Identifying opportunities to safeguard farm businesses for the future will be the subject of the next Nithsdale Monitor Farm meeting on Thursday 7^th February.

At the meeting, which will begin at Clonhie farm, the Nithsdale Monitor Farm, near Penpont, farmers will be asked to give their thoughts on the performance of the monitor farm and suggest ideas to improve and develop the business over the next one or two years. They will be joined by Sion Williams, farm manager at Bowhill Farming Ltd in Selkirk (part of the Buccleuch Estate), who will describe how the various enterprises that make up the business have evolved over the years.

Andrew and Aileen Marchant, who farm at Clonhie, run 900 breeding ewes, a small herd of 20 Luing cattle and have recently invested in 100 deer hinds on their 300-hectare upland farm.

Relatively new entrants to farming, the Marchants took over the tenancy of Clonhie (part of the Buccleuch estate) in 2012 and have built up their business steadily, increasing the number of ewes and most recently diversifying into venison production in a joint venture with Buccleuch estates.

The day will begin at Clonhie with the group visiting some the ewe flock on their winter grazing, the red deer hinds that joined the farm last summer, and the young deer in the recently modified shed before moving to Tynron Village Hall.

Following lunch Andrew Marchant will share with the group the financial and technical performance of Clonhie over the last 12 months and highlight the importance he places on benchmarking the performance of his business against others.

As new entrants, the Marchants weren’t eligible to receive single farm payments for their first five years at Clonhie so admit that they have had to build their business in a different way to most farmers.

“With very little access to finance, we had had to ensure that every business decision we made was backed up by sound financial projections. We didn’t have a safety net: we had to make money or we were gone,” said Mr Marchant.

That discipline has stayed with the couple, who keep a close eye on their business costs and performance data to make sure the farm doesn’t slip backwards.

“There is lots of talk about there being challenging times ahead for farmers in Scotland,” said Mr Marchant. “That’s true, and there are lots of decisions that are out of our hands, like Brexit, the weather and the future of subsidy, but I strongly believe that every farmer has the power to work towards making their own farm as resilient to these external challenges as possible.

“Benchmarking the performance of Clonhie against other farms has really helped Aileen and I identify the strengths and weaknesses of our business and helped identify new opportunities.”

He added: “I think regular reviews of your farm’s performance and the enterprise balance is important too – what might have worked for your farm five years ago, might not work as well now.

“Most livestock farms in Scotland are, like Clonhie, run by a single person and don’t employ extra labour except maybe at lambing or calving. I think technology, joint ventures and collaboration with other businesses can really help farmers improve their farm businesses and help them to work smarter in the future.

 “I’m really keen to hear from other farmers how they think we can do things better at Clonhie. Hopefully, all the farmers who come along will benefit from the discussions and take one or two ideas back to their own farms to help their own businesses prosper too,” he concluded.

Also at the meeting on 7^th February, Sion Williams will give an overview of the Bowhill Farming operation, which currently runs 6,800 breeding ewes, 500 suckler cows as well as other enterprises including deer, free range hens and an anaerobic digester. He will alsodescribe how and why they have made the choices they have made in growing their enterprises and farm business.

Buccleuch has established several successful joint ventures with some of its tenant farms, which the estate views as a ‘’win win’’ situation, providing a business benefit for both landlord and tenant.

“We see that establishing joint ventures with some of our tenant farms makes good business sense and has benefits to both parties. We are always happy to work with tenants, like the Marchants, who are looking for ways to drive their own businesses forward,” said Mr Williams.

The Nithsdale monitor farm is one of nine monitor farms that have been established around Scotland in a joint initiative by Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) and AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds. The aim of the programme, which is funded by Scottish Government, is to help improve the productivity, profitability and sustainability of Scottish farm businesses.

The meeting on Thursday 7^th February will begin at Clonhie farm at 10.30am, end at 3.30pm and will include lunch.

To book your place please contact facilitator Judith Hutchison on 07718 919055 or email judith.agridigm@icloud.com.

Suggestions to refine and improve efficiencies in cattle finishing systems will be under discussion at the next North Ayrshire Monitor farm meeting on Wednesday 30^th January.

At the meeting, which will begin at Girtridge Farm, Dundonald before moving to nearby Auchans restaurant, Gavin Hill, senior beef specialist at SAC and SAC nutritionist Karen Stewart will share some suggestions to help those finishing store cattle to improve their bottom line.

John Howie runs the 140-hectare Girtridge farm, the North Ayrshire Monitor farm, in partnership with his mother and sister. They currently finish around 230 cattle all year round, some housed and others from grass.

Mr Howie currently sources store cattle between 15-24 months old from Ayr market and also privately and uses an excel spreadsheet to record as much information on the cattle he finishes as possible. Combining this information with stockmanship skills, Mr Howie was able to identify clear differences in cattle performance at Girtridge and is keen to address the issue.

At the meeting on 30^th January, Gavin Hill will give an update on the current beef market. He will also provide some guidance about what to look for when sourcing store cattle either from a market or privately, to ensure that farmers select stock that will perform well on their own farms. Housing and nutrition for optimum growth rates will also be discussed.

With straw supplies tight this year, Mr Howie decided to utilise a suspended cubicle shed at Girtridge to house some of his cattle. He noticed that the performance of the cattle in this shed varied considerably, as cattle were sorting the ration, with some only eating silage.

With advice from Gavin Hill and Karen Stewart, Mr Howie has made some simple changes to how he managed the cattle in this shed. Molasses has been added to the TMR mix to bind the ration and stop self-selection and Mr Howie also reduced the number of cattle in the shed by 10% to reduce competition for food. He has also made improvements to some of the waterbowls to ensure that they delivered sufficient water for the stocking density.

“The changes we have made appear to be working. There is less competition for feed and water along and more concentrates in the latter rations,” said Mr Howie.

He added: “We are due to weigh all the stock this month, so will see if we are hitting our growth targets.”

The benefits of performance recording was highlighted at a recent visit by John Howie and members of the business group to Thornhill based Tibbers farm, run by Alistair Kingan, in December.

The Kingan family finish around 1,400 cattle a year and use EID technology extensively both to monitor performance of their stock and as an aid to help select stock to purchase. With proposals to bring in compulsory cattle EID from January, there are huge benefits available to farmers looking to performance-manage their herd more effectively.

“The visit to Tibbers Farm was a real eye opener to me and the last piece of the jigsaw after our meeting with ScotEid and recent cattle EID tag trial,” said Mr Howie.

“The EID equipment that Alistair has installed linked to a weigh-head along with the software programme allows him to analyse the performance data of his stock simply and make more informed management decisions.

“I am really keen to start using EID technology along with an integrated farm management software programme at Girtridge so it was great to see how another finisher has benefited from using it.”  

The North Ayrshire Monitor Farm is one of nine monitor farms that have been established across Scotland in a joint initiative by Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) and AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds, with funding from the Scottish Government. The aim of the programme is to help improve the productivity, profitability and sustainability of Scottish farm businesses.

The meeting at Girtridge Farm on Wednesday 30^th January will begin at 10.30am. The group will move to nearby Auchans Restaurant for lunch followed by some further presentations and should finish at 3pm. All are welcome and the event is free.

For catering purposes, those interested in coming along on 30th January should confirm attendance by calling 01292 525252 or emailing FBSAyr@sac.co.uk

The benefits of investing in genetics and EID technology will be showcased at the next Lochaber Monitor Farm meeting on Thursday 31st January.

The free meeting, which will be held at the Nevis centre in Fort William, will focus on some of the key areas for developing the suckler industry; selecting the correct genetics in your stock, bull management and how EID technology can help to monitor stock performance and aid management decisions.

Getting your genetics right is essential for establishing a sustainable suckler herd. At the meeting on 31^st January, Alison Glasgow, technical manager and geneticist from the British Limousin Cattle Society will help the group to explore the genetics best suited to for west coast store cattle producers. She will outline new developments on the genetic horizon and how best to manage breeding bulls after purchase.

Strone farm, Lochaber’s monitor farm, near Fort William is run by father and son team Malcolm and Chris Cameron. They are passionate about their herd of 50 pure Limousin cows and have carefully selected bulls on their maternal traits such as ease of calving and milk.

“We find the pure Limousin cow is very adaptable, she calves easily and even if not grazed on the best of grass will maintain her condition and get back in calf,” commented Malcolm Cameron.

Also at the meeting, Jane Thomson from Shearwell Data Ltd will provide an update on proposals to bring in compulsory cattle EID from January 2020 and show how EID technology can improve the management of suckler herds in the west.

“Performance recording is a really effective way for cattle farmers to identify the best, and the worse, performing animals and make informed choices about which animals to retain in the herd,” said Jane Thomson.

She added: “The technology behind EID tags, data collectors and the associated software programmes ensures that production data can be stored quickly and accurately and is a huge benefit to farmers looking to performance-manage their herd more effectively.”

In 2018, the Camerons took on a tenancy of an extra 42 hectares of grazing land and some sheds just 11 miles from the home farm at Strone. After discussion with the management group they decided to trial finishing all their own male lambs indoors on ad-lib creep feeding. The weights of the lambs were also monitored regularly. The final costs and income from these lambs have been collected and the final results and conclusions from this trial will be presented at this meeting. 

The Lochaber Monitor Farm is one of nine monitor farms that have been established around Scotland in a joint initiative by Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) and AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds. The aim of the programme, which is funded by Scottish Government, is to help improve the productivity, profitability and sustainability of Scottish farm businesses.

The meeting on 31^st January will be held at the Nevis centre, in Fort William and will begin at noon and finish at around 4pm. Lunch will be provided. To book your attendance (and lunch!) please contact facilitators Niall Campbell or George Gauley on 01631 563093 or email fbsoban@sac.co.uk.

The next meeting of the Borders Monitor farm on Wednesday 23^rd January will focus on developing a strategy for restocking Whitriggs with sheep.

At the meeting, which will be held at the Auld Cross Keys Hotel at Denholm and begin at 10.30am, local farmers will be asked to discuss the options and the practicalities of restocking Whitriggs Farm, the Borders Monitor Farm, with sheep.

Robert and Lesley Mitchell and their son Stuart manage the 442 hectare Whitriggs farm near Denholm. In 2017, they were concerned that their sheep were not performing as well as they should. Blood tests revealed that Maedi Visna (MV) was present in the flock. Working closely with their vet and their management and community group, the family looked at  different ways to try and manage the effects of the disease in their flock,  but took the difficult decision in Autumn last year to dispose of the flock.

The family have managed 1,000 Easy Care and Blackface lambs on a B&B basis over the winter but are keen to start again and establish a new sheep flock at Whitriggs this year. However, the Mitchells are aware that there are lots of things to consider when thinking about restocking.

“We appreciate that we are in a unique position at the moment. Although we are disappointed to have lost our previous Lleyn flock, we realise that we have a great opportunity here to start again when we restock,” said Robert Mitchell.

He added: “We are really keen to take advice from local farmers and as many industry experts as possible to make sure that we approach the  restock correctly. We need to think about the best breed for our business, how many sheep to restock with and whether to restock with ewe lambs, gimmers or older sheep. We also need to decide the best time of year to restock.

“We know from bitter experience the effect that infectious diseases can have on a flock so we also need to ensure that we don’t buy in any health issues with the sheep we bring to Whitriggs. We will therefore be looking to invest in sheep from trusted sources and will be working with our vet to develop a robust quarantine procedure for when the sheep arrive.”

The breed of sheep to restock with is a big consideration for the family. Mr Mitchell commented: “We have always had Lleyns at Whitriggs, but are aware that there are other breeds that may also work on our land, so are looking forward to hear what other farmers in the area think we should do.”

At the meeting on 23^rd January, three local sheep farmers will discuss reasons they chose the breeds they run and what they like about them. Kevin Stewart from Sharpitlaw near Kelso will discuss the merits of the Aberfields he manages, whilst Pete Scott from Dolphinston farm near Jedburgh will discuss why Lleyns suit his system best. They will be joined by Graham Lofthouse from Bankhouse farm near Stow who will highlight why Texel/Easy Care ewes work for his business.

Also at the meeting on the 23rd January, Haig Murray, Livestock Procurement Manager for Dunbia, will give a report on the latest market situation and advise farmers how to get their prime lambs to hit market spec, irrespective of breed.

As well as tackling practical problems at the meeting, Gavin Dick, Farms & Commercial Manager at the Agricultural Engineering Precision Innovation (Agri-EPI) Centre will give a presentation on their work and how farmers make better use of available technologies to improve production.

The Agri-EPI Centre has been established to drive growth and support innovative ideas to help farmers and business owners become more profitable and sustainable. The Mitchells are keen to hear how the iniative can help them, and other farms in the Borders, improve their efficiency by embracing new technology.

Whitriggs  is one of nine monitor farms established in Scotland as part of a joint initiative by Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) and AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds with funding from the Scottish Government. The aim of the monitor farm programme is to help improve the productivity, profitability and sustainability of Scottish farm businesses.

The meeting on 23^rd January will be held at the Auld Cross Keys Hotel at Denholm, TD9 8NU and will begin at 10.30am. Lunch will be provided and the meeting is expected to finish by 2.30pm. All are welcome and the event is free.

To reserve your place (and lunch!) please contact Stephen Young, one of the project facilitators, on 07502 339613 or email stephen.young@saos.coop.

Farming in one of the wettest parts of the UK brings with it a few challenges but a herd of pedigree Limousin cattle have adapted to the climate and are helping to improve margins at the Cameron family’s Strone Farm near Fort William.

Strone is part of Lochiel and Achnacarry Estate. It runs to 1,200 hectares and rises to 2,800 feet above sea level, while a few fields border the picturesque Caledonian Canal.

In 2016 it was selected as the Lochaber Monitor Farm, one of nine monitor farms that have been established around Scotland in a joint initiative by Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) and AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds. The aim of the programme, which is funded by Scottish Government, is to help improve the productivity, profitability and sustainability of Scottish farm businesses.

Malcolm Cameron has worked for the estate since 1969 and got the chance of the tenancy in 1990 with wife, Eileen. Son Chris came home in 1996 following three years at agricultural college and in 2002 set up his own farming business. He now works full-time on the farm and has largely taken over the day to day running of the business.

Chris and Malcolm were keen to take part in the Monitor Farm process having been active in previous groups in Argyll and Chris believes it has made him question everything he does and given him a better understanding of where improvements can be made.

Chris Cameron said: “We were on a development journey with the farm anyway, but this has opened my eyes to new techniques and I feel my personal development has been one of the biggest benefits of the process so far.”

The farm, which gets a massive 3-3.5 metres of rain a year, is stocked with 50 pure Limousin cows and 520 North Country Cheviot ewes. Malcolm bought his first cow in 1993 from the Anside herd and a second a few years later from the Greenwell herd and the whole herd can be traced back to these two foundation females.

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The family have deliberately avoided any extremes in the breed and carefully select bulls on their maternal traits such as ease of calving and milk; although Chris Cameron is quick to point out that they must be pleasing to the eye too. He has 12 of his own Camerons prefixed females mixed in with the Stronefield herd.

A plus point for the Limousin, according to Malcolm and Chris, is that the cast cows are worth good money at the end of their useful lives. They also sell a few bulls naturally from home, with the best going for £3,500. They family may sell a few breeding heifers in the future, but as Malcolm and Chris have been keen to expand the herd at Strone, all the heifers are currently retained. The rest of the calves are sold store at Dingwall at around ten months of age when they average 350kg liveweight.

Chris Cameron said: “The price was seriously back in October at 228p/kg, compared to January when they were 280p/kg.”

He puts this down to the price of straw which has jumped from £26 to £40 per big bale and said: “We get hit twice when a commodity like straw goes up in price. We have to spend more to manage our herd and buyers are reluctant to spend as much on their calves. I calculated it costs me 70 pence in straw for every kg in calf weight.”

However, despite these challenges, he firmly believes the Limousin is the right breed for their farm. He said: “Our philosophy is that if we are going to the expense of housing cattle, then we have to make sure we can meet the market specification. Our calves have the genetics to grow and are efficient at converting feed.”

Despite advice from the Monitor Farm Group, the Camerons continue to calve all year round, which they believe best suits their system and they are still able to keep individual cows’ calving index under 370 days.

An advantage the of operating a year-round calving system is that the Camerons need less bulls, so can afford to spend more when they do invest in a bull. Apart from that, they have to be careful with their grass utilisation and do not have the grass available to turn out a batch of 50 cows and calves in the spring.

Less than 50 hectares of the farm is suitable for cutting silage, so the family have to manage it carefully. The dry cows can make use of a further 50 hectares or so of marginal land but none of the cows go to the hill, which barely supports the sheep flock. All cattle are housed from October through to May.

Following advice that has come from the Monitor farm meetings, the Camerons now bull heifers four months earlier at 15 months. They are also weaning spring-born calves and managing them separately to allow cows more time to recover before calving again.

In recent years the family have managed to rent some improved grassland near Inverness, where they can graze a batch of cows and this has made a big difference to the farm’s bottom line.

Chris Cameron said: “Sheep and cattle were vying for the same small area of good grass at home. So we used to put the sheep to the hill after lambing; however we were losing over 60% of our lambs to foxes and eagles. Since we’ve moved the ewes and lambs to a rented lowland farm at Fort William, we have weaned 97% of lambs, instead of 37%.”

This year, for the first time, the Camerons finished the lambs at Fort William by weaning early, housing in a shed which came with the farm, and feeding. The results have been very positive.

“This year, we sold 220 lambs averaging at £70 per head. We calculated feeding costs at £25 per head, but the store price was £35 per head, so we made an additional £10 profit per lamb and we had the benefit of freeing up grass for flushing ewes so we can expect an improved scanning next year,” said Chris Cameron.

As part of the programme, the Camerons and other local farmers have established a business group to share key performance indicators (KPI’s), using AHDB programme Farmbench to compare and contrast farm efficiency figures. Chris Cameron finds this particularly useful, not only comparing with other farms but using his figures for his own farm as a benchmark to improve. He is currently exceeding the suggested KPI for gross margin for a west coast suckler herd by £85 per head at £335 per head.

The Camerons regularly host Monitor Farm meetings at Strone which attract lots of other farmers, some of whom travel over an hour to attend. The family find it encouraging that so many people are interested in improving their farms in an extremely challenging environment.

Chris Cameron said: “Farmers in Lochaber are genuinely scared that they won’t be able to continue to farm. Their businesses are unbelievably fragile and they are constantly being told to cut costs which leads to them not investing in their farms and the utilisable land shrinking, therefore compounding their issues. Farmers like us have limited options so it is great having help in finding ways to improve our systems.

He added: “Being part of the Monitor Farm group has given farmers here access to the energy and technology that QMS and AHDB bring, alongside the knowledge of our facilitator Niall Campbell from SAC Consulting in Oban. We have been able to lift our heads and see the bigger picture.”

Succession planning will be the focus of the next Angus Monitor Farm meeting on Thursday 10^th January.

Heather Wildman from Saviour Associates will emphasize the importance of dreams and goals, having  a vision for your future and solving succession issues early.

“Succession planning is seen by many as a sensitive subject and many farmers are reluctant to start the process in case it causes conflict amongst their family members,” said Heather. “But in reality the sooner families start the conversation the more options become available.

“Farmers are also incredibly busy people so it can be difficult to find the time to consider long term succession planning. However, it makes sense to have a plan in place well in advance to help secure the success of your business for the next generation.”

Heather, who has published a guide to succession aimed at farmers, acknowledges that every farm business and situation is different, and it’s important that each business develops a succession plan which works for them.

The meeting will focus on helping people identify what it is they want to achieve, or even what they would like to avoid. There will also be a discussion on some of the reasons why farmers often postpone planning for succession and suggestions for questions farmers should ask themselves at the start of the process.

Heather said: “By the end of the meeting I hope that attendees will understand how the process works and be able to create an action plan for the succession of their own businesses as well as feeling more confident in starting the conversation with their families.”

Mill of Inverarity is part of the Monitor Farm Scotland initiative, managed by Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) and AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds with funding from the Scottish Government. The aim of the monitor farm programme is to help improve the productivity, profitability and sustainability of Scottish farm businesses.

The meeting will be held at Northern Hotel, Brechin, DD9 6AE, and will begin at midday and end at 3pm. The event is free to attend but to lunch will be provided so to assist with catering attendees should book a place by contacting Stacey Hamilton by phone (01569 762305) or email (frbsstonehaven@sac.co.uk)

Succession is a sensitive but often-ignored subject for many farming families. Farmers were warned last week at the Morayshire Monitor Farm meeting that ignoring the topic could put their life’s work at risk.

The Monitor Farm group met on Tuesday 4th December 2018 to tackle the issue together, helped by expert Heather Wildman of Saviour Associates.

Iain Green farms in partnership with his mother and father at Corskie Farm near Elgin and hosts the Morayshire Monitor Farm.

He said: “We wanted to look at succession planning because I think it’s something quite important that possibly a lot of farming families tend to ignore, perhaps sadly until it’s too late or they haven’t done anything early enough.”

Iain counts himself lucky that his own father and grandfather involved him in the business from a young age, and he wants to do the same for his daughters.

At the meeting, Heather Wildman gave her challenging, down-to-earth advice for farming families wanting to start tackling their succession.

“We only live once,” Heather reminded the group. “What are your dreams? What is the legacy you want to leave?”

She encouraged everyone to have personal and business goals in writing, shared with the rest of the family. Farmers should then calculate finances needed for retirement; and make sure that legal documentation like power of attorney is in place.

“Power of attorney is vital for every partner in the business, not just the older generations,” Heather said.

For Iain, Corskie’s business goals are now clear and everybody in the partnership knows them.

“We want to carry on with the family farming partnership, to maintain it profitably and look for any opportunities for expansion or diversification. Also, any partners in the business should be active within the partnership.”

The final step for Iain and his family is to tie down the legal details, with the help of qualified legal advisors.

For further support on succession farmers should contact a legal professional or advice group such as RSABI.

The Morayshire Monitor Farm is one of nine monitor farms established in Scotland as part of a joint initiative by Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) and AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds with funding from the Scottish Government. The aim of the Monitor Farm programme is to help improve the productivity, profitability and sustainability of Scottish farm businesses.

Developing effective winter feed plans to maximise performance will be the focus of the next Sutherland Monitor Farm meeting on Wednesday 12 December.

Nick Canning, Technical lead at Harbro, will be the key speaker at the free meeting, which is being held at Brora Golf Club.

As well as highlighting how to do simple forage calculations, Mr Canning will suggest how livestock farmers can, when forage availability is low, prioritise rations to ensure that the nutritional requirements of all stock on the unit are met over the winter months.

“Knowing the different nutritional requirements of pregnant ewes and cows throughout pregnancy is really important. However, it becomes vital as they approach lambing and calving, to ensure that the requirements are met in order to boost colostrum quality and the growth of the newborn lamb or calf,” said Mr Canning.

Mr Canning is keen to show the benefits of measuring and recording performance against costs. He said: “Farmers can sometimes shy away from using ‘Key Performance Indicators’ or KPI’s in their business but I hope to demonstrate at the meeting that setting targets and KPIs can help improve the efficiency and profitability of a business, whilst being easily measurable”

He added: “Lots of farmers can tell you how many lambs or calves they wean each year, but unless they compare the weaning weight against the costs to produce that animal, the figure is of limited value.

“Measuring kg of liveweight weaned per animal against the cost of production for that animal, and it’s mother, throughout the year will give a real figure that can be compared with other businesses.”

Jason and Vic Ballantyne took over the day-to-day running of the 125-hectare tenanted Clynelish, Sutherland’s monitor farm, in 2012, and currently run 900 breeding ewes and 80 suckler cows. Their May born calves are usually weaned at five and a half months and are sold at nine and a half months at Thainstone. The calves are overwintered inside on silage, draff from the distillery and a little beet pulp and soya which Victoria describes as “a pretty affordable diet.”

The Ballantynes, who have always had a firm grasp of their costs of production, will share their recent weaning and scan results at the meeting. Keen not to get caught out trying to source feed this year, like they and many farmers did last year, they have already started planning for the second half of the winter and next spring.

“We have done some basic feed budgeting based on what we know we have in sheds and in the ground. We also know what stock we expect to carry so this gives us somewhere to start from,” said Jason Ballantyne.

Clynelish Farm is one of nine monitor farms established in Scotland as part of a joint initiative by Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) and AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds with funding from the Scottish Government. The aim of the monitor farm programme is to help improve the productivity, profitability and sustainability of Scottish farm businesses.

The meeting at the Brora Golf Club on Wednesday 12 December is free to attend and open to all. It will begin at 11am, with coffee and registration from 10.30am. Lunch is included.

Farmers interested in attending the next Sutherland Monitor farm meeting should confirm attendance with the facilitators Willie Budge or Cat MacGregor by phoning SAC Thurso on 01847 892602 or emailing fbsthurso@sac.co.uk.

Maximising your use of machinery and technology will be the focus of the next Angus Monitor Meeting on Thursday 13 December.

Mary Munro from Strutt and Parker will share the findings of the recent machinery review carried out at Mill of Inverarity and compare their findings to those found across AHDB’s monitor farm network. The machinery review looks at costs including machinery, labour and cost per operation, for example the cost per hectare of ploughing, rolling or combining.

Morayshire Monitor Farmer Iain Green will also be at the event to discuss Corskie Farm’s new Beef Monitor system which weighs cattle each time they take a drink.

The group will find out more about how the 50 cross bred finishing bulls using the system have been getting on. It’s already proving to be good value with Iain able to monitor the performance of his stock using an app on his phone.

Iain uses the Beef Monitor to keep an eye on his bulls’ growth without having to handle them or put them through races which is he feels is less stressful for the livestock as well as saving time and labour costs.

The Angus Management Team have also been trialling different fodder beet varieties over three different farms (including the Mill) and at the meeting Kirsten Williams from SAC Consulting will reveal how the varieties have performed in terms of volume produced, crude protein and metabolisable energy (ME).

“There is a lot of choice for farmers growing forage for stock and we wanted to look at which offered the best value for money.” Monitor Farmer Rob Stodart explains. “However it’s not as simple as looking at which was cheapest to grow and produced the best yield. We will also be discussing how to match stock to the correct fodder to get the best results.”

Mill of Inverarity is part of the Monitor Farm Scotland initiative, managed by Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) and AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds with funding from the Scottish Government. The aim of the monitor farm programme is to help improve the productivity, profitability and sustainability of Scottish farm businesses.

The meeting will be held at Forfar Auction Mart, starting at 11am and closing at 3pm. The event is free to attend but to lunch will be provided so to assist with catering attendees should book a place by contacting Stacey Hamilton by phone (01569 762305) or email (frbsstonehaven@sac.co.uk).

Innovation through collaboration with researchers will be the main focus at the upcoming Lothians Monitor Farm meeting on Wednesday 12 December.

Having initially partnered with the Moredun Research Institute to bring new livestock research findings on to farm, the team at Lothians Monitor Farm is now looking to link up with the James Hutton Institute to take their arable operations up a gear.

Monitor Farmer Bill Gray, who manages the fully arable Prestonhall Farms, explains: “We partnered with Moredun after a really engaging technology meeting they came along to next year.

“There is so much valuable research going on at places like the Moredun Research Institute and the James Hutton Institute and we really want to trial some of their work on farm and share with other farmers what might work for them in a commercial environment.”

The Management Team at Lothians have already visited the Institute to find out more about ongoing work and are particularly interested in projects  like the Centre for Sustainable Cropping which aim to test cropping systems which optimise both yield and environmental sustainability.

At the meeting a scientist from the James Hutton Institute will share some of the most commercially practical projects which could then be trialled at the Lothians, with the group deciding which would be best to take forward in 2019.

The approach mirrors the work ongoing with the Moredun Research Institute which has seen Lothians Monitor Farmer Peter Eccles, who is a mainly livestock farmer based at Saughland Farm, successfully implementing targeted selective treatment for worming lambs, as well as pen side testing for sheep scab.

On the day the group will also be joined by Niall Jeffrey, who farms at Bielgrange in East Lothian, recently named as AgriScot Scotch Beef Farm of the Year.

Niall will discuss how the farm is currently working with UK Agritech Centre Agri-EPI on improving the efficiency of his beef enterprise through better use of technology. The farm currently uses a beef monitor system to weigh the livestock every time they take a drink and they also wear collars which provide early warnings of any health and fertility issues.

Gavin Dick, Commercial Farms Manager for Agri-EPI, says their work can help farmers make better use of available technologies to improve production.

“Imaging and sensor technologies give livestock and arable farmers the opportunity to detect and solve problems earlier, for example identifying potential livestock health issues before any clinical signs appear.” Gavin says. “They can then make informed management decisions earlier which should improve production efficiency.”

At the end of the meeting Niall will be joined by the JHI scientist and QMS Chair Kate Rowell, for an open Q&A session with the community group. Any questions will be welcomed for what will no doubt be a lively discussion.

The Lothians Monitor farm – a partnership between neighbouring farms Saughland and Prestonhall – is one of nine monitor farms established in Scotland as part of a joint initiative by Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) and AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds with funding from the Scottish Government. The aim of the monitor farm programme is to help improve the productivity, profitability and sustainability of Scottish farm businesses.

The meeting on 12 December will be held at the Juniperlea Inn, Pathhead, all are welcome and the event is free. Lunch will be provided at 12pm and for catering purposes those interested in coming along should confirm attendance with Colin MacPhail on 07747 046461 or at colin@macphailconsulting.co.uk. The meeting is expected to finish by 4pm.