Plans to improve grassland management will be the focus of the next Borders monitor farm meeting on Wednesday 17 May.

With the bulk of calving over and lambing finished for this year, the Mitchell family at Whitriggs near Denholm, are turning their attention to their 442 hectares of mainly semi-permanent and permanent grassland.

With 140 Beef Shorthorn cross,  Aberdeen-Angus cross suckler cows and 1,000 Lleyn ewes, Robert and Lesley Mitchell, along with son Stuart, are keen to see if they are able to finish more stock off grass, and save money on bought-in feed.

At the meeting, independent advisor Rhidian Jones will lead a discussion about the benefits of improved grassland management and the various systems available to farmers with an interest in boosting their production from grass.

“For cattle and sheep producers, grazed grass is the lowest cost feed.  Managing this valuable resource to its full potential can reduce costs and increase output per hectare,” said Mr Jones. 

The Mitchells currently produce 1,600 tonnes of silage each year, to help feed their stock over winter. They took their first cut of silage at the beginning of May and plan to take a further 1-2 cuts later this year.

 “We have an Italian ryegrass and red clover mix and are generally happy with the quality of the silage we produce,” said Robert Mitchell. “However, we are keen to look at how we can improve quality even further, so that we can reduce the need for bought in feed for our stock.”

Soil management is key to ensuring grass performance and at the meeting the Mitchells will share the results of recent soil analyses to see if they need to change the pH or add any nutrients to the soil to help improve their land for both grazing and silage, and for the 40 hectares of winter wheat and oats they produce to help feed their stock.

Andrew Robinson from Hawick vets will also share this year’s lambing performance from the 1,000 Lleyn flock and lead a discussion about reducing lamb mortality in all flocks.

Whitriggs farm is one of nine new monitor farms established in Scotland as part of a joint initiative by Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) and AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds and is being funded by £1.25million secured from the Scottish Government and European Union’s Knowledge Transfer and Innovation Fund.

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.

Over 80 farmers attended the first meeting and a management group of local farmers and others involved in agriculture has now been established to work with the community group and facilitators to drive the project over the next three years.

The meeting on 17 May will start at Whitriggs Farm, Denholm, TD9 8QR at 10am, with lunch at the nearby Cross Keys, and should finish by 2.30pm. All are welcome and the event is free.

For catering purposes, those interested in coming along on 17 May should contact Stephen Young, one of the project facilitators on 07502 339613 or email stephen.young@saos.coop.

Grass management, succession and livestock health were all up for discussion at the first meeting of the Angus Monitor Farm which was attended by over 100 local farmers. 
The farm was recently selected as one of nine monitor farms which have been established in Scotland as part of a joint initiative run by Quality Meat Scotland and AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds with funding from the Scottish Government.
The Stodart family, who are hosting the project at their Mill of Inverarity farm, took the visitors on a tour of the main enterprises which include suckler cows, breeding ewes, 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.

At this first meeting there were a range of issues discussed but one in particular cropped up again and again; grass management.

Rory Stodart, the family’s eldest son who has just returned to work full time on the farm, explained:

“Whether we are talking about sheep, cattle or cereals, grass always comes up in the discussion; and making best use of it is something we hope to look at throughout the project.

“For example, last year we tried under sowing our spring barley with grass to increase our winter grazing and fulfil our greening obligations. However, our barley yields were negatively affected due to the increased competition. This year we’d like to try again, but sowing the grass a little later so the barley has a better chance to establish.”

The family also tend to turn over poorly performing arable fields to grass for a few years to improve soil fertility and they are keen to increase rotational grazing so they can keep more livestock on farm and reduce their reliance on rented land. Ensuring good quality grazing could be an issue going forward as last year they increased their ewe numbers from 200 to over 400.

Other areas they are likely to focus on include cattle health and breeding, increasing arable yields, soil structure and nutrition and succession planning, however local farmers will be closely involved in setting the agenda over the course of the three year project. The community group will be able to suggest topics and speakers relevant to the local area and contribute practical ideas for improving farm efficiency.

Alison Stodart said: “We’re really looking forward to being a part of the Monitor Farm programme. Everyone in our local community has been so supportive and enthusiastic and I think we just need to harness that enthusiasm to drive the project forward.”
 

Opportunities to improve scanning percentages and lamb survival rates will be among the key discussion areas at the next meeting of the Shetland Monitor Farm.

Farmers and crofters are invited to the free meeting, which will include a focus on the management of pregnant ewes, on Saturday 1 April.

Host farmers Kirsty and Aimee Budge from Bigton Farm are due to start lambing their 240 Shetland cross Cheviot ewes outside in May.

At the meeting, which starts at Bigton Hall at 11am, the Budge sisters will explain how they manage their ewes in the run up to lambing, and their hopes for this year’s lambing.

The Budges are generally happy with their scanning results. In 2016 the ewes scanned at 157%, and this increased to 164% this year. However the sisters, who have managed the farm since 2014 with support from their family, are keen to improve their current rearing percentage of 109%.

“Bigton generally has a good scanning percentage but we lose a lot of lambs before weaning,” Kirsty Budge said.

“So we are keen to hear from others on Shetland about how we can improve this as clearly every lamb successfully reared makes an important contribution to our farm income.

“We would also like to learn why some of our ewes lose their lambs after scanning and hope that others who farm on Shetland will share their experiences so that all the flockowners in Shetland can benefit and reduce losses in their own flocks.”

Both Kirsty and Aimee Budge know that it is important that pregnant ewes receive the right nutrition throughout pregnancy. The influence of protein in the ewes’ diet before lambing will be discussed, as well as the ewe’s other nutritional requirements to produce strong lambs with good survival rates.

Assessing condition score of ewes plays a very important role in achieving this and at the meeting facilitator Graham Fraser from SAC Consulting Lerwick will demonstrate some condition scoring techniques to ensure ewes are in the correct condition in the run-up to lambing. 

He will be joined by Jim Tait of Shetland Vets, who will give an overview of how flockowners can prevent and minimise problems at lambing and provide tips to help save hypothermic lambs. 

Aimee Budge commented: “We are really looking forward to getting some thoughts on how we can boost the number of lambs born and successfully reared at Bigton. Hopefully information shared at this meeting will help us and others in the area looking to improve their flocks’ efficiency.”     

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, with funding from the Scottish Government. The aim of the programme is to help improve the productivity, profitability and sustainability of Scottish farm businesses.

Bigton farm will be hosting regular meetings over the next three years as the Shetland Monitor Farm, which will focus on technical and financial challenges that their business, and many other local farmers and crofters in Shetland, face.

The Shetland Monitor Farm meetings are open and free for all farmers and crofters 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 3pm.

To book your attendance (and lunch!) please contact the project facilitator Graham Fraser, SAC Consulting Lerwick on 01595 693520, or email frbslerwick@sac.co.uk

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.

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