Over 80 farmers and others working in the industry gathered on the new Borders Monitor Farm to show their support for the project which aims to assist farmers become more efficient and sustainable.
Whitriggs Farm near Denholm, run by Robert and Lesley Mitchell and their son Stuart, was recently announced as one of nine new monitor farms established in Scotland as part of the joint initiative run by Quality Meat Scotland and AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds, with funding from the Scottish Government.
During a farm tour Robert, Lesley and Stuart gave an overview of their current farm business and outlined their cattle, sheep, grassland and arable management strategies.
The 442-hectare 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. The farms are mainly semi-permanent and permanent grassland and grow 40 hectares of winter wheat and oats to feed the stock. However, the family is keen to look at the best options to take their business forward.
Robert Mitchell said: “The aim of the business up until now has been to be self-sufficient with a tight control on costs to try and maximise profit and try to achieve a good work-life balance.”
He added: “We are always looking for ideas to make our business more efficient and we are very aware that making little changes can have a big impact.”
The 1,000 ewe flock has been closed since 2004 and is lambed indoors in March. The majority of the ewes go to a Lleyn tup, but 250 are put to either a Suffolk or Hampshire tup as the Mitchells have found that these tups produce lambs that finish slightly quicker. Lambs generally reach their target weight of 42 kilos from August and are marketed through Farmstock Scotland.
Stuart joined the family partnership in 2016 and is keen to look at how the business can be improved. He said: “One of the first things we would like to do is look at the sheep enterprises and try to increase the number of lambs sold.”
“We would also like to see the cattle becoming more efficient and reviewing when we sell the calves to see if improvements could be made there.”
Jonny Williams, Beef and Lamb Procurement Officer with Farmstock Scotland, gave an overview of current market trends in the red meat sector. The group then split into smaller groups to discuss what aspects of the farm business they felt the Mitchell family could look at over the next three years in order to improve efficiencies and their bottom line.
The Mitchell’s are excited about being monitor farmers and are open to suggestions on how they can make improvements on their farm.
Robert Mitchell commented: “The monitor farm programme gives farmers the opportunity to share their ideas and tell us at Whitriggs how we can improve things and what other farmers would like to see changed on the farm. Hopefully they will adopt some of the new ideas being discussed and see improvements in their own businesses too.”
If you would like more information about the Borders monitor farm please contact Stephen Young, one of the project facilitators on 07502 339613 or email stephen.young@saos.coop.
Next week’s meeting of the Sutherland Monitor Farm will focus on ewe management over the lambing period and also discuss which grass mixes could be sown to maximise grazing potential in the year ahead.
Farmers and crofters are invited to the free meeting at Clynelish, near Brora, on Tuesday 14th March, when host farmers Jason and Victoria Ballantyne will share their scanning results.
The nutritional management of their ewes will also be in the spotlight, ahead of this year’s lambing, which is due to begin outdoors at the end of April.
The Ballantynes run 900 breeding ewes, of which about half are Lairg-type Cheviots and the remainder, Lleyn crosses. Their scanning rate in 2016 was 161% however the couple are keen to identify ways to increase it in the future.
Jason Ballantyne commented: “We know how important it is to maintain the ewes at the correct condition score and ensure that the ewe’s increasing nutritional requirements are met throughout pregnancy to make sure we get strong healthy lambs and milky mothers.”
They will be joined by independent sheep consultant Rhidian Jones who will talk about the nutritional requirements of the ewe throughout the year and the importance of feeding high quality forage through the winter.
The Ballantynes have focused considerable attention on improving the grass and soil at Clynelish and have seen some good results. They are keen to establish is a rotational grazing system and Mr Jones will give an overview on grassland management and how farmers can establish a simple rotational grazing system on their own farms. There will also be a discussion about which grass mixtures the group feel Clynelish should sow this spring, and possible brassica options for the farm.
Clynelish also runs 80 suckler cows which are a mostly a mixture of Simmental cross native breeds. Calves are born outside in May and June and are sold as stores at 10 months old. The couple are keen to hear ideas about how they can improve their calf management and at the meeting they will share the performance data of their 2016-born calves, due to be sold at Thainstone in the coming months.
Clynelish Farm is one of the nine new monitor farms that has been established in Scotland as part of a joint initiative by Quality Meat Scotland 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.
To book your attendance (and lunch!) at the meeting at Clynelish on 14th March please contact Willie Budge or Cat MacGregor, the project facilitators at SAC Consulting Thurso on 01847 892602, or email FBSThurso@sac.co.uk
Farmers and crofters are invited to a free meeting, focusing on the management of pregnant ewes, at the Lochaber monitor farm, Strone, near Banavie on Thursday 9th March.
Host farmers Chris Cameron and his father Malcolm are due to start outdoor lambing their flock of 500 Cheviot ewes in April.
At the meeting next Thursday, which begins at 11am, Chris Cameron will outline the sheep policy at Strone and his hopes for this year’s lambing.
“Our ewes scanned at an average of 126% last year, which we are quite happy with but we are always looking for ways to improve things. We are scanning later this week so will hopefully have some positive figures to share with the group at our meeting next week,” said Chris Cameron.
Ensuring pregnant ewes receive the right nutrition is something the Camerons view as very important and they are keen to ensure their flock is in the correct condition in the run-up to lambing.
At the meeting, independent sheep specialist Dr John Vipond will explain that maintaining condition score and being aware of the ewe’s increasing nutritional requirements during late pregnancy are important for production efficiency and, therefore, profitability.
Ewen Campbell, farm manager for SRUC’s Hill and Mountain Research Centre based at Kirkton and Auchtertyre, will demonstrate some condition scoring techniques at the meeting highlighting how farmers can use these to assess whether their ewes are on target to produce strong lambs through to weaning.
Kenny Lang from Crown vets in Fort William will give an overview of what to include in a flock health plan and flag up the sheep health problems farmers should be aware of which could affect lamb survival.
At the launch meeting in January, Chris and Malcolm Cameron explained that, due to a serious predation issue around Strone, they took the decision in 2010 to move all of their ewes and lambs to summer them on grazing land near Inverness.
There are significant costs associated with doing this and this is set to be a focus of discussion at the meeting when facilitator Niall Campbell, from SAC Consulting Oban, will share financial and performance data from Strone with the group.
“We are really looking forward to getting some guidance from John Vipond, Ewen Campbell and our vet Kenny Lang about how we can ensure we get the best from our ewes at what is a critical time of year in the production cycle,” said Malcolm Cameron.
“The information they share, will help us and other farmers in the area looking to improve their flocks’ efficiency.”
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 is to help improve the productivity, profitability and sustainability of Scottish farm businesses.
Strone farm will be hosting regular meetings over the next three years as the Lochaber Monitor Farm, which will focus on technical and financial challenges that their business, and many other local farming businesses, face.
The Lochaber Monitor Farm meetings are open and free for all farmers to attend. Attendees will also have an input into topics covered, speakers invited to meetings and visits to other enterprises and businesses. Lunch will be provided and the meeting will finish at 3.30pm
To book your attendance (and lunch!) please contact Niall Campbell or Morven MacArthur on 01631 563093 or email fbsoban@sac.co.uk.
The Stodart family are hoping to welcome many local farmers to the first meeting of the Angus Monitor Farm on Monday 6 March.
The meeting will be held at Mill of Inverarity Farm, Forfar, Angus, DD8 2JY, from 10.30am to 3pm, with lunch will provided on farm. The event is free and all are welcome to attend.
The family business was recently selected as a host for the new three year Monitor Farm Scotland programme funded by the Scottish Government. This joint initiative between Quality Meat Scotland and AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds aims to improve the profitability, productivity and sustainability of Scottish farming businesses.
Robert and Alison Stodart farm the 358 hectare mixed unit with their two sons Rory and Tom. Mill of Inverarity will be the focal point for the community group with local farmers able to feed in their ideas to help improve productivity and efficiency. Topics covered during the programme will be selected by the group and cover both local and industry wide issues, for example genetics, disease management and succession.
The business enterprises at Mill of Inverarity are wide ranging with 200 suckler cows, 440 breeding ewes, 300 bought in store lambs and finishing cattle. They also have a 200 hectare arable enterprise growing winter wheat, winter barley, winter oilseed rape and spring barley. The challenges for the business are the same as for many in the area and the Stodarts are confident that the benefits of the project will be far reaching.
Rob Stodart says: “We were really keen to get involved in the Monitor Farm programme so we can make genuine changes to our business to make it more sustainable long term. We also think it will be great for the local community and the farmers who contribute to the projects will also benefit from the ideas and innovation share which they can take back to their own farms.”
The event on 6 March will begin with a tour of the three main enterprises in the business; beef, sheep and arable, with the family describing the systems currently in place. After lunch representatives from QMS and AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds will give an overview of the Monitor Farm programme and former monitor farmer Duncan McEwen, from Arnprior, will share his experiences with the group.
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).
Farmers and others working in the industry are invited to a free meeting on the Nithsdale monitor farm, Clonhie, near Thornhill on Thursday 2nd March when lambing strategies and cow condition scoring will be among the main topics for discussion.
Host farmers Andrew and Aileen Marchant are due to start lambing their flock of 130 Texel ewes inside in March, with their main commercial flock of 770 North Country Cheviots and Lleyns lambing outside at beginning in April.
Mr Marchant said: “Every farmer knows that lambing is probably the busiest time of the year. We don’t bring in extra labour at Clonhie at lambing so Aileen and I work pretty flat out, though our children William (6) and Anna (4) are always keen to help out where they can!
“As we have limited labour, we prepare the sheds for the early lambers in advance and try to get the ewes in the correct condition to minimise problems.”
At the meeting next Thursday, which begins at 10.30am, Mr Marchant and Alistair Padkin will go through Clonhie’s flock management routine, comment on last year’s technical performance and discuss preparation plans for this year’s flock lambing.
The Marchants are happy with their scan results for this year, with the early lambing Texel’s scanning at 176% and the commercial flock scanning at an average of 164%, with just 45 sets of triplets expected. The North Country Cheviots scanned lower than expected this year so the Marchants have been working with their vet, Alistair Padkin from Nithsdale vets, to try to see what the problem might be and to take steps to resolve it.
Mr Marchant said: “Like lots of farms in the area, we are really short of grass at this time of year, so have had to feed our ewes concentrate to maintain condition in late pregnancy. We are keen to look at how we can review this in the future and the potential for growing forage crops at Clonhie.”
The Marchants also have a small herd of Luing Cattle which are due to calve outside at the end April and at the meeting on 2nd March, Rhidian Jones, facilitator for Nithsdale Monitor farm, with give an overview of the herd and talk about the importance of cattle being in the correct condition score.
Mr Jones commented: “Meeting the nutritional requirements of the pregnant suckler cow is vital, irrespective of the size of herd. The Dry Matter content and quality of silage fed is key to achieving strong healthy calves and milky mothers.”
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 is to help improve the productivity, profitability and sustainability of Scottish farm businesses.
Clonhie will be hosting regular meetings over the next three years as the Nithsdale Monitor Farm, which will focus on technical and financial challenges that their business, and many other local farming businesses, face.
Colin Forsyth, who farms nearby in Bennan Farm in Tynron, has recently been appointed as the chairman of the management committee for Nithsdale Monitor Farm. He sees clear benefits for local farmers who choose to get involved with the Monitor Farm programme.
Mr Forsyth said: “At one of the most uncertain times for farming in recent history, this three-year project is an opportunity to bring farmers together, to pool their knowledge and to help move their businesses forward. Andrew and Aileen’s enthusiasm and optimism make them ideal hosts.”
After lunch in the Durisdeer Village Hall, Andrew Best of Watsons Seeds, who is also a member of the Nithsdale MF management committee, will share the results of the soil analysis that have been done on Clonhie and discuss the challenges and opportunities to improve fertility and sward production on the farm. The meeting will finish at 2.30pm
The Nithsdale Monitor Farm meetings are open and free for all farmers to attend. Attendees will also have an input into topics covered, speakers invited to meetings and visits to other enterprises and businesses.
To book your lunch please contact Judith Hutchison, by 12 noon on Monday 27th February, on 07718 919055 or email judith.agridigm@icloud.com.
Corskie Farm hosted the first ever whole-farm Monitor Farm meeting for Morayshire on Wednesday 8 February.
The Morayshire 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 is to help improve the productivity, profitability and sustainability of Scottish farm businesses.
Iain Green farms Corskie in partnership with his mother and father, and is gradually bringing his two eldest daughters, Laura and Jemma, into the business as well.
At the meeting last Wednesday, Iain and his daughters introduced over 100 local farmers to their business, explaining the various enterprises and how they are integrated, with each contributing to the overall business. The enterprises at Corskie include arable, commercial cattle, pedigree sheep and cattle and indoor pigs.
Whether it be crops or livestock, Iain is keen to get the most out of the genetics. He will try out new crop varieties to assess their performance in the north-east, while he is always looking for new out-crosses in his cattle.
Iain said: “We always strive to improve what we do, whether that’s genetics or new cereal varieties. The main thing for me is to either increase outputs and reduce costs or reduce costs and keep outputs rising.”
Visitors to the meeting looked at a field of hybrid winter barley variety plots, including Sunningdale, Bazooka, Volume and Belfry. While winter barley is not commonly grown in Morayshire, at Corskie, its high yield produces feed for the pig enterprise and an early entry for forage crops for the out-wintered commercial cows.
Two challenges of his current farming system Iain highlighted were the ventilation in the large cattle shed, and the importance of synchronising computer programmes for electronic tagging. However, Iain is looking for more ways to improve.
“I hope the Monitor Farm management group will come up with some challenges for our farm. It’s good to have outside eyes looking at what we’re doing.
“I’m keen to try new things. You never know – there might be some way of adding value to the cereals we grow, or finishing all the cattle on farm, rather than selling store.”
Gavin Dick, AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds Knowledge Exchange Manager for Scotland said: “What makes this Monitor Farm scheme different is that it takes the concept to the whole of Scottish Agriculture PLC, sharing knowledge across all of Scotland. It’s a whole-farm approach rather than sector specific, so is no longer limited. This means we can look at the whole business and have greater focus on cost benefit analysis and personal development.”
Iain sees the Monitor Farm project as an ideal opportunity to help succession in his business. By involving his daughters in the project it allows them to glean ideas and experience from a wide range of local expertise, while increasing their awareness of the current business as well as continually looking for improvements.
For Iain, the Monitor Farm was too good a chance to miss: “If you’re offered any opportunity in life, do it.”
The Scottish Monitor Farms programme is funded by £1.25million secured from the Scottish Government and European Union’s Knowledge Transfer and Innovation Fund.
Those interested in being involved in the project should contact Samantha Stewart on 01343 548789 / samantha.stewart@sac.co.uk or Derek Hanton on 01463 233266 / derek.hanton@sac.co.uk.
Local farmers showed their support of the new Sutherland Monitor Farm last week, with over 50 attending its first open meeting.
Clynelish Farm, near Brora in Sutherland, is a 125-hectare farm run by Jason Ballantyne and his wife Vic, in partnership with Jason’s dad Murdo. It is one of the nine new monitor farms that has been established in Scotland as part of a joint initiative by Quality Meat Scotland 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. At the meeting, Vic and Jason gave a tour of their farm and an overview of their current farming policies and shared their aspirations for the next three years of the monitor farm programme with the group.
Although the Ballantynes are passionate about farming, they have managed to maintain a work life balance that most farmers would be envious of.
Vic Ballantyne explained: “We love farming and are always looking at ways to improve what we do so that our business is sustainable in the future.
“However, for us, we need a good work/life balance, so we are keen to develop a low input, high output system, as well as improving the consistency of their product and find innovative ways to develop our business.”
The energy, openness, enthusiasm and passion of the husband and wife team shone through throughout the day, as well as their superb record keeping skills.
The family have 80 suckler cows which are a mostly a mixture of Simmental cross native breeds. Calves are born outside in May and June and are sold as stored at Thainstone at 10 months old. At the meeting, the Ballantynes shared detailed data of the performance of their 2016 born calves with the group on the day. The data included the average dailyweight gains both before the calves were weaned in November (1.17 kg/day), and since (1.06 kg/day) and the couple were keen to hear ideas how they could improve on this in the future.
The Ballantynes also shared detailed scanning and lambing data form the last six years with the group. The flock of 900 breeding ewes, of which about half are Lairg type Cheviots and the other half Lleyn cross, currently lamb outdoors at the end of April.
Two things that the Ballantynes are keen to focus on this year is to increase their current scanning rate of 161% to over 170% if they can, and look at ways to increase the survival rate of lambs at weaning from its current 144% to over 150%.
The family are looking forward to the challenge of being involved in the initiative and the potential to take their farm business to a new level.
Jason Ballantyne added: “I think it is really important to us as farmers to challenge ourselves and look at our businesses and the way we do things. Hopefully by doing this, we can go on to make improvements and improve our bottom line.”
Farmers who attend the meetings at Clynelish will be able to suggest changes that the farm can make to improve its efficiency and then monitor the results on the farm over the three-year period of the programme. The community group can also choose topics and speakers for future meetings and discuss issues that are local to Sutherland.
Those interested in being involved in the project should contact Willie Budge or Cat MacGregor, the project facilitators at SAC Consulting Thurso on 01847 892602, or email FBSThurso@sac.co.uk
More than 90 people attended the Lothians Monitor Farm launch meeting on Thursday 9 February. It is one of nine new Monitor Farms being established in Scotland as part of a joint initiative by QMS and AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds with funding from the Scottish Government.
The Lothians Monitor Farm is hosted by two farms: Prestonhall and Saughland, near Pathhead.
The farms used to be run as one mixed unit and although they are now separate businesses, with Prestonhall focussing on arable and Saughland on livestock, they still work together sharing resources across the arable and livestock enterprises.
Gavin Dick, AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds Knowledge Exchange Manager, said: “This arrangement will give the Monitor Farm project the opportunity to develop a collaborative structure with which farmers can evaluate the benefits of working together with neighbours in an effort to drive down costs and adopt best practice.”
Prestonhall
The meeting began with an introduction to the arable enterprises at Prestonhall, managed by Bill Gray.
Bill said: “I wanted to be involved because there are many challenges and uncertainties ahead. I wanted to take a fresh look at the business and benefit from the knowledge within the group. With the Monitor Farm we’ve got the opportunity to have a structured approach to business improvement. I want to know how well we are doing now and what we can do better.”
From the arable side, Bill and his team are interested in looking at:
- Re-evaluating the arable enterprise, including machinery, soil, straw, companion cropping in OSR and cover crops;
- Grain handling and storage: to reduce exposure to the grain market, and also to look at how storage could be improved, updated or renewed;
- Collaboration with Saughland: does it need more structure? Could grass at Prestonhall be utilised by Saughland? More sharing of resources;
- Succession planning: mentoring young people and training the next generation of land managers.
At Prestonhall, Bill can only store a third of his tonnage.
“I’d like to not be at the mercy of the harvest market,” he said. “It would be ideal to be able to dry and store everything we produce but that may not be possible.”
A further problem with the current grain handling area is that the storage was built to accommodate smaller machinery and less tonnage. The current building is not really fit for purpose, so Bill wants to provide a more efficient drying and handling system.
Storage and handling also limits Bill’s cropping options, as he doesn’t have the facilities to handle additional crops such as peas and beans.
Saughland
Saughland, where Peter Eccles runs the livestock enterprise, is situated a few miles away and is within easy travel distance to Prestonhall.
Peter said: “I want us to be the best we can be. We aim to build a sustainable business model we can be proud of. Enjoyment is a big factor of what we do too. I’m excited about the future, and feel confident we can overcome the challenges we face. The Monitor Farm process will help us all to find new ways to make our businesses succeed.”
One of Peter’s main aims for this year is to tag all lambs at marking with electronic identification (EID) and weigh them regularly to calculate and monitor growth rates and worm strategically based on their performance.
Improving shelter around the farm is another. “One of my fears is what the weather can bring at lambing time. At the end of April last year a 4-5 hour spell of high winds and heavy snow cost us 30 lambs,” Peter said.
Through the Monitor Farm programme, Peter hopes to look at whether he can sell stores or finishing, as he is now lambing later than the farm used to do. He also plans to investigate finishing lambs at Prestonhall.
One farmer who attended the meeting from South West Scotland and said: “It was the collaboration element of the Monitor Farm that interested me. I want to bring livestock into my own farm.”
Strengths and weaknesses
At the end of the meeting the group of farmers did a quick strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats assessment of the two farms. One of the key strengths that the group identified was the opportunity to develop business models around the two units and their managers working together to future proof their businesses. The group also felt that a strength of both farms was the people involved and the opportunity to use the project to mentor both them and the wider Community Group.
Both farms have ideas they would like to implement, but are looking to find the measurable benefits which they can use to make informed decisions, as well as making use of the skills and experience within the Monitor Farm community.
One of the project facilitators, Stephen Young, SAOS, said: “The owners, managers and staff are all open and forward thinking, and have a hunger to drive the businesses forward in what are going to be challenging times.
“The Monitor Farm project is all about sharing knowledge. The people who know about farming in the Lothians are these people in the group. We are going to have a fantastic three years learning from each other.”
Those interested in being involved in the project should Colin MacPhail, one of the project facilitators, on 07747 046 461 or at colin@macphailconsulting.co.uk
The Mitchell family, hosts of Border’s new monitor farm, are looking forward to welcoming local farmers to their first open meeting next week.
Robert Mitchell, along with his wife Lesley and son Stuart are currently preparing to host their launch event, which is being held on Wednesday 22nd February. The meeting will start at Whitriggs Farm, Denholm, TD9 8QR at 10am, before moving to the Auld Cross Keys Inn for lunch. The event should finish by 2.30pm. All are welcome and the event is free.
Whitriggs farm is one of nine new monitor farms established in Scotland as part of a joint initiative by Quality Meat Scotland and AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds. The aim of the programme is to help improve the productivity, profitability and sustainability of Scottish farm businesses through practical demonstrations, the sharing of best practice and the discussion of up-to-date issues.
The Mitchell family currently farm 442 hectares of mainly semi-permanent and permanent grassland. They also grow approximately 40 hectares of winter wheat and oats for feeding their stock. They have 140 suckler cows which are a combination of Beef Shorthorn cross and Aberdeen Angus cross, and 1,000 Lleyn ewes.
The family are keen to both develop their farm business and safeguard it for future generations. One aspect of their business the Mitchells are keen to look at initially, is their calving and lambing percentages.
Lesley Mitchell commented: “Although we are fairly happy with our current percentages, we think there is still room for improvement, so are looking forward to the input of the community group to suggest improvements we can make here at Whitriggs.”
This farmer led learning is an important part of the monitor farm programme. Farmers who attend the meetings at Whitriggs can share ideas and suggest changes that the farm can make to improve its efficiency and then monitor the results on the farm over the three-year period of the monitor farm programme. Those who attend can also suggest topics and speakers for future meetings and discuss issues that are important to those who farm in the Borders.
Robert Mitchell is excited about being part of the three-year monitor farm programme. He said: “I believe that if you are not going forwards, you are going backwards. Standing still isn’t an option for us.”
The event on 22nd February will begin with the Mitchell family sharing their cattle, sheep and general farming policies during a guided tour of both Whitriggs Farm and nearby Denholm Hill Farm. The group will then move to the Auld Cross Keys pub in Denholm for lunch. After which, Doug Bell from QMS will give an overview of the new monitor farm programme and the opportunities for local farmers to get involved in the management groups and local business groups that will also be established.
Also at the meeting Jonny Williams, beef and lamb procurement officer from Farmstock Scotland, will provide an overview of current market trends in the red meat sector and the importance of producers meeting market spec. The group will then discuss the relative strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for Whitriggs Farm and highlight some potential ideas for future monitor farm meetings.
For catering purposes, those interested in coming along to the launch should contact Stephen Young, one of the project facilitators on 07502 339613 or email stephen.young@saos.coop.
Farmers and crofters throughout Shetland came together at the weekend to show their support for the new Shetland Monitor Farm.
Over 80 people attended the first meeting at Bigton Farm, which is run by sisters Kirsty and Aimee Budge with support from their family.
During their first meeting of the project, the Budge sisters gave an overview of the current farm business and highlighted their aim was to make the farm more efficient, productive and sustainable in the future. They were joined by project facilitator Graham Fraser of SAC Consulting Lerwick and Doug Bell from Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) who gave an overview of the programme and encouraged local farmers and crofters to get involved.
Bigton is one of nine new monitor farms being established in Scotland as part of a joint initiative by QMS and AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds with funding from the Scottish Government. The farm extends to 300 hectares, most which is permanent pasture and intensive grassland. It carries 240 ewes and 70 suckler cows, plus some barley is grown.
The ewes are Shetland cross Cheviot, put to a Suffolk tup. The ewes lamb outside in May with most lambs sold as stores at Thainstone in December, but some retained and finished. Replacement females are bought from Oxna, one of the Scalloway Islands, off Shetland.
The 72 spring calving Salers cross Shorthorn suckler cows and are put to a Charolais or Shorthorn bull, with the heifers put to a Salers. Charolais store calves are sold at Lerwick at 12 months while Salers and Shorthorn store calves are sent to Thainstone at the same age. Later calves are retained, finished off grass and supplied to local butchers on the island.
Following the farm tour, which featured talks from Kirsty, Aimee and their grandfather Jim, a number of areas of potential improvement were highlighted. These included looking at the performance and management of the ewe flock and whether grass on the farm could be better utilised. The group also identified a variety of other potential topics to be addressed by the monitor farm programme that would benefit both farmers and crofters on Shetland.
Aimee Budge commented: “It was great for us to see farmers beginning to discuss issues they have on their farms, after we shared some of the problems we have identified on Bigton Farm.”
Forth monitor farmer Duncan McEwan outlined the many improvements he had made to his farm business while he was a monitor farmer. Although he admitted to being a little daunted initially about sharing the details of his farm business “warts and all”, he said he would do it all again “in a heartbeat” if he were given the opportunity.
One of Duncan’s key pieces of advice to “measure, measure and measure some more” struck a cord with the Budge sisters as this is something they are particularly keen to improve on.
“We know that we need to improve how we record the business’ performance, especially in our sheep and arable enterprises,” said Kirsty Budge.
“We weigh calves regularly throughout the winter and then split the calves and adapt their feed rations accordingly to reflect their daily live weight gains. This example of good practice could easily be adapted and used to monitor the live weight gains of our store lambs.”
Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland, attended the meeting and was excited about the benefits that the monitor farm programme would bring to Shetland. He said: “There has been a fantastic turnout from across Shetland today, which shows the interest and support both for the monitor farm programme and for the Budge family.”
If you would like more information about the Shetland monitor farm please contact the project facilitator Graham Fraser, SAC Consulting Lerwick on 01595 693520, or email frbslerwick@sac.co.uk