link to business advice help: https://www.fas.scot/specialist-advice/
• AHDB’s Farmbench service can be accessed here: https://ahdb.org.uk/farmbench or contact Julie Clark at Julie.clark@ahdb.org.uk or 07778 144273

Sheep and beef farmers are being invited to sign up for ‘Data made easy’ workshops to help make the most of their on-farm hardware and software for EID, weighing and management. The three Monitor Farm Scotland events will allow farmers to get one-to-one advice on their own set-up, practical tips to streamline data flow and tackle any issues. 

The events are being led by independent farm technology specialist Matt Blyth, an experienced innovator in the sheep and beef industry and the founder of Blyth Livestock Advisory Services (BLAS). A flock manager prior to setting up BLAS, he was among the first farmers to adopt EID technology to capture key livestock data. Today, Matt applies this practical expertise to help farmers across the UK harness their own data to enhance livestock management and business performance 

Matt said: “These workshops will help people understand their own farm technology, get the best set-up on-farm and improve decision making and profitability. It’s about understanding how your technology can work for you.”   

Places on these practical workshops must be pre-booked as they have a maximum capacity of 12 people to ensure dedicated support.  

To ensure maximum benefit from the individual sessions, attendees will be asked for more information regarding the equipment they would like to bring along to the workshop alongside how they would like to integrate data collection and utilisation. This could be anything from understanding your current set up, learning new software, improving data recording, connecting EID with weighing, troubleshooting, decision-making and more. 

Iona Smith, Monitor Farm regional adviser said: “Technology should help simplify, streamline and improve daily tasks while optimising animal performance. These small, practical workshops will allow farmers to discuss their on-farm set-up, any issues they might be having and identify how they can best run the systems in their farming business. 

“Whether you’re using ruminant technologies such as Tru-Test or Gallagher or just getting started – this workshop will help you connect the dots between hardware, software, and decision-making,” she said. 

Matt has already featured in the Monitor Farm Scotland podcast, Field Talk, discussing his practical experiences with technology: https://youtu.be/wmPZMpHG6tM 

We are inviting you to take part in a new enterprise costing project delivered through the Monitor Farm Scotland Programme, in collaboration with SAC Consulting.

Open to all Farmers and Crofters

This project will gather physical and financial data from cattle, sheep, and arable farms across Scotland to build a robust set of benchmarks and insights. Your participation would be hugely valuable, not only for your own business, but for the wider industry. You may be aware of a similar piece of work carried out in the past by QMS on a larger scale.

Why Get Involved?

• Receive a personalised report on your farm’s performance.
• Benchmark your enterprise against anonymised data from similar systems.
• Contribute to a dataset that will inform policy, industry support, and best practice.
• Insights into key performance indicators to help identify opportunities for improvement.
• Help shape a series of Better Farming Guides to support more profitable and sustainable farming across Scotland.

What’s Required?

• Share financial and physical data for the period April 2024 – March 2025.
• Data will be collected on farm by SAC Consulting using a standardised Excel tool and verified using existing records (e.g. ScotEID, myHerdStats, IACS maps) between December 2025 and February 2026.(All information will be treated confidentially and anonymised in reporting which will be delivered May 2026.)

Next Steps

If you are interested in participating or would like more information, please contact greid@qmscotland.co.uk