Cover - Mule ewe lambs on Marr, Penpont Text and photography by Eilidh MacPherson unless otherwise stated
PHOTOS:
Page 4 - Lisa Soar (bottom)
Page 13 - Lists photographers for galleries
Page 28 - Hugh Stringleman
Page 30/31 Anne Chillcot
Farming Country
While green leggings of the waterproof variety have been very much in vogue at shows across the country rather than the figure hugging leggings of the high street, we have managed to capture some sunny days in our 11 page show stopping galleries on pages 13 - 24. Well farming hasn’t had the easiest ride recently with lamb and milk prices at incredible lows. It has been demoralising to say the least ‘giving’ my good cross Beltex lambs away at the market for well less than previous years. Hugh Stringleman has covered the world dairy markets this issue and sees some light at the end of a rather gloomy tunnel.
I had hoped that this would have been an huge magazine bursting with interesting sheepy articles, but I’ve been busy on farm and also spent a couple of days videoing at Logie Durno prior to their on farm sheep sale. Days of editing footage of 254 individual videos of tups ensued!
You know you are getting older ....when you are happy to shear pen about with your husband, rather than have a full stand all day!
An interesting article on bee keeping aims to show how bees forage and rely on a wide diversity of nectars and pollens to keep healthy. It highlights some of the pressures, which both farmers and bees are currently under and attempts to stimulate thought and actions, which may lead to realistic manageable solutions to the problems.
I’m off to a meeting on Fluke in Basingstoke in the morning – think such a gathering should be hosted in the Highlands or on the West Coast, where the problems are most prevalent!
Congratulations to Hannah Dunlop, who has been writing a Young Farmer column for us for the past year. She has been accepted by Glasgow Caledonian University to study Journalism – well deserved!
Dolly Takes Centre Stage
Dolly the sheep is to star in an exhibition chronicling a century of genetics research in Edinburgh. The world’s most famous sheep will be on display alongside rare books, archive documents, pictures, sound and film clips from the University of Edinburgh’s Special Collections.
Also on show will be a microscope from the University’s Roslin Institute that was used to create the cloned embryo that led to Dolly’s birth.
The exhibition – entitled ‘Towards
Dolly’ – celebrates Edinburgh’s contributions to the field of genetic science, from animal breeding research in the early 1900s, to the cutting-edge stem cell techniques employed today.
It includes photographs of early breeding studies involving zebras and horses. These helped scientists to understand how physical characteristics – such as coat markings and colour – could be passed from one generation to the next.
Items from the archives of
Professor Charlotte Auerbach – who pioneered research into genetic mutations – will also be on display. Her research, carried out at Edinburgh’s Institute of Animal Genetics from the 1930s onwards, paved the way for using mutations to study how genes work.
Dolly the sheep appears in the exhibition on exclusive loan from National Museums Scotland.
As the first animal to be cloned from an adult cell, her birth proved that it is possible to take cells from
anywhere in the body and make them behave like a newly fertilised egg.
The discovery paved the way for the field of regenerative medicine and the use of stem cells to investigate fundamental human and animal biology.
Curator Clare Button said: “Dolly is the most famous chapter in Edinburgh’s long genetics history. This exhibition tells the wider story of the many pioneering discoveries which have taken place here, taking our visitors ‘towards Dolly’ and beyond.”
Scottish National Results & International Team
1st & National champion: Run no. 88 - John MacKillop and Joe, 173 points; 2nd: Run no. 129 - Murray McTeir and Bob, 172; 3rd: Run no. 112 - Fraser Shennan and Fizz, 171, OLF 80; 4th: Run no. 75 - Michael Shearer and Jim, 171, OLF 74; 5th: Run no. 128 - Julie Hill and Mac, 170; 6th: Run no. 70 - Alastair Stewart and Midge, 167, OLF 90; 7th: Run no. 103 - Ewen Mackinnon and Midge, 167, OLF 87; 8th: Run no. 124 - Ian Brownlie and Mo, 165; 9th: Run no. 23 - Michael McNally and Finn, 161; 10th: Run no. 148 - Mosse Magnusson and Myllin Davey, 160, OLF 90; 11th: Run no. 59 - Neil McVicar and Mist, 160, OLF 72; 12th: Run no. 78 - Ian McMillan and Lamp, 159, OLF 84; 13th: Run no. 31 - Craig Davidson and Cap, 159, OLF 72; 14th: Run no. 115 - Peter Martin and Jen, 158, OLF 87; 15th: Run no. 71 - Angus Jardine and Elsie, 158, OLF 85; Reserve: Run no. 105 - Ian McConell and Fly, 158, OLF 81.
Brace champion: Peter Martin, Jill and Jen, 237; Runner-up: Stephen Martin, Rob and Lexie, 231.
International in D&G
With the Gaelic TV Channel –BBC ALBA – having raised the profile of Sheep Dog Trialling to the wider masses over the past few years and more recently on ITV, Gabby Logan has been to the fore with the Celebrity star studded Flockstars – all eyes will be on Meikleholm Farm, Parkgate Dumfries from the 10th-12th September as the four home Nations battle it out for the coveted International Sheep Dog Trial Title.
Hosts for this prestigious event are the Mair family, pictured above –Geordie and Hazel with sons George and Andrew and daughter Carol.
No strangers to the trialling world, they have previously hosted the Scottish National final three times and the Border Cup twice.
The Mairs, who are now third and fourth generation farmers at Meikleholm farm some 2300acres in all – 461 at Meikleholm, 1600 on a hill farm, Crookburn at Elvanfoot and a further 300 acres (Peilmuir) rented from a neighbouring farmer.
“Hazel and I moved to Crookburn, which is 33 miles away at Elvanfoot, six miles up beyond the renowned Blackface farm Nunnerie, when we first married. We run 660 pure Blackface ewes there and 400 of them have been brought down country for the trial. We pretty much ranch them, so they are wild. It will be interesting for the spectators and maybe testing for the handlers,” informed Geordie, who has always been keen on trialling and working with sheep dogs. “It is the first time that an International has used real hill sheep.”
At Meikleholm, where the family are now based, 230 Lleyn ewes, 100 cross ewes, 120 Cheviot Mules and 80 Suffolk ewes graze the fertile flats, along with 200 suckler cows, mainly of the Limousin X variety.
Carol, who works at a local vets runs a small pedigree flock of Texels. She enjoys showing and has notched up several firsts and a reserve championship at Langholm.
At lambing time Geordie heads up
to Crookburn for a month, while Hazel, who is treasurer for the trial, takes charge of the calving.
With the various breeds of sheep lambing starts the last week in February until the end of May. “We finish all our lambs. Last year at this time we had a lot away at £95-£100, but due to the low price this year and the fact we have been really busy prior to the trial we have been holding on to them, but will have to get some away in the next few weeks.”
Meikleholm is well suited for British trialling, with stretches of good free draining grassy acres, some 461 in all. About a third of the farm will be utilised for the event, with the trial field covering 146 acres, 20 acres for parking and a further 7 acres for the trade stands.
Located just off the A701 Dumfries to Moffat road, the farm is ideally positioned for easy access with plenty villages and towns nearby for accommodation.
It has been all hands on deck for
the Mair family and trial committee since lambing time.
The Mair boys have put in a stretch of extra roading to help with parking. George, the elder has first hand experience, having spent a stint on a bull dozer in the Canterbury High Country in New Zealand putting in hill tracks. Their Uncle Jim, a talented cabinet maker has transformed a large tree in the middle of the trial field to a viewing platform and another vantage point for the camera crew.
“Fiona McMillan, the Chairman and the whole committee have been fantastic. Sponsors, both local and national have been very generous,” commented Hazel.
During my visit the phone rang constantly with trial matters; security had been in just before me, checking out the joint before the royal visit –the Patron, Princess Anne, will be attending on Thursday.
At just £8 a person, the International will be well worth a visit, especially on the final day.
Home Turf
Young Andrew Mair (19) is honoured to have been asked to represent Scotland at the International, running on his home turf.
Andrew competed in the local Dumfries and Kirkcudbright Novice class in the Nursery League in the winter and won the Novice Trophy. He was the Reserve for the Scottish Nursery Finals team in March and has been competing in the Open section ever since.
Teamed with three-year-old Wispa, Andrew will be up against youngsters from England, Ireland and Wales.
“I’m really quite nervous about it. I don’t compete until the Saturday at noon.”
Andrew and his brother George have in the past couple of years picked up the handpiece and started following in their fathers’ footsteps –contract sheep shearing and competition shearing
“I met Hazel on a farm where I
was shearing and she was rolling wool,” reminisced Geordie, who employed three Kiwis a year over a 12-year period, including Steven Dodds and Joe Clarke.
Geordie shore for a season near Gore, NZ and had a stand in the 10 stand Glenary Station shed. He took Hazel out there for their 25th wedding anniversary and caught up with many of their past empolyees.
Geordie has been a stalwart of the South of Scotland Sheep Shearing competition since its second year and does a mammoth amount of work for it – hauling sheep, providing equipment and packing the wool.
“Our Blackfaces are wild. It will be interesting for the spectators and maybe testing for the handlers. It is the first time an International has used real hill sheep.”
New Scottish Champion!
Wool was whipped off super quick in the Scottish National and Open Sheep Shearing heats, semis and finals on day four of the four-day Royal Highland Show extravaganza at Ingliston, Edinburgh.
Scotsman Simon Bedwell fired out 20 North Country Cheviot hoggs in 15 mins and 56 seconds (47.8s per sheep) in a bid to take out the Scottish National title, while later in the day, Hamish Mitchell, who now farms in Norway, went all out to take the time advantage in the Open class, peeling his score of Scotch Mule hoggs and pushing them down the porthole in 15 mins and 47 seconds, averaging 47.35 seconds each.
Eighteen Scotsmen took to the boards, on Sunday morning, hoping to
lift the National Shearing trophy. Out of the line up Hamish Mitchell was the only previous winner, with his name already etched on the silverware an astounding 14 times –1998 -2000, 2002 - 2008, 2010 and 2012-2014. With his World Champ team mate – Gavin Mutch – safely on the other side of the world and no previous swinners present, Hamish went all out to grab the silverware for a fifteenth time.
He topped the heats by over two points ahead of Grant Lundie, with Calum Shaw hot on his heels.Scott Wilson, Simon Bedwell and Andrew Baillie came in next.Texacloth shearing instructor, Alan Wright was seventh to qualify then John Little, Archie Paterson, Stewart Davidson, Alister Shaw and George Donald.
Simon Bedwell, who contract shears in Wester Ross, set the pace in the semi-finals, completing his pen of ten, 38 seconds faster than the pack, secured top spot into the final.
Simon also scored the second cleanest pen of 9.300 just 0.200 points behind Calum Shaw (24) of Saline in Fife, who was next man to switch off his machine and claim second slot into the final.Mitchell came in third, with Donald, Lundie and Little making up the six-stand show down.
As previously mentioned Bedwell set the pace like a ‘Bat out o’ hell’ with Shaw and Mitchell catching and falling behind, but by the 14th ovine Bedwell was the clear leader.He cut his machine 27 seconds ahead of Mitchell and almost a minute in front of Shaw (57secs).The rest of the
field seemed to be in a different time zone, with at least one or two sheep left in the pen when Shaw pulled his stop cord.Lundie took a further minute and 11 seconds to finish, Little was 40 seconds behind that and Donald trailed the field another 42seconds later.
When scorers Margaret Whiteford and Elaine did their magic on the computer – a new Scottish National Champion emerged.Twenty-four year old Calum Shaw, who farms in partnership with his father Willie and brother Alistair, pushed Mitchell, twenty years his senior, into second place.Quality counts and his finished job on the board and out the back was only surpassed on both accounts by John Little, who farms with his family at Callander,
Perthshire.Little came in third place ahead of Simon Bedwell.Grant Lundie was fifth and Andrew Donald sixth.
The Open competition attracted 35 competitors from eight countries across the world.Englishman, Cumbrian, Adam Berry – who took out the South of Scotland title a couple of weeks ago, topped the heats.Mitchell qualified in second place, marginally ahead of Calum Shaw, who had the time points by a three second lead and one of the lowest board scores.Kiwi, Ethan Pankhurst, who was ranked top Senior shearer in New Zealand this year, was next man in followed by fellow New Zealander, Troy Pyper, one full point behind.The top 18 went through to the semi-finals.
As a spectator, one surprise result was that Matt Smith failed to qualify. The rest of the semi-finalists were as follows; Lundie, Ivan Scott, Bedwell, Jack Fagan, Ian Montgomery, Alan Wright, Jacob Moore, Scott Wilson, Liam Jansen, Paul Smith, Alistair Shaw (23), Richard Robinson and Christophe Riffaud.(in order)John Little was next man in.
Southern Irish shearer and Strong Wool World Record holder – Ivan Scott – who has shorn 744 lambs in an 8 hour day, showcased his prowess by completing his dozen in 10 minutes and 5 seconds, securing him the time points. Tidy work on the whole, on the board was unfortunately marred by a 5-point penalty out the back and a total score of 45.834. Without the cut and penalty points, Scott would have qualified for the final in fifth position.
Mitchell came top of the pops in the semis, beating Calum Shaw, Troy Pyper from Invercargill, New Zealand, Adam Berry, Simon Bedwell, and the other Kiwi – Ethan Pankhurst – all scoring a stand in the final.
The next six, who missed out on the final competed for a new silver plate were; Jack Fagan, Grant Lundie, Scott Wilson, Ian Montgomery, Alistair Shaw and Alan Wright.Scott Wilson from Broughton, Biggar, who has just moved up from the Senior class following a successful season in New Zealand, where he was ranked fifth Senior Shearer on the competition circuit, took out the inaugural Open Plate.
Fired up from missing out on the National title, Hamish Mitchell, who is married in Norway with a family of
three, blasted his first Scotch Mule hogg out in 35 seconds.He had the second out by the one minute 22 second mark and the fourth was shoved down the porthole when the clock struck three minutes.
Calum Shaw was in hot pursuit, with Simon Bedwell and Adam Berry in tow.
By sheep number eight, Mitchell had one round both of the Kiwis.
Shaw was pulling his eighth out of the pen as Mitchell swept up the long blow.Berry and Bidwell dived in for their eighth together.
It was all change at number nine as Berry and Shaw flew into their pens neck in neck, with Mitchell still half a sheep ahead.They kept up the synchronised shearing through to number 11, by which time Bedwell had caught up.He charged in for his 12th when the duo were coming down the last side of number 11 and Hamish was doing likewise on 12.
Hamish changed his hand-piece before his 17th, but kept a healthy lead, finishing the 20 hoggs in 15 minutes and 47 seconds.Bedwell pumped his out some 19s later, with Berry 25s behind him and Shaw a further 8s later.Pyper and Pankhurst finished on 17 mins 4 secs and 17m 43s respectively and took up fifth and sixth places in the line up.
Hamish Mitchell took the Open Title for a sixth time having previously won it in 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008 and again in 2011.He now equals Geordie Bayne, who has six wins under his shearing belt, but will have to win it another four times to match David Fagan!
Adam Berry took the blue sash for second, Bedwell the green for third and Shaw the yellow for fourth.
G G rraa n n tt T Ta a lllliieess 993388 S S h h eeee p p ii n n 2244 H H o o u u rrss
SWScotland turned out in force to support Grant Hurcomb in his bid to shear for 24 hours recently.Over 500 farmers and youngsters cheered him on in the final run of his charity shearing marathon. Grant tallied an amazing 938 sheep.
He set out at 9pm on the Friday night, shearing 97 in the first run and
proceeded to shear throughout the night with runs of 85, 90, 86 and 96. Mid morning he pushed 95 down the porthole. After lunch, Grant (21) who has shorn in both Australia and New Zealand, found an extra gear and added 100 to his tally, he followed this with a run of 101 and another 100.
He was still going strong on his last
APerthshire farming couple have been congratulated by QMS for their longstanding commitment to raising awareness of the importance of performance recording in Scotland.
Neil and Debbie McGowan, who farm at Incheoch near Alyth, were presented with the Johnston Carmichael Trophy at NSA Highland Sheep in recognition of their dedication to improving their flock through the use of EBVs (Estimated Breeding Values).
As well as being well-respected livestock farmers, the McGowans are also very willing to embrace innovation and developed their own system of recording maternal traits to
support EBVs.
They were among the first in Scotland to opt to sell their pedigree rams from the farm, with the focus very much on communicating the animals’ EBVs.
The couple developed their own maternal recording system to rigorously select the right genetics for home-bred replacements, which supports the conventional EBVs. They now performance record 1,100 of their ewes which are mainly Lleyns with a few Texels. The couple also run 220 cows on the 1200 acres at Incheoch.
Neil McGowan has recently won a Nuffield Scholarship to study the management of large-scale seed stock
run of this mammoth task, as the shed filled up with supporters and well wishers from 7pm onwards.
Grant is pictured right, shearing his 900th ewe on the boards.
Over £15 000 was raised for Cancer Research and Diabetis UK by SHEAR24 – the first event of its kind to be staged in the UK.
AgriScot, the annual farm business event at Ingliston, Edinburgh, is underlining its sheep and beef credentials with the appointment of two new Directors.
Hamish Dykes, the Peeblesshire sheep farmer who provided a public insight into the world of sheep production when his family and farm starred in the BBC Lambing Live programme, will join the AgriScot board to further promote the interests of sheep farmers at the event.
To replace renowned Aberdeen Angus breeder John Elliot, who is retiring after 5 years’ service, the board has appointed award winning beef cattle producer Robert Neill. Robert, who farms at Upper Nisbet near Jedburgh is a previous winner of the AgriScot QMS Scotch Beef Farm of the Year and in his new role he will play a part in encouraging other farmers to enter the awards. Hamish
breeding programmes for cattle and sheep.
As part of the scholarship he plans to travel to New Zealand to see how performance-recorded flocks –some extending to 20 000 ewes – are managed there.
A spokesman fromQMS said: “The McGowans are extremely worthy winners of the trophy and have championed the use of performance recording for a very long time.
“Their family-run sheep enterprise is an excellent example of how EBVs can enhance a business and also how to market genetics to both the pedigree and commercial sheep farmer.”
Neil McGowan said: "We are really
New Directors
Dykes will also play a supporting role for the recently launched AgriScot Scottish Sheep Farm of the Year Awards.
Commenting on the appointment of new board members, AgriScot Chairman Andrew Moir stated:
“We are delighted that Robert Neill and Hamish Dykes will join us on the Board of AgriScot.
“Both individuals have solid commercial farming backgrounds, which is representative of the business minded farmers who visit AgriScot. We believe this is a recipe for success in terms of continuing to ensure that our event delivers what visitors need and expect.
“I would like to express a huge thank you to John Elliot for all of his help and input to the Board over the years and his dedication in putting on a series of innovative beef cattle demonstrations at AgriScot.”
delighted to have received this award. The trophy has a lot of names on it of people who have inspired and helped us along the way. It’s great to see that since those early days, recording sheep has become more mainstream and is now much more accepted and understood than for those early pioneers."
Show Gallery
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Eilidh MacPherson
Pages 14/15 & 22/23
Rebecca Lee
Pages 13 & 16/17/18
Kim Stretch
Pages 20/21 & 24
Seeing the Wood and the Trees
by Gail Clarke
The Rural Land and Business Team at Blackadders are well used to farming clients diversifying into all types of new ventures, whether that be the farm shop, buffalo or venison farming or renewable energy projects.
Commercial forestry planting by farmers has to-date proved less popular. The tide however, may be turning as current opportunities available to farmers, in particular hill sheep farmers, now make investment in Scottish forestry a much more attractive prospect than ever before.
The reasons for this are simple and persuasive. The Scottish Government has set ambitious targets for new planting in Scotland of 10 000 ha per annum, and it has backed this up with a series of financial packages, which will effectively cover the initial set-up and management costs for the crucial first 5 years of the forest’s life.
Point to note: no need for borrowing from the banks.
Forestry is a mid to long-term investment. Farmers are business people and the majority have been in farming for many years. They are well accustomed to the benefits of tax reliefs such as Roll-over Relief for Capital Gains Tax and Business Property Relief for Inheritance Tax. Add to that the fact that there is no income tax payable on the profits from the sale of timber and also the capital appreciation of the underlying asset, and the tax advantages of investing in forestry are clear.
Point to note: forestry is an asset which can easily and tax efficiently be handed on to the next generation.
The forestry market in Scotland has out-performed all other forms of investment over the last 20 years in terms of rate of return. It is predicted to continue doing so for the next 15-20 years with the current IRR (internal rate of return) being somewhere between 15-20%. Basic Farm Payments can be claimed on newly planted ground in addition to capital and maintenance grants.
Point to note: diversification into forestry can be economically successful as well as delivering more to the environment, reducing reliance on public subsidies in the longer term and creating shelter belts for livestock.
So given that farmers have the land, what’s been stopping them?
One concern raised is the lack of flexibility: once it is planted, the understanding is that it is very difficult to change the use of the land back from trees. Granted, there are ongoing re-stocking obligations on any land in Scotland where commercial trees are planted, but recent studies have shown that in certain areas, the annual economic output of forestry was more than double that of hill sheep farming. In addition, forestry employment was 60% higher than for farming.
Fears about the widespread loss of farmland to woodland seem to be unfounded. The correct choice of land is key and that would not be Class 1 arable land in Scotland. Hill ground or other types of marginal land would be best suited to new woodland planting.
Lack of forestry farming knowledge would seem to pose no barrier to Scottish farmers who consistently show immense skill and entrepreneurism in their adoption of new types of farming and diversification.
From a professional adviser’s point of view, it is crucial that a forestry project is run commercially to ensure it generates the correct profit. In addition, and from a purely legal perspective, access is crucial: if your land doesn’t have the correct access for farming, it will be not have the necessary access required for forestry.
In conclusion, many farmers are now seriously considering forestry as a suitable investment for their businesses.
For those non famers amongst you, forestry is one of the safest and most profitable assets you could invest in in Scotland at the present moment.
Perhaps you too can now see the wood and the trees.
What is stress?
The google explanation is: Stress is the feeling of being under too much mental or emotional pressure. Pressure turns into stress when you feel unable to cope. People have different ways of reacting to stress, so a situation that feels stressful to one person may be motivating to someone else. Those who know me or who have the privilege of following me on @Twitter @wildmanheather will know that I am a great believer of positive thinking and keeping motivated but I am also only too well aware that many of life’s demands can push us to our limits and can cause stress, particularly work, relationships and financial issues.
And having once again digested the doomsday Friday farming press I realized that my small gripes about the lack of heat and sunshine is actually pretty paltry and it got me to wondering how do others cope with stress?
Some people actually thrive on stress and are actively drawn to stressful situations and activities and if life is too calm and predictable this is what brings them down. Some respond really well to change and crisis, whereas others shut down, clam up or run away.
In all my 20+ years working in the Dairy Industry (I started young!) I have never experienced times like this. Yes we farmers are a resilient bunch but even for the most optimistic amongst us these are challenging times. Milk prices crashing, contracts been withdrawn, extra penalties being applied, banks foreclosing on loans and over drafts. Farming family’s futures and destinies being changed pretty much overnight. There is one thing for certain farming will look a whole lot different in 12 months’ time.
But how do people react to these changing times? I know of some who are on it. They know their costs, they know how much they must make to meet outgoings, they have worked out how much staying in dairy for another 12 months is going to cost them and they have sat down and spoken to their bank manager, accountant and their family. Some of these have then
gone on to reduce cow numbers, culling out any non-productive animals in the herd. Others have stopped milking 3x daily and laid off a member or two of staff. Many have delayed planned investments and expansions and are making do and holding everything steady till the turnaround comes. These generally are the farmers who have a good network of advisers, consultants and friends. They have a clear vision, plan and infrastructure and although things are as hard as they have ever been they are still in control and are feeling not comfortable but also not too stressed.
But unfortunately there are also many others who are experiencing a whole different emotional bag, these are good, genuine, hardworking private farmers, many running family units that are 3rd/ 4th generation, who have been putting off re investment of machinery and infrastructure for the last few years and managing on an aging family work force.
These farmers have done nothing wrong other than trusting their suppliers and buyers, they are genuinely efficient low cost units but suddenly their income has been slashed and to remain efficient and in business they need to reinvest a significant amount, which their bank is suddenly less keen to support as they have no willing succession coming forward to secure the loan.
So what can these people do?
Are you feeling stressed or under pressure?
Stress can affect how you feel, think, behave and how your body works. In fact, common signs of stress include sleeping problems, sweating, loss of appetite and difficulty concentrating. You may feel anxious, irritable or low in self-esteem, and you may have racing thoughts, worry constantly or go over things in your head. You may notice that you lose your temper more easily, drink more or act unreasonably. (Crickey I think I can answer yes to most of these most days!)
Spotting the early signs of stress will also help prevent it getting worse
“In life, there’s always a solution to a problem,” says Professor Cary
by Heather Wildman
Cooper, an occupational health expert at the University of Lancaster. “Not taking control of the situation and doing nothing will only make your problems worse.”
There’s a solution to any problem. “If you remain passive, thinking, ‘I can’t do anything about my problem’, your stress will get worse,” says Professor Cooper. “That feeling of loss of control is one of the main causes of stress and lack of wellbeing.”
The act of taking control is in itself empowering, and it's a crucial part of finding a solution that satisfies you and not someone else.
A problem shared is a problem halved. A good support network of colleagues, friends and family can ease your work troubles and help you see things in a different way.
Who can you turn to?
∑ Your partner – Family – Friends at the pub – Bank manager – Accountant – Consultant – Doctor – The dog
The UK workforce works the longest hours in Europe. When did you last take some time off? So many farmers throw themselves into even more work when they are under pressure rather than taking time out.
Book a relief milker – yes it will cost you money but that £40 will possibly be the best investment you could make.
Go for a walk, clear your head
When you come back write down what is troubling you
Now list what you have control of or can change
Make a list of phone calls or people who you need to contact to help
Sit down and discuss your concerns with family/bank/friend
Set yourself a realistic target
Reward yourself when you have made progress – no matter how small
Concentrate on the tasks that will make a real difference to you.
Look for the positives in life, and things for which you're grateful. Write down three things at the end of every day which went well or for which you're grateful.
“People don’t always appreciate what they have,” says Professor Cooper. “Try to be glass half full
instead of glass half empty,” he says. This requires a shift in perspective for those who are more naturally pessimistic. Which lets be honest is often a natural “default setting in farmers!”
Changing a difficult situation isn't always possible. If this proves to be the case, recognise and accept things as they are and concentrate on everything that you do have control over.
“If your business is beyond saving and going under and there is nothing you can do about it,” says Professor Cooper. “There’s no point fighting it. In such a situation, you need to focus on the things that you can control, such as looking for what is next. For most people who have had this forced upon them, once they have come to accept their change of circumstances it has proven to be liberating and in hindsight for the best”
What next?
Work out who you want to be, your priorities in life, and what you want to achieve in your next career or personal life
Once you have worked out the big picture, even if it's quite general, you can then work out some short-term and medium-term goals. “Knowing your goals will help you plan better and focus on the things that will help you achieve those goals,” says Donaldson-Feilder.
So what are you going to do now?
A simple list of ways to alleviate stress: Watch a sunset, Go to the beach, Be positive, Sing a song, Pet a dog, Tell a joke, Listen to music, Take a nap, Dance a jig, Take a walk, Have a cup of tea, Ask for help, Smile, Stretch, Take a break, Hum a tune, Get up early, Prioritize, Give a hug, Throw a ball, See a movie,Say "No", Set Limits, Run in the park, Read a book, Practice kindness, Light a candle, Laugh out loud, Lie in the sun, Walk in the rain (possibly not a good idea for a farmer this summer!) Talk to a friend, Take a bubble bath, Avoid negative people, Go barefoot, Take a deep breath, Ask for what you need, Go to bed on time, Give a compliment.
World Milk Markets
New Zealand dairy farmers have fallen from the heights of profitability to despair in less than two years as world dairy commodity prices have fallen to their lowest levels in modern history.
They have just begun a new dairy season, which is forecast to have even lower farm gate returns than the last season and two consecutive seasons of very low milk prices have created a widespread sense of despair.
Yet it is only two years since world product prices were at record levels, when Chinese demand for milk powder seemed insatiable and NZ dairy giant Fonterra could sell everything that Kiwi farmers could produce.
During 2013 whole milk powder prices exceeded US$5000 per tonne and China took half of all milk powder produced by Fonterra. Farmers received NZ$8.50/kg milk solids (31p/litre) at the farm gate – a record payout.
But from early 2014 world prices started falling under the influence of higher Chinese domestic milk production, weakening demand, the looming end to European Union dairy quotas and the knock-on effects of the Russian trade ban, arising from the Ukrainian tensions.
Despite a short-lived rally earlier this year the price trend has been down for 18 months. Whole milk powder prices now sit around US$1800/tonne, the lowest they have been since 2002. Butter is
US$2500, having been as high as $4700 in early 2014. World cheese prices are not much above half of their 2013 price levels.
China has reportedly between 100 000 and 400 000 tonnes of milk powder in storage, but no-one really knows the true picture.
EU dairy producing countries haven't yet produced larger volumes of dairy products now that quotas have ended, but the potential is real enough.
The main trade issue is the Russian ban on dairy imports from the EU, USA and Australia that has left large amounts of cheese and skim milk powder looking for alternative markets.
New Zealand is not included in the Russian ban, but has not tried to exploit the favourable position because of its diplomatic ties with those countries that are banned, and their stance on Ukrainian aggression.
Volatile world dairy prices are also influencing consumer behaviour. Very high prices in 2013 flowed on into retail prices and impacted demand, which slowed the pace of commodity sales and created surpluses and larger inventories.
Dairy farmers, on the other hand, chased milk production and introduced more supplementary feeding of cows to boost milk yields. Weaker demand and stronger supply sent prices on that downward pathway for 18 months.
U.S. and European dairy farmers
were slow to get the message, but NZ farmers felt the sharp end of the downturn.
Because 95% of all NZ milk is turned into products for export, companies like Fonterra quickly pass on the effects of world price movements.
U.S. and European dairy industries cater mostly for domestic consumption and so higher prices have hung around longer.
The situation in Britain is more extreme, where supermarket power has dictated low liquid milk prices for the benefit of consumers but below the cost of production for farmers.
The NZ farm gate milk price has fallen to $4.40/kg milk solids (16p/litre) and the forecast price for the new season was even lower.
There has been the first signs of a recovery during August. Prices on the Fonterra Global Dairy Trade auction rose 15% off a very low base, milk powder as much as 18%. That meant milk powder moved from $1590 to $1856/tonne.
While useful, the increase has not yet improved the market level to confirm the Fonterra farm gate forecast of NZ$3.85/kg milk solids (14p/litre).
As farm costs of milk production and interest payments average 20p/litre, NZ farmers go into their peak spring season knowing that every tanker that leaves the farm incurs losses.
Economists have predicted that
12 000 dairy farms collectively will need $2 billion (£880 million) additional seasonal finance, or about £75 000 per farm.
Fonterra has announced some support available to its farmer shareholders by way of a 50c/kg loan for those who wish to take it up. At less than 2p/litre it is not going to keep the wolf from the door.
The loan scheme has two years interest free, by which time Fonterra hopes world markets will have recovered sufficiently (above US$3500/tonne for milk powder and therefore $6/kg (22p/litre)) to enable it to recover the advance back from farmers.
Back when Fonterra was formed in 2001 world dairy markets moved $100/tonne from season to season as the EU intervention scheme had a big moderating influence.
Fonterra itself began to influence supply and demand factors and market prices became more volatile. Now it is common to have powder prices move $100 in a week and $1000 to $2000 from season to season, with the result that it is very hard for farmers to budget, make plans and expand with any certainty. Right now the only comfort is that the lowest prices in more than a decade cannot last.
by Hugh Stringleman
Farmers and Bees Under Pressure
In Scotland most beekeepers are landless hobbyists relying on urban gardens in cities and towns and farmer’s fields in rural areas to produce untainted nectar and pollen essential for sustaining bee life and health.
Some farmers are hobbyist beekeepers and a few are also bee farmers. In the UK, to qualify for membership of the Bee Farmers Association and recognition as a bee farmer, one must have a minimum of 40 colonies of bees. In the rest of Europe the figure is 150 colonies minimum. Currently there are 26 registered bee farmers in Scotland.
It is estimated that there are approximately 4000 hobbyist beekeepers in Scotland with an average of between 7-8 colonies each, though many have only 2-3 colonies.
Nowadays, beekeeping is about continually monitoring colonies for
disease, treating according to best practice guidelines and the law and maintaining healthy bees, which often involves supplementary feeding both summer and winter. No longer is it possible to have a hive of bees at the bottom of your garden and leave them to get on with it.
Bees visit crops and plants over an area at least 25 square miles around their hives so they certainly get around. They will fly further to source oil seed rape crops with higher glucose content rather than go to apples in a nearby orchard, which provide less of a reward in terms of nectar.
The results of work carried out by Professor Tom Seeley, biologist at Cornell University in Upstate New York, involving reading and interpreting the waggles dances of bees in an 8-frame observation hive to determine the foraging range was
quite remarkable. 95% of a colony’s foraging activity had a radius of 10km, or 6 miles, which means that, in this case, the area covered by foraging bees was more than 100 square miles.
Bees bring home nectar in their honey crops (honey stomachs) adding enzymes as they go to convert the sugar sucrose to glucose and fructose. They can carry between 20-40g loads, which is astounding given that the bee weighs around 60g. Back in the hive, they unload and pass on the nectar to house bees who store it in the comb cells and commence the elaborate process of reducing the water content from around 80% to approximately 18% by which time it has become ripe honey and ready for the cells to be capped with wax for storage. It can last for many years in this airtight environment. When bees require honey for their own energy needs they uncap the stores and add water bringing it to a 50/50 solution, which they can then utilise.
Pollen is the only source of protein and the means to feed the young developing bees and a wide variety from many different plant sources is essential for health. Bees have pollen “baskets” on the outside of their hind legs, which they pack with pollen and can fly home with 16g loads. The forager bee unloads and packs her own pollen into the cells before going off again for more.
Many factors affect nectar production at plant level and low temperature is one of the big challenges in Scotland. White clover best secretes nectar when the ambient air temperature is up around
22 degrees centigrade and the same is true for hawthorn. If the day is hot and windy the nectar may dry up in the plant and the bees will go hungry. If there is a big nectar flow on a crop of oil seed rape and the bees are solely working this crop, then when it is over, unless there are wild flowers or nectar producing trees within reach, the bees will have no source of income until another suitable crop comes into flower.
If there is are a wide variety of nectar sources in an area then this is not such a problem. However, in areas of monoculture farming the bees suffer unless they are provided with an alternative source of nectar and pollen to sustain them. Whins, broom and dandelions provide wonderful sources of pollen and nectar for bees and other “weeds” such as deadnettle are excellent forage for pollinators.
Bees are under continued threat from disease like never before, which makes beekeeping a real challenge today. In the late 1980’s the Varroa mite, (Varroa destructor) arrived from Asia causing havoc in the hives. This eight-legged parasite attaches itself to the bee and sucks its blood depleting it of energy, compromising its immune system and spreading viruses. In severe cases heavy-duty chemical treatments have been used, which have created problems with drug resistance. An integrated pest management system with a bio technological basis is current policy in best practice beekeeping.
Bees burdened by Varrroa are more vulnerable to the ill effects of pesticides and bee diseases such as the foul brood diseases, the nosema strains affecting the gut, acarine mite affecting the respiratory system, numerous viruses and many more.
“If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four or five years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man.”
This thought provoking apocalyptic prophecy has been attributed to Albert Einstein but remains unsubstantiated and is more likely to have been coined by a modern day thinker. However, without bees and other pollinators and given that one third of our food sources relies on pollination, our menus would be very boring and colourless indeed and the nutritional value questionable.
American biologist, Edward O. Wilson endorses this concept in “The Diversity of Life” when he wrote; “So important are insects and other land-dwelling arthropods that if all were to disappear, humanity probably could not last more than a few months. Most of the amphibians,
reptiles, birds, and mammals would crash into extinction about the same time. Next would go the bulk of the flowering plants and with them the physical structure of most forests and other terrestrial habitats of the world.”
This threat has also been highlighted by Dr Dave Goulson, Professor of Biology at the University of Sussex in a blog on The Journal of Animal Ecology website, 16 January, 2015, in which he explains, with great lucidity, the threat to biodiversity by modern agriculture.
Goulson is passionate about insects and pollinators and is the author of: “A Sting in the Tale” (2013) and, “A Buzz in the Meadow” (2014) which also address some of these issues.
Goulson explains how modern intensive agriculture is pressured to produce abundant cheap food but the heavy use of agrochemicals is mandatory for its success. This use of chemicals is a key force behind the ongoing demise of wildlife populations and should make us question the wisdom of such action.
Farming is undoubtedly the most intrinsically important of all human activities because without farms and farmers we would starve to death.
At the end of January 2015 the world population stood at 7.28 billion. Back in 2010, The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation announced that we must double food production by 2050 to meet the needs of the world by then. This is the rationale, which drives the demand for the ever-increasing yield.
Increasing food production has spawned an intensive farming system that is rubbing out wildlife from our land. Reliable research data confirms that most species of birds, butterflies and moths are in decline in Europe. The RSPB’s 2013 “State of Nature” confirms this depressing trend. Bees and beetles appear to be heading in the same downward spiral but as yet there are no confirmed research data available.
Farmland wildlife progressed through a massive decline in the 20th century and continued to do so into the 21st despite large amounts of money being ploughed into agro-environmental schemes, which pay farmers to increase wildlife and habitats. Rather than grub out hedgerows and plough ancient hay meadows, farmers are more likely to replant hedgerows and restore flower-rich meadows. However, despite all this the wildlife is still declining.
Goulson thinks that much of these environmental schemes are wasted because farmers largely have very little to do to qualify for grants and there is little follow up by the funders to oversee what they are doing. This
often results in failure of the schemes and of wildlife strips, which frequently do not flourish, but instead coarse grasses proliferate. And sadly the farmers who are successful are few in numbers.
The way crop production systems have developed has changed from one of state-owned experimental farms, where funding was available for agronomic research, to very few of these farms which are now mostly privatised with funding massively pruned by cost cutting governments.
In the old days, government scientists developed new crops and initiated integrated pest management
complaining of a sore throat. Too many patients have succumbed to MRSA (methicillin resistant Staph aureus) infections in our hospitals because of overuse of this antibiotic.
Currently there is no legal requirement to demonstrate that a new product will produce yield. When one comes on the market farmers have little reliable and independent information available to them so they have to rely on the chemical manufacturers for advice. Competing companies may provide conflicting advice with great incentive to overprescribe chemicals.
Out there in the field, non-target
driver of modern agriculture?
Food for thought, eh?
Farmers and beekeepers have much in common and could perhaps work more closely together in the future. Beekeepers could introduce themselves to local farmers for many farmers may be unaware of the beekeepers in their districts.
Discussion and liaison at crop spraying time may help reduce the negative impact on bees. Instigating mandatory registration of beekeepers, who must prove that they can adequately and safely care for bees, would produce a register which could prove useful in this process.
programmes. Now industry has muscled in to fill the gap and funding mostly comes from the big agrochemical companies that manufacture pesticides and GM crops. What’s more, most of the agricultural advisors for farmers work for these big companies.
Most arable farms practice minimal rotation of crops like wheat, barley and oil seed rape. These crops are commonly treated with thirty different pesticides, fungicides, herbicides and molluscicides, which disregards the principles of integrated pest management. Integrated pest management relies on changing what you use to kill pests so that the organisms don’t become resistant to the chemical, which then becomes ineffective while the pests thrive. This is the same principle behind the use of antibiotics for humans and why a GP no longer prescribes antibiotics routinely when a patient visits
organisms such as pollinators are exposed to multiple agrochemicals throughout their lives, which would show no measurable effect in a laboratory toxicity trial but can insidiously and seriously impair the immunity of honey bees making them more susceptible to viruses.
Our current regulatory system falls short of understanding what happens in the real world and consequently we fail to adequately protect biodiversity from the main stressors imposed by modern farming.
In some parts of the world, for example, India, obesity is a greater problem than starvation. And what about food waste? Did you know that 15 million tonnes of food is thrown away in the UK each year and 50% comes from our homes? In the developed world we spend less on food as a proportion of income than we ever did because food is cheap so should increasing yields be the main
Planting wildlife corridors between fields and on set aside land, and on the field margins would help bees, as would leaving as many nectar producing plants such as dandelions to flower.
Perhaps there is a solution and that our wildlife will not be lost in our struggle to feed the growing population but we need an approach which embraces the needs of humanity in general, farmers in particular and, of course, the bees and other pollinators. It needs to be based on scientific evidence, affordable, and of course, be practical.
