Issue 77

farmingscotland.comIssue seventy-seven • June 2011

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CONTENTS

Eilidh MacPherson

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farmingscotland

EDITOR: Eilidh MacPherson Marbrack Farm, Carsphairn,Castle Douglas, DG7 3TE

Tel: 016444 60644Mobile: [email protected]

PUBLISHER - Eilidh MacPherson

ADVERTISING –Eilidh MacPherson – 016444 60644Fiona McArthur – 01583 421397Alison Martin – 01292 443097

Cover - Angus & Symon JacobsenText and photography by Eilidh MacPhersonunless otherwise stated

Page 4- small pics RHS

Page 8 - Rachael Thomas

Page 10 - QMS

Page 12 - Rachael Thomas

Page 16 - farmers’ own

Page 19 - James Gunn (top photo)

Page 20 - Hugh Stringleman

Page 22 - RHET

Gavin Mutch took out the South ofScotland. See full reports on page 19.

I spent a couple of afternnons at theRoyal Highland Show library delvinginto old sheep shearing records. Ifound it fascinating and hope that others enjoy reading my findings asmuch as I enjoyed researching it.

A Welsh dairy farmers wife has putpen to paper on pages 8 and 9 and youcan read about the new Monitor Farmin Kintyre on the next double spread.

Lesley Eaton has been busy coveringthe flower industry in the North Eastand has also been in contact with arablefarmers from across the country.

I’m pleased to say that both Alisonand Dawn, who featured in our ‘GetSwept off Yer Wellies’ section are nowhappy in relationships with readers offarmingscotland.com magazine. If youknow of any other ladies/ lassies thatare looking for love, please e-mail /post us a photo and some details for afuture issue.

Hugh Stringleman writes thismonth of the bright future forthe sheep industry – both lamb

and wool prices. New Zealand sheepfarmers are enjoying lamb pricesbeyond their wildest dreams. Lambseems to be holding up in this countryand wool prices are more than doublewhat they were last year. “We are paying a £1 a kilo for Blackfaces and upot £1.50 for crosses,” said Alan Walshof Texacloth.

The first couple of shearing competitions of the Scottish seasonhave kicked off in Caithness andDumfriesshire. Competition is seriousas the team for the WorldChampionships in New Zealand 2012is being selected. Rumours that circulated at the end of the season lastyear that Hamish Mitchell was hangingup his hand piece have proved to beuntrue as he was runner up at the Bathand West and won the Open at the AllIreland and Caithness Shears. Rival

farmingscotlandIssue seventy-seven • June 2011


21 World Marketswith NZ correspondent

Hugh Stringleman

67

SheepScottish National

1011

Monitor FarmKintyre

4 HighlandShow

19 Sheep ShearingCaithness, SOSShears

1418

ArableFlowers, Cereals

89

DairyWales

23 EducationRHET

1213

MachineryForage Harvesters

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RHSfarmingscotlandIssue seventy-seven • June 2011

SHEEP JUDGES

Overall Sheep Inter-Breed Champ

Hugh Guthrie, Mosspark, Kilmarnock

Inter-Breed Pairs & Young Handlers

Charles Scott, Viewfields, Hawick

Beltex

Kevin Buckle, Buckles Farm, Kirkby Stephen

Berrichon du Cher

TBC

Blackface

Andrew Paton, Genoch, Maybole

Bluefaced Leicester

Iain Ogg, Carroch, Kirriemuir

Border Leicester

J Douglas, Woodhead, Fraserburgh

British Blue Du Maine

Ian Beck, Port O Spittal, Stranraer

British Rouge De L’Ouest

D J B Watkins, The Meads, Hereford

Charollais

Carole Ingram, Logie Durno Farm, Inverurie

Cheviot

M Little, Hewwell, Langholm

Commercial Sheep

Jimmy Hall, Cleuchhead Farm, Duns

Hampshire Down

Henry Derryman, Peterhayes Farm, Honiton

Hebridean

Barry Lewis, 1 Lodge Cottage, Daventry

Jacob

John Newborough, Moat Cottage, Lincs

Lleyn

David Alexander, Millside Farm, Galston

North Country Cheviot - Park Sheep

Scott Davies, North Synton, Ashkirk

North Country Cheviot Hill Sheep

Scott Renwick, Clachan Farmhouse, Ullapool

Ryeland

Ifan Lloyd, Glenbryn, Swansea

Scotch Mule

William Sanderson, Blackshiels Farm, Pathhead

Shetland

James Nicolson, Lonabrek, Shetland

Suffolk

Kenneth J Mair, Kinneslea, Turriff

Swaledale

David Hall, The Raw, Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Texel

Steven Smith, Penybryan, Welshpool

Zwartbles

Peter Coombs, Three Tuns Farm, near Bath

SHEEP ENTRIES

‘10 ‘111673 1745

Blackface 64 87

NCC Park 73 72

NCC Hill 40 42

Border Leicester 52 42

Suffolk 83 101

Cheviot 24 25

Hampshire Downs 33 35

Bluefaced Leicester 104 98

Jacob 53 55

Texel 215 240

Ryeland 57 57

Charollais 75 85

Shetland 109 112

Scotch Mule 49 50

Beltex 245 201

Blue Du Maine 25 36

Lleyn 51 47

Hebridean 48 40

Commercial 50 67

Zwartbles 58 62

Rouge 13 32

Berrichon 24 23

Swaledale 38 41

Commercial 108 78

N of England Mules - 39

Young Handlers 32 43

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RHS

John Douglas, Mains of Airies, Stranraer

DAIRY ENTRIES

‘10 ‘11147 131

Ayrshire 38 41

Holstein 38 54

Jersey 19 16

Dairy Shorthorn 52 20

BEEF CATTLE ENTRIES

‘10 ‘11958 996

Beef Shorthorn 137 81

Aberdeen Angus 97 124

Galloway 27 37

Belted Galloway 26 31

Highland 84 115

Hereford 56 59

British Charolais 68 73

British Simmental 87 85

British Limousin 117 113

British Blonde 34 39

British Belgian Blue 72 73

Salers 26 26

Commercial 83 77

Beef Breeder 49 70

BEEF CATTLE JUDGES

Overall Beef Cattle & Inter-Breed Team

Championships

John Wight, Rowangreen, Biggar

Beef Native Inter-Breed Team Championship

Richard Thomson, Speyview, Lagganbridge

Beefbreeder and Junior Beef Inter-Breed

Arwel Owen, Tynewydd, Welshpool

Beef Pairs

Billy MacPherson, Blackford Farm, Croy

Aberdeen Angus

J McEnroe, Liss House, Co Meath

Beef Shorthorn

Stuart Durno, Uppermill, Tarves

Belted Galloway

John Corrie, Park House, Kirkcudbright

British Blonde

James Frame, Little Galla Farm, Biggar

British Blue

Danny Wyllie, Pessall Farm, Tamworth

British Charolais

Ian Campbell, Thrunton Farm, Alnwick

British Limousin

William Cowx, Hudscales, Wigton

British Simmental

Robin Boyd, Slievenagh Farm, Co Antrim

Commercial Cattle

Alister Vance, Bridgehouse Farm, Newton Stewart

Galloway

Robert McTurk, Glenhowl, Dalry

Hereford

Richard Mann, Hill Farm, Leamington Spa

Highland

Andrew Cameron, Culduthel, Inverness

Salers

Graham Fishlock, Middle Cottage, Wareham

John Douglas, Mains of Airies,Stranraer

DAIRY CATTLE JUDGES

Inter-breed Championship, Junior Inter-Breed

Championship and Progeny Group Competitions

John Gribbon, Dale House Barn, Carnforth

Ayrshire

P Berresford, Dale Head Farm, near Buxton

Holstein

E Griffiths, Gunthwaite Hall Farm, Sheffield

Jersey

E Morgan, Nantbwla, Dyfed

Dairy Shorthorn

S V Thomas, Drysgolgoch, Llanfyrnach

Dairy Calf and Showmanship

Craig Davidson, Errolston Farm, Gretna

GOATS

Dairy Goats

Andrew Morrey, Upper Alport, Powys

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SHEEPfarmingscotland.comIssue seventy-seven • June 2011

6

Royal Highland Sheep Shearing Winners1955 - 2010

Scottish National Highland Shears Open Young FarmersCheviot Blackface

1955 – George Bell, Bloch, Langholm Robert Love, Ballygowan, Oban1956 – J Dalgleish, Holm Eskdalemuir D Webster, Binns, Blairgowrie1957 – A Fraser, Gattaway, Abernethy G Struthers, South Halls, Strathaven1958 – J Simpson, Glenlude, Innerleithen R Cuthbertson, Dobbingston, Ayrshire

Hand Machine1959 – N Sinclair, Knockengarroch, Carsphairn (B) J Corrie, Park Tongland, Castle Douglas

J Pate, Stoboshiel Mains, Humbie (C)1960 – W Black, Rottal, Glen Clova, Angus (BF) JA Turnbull, Allanbank Mill, Chirnside

J Maxwell, Burn, Thornhill, Dumfries (C)1961 – George Rae, Easter Ulston, Jedburgh Iain Mowatt, Newmachar1962 – S Webster, Middleton of Glasclunie, Perth D Buchannan, Milltown of Potterton1963 – D McGregor, Burnhead, Kilsyth A Allan, Rotmell, Ballinluig, Perth WD Mason, 5 Skaill, Dounreay1964 – John Kennedy, Glenmasson, Dunoon A MacDonald, School House, Blacklaw George Rae, Easter Ulston, Jedburgh1965 – George Rae, Easter Ulston, Jedburgh Robert Currie, Haswelldykes, Peebles Peter Alexander, Camster, Watten1966 – George Rae, Easter Ulston, Jedburgh Robin Whitecross, Clarabad Mill, Paxton Graham Stewart, Fans, Berwickshire1967 – George Rae, Easter Ulston, Jedburgh James Murdoch, Knockgray, Carsphairn Andrew Dodds, Hardenpeel, Jedburgh1968 – Roy McKay, Dalwhirr, Kilry, Angus Neil Douglas, Arresgill, Langholm William Lindsay, Carmacoup, Douglas1969 – William Lindsay, Carmacoup,Douglas Peter Nitz, Sevenoaks, Kent Angus Kennedy, Blendewing, Broughton Ronald Sutherland, West Murkie, Thurso1970 – William Lindsay, Bennan, Girvan Peter Nitz, Sevenoaks, Kent John Graham, Kirkton, Penicuik Harry Benny, Doups Farm,, Denny1971 – Peter Alexander, Blairgowrie Peter Nitz, Sevenoaks, Kent Hilton McKellor, Glendaruel Andrew Robertson, Lesmahagow1972 – William Lindsay, Bennan, Girvan Robert Poyntz- Roberts, Exeter George Reid, Achnaque, Ballinluig Robert Coghill, Stemster, Halkirk1973 – Lesley Drysdale, Kirkcowan Robert Poyntz- Roberts, Exeter Ian Fleming, Kinnox Farm, Douglas1974 – Andrew Dodds, Hardenpeel, Jedburgh WBR Davies, Sennybridge Duncan Johnstone, Tayinloan, Tarbert1975 – Ian Mowat, Cawdor Road, Auldearn Andrew Dodds, Hardenpeel, Jedburgh Andrew Campbell, Watten, Caithness 1976 – Andrew Dodds, Hardenpeel, Jedburgh Andrew Dodds, Hardenpeel, Jedburgh George Bayne, Gilliestongues, Jedburgh1977 – George Bayne, Gilliestongues, Jedburgh Peter Nitz, Sennybridge, Powys James Hamilton, Burnhead Farm, Kilsyth1978 – George Bayne, Camphouse, Jedburgh Tom Wilson, Duns, Borders David Stewart, Mains of Dalrulzion, Blairgowrie1979 – J King, Gospelhall, Jedburgh Tom Wilson, Duns, Borders George Dun, Nether Brotherston, Heriot1980 – J King, Gospelhall, Jedburgh Geodie Bayne, Jedburgh DC Smith, Achallader Farm, Argyll A Coghill, Skinnnet, Halkirk1981 – Geordie Bayne, Jedburgh Alan Donaldson, New Zealand Jock Loch, Alloway, Ayr Gordon Gray, Hillridge Farm, Biggar1982 – Geordie Bayne, Jedburgh Geordie Bayne, Jedburgh John Dickson, Kilbucho Mains, Broughton1983 – Tom Wilson, Kelso, Borders Geordie Bayne, Jedburgh Ian Dun, Shoestanes Farm, Heriot1984 – Colin MacGregor, Lochearnhead David Fagan, Te Kuiti, New Zealand Jim Robertson, Becks, Langholm1985 – John Grant, Banchory, Aberdeenshire John Grant, Banchory, Aberdeenshire Graham Sutherland, Park Farm, Dallas1986 – Colin MacGregor, Lochearnhead Geordie Bayne, Jedburgh Vivean Oag, Coribego, Caithness1987 – Tom Wilson, Duns, Borders Geordie Bayne, Jedburgh Peter Kinstrey, West Linton, Peebles1988 – Tom Wilson, Weststruther, Borders David Fagan, Te Kuiti, New Zealand Alan Wight, Crawford, Biggar1989 – Tom Wilson, Weststruther, Borders David Fagan, Te Kuiti, New Zealand Andrew Elliot, Galashiels1990 – Geordie Bayne, Jedburgh David Fagan, Te Kuiti, New Zealand Stuart Gray, Scrogton Farm, Douglas, Lanark1991 – Geordie Bayne, Jedburgh David Fagan, Te Kuiti, New Zealand Alastair Robb, Easter Cringate, Stirling1992 – Tom Wilson, Weststruther, Borders Tom Wilson, Weststruther, Borders Willie Dickson, Duns, Borders1993 – Tom Wilson, Weststruther, Borders Eddie Maguire, Winton, New Zealand Colin Little, Callander1994 – Geordie Bayne, Jedburgh Geordie Bayne, Jedburgh Neil McIntyre, Biggar1995 – Tom Wilson, Weststruther, Borders David Fagan, Te Kuiti, New Zealand John Robertson, West Calder1996 – Geordie Bayne, Jedburgh Tom Wilson, Weststruther, Borders Alan Kennedy, Wester Parkgate, Dumfries1997 – Doug Lambie, Argyll Tom Wilson, Weststruther, Borders Allan Wright, Buchanty, Perth1998 – Hamish Mitchell, Lochearnhead David Fagan, Te Kuiti, New Zealand Michael Simpson, Boreland Farm, Crieff1999 – Hamish Mitchell, Lochearnhead Craig Fagan, Te Kuiti, New Zealand Peter Carnegie, Tigh na Blair, Comrie2000 – Hamish Mitchell, Lochearnhead David Fagan, Te Kuiti, New Zealand Tom McKellar, Auch, Tyndrum Gavin Mutch, Forglen, Huntly2001 – NO SHOW2002 – Hamish Mitchell, Lochearnhead David Fagan, Te Kuiti, New Zealand Tom McKellar, Auch, Tyndrum Peter Blain, Carrick YFC2003 – Hamish Mitchell, Lochearnhead David Fagan, Te Kuiti, New Zealand Zingisele Elliot Ntsoimbo, S Africa Stewart McDougall, Glendevon2004 – Hamish Mitchell, Lochearnhead Hamish Mitchell, Lochearnhead Donald McCall, Fort William Chris Reid, Ayrshire2005 – Hamish Mitchell, Lochearnhead Hamish Mitchell, Lochearnhead David Ferguson, Newton Stewart Andrew Baillie, Lanarkshire2006 – Hamish Mitchell, Lochearnhead Gavin Mutch, Forglen, Huntly David Ferguson, Newton Stewart Jordan Smeaton, Aberfeldy JAC2007 – Hamish Mitchell, Lochearnhead Hamish Mitchell, Lochearnhead David Ferguson, Newton Stewart Richard Robinson, SSS YFC2008 – Hamish Mitchell, Lochearnhead Hamish Mitchell, Lochearnhead Tom McKellar, Auch, Tyndrum Archie Paterson, West Renfrew YFC2009 – Gavin Mutch, Forglen, Huntly Kieran McCullough, Northern Ireland David Ferguson, Newton Stewart Calum Shaw, Saline, Fife2010 – Hamish Mitchell, Norway Gavin Mutch, New Zealand Willie Shaw, Saline, Fife John Gibson, Loch Lomond YFC

The Scottish National – 47 Years

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Sheep shearing records at theRoyal Highland Show date backto 1955, when the show still

travelled around the country. SouthCountry Cheviot breeder, GeorgeBell, Bloch, Langholm (above) andfarmer, Robert Love, BallygowanFarm, Oban were the respective winners in the Cheviot and Blackfacesections that year, at Edinburgh.They each received £2, 10s for theirefforts.

“Shearing competitions were runbefore 1955,” informed George Bell,who was runner up in the Cheviotsection in1954.

“In the early fifties there were onlyBlackfaces in the shearing competitions,which made it difficult for us Cheviotfarmers to compete. A Cheviot classwas introduced in 1954.” By 1961there was an overall prize for the handshearing. Winners of the Blackfaceand Cheviot sections contested forthe Ward & Payne Trophy.

A machine sheep shearing competition, run by the Young Farmerswas introduced in 1959. This sectionalso began to sport the format of thehand shearing with Blackface andCheviot rounds, followed by the winners going head to head. The outright winner received the Lister Silverhand piece, which is still presentedtoday. J Corrie, Park of Tongland,Castle Douglas was the first to havehis name inscribed on the silver platedplinth. Tom Paterson, Arllen,Cortachy was runner up.

The Scottish National SheepShearing competition was establishedin 1963. Blackface breeder, DonaldMcGregor, Burnhead, Kilsyth tookout the McTaggart Salver, presentedby John McTaggart, Muirhouses,Duntochter and the £10 prize aheadof T Ellis, Dunkeld and George Rae,Jedburgh. Donald was runner up inthe Young Farmer competition theyear before.

1964 saw the first InternationalSheep Shearing event to be staged atthe Highland Show. Teams of threeshearers from England, NorthernIreland, Scotland and Wales, selectedfrom the 1963 National competitions,competed for the highest points(nowadays it is the lowest score thatcounts). The Scottish team ofMcGregor, Ellis and Rae were secondto England, with Northern Ireland inthird and Wales last.

The 6’4”, left handed George Raefrom Easter Ulston, Jedburgh, rose tothe challenge and won the YoungFarmer machine event in 1964 and

went on to score a hat-trick in theNational from ‘65 - ‘67.

Machine shearing fever began tosweep the country in the late Sixties.It became so popular, that in 1967elimination heats were arranged in sixareas across the country, in co-operation with the Young Farmers,to qualify for the Scottish National atthe Highland Show. First, second andthird place getters from the SouthWest, North East, Highland, East (Nof the Forth), East (South of theForth) and West then went on toshear at the Show.

By 1968 Rae represented Scotlandat the second International to be heldat the Royal Highland. Along withWilliam Lindsay from Douglas andRoy McKay of Kilry, Angus the Scotswere victorious. Northern Ireland,Wales and England followed suit.

The Young Farmer machine competition proved to be a goodspringboard for competitors to go onand compete at National level.

Agricultural building entrepreneurPeter Alexander (Algo), who won theYF machine section in 1965, went onto take out the National title in 1971.William Lindsay, Andrew Dodds, IainMowat, Geordie Bayne and GavinMutch are others who have theirnames engraved on both the YFC andNational pieces of silverware.

Borders farmer and now well knownshearing judge, Andrew Dodds, whowon the National title in 1974 and1976 represented Scotland at the firstWorld Championships, held at theBath and West Show in 1977. He wasthe first Scot to make a WorldShearing final along with two NewZealanders and three Australians.Roger Cox (NZ) was first; Peter Nitz(OZ) second, followed by JohnHutchinson (OZ), the legend GodferyBowen (NZ) in fourth and StevePittaway in fifth. Andrew came acommendable sixth.

YFC Hand shearing competitionswere phased out at the Highland Showin 1973 (there are no records for bladeshearing for this period).

By 1976 four from each of now fiveareas (the two East areas became oneheat) across Scotland qualified for theScottish National competition.Qualifying rounds for the Nationalcame to an end in 1980.

In the 47-year history of theScottish National Competition, therehave only been 17 winners. From asfar back as I can remember GeordieBayne and Tom Wilson battled it outon the boards. Geordie (above) has

eight National titles under his shearingbelt and was placed in the top threefor a 25-year period, from 1976 to2002, while cohort Tom has seven.

The duo represented Scotland onnumerous occasions with Geordienotching up six individual World Finals(one fourth, four fifths and a sixth)while Tom, who won the IndividualWorld Title in 1984 also had sixappearances (a first, a second, threethirds and a sixth).

Geordie, Tom and John King weresuccessful in the 1981 Internationalstaged at the Highland. Wales,England and Ireland were put in theirplaces!

In 1996 Tom and Geordie lifted theWorld Team Championship in NewZealand.

For the past twelve years HamishMitchell and Gavin Mutch have beenvying for the National title. Hamish(above right) has taken it out eleventimes, while Gavin has had to makedo with runner up slot. Gavin finallysecured the McTaggart Salver in 2009.

The majority of National winnersfrom the last thirty-five years mayhave hung up their hand pieces, butthey can still be seen taking an activepart at the shearing shows through thesummer months – wearing white coats– judging the next generation. Othersare now shearing instructors.

The Royal Highland Show openedup competitions to include UK andOverseas shearers in 1969 – the‘Highland Shears Open’ was born.Australian Peter Nitz was unbeatablefor the first three years, whenWelshmen Robert Poyntz-Roberts andWBR Davies took the trophy down toWales for the next three-year period.

Andrew Dodds was the first Scotto win the Open in the year 1975 andagain in ‘76. He took out both titlesin 1976 – only one of a handful ofshearers to manage to win the double.Geordie Bayne lifted the double twice(1982 & 1994), John Grant,Caithness (1985), Tom Wilson (1992)and Hamish Mitchell four times.

“I first competed at the HighlandShow in 1976 and won the YoungFarmer event and was second in theOpen. I was shearing with AndrewDodds at that time and he won thedouble,” commented Geordie Bayne,six times winner of the HighlandShears Open competition, recently atthe South of Scotland Shears.

Geordie has retired from the competition circuit, but still shears inNorway and New Zealand each year.

The Intermediate section with the

Carmichael-Baxter trophy started upin 1982. Neil McLennan, Kilchiaran,Islay was the inaugural winner. TheSenior section followed in 1985, withIan Malcolm, Wester Coilechat,Callander, top of the roll of honour.

Graham Sutherland, Park Farm,Dallas was the first to take out theIntermediate and then Senior titles, in1985 and ‘87 respectively. AlanKennedy, Parkgate, Dumfries followed suit in 96’ and 2000.

Graham went on to shear at the1986 International along with ViveanOag, Ian Malcolm and John Grant.This Northern Scottish team beat offthe Welsh, English and both Irishteams (in that order).

Scotland won the Internationalagain when it was staged in Scotlandin 1991. Stuart Gray, Alan Wright,Angus Dickson and Geordie Baynewere the Scottish contingent. Theyreigned supreme again in the 1997Five Nations with Peter Blain, AlanKennedy, Robert Cockburn andGeordie Bayne flying the flag.

This year sees a Six Nations eventat the RHS – France was added to theequation last year. Top Scottish OpenShearers, Gavin Mutch, HamishMitchell and Simon Bedwell, are thehome nations’ representatives. Eachteam member will be challenged toshear seven sheep against the otherfive nations. Although speed is anobvious bonus, the judges – one fromeach nation – will be looking for good,clean shearing with no second cuts tothe wool or skin cuts. The SixNations will take place on the Sundayof the show at 11.15 in theMacRobert Theatre adjacent to theNorth Gate entrance.

A press release says that “it is themain event,” but personally, theScottish National is the one to watchand the one the top Scottish shearerswill be psyched up for, as the winnerthis year is guaranteed a place in theScottish Team and a seat on a plane tothe World Championships in NewZealand in February/March 2012.

Two shearers, at least one bladeshearer and one woolhandler will travel to NZ for the WorldChampionships. If there are 12 ormore entries in the latter two events,then two from the blades and woolhandling will head to New Zealand.

The junior shearing, which commenced in 1992, is on Friday. IanHunter, who was shepherding atConnachan at the time, won it thatyear. He recently broke anotherrecord, selling BF hoggs at £460!

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Bryngranod lies between 700ftand 1000ft above sea level inthe parish of Llanwenog where

James Thomas along with his wifeRachael and two teenage children runa milking herd of 230 PedigreeHolstein Friesians and a silage contracting business. “The two enterprises go hand in hand and moreimportantly provide us with theequipment to allow us to harvest ourthree cuts of 250 acres of grass andwholecrop silage each year.”

The area has many dairy farmsranging from forty cow farms to larger herds like Bryngranod. Sheepand beef farming are also prominentin the area with some farms supporting all three.

The Thomas family have beenfarming at Bryngranod since 1947when they returned from Suffolk totheir roots in Wales. The milkingherd then consisted of 25 DairyShorthorns who were moved fromSuffolk by train. Sometime later themilking was changed to rearing beef.

“In 1982 when I finishedAgriculture College we went backinto milk with 120 cows.”

Twenty years later James undertook a further expansion,installing a 40/40 DeLeval Rapid Exitparlour and increasing the herd to itscurrent level. This expansion was

made all the more difficult due totwo bought in cows later being identified as BVD PI's (AnimalHealth, November 2010).

“We've had a tough few years sincethen, having our calving patternaltered from autumn to all year roundcalving because of the fertility issuessurrounding an outbreak of BVD.'

James now intends to increase theherd number to 350 by the end ofthis year by purchasing in-calf heifersto add to his own, due to enter theherd later this year. “When weexpanded we built a cubicle shed tohouse 120 cattle, which is currentlyonly half used. “The price of cowsshot up drastically whilst we werebuilding and we never reached ourrequired number.”

The Thomas's employ one fulltime employee and one person tohelp at milking time but once thenew cows arrive extra labour will beneeded.

Milk is sold to Saputo Cheese Ltd,a local company based in NewcastleEmlyn which makes mozzarella forthe fast food industry. “High Proteinis required and with protein averagesof over 3% we fit nicely into theirrequirements.”

The herd is NMR recorded byRachael. “During the foot and mouthoutbreak in 2001 I took over from

the recorder and have been doing itever since.”

Also part of Rachael's daily jobs isthe calf rearing. “Heifers are bucketreared in individual pens until theyare weaned. Whilst it's a good systemallowing me to see that they are allhealthy and well, it is very labourintensive and I hope one day to beable to install a computerised calffeeder.”

Holstein Friesian bull calves aresold locally along with any beef crosses before they reach the sixweek limit and require a TB pre-movement test. Bryngranod is situat-ed in a one year testing area.“Thankfully we passed our TB test inJanuary, but already another test islooming,'

Computers already play a largepart in the day to day running of thefarm, with the farm office situated inthe house. The computer is linked tothe parlour office. “From the house Ican sort cows for the vet or AI at theclick of the mouse,” explains Rachael,who grew up in a town and marriedinto farming. “I had to learn fast,everything from milking to VAT.”

The cows are served by AI usingthe Genus RMS (ReproductiveManagement System). “We've beenoperating this system for over a yearnow and are pleased with the

results.” Despite the cows wearingactivity metres on their collars Jamesfeels that the RMS system is helpful.In previous years a lot of sexed semenwas used and now that there are plenty of heifers coming throughJames has switched back to ordinarysemen. A Limousin bull is used afterseveral AI services on the heifers anda new beef bull for the dairy cowswill be purchased in the near future.

All the cows are housed during thewinter months and the Keenan FeederWagon is kept busy. During the summer months the fresh and highyielding cows are housed. “By thetime the summer is out each cow willhave had time out in the fields beforeheading back into winter.”

“The silage contracting was anenterprise I started 30 years ago, hoping to provide and pay for themachines to harvest our own silage.”James is pleased with the growth ofthe contracting business and theKrone Big X forager is the machine ofchoice.

The future of the farm is lookinggood. “David aged 13 is a real help.He intends to join us on the farmwhen he leaves school, where hehopes to study engineering. Marianhas sat her GCSE's this summer andis looking forward to studying for herA levels next year.”

DAIRYfarmingscotlandIssue seventy-seven • June 2011

Dairying in Wales

by Rachael Thomas

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Well Cow, Bioparametrics andEnvirosystems UK havetaken the first steps towards

establishing a new service for commercial dairy farmers and theirteam of advisers including vets, nutritionists and breeding companiesin the UK utilizing the well cowbolus. The basic idea is that poolinginformation from all sources will leadto better informed decision making.

In January this year at AlderstonMains Haddington, continuous monitoring of rumen pH in commercial dairy herds commenced.Until the Well Cow bolus could bedelivered orally reading rumen pHcontinuously was restricted to homeoffice licensed research on surgicallymodified animals. The Well Cowbolus stores rumen pH and temperature at 15 minute intervalsfrom within the rumen environment.Information is directly downloadedfrom the cow onto the readers laptopfor collation with other informationroutinely collected concerning dietaryintake, herd health and performance.

Getting the most out of forageentering the rumen is a long processstarting with plant breeding, varietalselection and sown areas entering the

cropping plan. Soil and water management, slurry treatment andapplication, plant protection, grazingrotations, chop length, additives usedin conservation and clamp management all have a part to play.Finally utilising the available foragesupplies through grazing and crop conservation requires a diet formulation service supplied with therelevant information.

The rumen requires a stable pHnear 6.4 so that microbes can digestfibre with maximum efficiency. Highyielding dairy cows may have a massive rumen flux between pH 5.0and pH7.0. Stabilizing it requiresaccurate information on the role andperformance of dietary ingredients onthe relevant time scale.

Biopara-Milk software simulateswhat happens in the digestive tract ofa cow on a time step of 6 minutes. So10 times each hour and then for 24hours BPM calculates how much foodcan be eaten, the production of VFAsand lactic acid, the bicarbonate fromsaliva and hence the pH, the effectpH has on rumen microbes and theprotein to energy balance in therumen. It is a ,mechanistic model ofthe digestive system.

Well Cow

BioparametricsFeeding Ruminants Correctly

Feed and Forage AnalysisDiet FormulationOn Farm AdviceNIR Calibrations

Bioparametrics LtdPeter Wilson Building

West Mains RoadEDINBURGH

EH9 3JG01620 820349

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New Monitor Farm forKintyre

farmingscotland.comIssue seventy-seven •June 2011

MONITOR FARM

Farmers who attend the meetingsof the new Kintyre monitorfarm, part of the national

programme led by Quality MeatScotland, will be challenged to offerconstructive management suggestionscovering a wide range of farmingissues.

One of the key challenges thecommunity group of the new monitorfarm has been tasked with is findingan ideal crossing cow, which will out-winter, stand the weather andproduce and rear a good calf every year.

New monitor farmer, DuncanMacalister, owns and farms GlenbarrFarms, 1730 acres (700 has) on thewest coast of the Kintyre peninsula,between Tarbert and Campbeltown.The unit is fragmented, being threemiles point to point.

Land type runs from hill to shore-line, where barley is continuously grown and combined forgrain, with in-calf cows out-winteredon the stubble.

The cattle enterprise is based on aherd of 140 predominantly springcalving, mostly out-wintered cows.The initial herd was Blue Grey.Following the introduction ofAberdeen Angus bulls in 1995, amainly home-bred replacement policyhas seen the cows develop into a commercial herd with a high percentage of Aberdeen Angus blood.Heifers are calved at two years old.

All progeny, other than retainedfemales, are finished. The largemajority are sold direct to Scotbeef atBridge of Allan. In addition, shoppersat the local village stores in Glenbarr

are able to buy branded “Glenbarrbeef ” with proprietor Peter Sinclairbuying a number of finished cattleeach year from Mr Macalister, whichare butchered and sold in vacuumpacks.

The herd is routinely vaccinatedfor Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD). MrMacalister needs no encouragement todo this. “In 1997 we bought in BVD,losing 35 calves in the first year, withanother 25 the next.”

Over the last 15 years, MrMacalister, who is a strong supporterof performance recording, has consistently selected Aberdeen-Angusbulls with high EBVs (EstimatedBreeding Values) for growth.

One of the current cattle management aims is to increase milkproduction and attendees of the initialMonitor Farm meeting on 16th Marchwere able to see a group of bought-inAberdeen Angus cross Friesian heiferswhich were calving at the time. Thisproject has not yielded the hoped-forresults as every single one of themproduced a bull calf!

A specific cattle issue for the community group to help with is “tofind an ideal crossing cow, which willout-winter, stand the weather andproduce and rear a good calf every year.”

At the well-attended March meeting, suggestions were invited asto which breed of bull should be usedover the cows to breed such a female.Numerous breeds were suggested.There will be an opportunity to viewthe new Glenbarr bull at the nextmeeting, scheduled for 8th June.This new bull, intended for use over

home-bred heifers, was purchased inMay and has high EBV figures formilk. “That was why I picked him,”explained Mr Macalister. “Also thebreeder was doing all the right things.The bull has not been over-fed, he's inon-farm condition, been tested clearand then vaccinated for BVD and crucially – semen tested. Once he'sout of isolation, the bull is ready toroll!”

All the other bulls at Glenbarrhave also been semen-tested, to helpensure a tight calving pattern.

Grass growth is early in this part ofGulf Stream-kissed Scotland, and likemany sheep farmers, Mr Macalisterenjoyed good weather during lambing.“The combination of weather andgrass has helped us achieve a reasonable lambing,” he said.

The flock numbers 600 ewes, halfof which are Scottish Blackfacecrossed with Lleyn tups. The other300 are either Greyface or Lleyns,which go to Suffolk and Cheviot tups.As with the cattle, all progeny, otherthan retained females, are finished.The majority are sold deadweightthrough Lawrie and Symington.

This year's cereal crop, totalling100 acres, was in the ground in goodtime. Between 30 to 40 acres of barley will be cut for whole crop.The remainder will be combined conventionally, prop-corned and usedat Glenbarr. Yields in previous yearshave peaked at 2.8 tons per acre.

Over a third of the farm was planted with sitka spruce in 1999.When Mr Macalister returned hometo Glenbarr in 1993, capital was

limited. The BSE crisis of 1996, followed by the loss of a total of 60calves to BVD in 1997 and 1998,increased the financial pressure.

“I could not afford to stock the hillso to make it productive, planted itwith trees. Although they're not currently providing cash flow, thetrees should mature when I'm in mylate 60's and provide some pensionincome.”

Other tasks for the communitygroup include finding a way of breaking up the soil pan and liftingpH levels. A special project is “getting rid of the docks – there arefar too many of them and the onlyeffective spray takes the clover as well.”

Mr Macalister hopes that duringhis three year Monitor Farm term, hewill be helped in his determination tomaximise the potential of his farm,and has thrown this challenge to thecommunity group. “If this is theGolden Age of farming, let's see justwhat this west coast of Scotland reallycan produce!”

The next meeting of the KintyreMonitor Farm will be held onWednesday, 8th June at 12.00 noon,starting with lunch (Glenbarr beefsandwiches!).

For further information, pleasecontact either of the joint facilitators:-Alan Boulton on 01397 70889,[email protected] orLinda McLean on 01586 820226,[email protected]

For general information on MonitorFarms, plus detailed reports of meetings:-www.qmscotland.co.uk/monitorfarms

by Carol McLaren

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MACHINERYfarmingscotland.comIssue seventy-seven • June 2011

At this time of year silage making is starting to occupythe minds of most stock

farmers. Due to the vagaries of theScottish weather silage has becomethe best option for grass conservationon many farms. Several methods nowexist for making silage and in this article we look at forage harvesting.Modern techniques and machineryhave now given the farmer plenty ofchoice regarding silage makingalthough the old methods of makinghay have still not been forgotten. Themaking of silage falls into two basicsystems, bag bale silage or pit silageusing a harvester of some kind.

The making of silage in a pit or insome cases a tower is not a new ideaand was not really taken up broadlyuntil the 1960s and 70s. The needfor a less weather dependant methodof cutting and preserving grass orother crops to be ensiled led to thedevelopment of silage making, basically the pickling of grass by theremoval of air and harmful bacteriafrom the crop.

This removal could be done in asealed tower or silo or in a clampwhere the crop is rolled thoroughly toforce the air out. However thesemethods tended to be for the moreintensive low ground farms in theearly years, with upland and smallfarms having to struggle with haymaking because of the high capitalcost of turning to a silage system.However the introduction of big balesilage in the early 1980s gave theupland farmer the ability to makesilage also.

Legislation in recent years regarding the environmental damagecaused by effluent run off into watercourses has led to some farms switching from a forage harvester andpit system to big bales, as too muchcapital outlay was required to bringpits and effluent drainage and collection up to scratch.

Today's pit systems are now locatedon modern units for both dairy andbeef production with state of the artconstruction and building layout. Thishighlights one of the system's maindrawbacks, which is the high cost ofstorage facilities and the relevant harvesting machinery. Although anumber of older pits have beenupgraded to meet current standardsit's a far cry from the days of storingsilage in a pit dug into the corner ofthe field.

Believe it or not the idea of makingsilage in this country dates back toStuart times when attempts weremade in England. Although it was notuntil the early 20th Century before itstarted to be made seriously in

Scotland. One of the first silage towers to be built north of the borderwas by James Cruickshank inAberdeenshire who grew mashlam forensiling in the early 1900s.

Gradually concrete silo towersbegan to appear on the horizon of theScottish landscape as farmers lookedfor alternatives to hay and in somecases turnips. which all lost out withthe popularity of silage in later years.These high towers with their castellated tops were filled with amachine which resembled the chopper blower unit of today's modern forage harvester.

These chopper blowers were mostly made by American manufacturers, who had been used toensiling in towers since the 1870s.Manufacturers included MasseyHarris, International and Case. Theearly tractors were used to drive themvia a belt pulley. Grass was choppedinto half inch lengths before beingblown up pipes to the top of thetower, very familiar to operators oftoday's forage harvesters and aremarkable feat for these pioneertractors.

Once in the towers the grass wastramped by men and horses as a singlehorse was led into the base of thetower and as the level went up so didthe horse. The men could leave atthe end of the day by the ladders butthe horse stayed until the tower wasfull when it was winched back down.It has been said that an old horseretired from work was used and whenfinished was shot and dropped overthe side.

Pit silage also appeared in the prewar years and the grass would be collected by various methods including green crop loaders that filledthe carts up and made the man building the cart work very hard.This grass was much longer than thatused in the silos and the pits orstacks. The pits could be built outside with earth, concrete or

wooden walls. Various smaller towerswere used with this system eitherbuilt from pre cast concrete sectionsor wire mesh and sisal paper.

During the war several Americandesigned machines arrived throughLease Lend agreement for harvestingthe grass in the field and blowing itinto trailers. Machines such as theFox Rivers, Allis Chalmers and JohnDeere all followed the principle ofpicking up a previously cut boutbefore chopping it and blowing it intothe trailer. These tractor pulledmachines often had a separate enginefitted to drive them.

In the post war era British manufacturers had to fill the gap ofthe American machines, which wereno longer imported. David Brown isrecognized as being one of the first tobring out a British forage harvesterwith their famous Hurricane model.

However these early Britishmachines were a step back from theAmerican imported harvesters andchopper blowers in that they did notchop the crop finely as they were inline flail machines that tended to onlycut and blow growing grass in oneoperation.

It should also be pointed out thatsilage baling was also being done inthis period but with the small squarebalers of the period such as Bamford,Jones and Salopian. The balers wereset to produce a much shorter bale forcollecting and stacking in a sealedstack. The system was soon replacedfor the obvious reason of the weightof the bales that had to be handled byhand.

Throughout the 1950s silage making started to become more popular with both forage harvestersystems and the good old fashionedbuck rake method of sweeping up thecut grass used. More and more manufacturers were now producingforage harvesters but most of themstill single chop machines althoughthere was the odd machine capable of

producing a finer chop one such wasthe Silorator machine, which used aHayter cutting deck to cut the grassbefore it went into the chopper blower.

Further expansion of the methodcame in the 1960s with more machinery becoming available.Another factor in the increase of pitsilage harvested by forage harvesterswas the Beeching cuts in the rail network which led to vast amounts ofrailway sleepers becoming available.The railway sleeper now became thedefault material for silage pit construction. With pits being easierand cheaper to build more and morefarmers switched to silage as it wasstill affordable for many farms tobuild their own rudimentary pits.

In this decade machines were stillsmall enough to make them affordableand many a farm would buy Kidd,Massey Ferguson, Wilder or IHGloster machines. A whole range ofhandling equipment was offeredalongside the harvesters includingtrailers complete with purpose builtremovable silage sides from companiessuch as Marshall and Weeks and buckrakes from Mil and Twose.

Machinery to feed the silage wasnow becoming more sophisticated andtherefore there was a need to developmachines capable of producing a finerchop which also led to better qualityand higher intake from the animalsfeeding on it. Double chop or finechop was now the way forward withmachines using flail blades to cut thegrowing crop before it passed throughfurther blades before being blown intotrailers. These double chop machinescame from New Holland, Kidd andLundell who built for both MF andJohn Deere.

However it was to be the Europeanmanufacturers who would have amajor impact on forage harvesting.Companies such as Taarup, JF and ofcourse Claas were at the forefront ofproducing forage harvesters of greatersophistication. By the end of the1970s a new precision chopped lengthof grass was much more favourableand these companies were offeringmachines of that spec for the market.Other companies also offered preci-sion chop options included JohnDeere and New Holland whoremained major players. Others whohad a go were Kidd and Bamford whobadge engineered a European builtmachine, Vicon of Holland importedAmerican Gehl machines whileHesston was another Americanmachine on the market. These newprecision chop machines needed thegrass to be cut and wilted before har-vesting. This reduction in the watercontent helped speed up harvestingimproved the quality of the crop and

Forage Harvesters – Then and Now

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MACHINERY

had a big reduction in the effluentproduced.

Flywheel type machines came fromboth Mengele and Pottinger who bothstill offer modern versions today as doLely while JF are the only other company to offer a trailed machine.This is because today the market isdominated by self propelled forageharvesters, which have taken overfrom the slower trailed type, indeed aself propelled machine can do thework of five trailed examples therefore have taken the lions share ofsales.

The big three long term players inthe forager market – Claas, NewHolland and John Deere – now onlyproduce self propelled machineshelped by the fact that they are alsomainline tractor builders and therefore have the power plants andtransmissions needed for production.

German firm Krone have also enteredthe self propelled market with its ownself propelled machine of massive output and have developed a self propelled mower to cut the grassbefore harvesting.

These machines are capable of harvesting the other new crops destined for ensiling like maize andwhole crop, which are becoming morepopular. Whatever the crop themachinery is capable of harvestinghuge acreages and tonnages in a shorttime whether it is destined for pit,tower or the new plastic Ag bag systems of storage. This results in theneed for a large support team of rakesto throw several bouts into one, a convoy of large trailers to keep theforager going and large meaty powerful buck rakes.

The trailers have automatic tailgates to speed up turnaround and

the large buck rake often fitted to thefront of a high horsepower tractor ormaterials handler needs a big roomypit to work in with a secondary tractor rolling. If all these criterionsare met then a clearance rate of 100acres a day is possible.

With these machines costingaround £200,000 only very large operators on the contacting front nowuse them as all the other expensiveequipment is also needed. Thereforea long working season is required tojustify the outlay so as soon as firstcut is completed it on to the secondcut in many cases with a third withwhole crop and maize extending theseason further.

Some farmers who prefer to havecontrol of the harvesting dates preferto use their own smaller pull typemachines offered by the likes of JFStoll. Lely, Reco or Pottinger or

perhaps keep an older model fromsome of the other manufacturers, whohave switched to self propelleds, stillgoing.

With maize and whole crop silageon the increase it is unlikely that theforage harvesting method will end,however for grass another method is acreditable alternative. This is the useof Forage Wagons which can pick upthe cut crop chop it and then fill thewagon before the whole outfit transports it the clamp. It is arguedthat this is a slow method but it iscountered by the fact that two tractors on wagons and one on the pitcan still clear a sizeable acreage in a day.

However with fewer men andmachines the ability of higher outputforage harvesters to clear the largeacreages of silage grown means thatthis will be the preferred method forcontractors for a long while yet.

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ARABLEfarmingscotland.comIssue seventy-seven • June 2011

The sight of fields of vibrant yellow daffodils is a traditionalpart of the springtime scenery

in Angus, but very few visitors to thearea will realise that the crop whichbrightens up the agricultural landscapeis so significant that it gives the worldfamous Dutch bulb fields a run fortheir money.

Indeed North East daffodils are indemand the world over and in highplaces, with Grampian Growers working in strict secrecy to supply the139,000 stems of white, yellow centred daffodils at WestminsterAbbey and Buckingham Palace for therecent marriage of HRH PrinceWilliam and Catherine Middleton.The company also supplied flowersfor the marriage of HRH The Princeof Wales and Camilla Parker-Bowles in2005 as well strawberries for theRoyal Weddings in 1981 and 1986.

The Grampian Growers farmers'co-operative started life in 1970 whensix founder members got together tolook at unsubsidised crops, and howthese could be used to utilise existingpremises and machinery to maximumeffect. They drew on an examplefrom elsewhere in the Mearns area,where commercial daffodils had beengrown since just after World War Two,and they set about growing a smallarea of flowers using seed fromLincolnshire and Holland.

And from small, experimentalbeginnings Grampian Growers hasblossomed to become Scotland'slargest daffodil producer growing 40varieties as well as being a leadinglight in the seed potato industry withboth products much in demand on aglobal scale.

Soon after the organisation wasfounded, strawberry production followed – the first venture of its kindfor the area – but after 25 years, themid-1990s brought industry changes

and the requirement for significantinvestment in cropping methods.With the strawberry season overlapping the more lucrative daffodil season, the decision wastaken to cease production of outdoorstrawberries.

Nowadays, the Grampian Growersco-op comprises 15 “A” bulb growingmembers who have each invested in a£1 share and receive a vote at theAGM. A band of “B” members, whoalso have £1 shares, comprises mainlypotato growers who use GrampianGrowers' premises for grading, storageand cold storage during the gradingseason.

Grampian Growers is a non-profitmaking organisation operated underthe Industrial & Provident Society andfor every ten stem bunch of flowers, alevy is charged to cover all costs andall surplus is returned to members.

The office and first shed were builton the three-acre site at Logie nearMontrose in 1979 and everything subsequent has been grant funded.

Whilst no crops are grown at Logie,the members grow about 1,200 acresof daffodils (averaging 60 acres eachon a farm size averaging 1000 acres)and most are located within a 20-mileradius of Logie, with one exception inPerthshire.

With managing director MarkClark at the helm, the staff atGrampian Growers comprises a production manager, an agronomist,an assistant manager, a potato salesman, a team of three administrative/finance people, andtwo forklift drivers.

During the potato grading season,an additional 12 are taken on with afurther 30 for the short flower packing season and 40-50 for the bulbpacking season. This work providesconsiderable seasonal employment forthe local community, with many

students and Latvian, Polish andPortuguese nationals making up theworkforce too.

But Grampian Growers' is far froma seasonal concern and the organisation's headquarters are busythroughout the year as Markexplained: “If you take our croppingyear from September 1, we start taking in seed potatoes from ourmembers for about six to seven weeksthen grade them for about eightmonths. Overlaid on to that is thecut flower season which starts aroundMarch 5 to 12 and runs for five toeight weeks. After that, we finish offthe potato grading followed by a cleandown period of two or three weeksthen we move straight onto taking inbulbs from the end of June and thatwill be the focus of production for thenext three months.

“All three crops – potatoes, flowersand bulbs – overlap each other so interms of utilising premises, machinery,staff, etc. it is a really good and constant network of products andmarkets without any down time. Forus, the difficulty is getting time for

people to take their holidays!”“Daffodils are a very attractive

option, not least because they offertwo saleable products,” explains Mark.“There are the cut flowers which aresold in March and April, followed bythe dry bulbs. However, they are ahigh value crop to get into. For example, to plant 30 acres of daffodilsfrom scratch would involve plantingabout five tonnes an acre at £400 pertonne and that is a big outlay whenyou basically have no income from itfor the two years until the first flowers are cut. Investment is alsoneeded in equipment as all growershave their own kit and you tend tofind that most are also potato growersbecause some equipment can be usedfor both purposes.”

So why is it that daffodils are sowell suited to the North east ofScotland? Mark explained: “Our soiltemperatures in this part of the worldare about four or five degrees coolerthan in the south and cooler soilmeans less chance of disease. We alsohave longer daylight hours meaning alonger growing period. Daffodils are

FlowerPower

by Lesley Eaton

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also a useful crop because they prefergrade two or three soil – they reallywill grow anywhere and after the initial investment in the crop, thereare many years of potential harvestand some daffodils will still flowerafter as long 15 to 18 years in theground.

“About 75% of our bulbs are on atwo year down system where they areplanted in August or September andgrow for 12 months but no first flowers are cut – the flowers are onlyrogued to make sure the crop is trueto type. They then go through a second year of growing and flowerswill be picked in March and Aprilbefore the bulbs are lifted at about 20months old.”

Mark continued: “A further 20% ofproduction is on three year down sowill give two flower crops. The varieties used for this will be slowmaturing or very prolific in terms offlowers which justifies keeping themin the ground a bit longer.

“The remaining 5% is long termflowers which will go down in smaller,poorer or inaccessible fields and they

can be down for seven to ten yearsand will eventually be sprayed off andploughed down.”

Between 4000 and 4200 tonnes ofdaffodil bulbs are produced byGrampian Growers annually and onlyabout 200 to 300 tonnes of these willremain in the UK. Of the exportedvolume, about half goes to the US in25kg nets, 500 bulb nets or even1000kg bags to America's five largestpre-packers who then sell on to retailgiants such as Costco and Walmart.Some also go for use in the forcingmarket where bulbs are exposed toperiod of hot and cold temperaturesto force flower production.

The remaining 50% produced byGrampian Growers goes to mainlandEurope, mainly Scandinavia, Franceand, surprisingly, Holland which hasalways been a major buyer of UKbulbs.

And in spite of 2011 having enormous potential for Scottishflower growers due to Easter beinglate, the reality was a disappointingseason – due to good weather. “Thelater Easter is, the bigger percentage

of flowers that go for export becauseour flowers are later in the season soEaster is a huge target for us,” saidMark.

“But three spells of early goodweather meant that the flowers cameout too soon and we lost 35% of ourproduction in 12 days because of thegood weather. It should have beenour best season in a long time with alate Easter, demand in the market andgood prices but in reality we lost 2.2million bunches of flowers because itwas too warm.”

Mark added: “Some of our growersonly produce bulbs but, of the 12 whopick flowers, only four would havebeen satisfied with their season.”

But in spite of this year's difficulties, Scottish daffodils haveglobal appeal which continues toensure strong markets and undoubtedly gives Holland a run forits money in timeliness and quality.Mark added: “A key factor in our success in international markets is thatwe have a quality product, which weare able to deliver quickly and we aredelivering bulbs three weeks earlier

than Holland. Whilst the Dutch areproducing bulbs after one year compared to our two years, the oneyear system means that a full growingseason of nine months is needed,meaning they are about three weekslater than Scottish bulbs.

“For the US market, it is crucialthat we have the goods checked bythe American Department ofAgriculture before they leave here andthat pre-clearance means that they getthrough customs and on to the customer much more quickly and thatis why our products continue to be indemand year after year.”

For further information onGrampian Growers, visitwww.grampiangrowers.co.uk [email protected] or call(01674) 830555.

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With Angus Jacobsen and sonsJames and Symon at thehelm, Jacobsens-gfm has

grown to become a well known namebased 25 miles south of Aberdeen inthe North east of Scotland.

The enterprise is based Grange ofKinneff at Inverbervie and has a arrangement at nearby Fordoun, bringing the total farmed by the family to about 1100 acres. Of that,750 acres are dedicated to cerealcrops including 250 acres of winterwheat, of which 100 acres are grownfor seed. In addition there are 450acres of spring barley, 160 acres ofwhich goes to seed merchants with 20acres sold as seed by the Jacobsensthemselves, and the remainder goingfor malting.

In addition are 180 acres of potatoes and 45 acres of shoppingswedes, any poorer quality swedes areused to feed the 850-head flock ofScotch Mule and Texel Cross sheepwhich are bought in as ewe lambs andsold on as gimmers privately, andthrough Thainstone mart.

In 2001, the family took the decision to diversify into the sale ofimported agricultural machinery andGrange Farm Machinery now retailsand sells wholesale, many brandsincluding Degenhart, Sauter,

Steinbauer, Sweep Ex, Broom-Ex,Haaga and more. It is machineryfrom these ranges which is used in thearable enterprise, giving Grange FarmMachinery the best possible demon-stration options for potential cus-tomers!

Explaining the main challengesfaced within the arable enterprise,Angus Jacobsen said: “Because ourland is right at the coast, the salt airand salt deposits restrict our croppingquite a bit, but we accept that andwork around it.

“We used to sow about 50 acres ofspring barley in February and the restin March, but now it is pretty muchall April work although we might belucky enough to get 100 acres or sodrilled in March, as was the case thisyear.

“We start harvesting our winterbarley at the end of July and springbarley about August 23rd and winterwheat in the first week ofSeptember.”

Angus added: “We very muchfavour automatic batch grain dryingover continuous flow drying. It is amuch easier system in many wayssuch as reliability and ease of cleaningand it gives us an improved bushelweight too.” For further information,visit www.jacobsens-gfm.co.uk

Farming some 1800 acres inCaithness is very much a familybusiness at Stemster Mains,

Halkirk.Brothers and business partners

George, Donald and Robert Coghill –who is also a local councillor – workwith George's son George junior andDonald's son Christopher on 1300acres tenanted from Stemster Estateplus 500 acres of owned land in theHalkirk area.

The farm includes a herd of 270mainly Aberdeen Angus breeding cattle of which 100 are spring calversand the rest are summer calvers. Aswell as keeping replacements, off spring are fattened and forwardstores sold through the marts atDingwall and Thainstone. TheCoghills also winter hoggs for variousother farmers in their local area.

About 450 acres of the enterpriseis dedicated to cereals, with 80 acreseach of winter barley and oats and therest spring barley. About 100 tonnesof barley is treated with urea for feeding cattle at Stemster Mains andabout 50 tonnes is bruised and therest is sold on whilst some oats go formilling.

George Coghill explained: “Wehave tried malting barley but we gaveup as, for us, it is an expensive andrisky business. We have to transport

everything to Inverness and, becausewe are usually at the tail end of theharvest due to our location, the malters may be full and reject thegrain which would make it a verycostly exercise.”

As Farming Scotland went topress, the biggest challenge atStemster Mains was getting the spraying done due to weather, asGeorge went on: “We had threeweeks of good weather and got everything sown earlier than usual butnormally it would be into April beforewe start.

“Usually we would expect to harvest our winter barley about thesecond week of August but we thinkit might be a bit earlier this yearbecause it got such a good start.Normally we would be cutting springbarley for urea treatment about themiddle of August to get it at 30-35%moisture then spring barley would becut in the first week of Septemberand oats about the middle ofSeptember. We also have the challenge of having a much shorterwindow because we a bit furthernorth.”

“It makes for a long harvest but itis much easier on the whole becausewe can concentrate on getting onecrop done before we move on to thenext one.”

Arable Farmers from across the Country

Angus Jacobsen & SonsGrange of KinneffInverbervie, Aberdeenshire

George, Donald & Robert CoghillStemster Mains

Halkirk,Caithness

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Since the McGregor family tookon the tenancy at ColdstreamMains in the Borders in 1927,

the enterprise has grown to become aleading, cross-border arable business.

Whilst cereals and other enterprises featured from the outset,the McGregor family's history lay indairying and their roots can be tracedback to dairy farmers in Ayrshire asfar back as 1709. But in 1957, J & IMcGregor was formed and a decisionwas later taken to move out of livestock farming with the last of thedairy herd being sold in 1965.

After various ventures includingsoft fruit, Coldstream Mains became atotally arable farm and today it is rununder the management of ColinMcGregor in cereal and potato rotation. In the late 1990s and early2000s, the business began to receiverequests to take on neighbouringarable ground on a contract basis andthe land farmed now amounts toaround 2830 hectares, all within a 15-mile radius of Coldstream Mainsand straddling the border betweenScotland and England.

The business now employs nine fulltime staff and grows wheat, oilseedrape, potatoes, peas and spring beans.Claas Combines and John Deere tractors work alongside two AGCOChallenger tracked tractors and twoChallenger Rogator sprayers featuringwhat is believed to be the only 40-metre booms in Scotland.

“The business has expanded steadily due to referral and recommendation,” explained ColinMcGregor, “and as a business wepride ourselves on being both progressive and professional but withstrong attention to detail. Too manylarge arable units adopt a broadacreapproach to farming, which results inpoor attention to detail and one of theways we ensure a way around that isby employing our own ArableTechnical Manager.

“We started with 300 ha and nowfarm over 2800 ha and I would like tothink that the same care and attentionis given to every hectare we farm,regardless of the farmed area.

“We also use Precision FarmingTechnology and GPS systems for soilmapping, yield mapping and machinecontrol and we believe the business isthe biggest single user of PrecisionFarming Techniques in Scotland.Seed, phosphate, potash, lime andnitrogen are all now variably applied.”

He added: “The systems we havein place definitely work for us and wehave proof of that in our good harvestresults which we are very proud of.”For further information visitwww.mcgregorfarms.co.uk

Colin MacGregorMacGregor Farms

Coldstream Mains, ColdstreamScottish Borders


ARABLE

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Working the family farm andbeing vice-chairman ofHighland Grain ensures a

busy time for Donald Ross of RhynieFarm, Fearn, Tain.

Donald works the 640 acre owneroccupied farm and a small area ofrented land at Dornoch with hisfather George, continuing a connection with Rhynie Farm thatstretches back over one hundredyears.

The enterprise includes 350 Maylambing ewes, which are mainlyHighland Mules crossed with Texel orSuffolk and 80 April/May calvingsuckler cows calving to Simmentaland Aberdeen Angus bulls, with allprogeny finished at home.

More than 300 acres of the farmare turned over to cereals, with 150acres of wheat mainly being sold to agrain distillery in Invergordon or alocal piggery. In addition are 50 acresof oilseed rape which is marketedthrough United Oilseeds, 16 acres ofoats which go to Boyndie at Banff orremain at Rhynie Farm, 18 acres ofpeas and 54 acres which are rentedout to a local contractor who growspotatoes.

The remaining 90 acres are dedicated to malting barley which ismarketed through Highland Grain, amalting barley co-operative with 85members which sells around 40,000tonnes each year directly and

indirectly to brewers and distillers,including distilling giants such asDiageo, Edrington and Glenmorangie.

Donald Ross explained: “We arelucky here in that we have very goodsoil so our main challenges are, likeeveryone, the weather and marketingour grain, which is why HighlandGrain is so important to its members.

“The marketing side of things is avery big deal and Highland Grain hasa good team of people who have beenvery successful in securing marketsand that is crucial for growers in thearea.”

Commenting on the recent sowingseason and his hopes for the 2011harvest, Donald added: “We startedsowing on April 6 this year but wewould normally be started aboutMarch 20. The later start was downto the weather and the ground notbeing fit, especially for planting malting barley.

“Based on that, we expect to harvest around August 10 to 20 butwe would normally be a bit earlier.Usually we like to get the barley induring August but it has been a bitlater than that in the last couple ofyears, and at the moment our wheatis looking like it will be earlier thanour barley this time around.”

For further information onHighland Grain visit www.highlandgrain.co.uk


Donald RossRhynie Farm

Tain, Ross-shire

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77 MAG 16/6/11 11:43 am Page 18

19

SHEEP SHEARING farmingscotland.comIssue seventy-seven• June 2011

Ideal conditions prevailed for the4th Caithness Shears at QuoybraeAuction Mart on Saturday 4th

June,when 30 well travelled shearerstackled almost 500 strong hoggs bythe days end. An enthusiastic crowdwitnessed some fine shearing duringthe afternoon programme, particularlythe four finals.

Qualifying Scottish Circuit points(towards represnting Scotland in theWorld Championships in NewZealand in 2012) were up for grabs inthe Open section where a top-classfield was ultimately headed byHamish Mitchell, who now resides inNorway. The superb final saw SimonBedwell from Garve, Ross-shire shearhis pen of 16 Cheviot hoggs fromLythmore, Thurso in exactly 15 min.

The Senior event produced a convincing winner in StewartKennedy from Aberfeldy, whose control, technique and quality wasalso rewarded with the bottle of Old

Pulteney whisky for the best-pen. Local shearing contractor Andrew

Sinclair, Wick did extremely well toqualify for both the Senior andIntermediate finals but a demandingschedule saw him having to settle for4th position in both.

But the star of the day was CharlesAbercrombie, a young Junior shearerfrom Huntly, Aberdeenshire. Havingearlier won the W&M Horner juniorcompetition by almost 4 clear points,he was delighted to qualify for theIntermediate final despite shearing upa class against more experiencedadversaries. With nothing to lose, adetermined effort saw him triumph towin the Sandy Douglas trophy andgive him great encouragement for thefuture.

Caithness Shearing Associationwish to extend their grateful thanks toeveryone who contributed in any wayto making it a successful event.

Caithness Shears

SOS Shears a success

Open shearers who are vying foran air ticket to New Zealandand a place in the World

Championships 2012, were contestingthe fact that the South of ScotlandShears had been pulled as a qualifyingevent. With only a few other competitions in Scotland it may bereconsidered and included as contestants only have to count tworesults and drop their lowest score.

Twenty six Open shearers – eighteen Scots, four Welshmen, aKiwi, a Spaniard, an Irishman and aPom, took their stands in the heats.Gavin Mutch, who is home from NewZealand for the season, sped throughhis six Mule hoggs in 5 minutes 4 seconds, secured the time points andtop slot into the twelve man semi-finals. A speedy time and cleanest pen (4.50) put WelshmanRichard Jones (23), Corwen into second, ahead of fellow countrymanGareth Daniels, who was third in theWorld Championships Individual competition at the Royal Welsh Showlast year. Robbie Hyslop, sportingsomeone else’s skin tight shearingpants qualified in fourth place, whileJordan Smeaton, who cleaned up wellon the board (0.67) came in fifth.

Losing a sheep off the board in thefirst semi-final cost the only Kiwi, IanKirkpatrick, a five point penalty and achance to shear in the final. He wasjust pulling his last sheep out of thepen when Gavin Mutch clocked off,with the fastest time of the semis.

Simon Bedwell set the pace in thesecond semi. He was turning ontothe last side of number ten whenGrant Lundie was in for the catch.With a score of 8.10 out the back,Simon failed to make the grade forthe now four man final.

The new four stand stage, setacross the shed, rather than long waysseemed to get the thumbs up from allparties concerned at the BaronyCollege, Dumfries.

Gareth Daniels was first man intothe final, only 0.15 points ahead ofMutch. Young Richard Jones wasthird and due to Kirkpatrick’s errorGrant Lundie took the fourth slot.

The final saw stands two and three– Daniels and Mutch – race againstthe clock and each other for glory.On sheep number twelve Mutch wasa couple of blows behind, they levelpegged for a while, pulling out number 14 in tandem, with GrantLundie going in for 13. But true toform, Mutch, who has a fast last sidedived in for his sixteenth first and hadthe neck open on his seventeenthwhen Daniels was just coming ontothe board. And by the eighteenthMutch was going down the moneyside when the Welshman was dragginghis out.

Mutch took the time points by 15

seconds, with Daniels a full minuteahead of Richard Jones, who in turnhad 12 seconds on Lundie. The finalline up was in the order they finished.Gavin, who lifted the £350 cheque,scored the cleanest on the board(1.00) while Jones, who will be aforce to be reckoned with in futureyears had the cleanest pen (6.70).

Callum Shaw, who was shearing inthe Open for the first time came acommendable ninth.

The twenty-one strong Seniorheats had six Blackface hoggs to shear.Highland Cattle breeder, EwanMackay from Killearn, topped thebillboard with the cleanest pen. DyeClark, who was cleanest on the boardwas sixth and speedy gonzales, RossGibson came seventh. JohnStruthers, Stuart Weir, Brian Simpsonand Rowan Forrest were second tofifth respectively.

Brian Simpson, who was shearingfor Jamie McConachie in Winton,New Zealand, upped the ante in thesemi-finals to gain the time points anddraw equal with John Struthers at thetop of the table on 35.20 points.Ewan Mackay and Ross Gibson werethird and fourth. Stuart Weir, whowon the Intermediate just missed outon the final shear.

In the final, John Struthers,Greenbank Farm, who was last to finish went for quality control, withlowest board and pen scores – hisstrategy paid off and he took theSenior title and £175. Brian Simpsonwas runner up, folled by Mackay andGibson.

Winner of the Intermediate section, by a 5.24point margin, StuartWeir (28) of Kelso, took on MainsideFarm in partnership with his father acouple of years ago, running SouthCountry Cheviots. He is shearing forBob King, Gospelhall this season.Neil Sandilands, George Brough,Dumfries and Alan Brady, Dunkeldwere second, third and fourth.

A dozen Junior shearers from theIsle of Skye to Taranaki, New Zealandweilded their handpieces over threeCheviot hoggs. Eight then qualifiedfor two semi finals. Stuart Davidson,Bill Ramsay and Scott Wilson weretop three in the first round. LewisHarkness and Kiwi lass Erin Lobb inthe semis. Harkness went all out thistime and scored the time points whileLobb went for quality both on theboards and out the back.

In the final showdown young ScottWilson (19), Stopo Hope Farm,Broughton, who is working for IainMinto won by just over three points.

Harkness was second, Davidsonthird and Lobb fourth.

Singlets were sponsored by WmHorner and farmingscotland.com magazine provided sweat towels forfinalists.

77 MAG 16/6/11 11:43 am Page 19


WORLD MARKETS

Meat companies in NewZealand are chasing lambswith price offers of $8/kg

carcaseweight (CW) to satisfy consumer demand in Europe and tofill the restaurant plates during 2011Rugby World Cup. That works priceof $8 (£3.70/kg) is at least $2 (92p)more than has been paid by companies to farmers ever before andvalues lambs in the desirable weightrange (18-20kg CW) around$150/head (£70).

Three years ago Federated Farmersof New Zealand warned that sheepfarming was becoming an endangeredoccupation, threatened by farm conversions to ever-buoyant dairyingand to tree planting or bush reversionfor carbon sequestration. At a timewhen the very best lambs fetchedabout $90-$100, the federationlaunched a “T150” campaign to raiselamb returns to $150 and restore viability to meat and wool farming.That campaign was ridiculed as beinghopelessly unrealistic, because $5/kgfor 17-20kg lamb carcases wasassumed to be the upper limit of theexport returns from major markets,after shipping and processing costs.

The $5 mark was historically onlyachieved in the NZ springtime, whenthe best, fastest growing new season'slambs are shipped as chilled lamb tothe discerning UK market forChristmas. As the rest of the lambcrop was finished to good slaughterweights, usually around February, theworks prices would fall to $3.50-$4.00/kg CW, making the bulk of NZexport lambs worth $60 to $80 to thefarmer. Therefore Federated Farmerswas claiming that all lambs, throughout the growing season,

should be worth more – much more –than the peak price at that time.

It said that without a substantiallift in return, along with a huge boostfor strong wool (35 to 40 microns),sheep farming as an industry in NewZealand was going backwards.

Meat companies countered withthe facts of life, while commiseratingwith farmers, including the figureswhich showed that 42% of the average retail price of NZ lamb in theUK stays in the UK – captured by thesupermarkets (21%), packer/wholesaler (19%) and importer(2.5%).

That left 12.5% for the processor,including shipping and net 45% to thefarmer. Therefore the $70 lamb atthe farm gate was eventually purchased in various cuts for around$150 by consumers in the UK.Now that lamb is worth $135-$150to the NZ farmer, and UK retailprices are 35-40% higher than theywere 12 months ago.

NZ meat exporters also claim thatUK supermarkets have reduced theirmargins, and are prepared to run special campaigns, as NZ lamb is ahigh-quality meat which attracts storetraffic.

Of course the whole lamb carcasemust be sold, and not just the verybest leg and loin cuts, for which UKconsumers are presently paying£2.50/pound (£5.50/kg). In thatrespect strong demand from othercountries, in southern Asia, theMiddle East and the Pacific, is underpinning the European and NorthAmerican markets.

Lamb racks are selling for anextraordinary NZ$30/kg (£14) in theUS and Asia, 50% higher than last

year. Woolly lamb skins are twice theprice of a year ago and slipe wool is60% higher.

It transpired the FederatedFarmers warning was prescient, as acombination of summer droughts,storms at lambing and farmer disillusionment knocked the NZexport lamb crop down from 25 million to 20 million head over thepast three years. Australia's exportsupplies also fell, while in the UK andthe EU the redirection of farm subsidies worked against any expansion of sheep farming.

The much-reduced lamb numbersthis season have pushed prices torecord highs and the FederatedFarmers T150 target has beenreached, even with the high value ofthe NZ dollar by historical standards.Fortunately for farmers tradable beefhas also been short on world markets,with prices 20-30% higher now thanone year ago.

Gross farm revenue for NZ sheepand beef farms this season will be50% higher than last season, and mostof the increase will flow into net farmprofit, and probably into loan repayments.

But what really makes Kiwi farmers shake their heads with wonder is the realisation that all livestock products are at or nearrecord prices at the same time. Theolder ones can remember when woolwas up, but beef was bad, or someother such unsatisfactory combination– but not today.

Dairy farmers are receiving $8/kgmilk solids, deer farmers $8/kg fortheir venison, prime beef is bringingabout $4.50/kg and wool prices haveshown the most extraordinary rise.

For a decade or more NZ strongwool prices languished around$2.50/kg greasy to the farmer, fromwhich shearing costs of about$3/sheep had to be paid. When adual-purpose ewe clips only 3-4kgannually, the net wool cheque waspathetically small. In gross farm revenues of $300,000 a year, wool'sshare had shrunk to $10,000-$20,000and many farmers were activelybreeding for lower wool production,perhaps even self-shedding fleeces.

But the drop in the national flock,and some spirited wool promotionalcampaigns along with Asian hotel andhouse construction, saw the woolmarket turn sharply upwards at thestart of the selling season last July.The market rose from under $4/kgclean to $6.85 currently for 35micron, in less than one year.Medium wools also jumped up by $3to $10/kg. The very finest wool (18micron) is selling for $25/kg, versus$14 a year ago.

Much more of this and sheepfarmers will be calling the 2010s a“return to the good old days” whenannual profits might allow the purchase of a new vehicle, the building of a new woolshed or perhaps a deposit on a holiday orretirement near the beach.

Finally, growing populations andaspirations to eat better food, andwear stylish clothing, have createddemand for a steady, not growing supply – especially from those countries like Australia and NewZealand, which produce more thantheir own people can eat. For that bigreason, farmers down under are notexpecting the latest soft commoditiesprice boom to bust quickly.

by Hugh Stringleman

World Markets –High Prices

20

77 MAG 16/6/11 11:43 am Page 20

21

Wool will be in the spotlight atthe Royal Highland Show asthe National Sheep

Association, in conjunction withScottish Enterprise, Textiles Scotlandand the Campaign for Wool, take thecommodity all the way from thesheep's back to the fashion catwalk.

“Rediscover the Wonders of Wool”will feature on all four days of theshow in the NSA marquee and willinclude live demonstrations, competitions and a fashion show.

The aim is to acquaint consumerswith the story of wool, which beginson the farm and ends in a variety ofuses, from knitwear and clothing tocarpets and car seats. The Campaignfor Wool, initiated by HRH ThePrince of Wales, launched Wool Weeklast October.

The NSA programme at the RoyalHighland Show will include fleecejudging and a spinning demonstrationon the Thursday opening day. Fridayis fashion day with a team of professional models taking to the catwalk to show off a range of woolgarments, part of Textiles Scotland'sNew Wool campaign. There will alsobe a felt making demonstration.

Saturday sees the “Baaa'ck to Back”competition where the race is on to

clip a sheep, spin the wool, knit ajumper and wear it with pride in thequickest possible time.

The Sunday programme includes alamb dressing competition, clippingand preparing sheep for showing plusa video display and commentary oninnovations with wool insulation.

“Rediscover the Wonders of Woolwill cover most of the aspects of anatural commodity that in recenttimes has faced stiff competition fromother products such as syntheticfibres,” said Royal Highland ShowManager David Dunsmuir. “However,with a world decline in breedingsheep and significant promotion bythe Campaign for Wool, prices arebeginning to increase for what is avery versatile product.

“With the sheep industry being avital part of Scottish agriculture, it isonly right that we highlight wool asone of the important products fromthat sector and we are delighted tosupport the NSA and the other organisations in this show venture.”

With its mix of visitors from thefarming community and the generalpublic, the show is an ideal platformto demonstrate the whole process,from proper handling of the fleeceright through to the finished product.”

Wonders of Wool

77 MAG 16/6/11 11:43 am Page 21

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EDUCATION

“Iget a kick out of educatingboth the kids and the teachers. It makes my day

that I can explain to them how natural food is.” Ian Gillan has beeninvolved in RHET Ayrshire & ArranCountryside Initiative (RHET AACI)since it was formed in 2004. Likemany of our RHET volunteer farmers,Ian was frustrated at the lack ofunderstanding of some children (andadults!) about farming and food production. Keen to improve generalknowledge about his trade, Ian cameon board with RHET as a volunteerfarm visit host and classroom speaker,and as a member of the RHET AACIcommittee. Currently Chair of thecommittee he says: “It sounded like agood idea. I had run into a number ofchildren and teachers who did notunderstand farming and I wanted tohelp them to understand.”

RHET has twelve countryside initiatives across Scotland, each runby a committee of volunteers fromthe farming and rural industries andassisted by the permanent staff, basedat the Royal Highland Centre,Ingliston. It is run as a charity andreceives its core funding from theRoyal Highland and AgriculturalSociety of Scotland (RHASS). Otheroperating costs are covered by grantsand funds from a number of trusts,companies and funding organisations,including SNH, NFU MutualCharitable Trust and the Scottish

Government.On a typical visit to Shotts Farm,

Ian takes the children on a tour,allowing them to see dairy cows andcalves at close range and to understand the stages from calf toadult cow. Pupils are taken into thedairy parlour to look at the equipment and he explains to themthe process of milking through tocooling and collection.

When asked what benefits childrenget from a RHET farm visit, Iananswers: “They can see where theirmilk comes from and understand thatit's an extremely natural process, withnothing fancy or chemical added. It'salso great for them to be able to seeand touch the young calves.”

Susan MacDonald is Project Co-ordinator for RHET AACI andsays Ian's contribution is invaluable:“Ian never turns down a visit; he'sgreat with all types of school fromprimary to secondary to special needsand is really interested in the kids andwhat they have to say. When thechildren ask questions – that's whenIan's farm visits are at their best.”

In another part of the country, AnnWelsh of Mossfennan Farm echoesIan's sentiments about the value ofRHET farm visits. A volunteer withRHET since 1999, she says; “It isimportant for the general public to beaware of how and where the foodthey eat is produced. When RHETbegan, farming and farmers appeared

to be far removed from the public,who then were not considering wheretheir food came from.”

Ann's Scottish Borders sheep farmis popular with secondary classesstudying Land Use, with the familynow in their third year of visits fromS3 Geography students. The pupilsspend half the day at Mossfennan andthe other half at a local dairy. On atypical visit, Ann says; “We take themup onto the hill and get them to consider the constraints on hill farming – discussing gradient, altitudeand climate. We also consider otherland use in hill areas, e.g. wind farmsand forestry and emphasise thatScotland has a high proportion of hillland, which can therefore be a valuable source of protein productionwhere it would be impossible to growcereals or vegetables.”

These secondary visits are a primeexample of how RHET can tailortheir farm visits to the particularneeds of a classroom topic or subject.

Prior to a farm visit, the RHETProject Co-ordinator will discuss withthe teacher the learning objectives forthe visit and the teacher will meetthe farmer at a 'pre-visit', to gothrough the risk assessment. TheProject Co-ordinator attends both thepre-visit and the farm visit.

Like Ian, Ann's involvementextends beyond farm visits, helping atother RHET events, including classroom talks in school for various

ages and as a member of the grouprunning the Peebles Show educationalstand. She says; “For me, the benefits of working with RHET isthat the children are being madeaware of food production and that Ihave the chance to interact with thechildren and have the satisfaction ofenlightening them.”

Ann features in a series of videosrecently commissioned by RHETScottish Borders CountrysideInitiative (RHET SBCI), which can beviewed on the Scottish Borders pageof the RHET websitewww.rhet.org.uk. RHET hope thatthese videos will become a crucialtool to recruit the new volunteerfarmers that are desperately neededto cope with the increase in demandfor their free services to schools, plusto give teachers a window into whathappens on a farm visit.

Project Co-ordinator for RHETSBCI is Lesley Mason, who says“Ann's enthusiasm for teaching children about farming and the countryside is unbounded. She getsthe pupils interacting and thinking,whether they are on the farm, or taking part in a classroom workshop.”

Have you ever thought about becoming a RHET volunteer? Pleasecontact the RHET Team on 0131 3356227 [email protected] or visitwww.rhet.org.uk for more information.

RHET by Nicola Cunningham

77 MAG 16/6/11 11:43 am Page 22

23

In a world with increasing energycosts it is no surprise that consumers are looking for ways to

increase their energy efficiency.Consequently, Link-Up systems havegrown in popularity, but what is aLink-Up system?

A Link-Up system uses either astove, open fire or room heater with aback boiler, linking to an existing ornew heating system. This means thatwhen the wood burner, for example,is heating the living room, it also takesover the heating load elsewhere in thehome. When the wood burner is notbeing used the existing central heating

boiler takes over to provide heatingand hot water.

As a result, provided the system isset up correctly, consumers willbecome more energy efficient and willreduce their annual energy bills. It isalso worth noting that Link-Up can bevery simple and inexpensive if only alimited additional benefit is required.

The system can be linked in anumber of ways dependent on eachuser's unique set of circumstances andrequirements. For more details callJim Faulds at Gibson and Goold Ayron 01292 268 478.

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Many successful farming businesses have been built upover several generations. All

too often however, succession plansfor passing the business on to the nextgeneration are not put in place earlyenough, and in some cases, not at all.Some farming businesses “get away”with not making plans for the secondgeneration, but few succeed withoutplanning for the third generation.

The success of a farming business isusually measured in terms of its ability to grow crops or rear livestock,profitably. The creation of profitallows it to grow and expand. Like allbusinesses, there are usually certainindividuals who assume the role ofdriving the business forward.Leadership is therefore an importantcharacteristic, but what makes farming different?

Children are normally brought upon the farm, living and breathing thebusiness every day, and becomeinvolved in the business from a veryyoung age. It's not uncommon for allthe children wanting to pursue acareer in the farming business. As a

natural and gradual step, profitablebusinesses expand and make room forthe second generation to farm. Theolder generation step back, and personalities of the next generationsometimes mean certain family members dominate the business decisions, at the expense of otherfamily members who are more passive. Perhaps a brother in the second generation becomes isolatedbecause although the business appearssuccessful outwardly, behind thescenes, there is a lot of unhappinessand disagreement. This can lead tofamily members feeling like prisonersin their own business, and ultimatelystifling their and their own children'sability to farm.

By the time it gets to the thirdgeneration, the business is at a crossroads, each family in the businessis pulling in different directions and itis at crisis point. The main familywealth is tied up in the businessassets, which is usually a significantvalue. To complicate matters further,there may be longer term development potential, depending on

the location of the farm. Where therehas not been sufficient provision forretirement, those of a retirement agestay involved too long and become afinancial burden to the business. Thisscenario is not untypical, and is oftenthe result of being too close to thebusiness, and not standing back looking at the bigger picture and making key decisions early enough.

The starting point for unravellingall this is to explore if all partiesrecognise the problems, and whetherthere is a willingness to address theissue. Where a willingness exists fromall, it then needs to be establishedwhat each party's ideal outcome is,what's practical, making compromises,then working up a strategy to achievethat. Whilst the numbers and valuation of the assets is important,often it's a question of getting agreement on which farms and landcan be farmed by the various parties,then fitting other assets and debtsaround that. Once a deal is reachedin principal, it needs to be structuredproperly for tax, and where possible,leaving each family with a viable

farming unit to move forward.If there is an unwillingness from

certain family members to divide upthe business, that inevitably leads to alegal and formal process. It is essential to review any partnershipagreement, financial statements, orthe Memorandum and Articles ofAssociation for a limited company.This should help define a possible exitfrom the business. A land agent maybe required to value the farms, andeach party should appoint an independent advisor to avoid conflictsof interest occurring. This can be astressful, lengthy and costly process,but delaying making a decision justmakes it harder to deal with later, andin some cases, may discourage or prevent the next generation fromfarming.

Many of the individuals in the agricultural team at Campbell Dallasare from farming backgrounds, understand the industry, and have theskills and experience to handle thesedelicate situations. Start planningnow, tough decisions and a good succession plan, create good businesses.

Successful Succession by Ian CraigCampbell [email protected]

77 MAG 16/6/11 11:43 am Page 23

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77 MAG 16/6/11 11:43 am Page 24

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