The next meeting of the Morayshire Monitor Farm on 9 July will focus on the spring and winter barley varieties the farm has been trialling.

Many of the trials are run by Syngenta and Katie Murray will be present to discuss how the crops have been managed, highlighting key traits of the varieties on farm, and their management requirements.

Monitor farmer Iain Green explains: “We won’t know until after harvest how these varieties will yield but we can get a good idea of how they are performing through looking at the green leaf, how many heads we are getting per square metre and how they have stood up to disease pressure.”

The group will also visit Iain’s continuous winter wheat at the Duffus site, exploring how continuous crops are grown and managed in Morayshire.

“We’ve grown continuous wheat at Duffus since 1987,” Iain explains. “It’s not something many people do but in the right conditions it does work. That area is ideal for growing wheat and every year it yields well, which is why I am not keen on breaking the cycle.”

Stewart Rothnie from Agrovista, who has advised Iain on his agronomy for over 30 years, will also be on-hand to answer questions and talk through his management advice.

Later in the day there will be a session on grain marketing led by GrainCo’s Charlie Birnie. He will go over how the world and domestic cereal market is performing currently and how this will affect trade in 2019 and 2020.

The final session will be a roundup of all the trials on the farm over the last year which include the use of the beef monitor system and the calving results from the pelvic measured heifers. 

The day will end with a BBQ, so booking is essential.

Corskie 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 Monitor Farm meeting will take place on Corskie Farm, Garmouth, IV32 7NN, on Tuesday 9 July from 1.30pm – 4.30pm.  The event is free of charge but please book a place by contacting Samantha Stewart by phone (01343 548 787) or email (samantha.stewart@sac.co.uk).

For more information about the monitor farm programme visit www.monitorfarms.co.uk.