Roxburghshire Monitor Farm

Cowbog is a mixed tenanted farm with a contract farming arrangement running over two further holdings with Roxburghe Estates. In total, Robert and Lucy Wilson, together with Robert’s parents, farm 242ha (598ac).   

They have 100 suckler cows plus followers all of which are pure bred Herefords. Calving is currently split 80% in spring, 20% in autumn.    

Cattle feed is mainly forage-based and some cattle are outwintered. Breeding bulls and females are sold from the herd and animals not fit for breeding are generally finished. A few animals are sold through the farm’s new agritourism diversification – Wilson’s Farm and Kitchen http://www.wilsonsfarmandkitchen.com  

 The Wilsons also have a small flock of sheep and 160ha (395ac) in arable or forage production over the three farms.   

 The cropping regime is predominantly spring malting barley with a small amount of winter barley and winter wheat.  

The rest of the land is used for arable silage, kale for outwintering, and Ecological Focus Areas (EFAs).  

There has been lots of change at Cowbog, not least the end of a tenancy which has now become a contract farming agreement, with a proportion of the arable land converting to temporary grass leading to an overall reduction in arable in the business, allowing Robert to run cattle more extensively.

Calving period has been tightened, increasing the spring herd and stopping the autumn calvers. Doing this while trying not to lose production has been ‘slightly like turning round an oil tanker,’ he says.

Cow numbers are growing, and with a feeling that they only needed a maximum of 100 pure Hereford calves, an Aberdeen Angus bull is now being used on 20% of cows; the farm’s first ‘Black Baldie’ calves are due in spring. “That change of sire comes with an opportunity to re-evaluate our marketing of stock,” says Robert.

With the increase in cow numbers, he will be looking at what’s best – increasing numbers or maintaining some extensiveness, while escalating winter silage costs will be scrutinised.