Forage crops and pasture management are set to be the focus of the next Shetland Monitor farm meeting on Saturday 25 August.
Monitor Farm Community Group Chairman, Jamie Leslie, will host the meeting at Scholland Farm. Mr Leslie, who farms in partnership with his father John with help from brother Alistair, cousin Steven, wife Louise, and his three children, runs 850 ewes and over 70 cows. He also contract farms at Sumburgh Farm.
Mr Leslie has been rotational grazing his livestock for a few years and has recently been experimenting with crops such as Plantain and Fodder Beet.
The group will also hear from independent consultant Michael Blanche who will address how profit can be made through pasture management, practical ways of making rotational grazing work and how to manage higher stocking rates with challenging winters.
Mr Blanche is a first-generation farmer who started with 50 sheep on seasonal lets, and now has 1,000 ewes on a tenanted farm in Perthshire. He is also the host of The Pasture Pod podcast.
He has completed a Nuffield Scholarship which investigated growing a livestock business from very little and concluded that pasture management was the golden key to profit and equity growth.
Monitor farmers Kirsty and Aimee Budge, who farm at Bigton, are looking forward to visiting Mr Leslie’s farm and hearing from Mr Blanche on how to make profit through pasture management.
“We are really grateful that Jamie has offered to host the visit to his farm next week,” said Kirsty Budge.
“We, like lots of other farmers in the group, are keen to learn about how forage crops can help make our own business more efficient.
‘’We are also really looking forward to hearing from Michael Blanche on how pasture management can aid profit and growth.”
At the meeting on 25 August, Kirsty and Aimee Budge will also update the group on developments at Bigton including the barley trial plots and the grazing season.
The Shetland 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 Saturday 25 August will begin at Ness Boating Club at 2.30pm and end at 6pm after a barbeque.
To book your attendance (and place at the barbeque) please contact Graham Fraser, SAC Consulting Lerwick on 01595 693520 or email frbslerwick@sac.co.uk
Bull fertility will be among the key topics discussed at the forthcoming meeting of the Borders Monitor Farm on 22 August.
Whitriggs, a 480 hectare farm near Denholm, is run by Robert and Lesley Mitchell, along with their son Stuart. The farm runs a suckler herd of 140 Beef Shorthorn and Aberdeen Angus cross cows and a flock of 1,000 Lleyn ewes across two units. Their current bull team consists of Angus, Simmental and Shorthorn bulls.
With an eye on continuous improvement, the Mitchells are keen to shorten their calving period and make sure that their bulls are working to their full potential. At the meeting, Colin Penny from Zoetis will discuss what checks to make on bulls, including a semen test, and what to look out for while the bulls are working.
“At Whitriggs we are always evaluating our business and the way we do things,” said Robert Mitchell.
“Making our cattle more efficient and reviewing when we sell calves is a priority for us so I’m looking forward to hearing from Colin Penny who will no doubt give us a greater insight into managing our bulls more efficiently.”
The meeting, which is free and open to all farmers, will also look at fodder and bedding options to address the challenges posed by the dry summer. The facilitators will lead the group in creating feed budgets as well as looking at alternative feed and bedding materials.
As a mixed farm, the importance and economics of growing crops will also be scrutinised at the meeting. Given the addition of a new deer operation, the group will also review the other farm enterprises to ensure they are operating efficiently and complement each other.
QMS Director of Economics Services Stuart Ashworth will also attend the meeting to update the group on market prices and trends.
Whitriggs 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 on 22 August at Whitriggs farm, will begin at 6pm and finish at 9pm. There will be a BBQ during the meeting. All are welcome and the event is free.
For catering purposes, those interested in coming along on 22 August should confirm attendance with Stephen Young, one of the project facilitators, on 07502 339613 or email stephen.young@saos.coop.
A deeper look at soil profile and improving drainage will be the main topics of discussion at the next meeting of the North Ayrshire Monitor Farm on Wednesday 15 August.
At the meeting, which will be held at Girtridge Farm, Dundonald, the results of the #soilmyundies trial to assess soil health will be discussed. Five members of the community group have buried their underpants in a range of soils on their own farms and are looking forward to seeing how they have fared.
The microbial activity of soil, an indicator of soil health, can be visually assessed in the simple practical experiment known as #soilmyundies. Originating in Canada, this simple test is a popular way for farmers to get an indication of how healthy their soils are.
Drainage Specialist Gavin Elrick from SAC Consulting will give an overview of the practical aspects of drainage repairs and maintenance in the field and outline the specification and costs of new drainage systems.
Using host monitor farmer, John Howie’s wettest field, Mr Elrick will explore options and costs to make it more productive.
Mr Howie runs the 140-hectare Girtridge Farm in partnership with his mother Margaret and his sister Mary. They also own an additional 35 hectares of grazing nearby.
As well as the 200 bought-in cattle that they finish, the Howies also run 240 breeding ewes.
“I am really looking forward to discussing the results of the #soilmyundies trial and also hearing the insights of Gavin Elrick,” said Mr Howie.
“It has been a very challenging year here in the South West of Scotland with extremely dry weather following a very wet spring when ineffective field drainage systems hindered access to land and reduced pasture utilisation.
“Hopefully Gavin will provide an insight into how we can manage and improve our wet fields so we can maximise grass production in the future.”
At the meeting, which is free and open to all farmers, David Kerr from ScotEID will also demonstrate the technologies available and the potential benefits of EID in cattle management.
Mr Howie has tagged cattle with both frequencies of EID tags – low frequency (LF) and Ultra High Frequency (UHF) – and Mr Kerr will demonstrate read ranges of tags.
Malcolm Young from SAC Consulting will also attend the meeting to discuss woodland opportunities at Girtridge.
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 on 15 August at Girtridge Farm, Dundonald, KA2 9BX, will begin at 10.30am. Lunch will be provided and the meeting is expected to finish by 3pm. All are welcome and the event is free.
For catering purposes, those interested in coming along should confirm attendance by calling 01292 525252 or emailing FBSAyr@sac.co.uk
Livestock farmers are being urged to take steps now to make the most of feed stocks and limit the effects of the exceptionally dry conditions on farm.
The topic has come up at a number of recent Monitor Farm Scotland meetings, including events at the Morayshire and Borders monitor farms. At the recent Morayshire Monitor farm meeting the advice was “Plan, prepare and don’t panic” and a practical guidance sheet was circulated for farmers concerned about coping with drastically reduced feed stocks.
The guidance was repeated at the Nithsdale Monitor Farm Open Day held today (Thursday 19 July) at Clonhie near Thornhill, when consultant Rhidian Jones from RJ Livestock Systems, part of the 5Agri group, outlined potential solutions to managing feed supply and demand during droughts
“The current dry spell we are experiencing is unprecedented in recent years and follows a late spring where silage stocks were used up and more concentrate feeding was required,” said Mr Jones.
“It is inevitable that it will be a costly year for livestock farmers, but there are some basic steps that can be taken to alleviate the situation. The key is for farmers to do these things now and not wait until they are forced into actions when they have no choice.”
He suggested that farmers establish a feed budget as a useful first step to work out what feeds are currently available and how much livestock can be carried with that feed. He also highlights several things that livestock farmers could consider to try and increase the supply of forage on their farm.
Stitching in some Italian Ryegrass with/without forage rape or stubble turnips to some fields will provide a supply of feed in the autumn, early winter and an early bite for the spring. Italian ryegrass will last 12-18 months and should give a silage crop next year as well.
Applying nitrogen in small quantities (20-30kgN/ha) where there may be heavy dew in the mornings or rain forecast will also help boost grass growth.
Alternative sources of feed should also be explored, whether it is hay, straw, moist feed, by-products or waste vegetables, and in some areas it might be feasible to cut poorer cereals for whole crop.
Depending on your location it may also be worth talking to arable neighbours to determine whether cereal crops can be made into wholecrop silage or whether there are windows in their rotation where stubble turnips can be sown after the cereal is harvested. Any silage or wholecrop that is made should be well wilted to reduce straw requirements in winter.
As well as trying to identify ways to increase the feed supply Mr Jones suggested ways to reduce feed demand.
“Consider weaning lambs once they are 12 weeks of age,” said Mr Jones.
“From eight weeks they will be deriving more nutrition from grass than milk and will be directly competing with ewes for valuable grass. The ewes’ DM requirements will be more than halved and they can be dried off on very little grass.”
Another suggestion he gave was to consider selling cull ewes earlier to reduce demand on grazing as well as selling store lambs earlier in the year if they can.
Cattle farmers may also wish to scan their cows earlier and then sell any barren cows at the earliest opportunity. They may also benefit from weaning autumn born calves as soon as they can, and wean spring born calves at 250 kg or 5-6 months of age. This will leave some body condition on the cows, which will also save feed in the winter.
“Creep feeding calves earlier will boost calf growth rates and help to take the pressure off the cows and grassland,” said Mr Jones. “This may also help conception rates of the cows depending on when the bulls are put in,” he added.
Finally, he said, housing finishing cattle earlier on a more intensive diet may cost more per day but will mean that the cattle take less time to finish and less straw will be used as well.
Mr Jones stressed that there may be other options open to farmers, but the key is to take action now before the situation worsens.
“This may also be an opportune time to have a more strategic look at your farm business in terms of stocking density, enterprise mix, wintering options, resilience to cope with extreme conditions and whether investment is required for future sustainability,” he added.
The Monitor Farm Scotland Programme is 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 through establishing a network for nine monitor farms throughout Scotland.
The opportunities for farmers to use technology to increase efficiency will be the focus of the next Sutherland Monitor Farm meeting on Wednesday 25th July.
Thurso farmer Donald Macdonald from Taldale Farm at Forss, will host the meeting. Mr Macdonald, who farms in partnership with his wife Fiona, runs a flock of 900 North Cheviot sheep over a total of 240 hectares and has attended many of the past meetings at Clynelish Farm in Brora, Sutherland’s Monitor Farm.
Like many farmers in Scotland, Mr Macdonald has limited access to additional labour, so has embraced technology and invested in several systems to help save him both time and money.
“I need my enterprise to be as efficient as possible, and with a landscaping business to run as well as the farm, any system that is labour saving is of interest to me,” said Mr Macdonald.
Five years ago, Mr Macdonald invested in a Racewell sheep handling system with weigh crate and autoshedder. The system will be demonstrated at the meeting next week and Jane Thomson from Shearwell Data will explain how the information collated from the software on the weigh crate can be used to improve the efficiency of the sheep enterprise.
The group will also have an opportunity to learn about the ClipEx fencing system that Mr Macdonald uses on his farm. Originally from Australia, the claim is that the system is quick to erect, stronger and more cost effective than other forms of traditional fencing in the market.
After seeing some listeria in his sheep due to mouldy silage, Mr Macdonald began using Silostop bale wrap three years ago and the oxygen barrier film has proved very successful at Taldale.
“The seal on the bale is so much more effective, and the colour, the weight, and the analysis all demonstrate how the reduction of oxygen ingression into the bale improves the quality of the silage,” said Mr Macdonald.
“I’ve also found that bales wrapped in Silostop retain their weight better than standard wrapped bales, which means I have more silage to feed through the winter. The forage I have now is also better quality, so I need to feed less purchased feed, so overall the cost of production is lower, despite increased wrap costs.”
Vic and Jason Ballantyne, who farm at Clynelish Farm, are looking forward to visiting Mr Macdonald’s farm and seeing how he has managed to save time and money by investing in technology.
“We are really grateful that Donald has agreed to host the visit to his farm next week,” said Jason Ballantyne.
“We, like lots of other farmers in the group, are keen to learn how technology can help make our own business more efficient.”
Also at the meeting on 25 July, Highland Drones will give a demonstration of agricultural drones and explain some of their potential uses on livestock farms, including animal monitoring, crop growth, soil health and thermal imaging.
“We are really excited to see if drones can help us check our livestock at Clynelish,” said Vic Ballantyne.
“We have a lot of hill and checking sheep in the dense bracken area’s is a nightmare on foot by truck or tractor – especially in the winter months.”
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 Taldale Farm on Wednesday 25th July 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
Lothians Monitor Farm will form closer partnerships with research institutes James Hutton and Moredun over the next eighteen months.
Monitor farmers Peter Eccles and Bill Gray will discuss developing closer ties with scientists, utilising research to improve the efficiency of their livestock and arable enterprises, at the coming Lothians Monitor Farm meeting on 25 July.
They will also look back at the first half of the project focusing on particular successes including the collaboration between their two farms, benchmarking costs with the business group, and the pollinator project run at Prestonhall with SRUC.
For arable farmer Bill Gray the next year will largely be about how to overcome key challenges the sector is facing.
He says: “We want to offer potential solutions to problems, like glyphosate, how would we cope if we lost it? It might have been renewed recently but the direction of travel indicates that chemical use will only be further restricted in future.
“We also want to work with the James Hutton Institute’s Centre for Sustainable Cropping to see how the systems they are developing, which should be more sustainable long-term, could be rolled out commercially.”
Livestock farmer Peter Eccles will be working more this year with the Moredun Research Institute on issues of livestock disease and parasite challenges, as well looking to expand further on potential environment and diversification projects at Saughland Farm.
Peter says: “There’s some really interesting stuff coming up this year. We will be looking at the results and realising the benefits from our new TST (Targeted Selective Treatment) trial on worming lambs and after a difficult autumn and the dry summer so far we need to be really prepared when it comes to the winter feed budget.
“This year we will incorporate fodder beet for the first time into both sheep and cattle rations, but it might not be enough to plug the potential gap caused by a loss in dry matter this summer.”
At this meeting – run by the project’s management team – there will be discussion on both the livestock and arable business figures which have been revealed in the benchmarking group.
The arable updates will focus on the new grain store, outcomes of the new tractor/cultivator and pollinator project, as well as discussion of key issue Prestonhall faces including succession, staff management and rotation.
On the livestock side there are performance figures to share from the last 18 months as the Saughland sheep flock has increased. After a period of expansion, the management group want to refine the performance and evaluate the industry-leading technologies developed by Moredun and applied at farm level.
For project facilitator Colin MacPhail this coming year will give the team a chance to develop both the collaboration work between the two farms further and embrace innovation.
“When we started this project, we said we wanted to develop a blueprint for successful collaboration between the arable and livestock sectors. We have made good progress but we need to continue to measure the cost benefit of collaboration in more detail so we can put together a toolkit for others to use” Colin says.
“Linking with JHI and Moredun gives us access to some exciting arable and livestock research which we can apply at farm level. Innovation and technology is advancing at an incredible pace and by forging links with these organisations we will have access to new technologies and research as they become available.
“This meeting gives everyone an opportunity to contribute and ensure we are focused on the pertinent issues as we head into the many unknowns of the next 18 months.”
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 25 July will begin at Rosemains Farm, Pathhead, EH37 5UQ, all are welcome and the event is free. Tea and coffee will be available from 10am and lunch will be provided, however for catering purposes those interested in coming along on should confirm attendance with Colin MacPhail on 07747 046461 or at colin@macphailconsulting.co.uk. The meeting is expected to finish by 2.30pm.
At the Angus Monitor Farm Open Day on 15 July the Stodart family will discuss how far they have come, and where they want to be by the end of the project.
Since the family signed up to the Monitor Farm Scotland programme late in 2016 they have made some big steps forward. They’ve moved into egg production, their sheep numbers have almost doubled without taking on any more land and they have significantly improved their cattle fertility, however they know there is more to be done.
Monitor farmer Rob Stodart explains: “We’ve been really pleased with our progress this year, we have made some really big changes to how we work and we are starting to see the benefits. At this coming meeting we’ll talk about what we’ve covered but we’ll also be discussing what we do in the next 18 months.
“A couple of key areas will be the sheep, taking a more focused approach to rotational grazing, making sure we have the right breed for our system and then moving towards a closed flock. We want to trial using EID with the cattle to improve our feeding and management there, and we want to focus more on arable, looking to maximise our yield without increasing inputs, with a focus on soil health. We are also in the process of succession planning.”
Local farmers will be able to make suggestions for areas to cover in the next 18 months at the coming Open Day which starts with a farm tour at the family’s Drowndubbs unit. Attendees will visit four stations – cattle, sheep, grassland and arable – and speak to the Stodarts, and members of the project’s Management Team, about the plans for the year ahead. Karen Stewart from SAC Consulting will also discuss managing forage during prolonged dry periods.
After the tour the groups will return to Mill of Inverarity Farm for a charity stock judging contest (using a selection of the Stodart’s livestock) which will cost £5 to enter and the proceeds will be donated to research into Crohns disease. The afternoon will be closed with a BBQ
The Angus Monitor 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 Monitor Farm meeting will take place on Drownubbs Farm, on Sunday 15 July from 2pm to approximately 6pm. The event is free to attend but to assist with catering attendees should book a place by contacting Stacey Hamilton by phone (01569 762305) or email (frbsstonehaven@sac.co.uk).
The next Nithsdale Monitor farm meeting on Thursday 19 July will focus on how technology can be used to increase efficiency on livestock farms.
Andrew and Aileen Marchant, who farm at Clonhie Farm, Penpont near Lockerbie, run 900 breeding ewes, a small herd of 20 Luing cattle and have recently invested in 100 deer hinds on their 300-hectare upland tenanted farm.
Like many other farm businesses across Scotland, the Marchants rely almost entirely on family labour, so are keen to see how technology can help save time and money.
“With Aileen working off farm I largely work on my own day to day, so need to look at ideas to help cut labour and make my life as easy as possible,” said Andrew Marchant.
“With nearly 1,000 sheep to manage, we decided to invest in a sheep handling system with auto-shedder in May 2017, and although it was a fairly expensive piece of kit, we have already seen clear benefits of using the system.”
The meeting next week will include a demonstration of the system at Clonhie which not only allows the Marchants to weigh their lambs regularly and monitor their growth rates using Shearwell Data software but has an automatic dosing gun element which is linked to the weigh crate. This ensures that every lamb is dosed with the correct amount of anthelmintic based on its weight – which saves money on drenches and reduces the potential development of anthelmintic resistance.
The use of drones (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles or UAVs) has increased in popularity in agriculture in recent years. The devices can be fitted with cameras and sensors to help farmers check the health of their crops and soil, as well as track livestock and survey farmland.
At the meeting on 19 July, David Owen of Owen Farm Services, part of the 5Agri Group, will be looking at the use of drones on livestock farms, focussing on what is currently available in terms of assessing fields from above for poor yielding areas or soil compaction. He will also highlight potential future uses for drones.
Also at the meeting, Rhidian Jones of RJ Livestock Systems will be looking at grassland management technology, grass measuring devices and electric fencing. In addition, he will lead a discussion on the options farmers have for managing the current drought and ensuring there are sufficient feed supplies for the coming winter
“The weather extremes experienced across Scotland this year have resulted in severe challenges for livestock farmers, said Mr Jones.
“There are however some things that farmers can do though to preserve the grass that they have, and plan for the winter months.”
The benefits of social media will also be highlighted by Aileen Marchant, who works as a teacher at Wallacehall Academy at Thornhill when not working with husband Andrew on the farm. She is keen to encourage farmers to connect with the public about what they do, either through social media, or by holding open days or hosting school visits. At the meeting she will give a short presentation about how farmers, and the Scottish livestock industry as a whole, can benefit from talking the time to engage with the general public about farming.
Clonhie farm is now approaching the half way point of the three-year monitor farm programme, and to celebrate, Andrew and Aileen have kindly invited those who attend the meeting on 19 July to a Scotch Lamb spit roast after the meeting ends. It will also give the attendees an opportunity to taste some delicious Clonhie Scotch Lamb!
“We have really enjoyed being part of the monitor farm programme so far,” said Andrew Marchant.
“It has really made us think a lot more about our business and the changes we, and other farmers, can make to the way we do things to make our enterprise more profitable and sustainable.”
“We have a great management group who has supported us in our journey but realise that livestock farmers everywhere can benefit from the monitor farm programme. We are therefore really keen to hear from the farmers who come along to our meetings to help drive the programme and suggest subjects for future meetings that will benefit them.”
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 at Clonhie Farm on Thursday 19 July will begin at 4pm with a lamb roast being served at 5.30pm.
To book your place please contact facilitator Judith Hutchison on 07718 919055 or email judith.agridigm@icloud.com.
The importance of benchmarking will be emphasised at the coming Morayshire Monitor Farm meeting on Tuesday 10 July.
Past monitor farmer Steven Sanderson, who farms 330 acres on Orkney, will join the community group at Corskie Farm to share his experiences after he completed a Nuffield Scholarship on benchmarking in beef farming.
All the Monitor Farm Scotland farms have established business groups where each member enters their business figures into AHDB programme Farmbench which allows them to compare and contrast the results at regular discussion meetings.
Steven got into benchmarking as a way to help him reach previously unreachable management targets.
“I used to go to these meetings where we were told we should be meeting certain targets,” Steven says, “for example 92% weaning in a 9 week breeding period, at the time that for me seemed nigh on impossible.
“So I set out to find out if it was possible, and if so, how the farmers achieving it were doing so, and that’s where benchmarking came in. It’s only through having a clear idea of how you are doing in terms of inputs and outputs, and then comparing that to others, that you can see where changes can be made.”
The group will also hear more about the Beef Monitor system Corskie is currently trialling. The system automatically weighs the cattle every time they go to take a drink, which offers the Green family huge scope to monitor the effectiveness of their breeding and feeding programmes to improve cattle performance.
Monitor farmer Laura Green explains: “It’s a really useful system for measuring daily liveweight gains which we can then trace back to our genetics and use the information to make our system even more efficient.
“It will also flag up if any of the livestock are suffering from poor health before there are any clinical signs, or if we need to make any changes to the ration. I’m really looking forward to seeing the system in practice with our group of just weaned bulls.”
As Corskie Farm hosts a number of Syngenta cereal variety trials, the Morayshire Monitor Farm Open Day will also double as Syngenta’s trial site open day with Iain Lindsay and Katie Murray on hand to discuss how the varieties have been faring this year.
Attendees will be able to see first-hand how both winter and spring barley varieties are coping with the recent hot, dry weather.
“We’ll be looking at the crops to see how they are coping in tough conditions,” Iain explains, “how resilient are they to long periods without rain, how to they manage in the heat and of course no doubt the farmers present will have their own experiences to share about their season also.”
The Morayshire Monitor 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 Monitor Farm meeting will take place on Corskie Farm, Garmouth, IV32 7NN, on Tuesday 10 July from 2pm to 5pm. The event is free of charge but to assist with catering it would be appreciated if you can book a place by contacting Samantha Stewart by phone (01343 548 787) or email (samantha.stewart@sac.co.uk).
The progress of a family farm near Hawick trying to improve its efficiency and profitability as part of a monitor farm programme will be highlighted during an open day they are hosting on Wednesday 11 July.
Whitriggs Farm near Denholm was announced as a monitor farm in December 2016. Eighteen months later and now half way through the three year programme, it is opening its gates to let anyone with an interest in livestock farming learn more about what they have been doing so far to improve the management of their business.
“The monitor farm programme has given us a whole new enthusiasm for the our business and highlighted lots of opportunities for developing it in the future,” said Lesley Mitchell, who farms in partnership with her husband Robert and son Stuart, with support from Stuart’s brother Alistair in busy periods.
She added: “The support of the management group and community group has given us the confidence to make changes to how we do things, introduce new enterprises and improve existing ones.”
At the event on 11 July, which is free to attend and open to all, the Mitchells will highlight the changes they have made to their business so far and their plans for the next 18 months.
Together with neighbouring Denholm Hill Farm, the Mitchell family own 442 hectares of mainly semi-permanent and permanent grassland and grow approximately 40 hectares of winter wheat and oats for feeding their stock.
The family have 155 suckler cows which are a combination of Beef Shorthorn cross and Aberdeen Angus cross. In the last year, the family successfully introduced sycronisation and AI and have reduced their calving period down to just six weeks.
“We saw clear benefits of the cows calving within six weeks this year,” said Robert Mitchell. “Now we can manage the calves in a single group and the cows all have a clear month after weaning before they get put back to the bull.”
He added: “We also used to finish all our stock on farm but, after taking advice from the management group, decided to sell some of our bullocks as stores in September to free up grass for the remaining stock over the winter. We tried this for the first time last year and have seen a clear financial benefit in doing this.”
Also at the meeting, the Mitchells will give an progress report on the health of the 1,000 Lleyn ewe flock at Whitriggs. After discovering that some of their ewes tested positive for Maedi Visna (MV) last year, the family now manage the flock in two seperate locations in an attempt to keep the disease from spreading. At the meeting next week, Andrew Robinson from Hawick Vet Practice will explain the various MV testing options available to help the family manage the flock in the future.
An important part of the monitor farm programme is the use of farm benchmarking to compare the financial performance of different businesses in order to identify areas for potential improvement. At the event on 11 July, the family will share the results of the benchmarking exercise they recently conducted and explain how they intend to use that information going forward to improve their business.
Over the last year and a half, the Mitchell family at Whitriggs have hosted nine meetings and have welcomed over 50 people to each of their events. The monitor farm has addressed subjects including cattle management, flock health and grazing strategies, all of which have been selected by the management group made up of local farmers.
“We wanted the subjects that we discussed at our meetings to be relevant not just to what we are doing at Whitriggs, but also to others livestock farmers in the area so that everyone could benefit from them,” said Stuart Mitchell.
“We have been delighted in the numbers that have come along to our meetings so far and really hope that the enthusiasm for the monitor farm programme and the journey we are on here at Whitriggs will continue for the next 18 months.”
Whitriggs 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 on 11 July, which will be held at Whitriggs Farm, near Denholm, is due to begin at 2pm and is expected to end at 5pm. Attendees are then invited to stay on for a BBQ.
To book your attendance on 11 July (and place at the BBQ!) please contact Stephen Young, one of the project facilitators, on 07502 339613 or email stephen.young@saos.coop.