Issue 98 farmingscotland.com September 2013

Eilidh MacPherson

Farming Country

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

Tel: 016444 60644

Mobile: 07977897867 editor@farmingscotland.com www.farmingscotland.com

PUBLISHER - farmingscotland.com

ADVERTISING –

Eilidh MacPherson – 016444 60644

Leanne Betram –

Cover - Jock & David Jackson & Richard Smith, The Pole, Lochgoilhead, Argyll

Text and photography by Eilidh MacPherson unless otherwise stated

PHOTOS:

Page 2 - Anne MacPherson

Page 12 -14 - Provided

Page 16/17 - Jenni Sutherland

Page 20/21 - David Delday

Page 22 - Supplied

Page 28/29 - Rodney McGowan

Page 30 - Linda MacDonald-Brown

Page 32 - John Graham

Page 44 - Kim Stretch

Page 46 - Kim Stretch (Perth Show)

Page 48/49 - Young Farmers’ Library

Page 51 - Rebecca Lee

Page 52/52 - Jenni Sutherland

Hard to believe, but we have reached the 10 year milestone – the first issue of farmingscotland.com went out at the beginning of September 2003!

What about the next ten you may well ask? Well I would like to see it grow – especially on the machinery and animal health sides.

There have been moments of joy and some of despair (mainly at deadlines).

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all the people that have helped me out over the years behind the scenes; to all the farmers for agreeing to be interviewed and giving me a tour of their farming enterprises (one of the best bits of the job), to their wives for the many cups of tea and plates of soup and homebaking that have been sampled across the country, to all the companies that have believed in the publication and advertised over the years, to the ATV and 4WD companies that let me trial their quads and UTV’s and 4x4’s.

Special thanks to all the farmers that have written columns and the freelance journalists and photographers, who come up with quality copy and photos on time each month – especially Hugh Stringleman – my old editor from The New Zealand Farmer magazine during my time writing in NZ. Hugh has been on board since day one and I am chuffed to say leading economists and others look forward to reading his informative, on the ball column each month.

We will run a behind the scenes piece in the next issue and introduce all the feature writers and photographers.

I am fortunate to have a very supportive family, who over the years have helped me out behind the scenes no matter what ‘mad cap’ idea or business I have come up with – from

my pony trekking venture as a 16 year old, which was run from the family farm on Skye for the first two summer seasons and then from Sligachan Hotel for a further four or five years. It helped fund me through agricultural college and then to Australia.

I’m very sorry to be missing the Sligachan Hotel 100 year reunion as the Campbell family celebrate a century of owning the hotel in October. It clashes with the Stirling Blackface Tup sale!

In days gone by, like many other rural inns, it was where the drovers stopped for the night, or for a bite to eat. My Dad was recently asked down to the hotel to talk to the Campbells about the droving days. His father was the last person to drove cattle off the island. Dad and his brothers helped drove cattle to Kyleakin, where they were swum across the Kyle and loaded onto trains, for market, when he was young.

Nowadays it’s my husband Richard who helps out – mind you I do get a lot of interruptions – phone calls from the sheep yards for help and when he bogs the quad bike. But he does tend to cook when push comes to shove and I’m working to a deadline! Chilli con Carne is his speciality.

Anyway this month we are covering the Native Beef breeds –there is a feature on each one, but the Belted Galloway one will be in the October issue.

David Delday has written his first feature for us from Orkney – he has covered Luings this time.

Lastly many thanks to all my readers and thanks for buying the magazine! If there is anything you would like covered or if you have any ideas please feel free to e-mail me at editor@farmingscotland.com. Eilidh

Peebles Show

Strathardle Show

Castle Douglas – Tel no. 01556 502381

Monday 16 Sept – Gimmers & Ewe Lambs

Dumfries – Tel no. 01387 279495

Friday 14 Sept – Ewe Lambs

Friday 4 October – Ewe Lambs

Lanark – Tel no. 01555 662281

Tuesday 10 Sept - Ewes, Gimmers & Ewe Lambs

Wednesday 25 Sept – Ewes & Gimmers

St. Boswells – Tel no. 01835 822214

Wednesday 4 September – Gimmers

Thursday 5 September – Ewe Lambs

Thursday 19 September – Gimmers & Ewe Lambs

UA – Stirling – Tel no. 01786 473055

Monday 2 Sept – Ewes, Gimmers & Ewe Lambs

Monday 30 Sept – Ewes, Gimmers & Ewe Lambs

Caledonian – Stirling – Tel no. 01786 473055

Monday 9 Sept – Ewe Lambs

Ayr – Tel no. 01292 262241

Thursday 5 Sept – Gimmers & Ewe Lambs

Newton Stewart – Tel no. 01292 262241

Friday 6 Sept - Gimmers and Ewe Lambs

Shearer Sweeps Scottish National

The Scottish National Sheep Dog Trials were held at Tillybin Farm, Kintore, Aberdeen on Thursday 8th, Friday 9th and Saturday 10th August, 2013, by kind permission of Mr Malcolm Allan. The sheep – Scotch Mules, provided by Mr I. Wilkie, Mr A Whiteford and Mr C Gauld – were first class to work with and added to the great trial.

The course was a rising field with great viewing for the spectators. The left hand outrun was a bit tricky as the dogs tended to keep going out and hitting the skyline and having to come back down onto the sheep. The righthand outrun was the most popular option but some dogs took to the fence, which the judges deemed to be a bit too wide.

Singles judges were Andy Carnegie from Perthshire and Wullie Welsh Jnr from Ayrshire. The brace judges were George Simpson of Forgue and Andrew Dickman from Oxton.

The weather was nice and sunny on the Thursday, Friday there were some heavy showers and Saturday was a mixture of sun and showers.

Atotal of 150 dogs ran over the national course with the intent to qualify for the top 15 to go forward to represent Scotland at the 2013 JCB International at Stoneleigh Park, Kenilworth, Warwickshire from Friday 6th – 8th September, 2013.

Thursday –Day One

First competitor was Roddy MacDiarmid from Argyll running

Bob. Bob ran out to the right hand quite wide, covered the sheep well but lifted them off line. Roddy and Bob had a nice fetch and drive getting all the gates. The first shed was to take two un-collared sheep from the 5, which they did well. There were a couple of breaks at the pen but Roddy and Bob managed to get them in. They finished with a good single and a score of 147 out of 220.

Jock Wesh from Ayrshire running Tanhill Sam also ran out to the right and covered his sheep well. Again lifted the sheep off line but Sam worked well and had a nice line down through the fetch gates. There was one sheep that would not stay with the rest but Jock and Sam showed great handling skills and kept her in line up the first leg of the drive and through the gates and a nice tight turn. There was slight line deviation on the cross drive but they got the second drive gates and a good return to the shedding ring. The first shed came off with ease and next was to pen the sheep where Sam had the previous problematic sheep well under check and got them all in the pen. There was one attempt at shedding the single, which did not come off but on the second time Jock and Sam managed to get the job done with a very good score of 187 out of 220.

Another good run was Neil McEachern from Dunoon running Ann. She ran out to the right hand very well covering her sheep and had

a nice smooth lift. Ann fetched the sheep in a good line down through the gates and round the handler. Neil and Ann worked well up the first leg of the drive getting the gates and a nice turn onto the cross drive and through the gates again. The first shed was taken well and Ann penned the sheep well. On the last shed Ann was a little confused when Neil asked her to come through but they finished on a good score of 180 out of 220.

The next good run was Julie Hill from Midlothian running Ban. Ban ran out wide to the right hand and came in a little square but had a nice controlled lift with a good line down the fetch and nice pace through the gates. Julie and Ban had a nice turn round the handler, which gave them a good line up the first leg of the drive and through the gates. Ban was working well on the cross drive keeping the sheep in line and through the second drive gates. The first shed was a little problematic with Ban keen to get on with the job. Julie and Ban worked well at the pen and finished on a quick single. Total score of 180.

This was closely followed by our current Supreme International Champion Ian Brownlie with Boredale Gus from Falkirk. Gus ran out well to the right hand taking a defined line, covered the sheep well and fetched the sheep down on a good straight line through the gates with a good turn round the post. They worked well to drive the sheep up the first leg and through the gates

by Fiona McMillan

with a precise turn. The sheep just drifted a little high on the cross drive but Ian and Gus soon put them back on line and through the gates with a good tight turn coming out the gates. Ian and Gus worked well at the first shed. One sheep tried to test this Champion pairing at the pen but they worked hard to keep all the sheep together and penned them. They finished on a good single and a leading score of 196 out of 220.

Next to run was Mosse Magnusson from Perth running Llanfarian Jim. Jim ran out to the right hand but was whistled on as he pulled up a little short of the sheep. Mosse had a good fetch down through the gates with a nice pace and a good turn round the handler. Jim worked well up the first leg of the drive keeping them on a good line through the gates. The sheep were coming nicely on the cross drive with good line and through the gates for a tight turn. Mosse and Jim had some difficulty in getting the first shed with a couple of attempts but succeeded in the end. There was a break at the pen but Jim had them mastered where the sheep went in with ease the next time. The single was a tense moment where the sheep were nearly out of the ring but Mosse spotted this and finished up well. The total score was 194 just two points behind Ian and Gus.

Peter Martin from Aberfeldy running Jen was next to score. Jen ran out to the right hand a little tight

but did not disturb the sheep, which resulted in a good lift and the sheep taking a nice line down the fetch and through the gates. Peter and Jen worked well up the first leg of the drive but just one sheep slipped past the gate. A good cross drive, where the sheep went through the second drive gates with a good line back to shedding ring. Peter and Jen worked well on the first shed, which they got with ease and a good clean pen. The last element was the single, which Jen took well and finished on a total score of 181.

Michael Shearer from Thurso ran Jim. Jim again ran out to the right hand but stopped a little short, where Michael had to give him a whistle. Jim took this well and got the point of balance and lifted the sheep in a good straight line down the fetch and through the gates. Michael and Jim were working well up the first leg of the drive and through the gate with a good tight turn and nice line on the cross drive and through the gates with a tremendous return back to the ring. Michael and Jim’s shedding was spot on, where Jim took the command to come through well. Michael and Jim gathered the sheep up well and took a good line to the pen, which was clean and they finished on a good single, which was held well. A total score of

198 out of 220 was awarded, taking the lead from Ian and Gus. There was only one brace run on day one, which was Hamish MacLean from Inverness running Roy and Kim. They did well but did have some difficulty round the course and at the pen. They finished with a total score of 193 out of 280.

Friday – Day Two

It was a slightly dampish day but the sheep were good again, there were some good runs in the morning – one being Peter Martin from Aberfeldy running Jill. Jill ran out to the right hand well and lifted the sheep with a controlled manner in a good line down the fetch and through the gates. A nice turn round the handler set them up for a good line on the first leg of the drive and straight through the gates with a tight turn.

Peter and Jill worked well on the cross drive by keeping the sheep on line and through the gates with a tight turn. They had to work for the first shed, which came off with Jill taking control. There was a sheep that was problematic at the pen but Jill had it covered and brought her back and they surrendered to Jill’s willingness to pen them. On the last shed the sheep got out of the ring but they finished with getting the single in the

end. Total score of 188.

The next run of note was Mosse Magnusson with Myllin Davey Davey again ran out to the right hand and lifted the sheep with control. The sheep were on a good line down the fetch and through the gates and round the handler. The sheep were at a good pace so Mosse and Davey were able to keep them on line and through the first drive gates with ease. With a tight turn a good line was taken along the cross drive and straight through the gates. The first shed could have been a little better but got it in the end.

The sheep were starting to get quite cheeky but Mosse and Davey had the upper hand and they went in the pen and finished with a good single and a score of 191.

Young Fraser Shennan from Ayrshire was next to run Fizz. She ran out to the right hand on a nice route and lifted the sheep well. This resulted in the sheep coming down perfectly on the fetch and through the gates at a good pace. Fraser and Fizz turned the sheep round the handler and up the first leg of the drive in a straight line and a tight turn after getting the gates. Fizz started the cross drive with a good line and nice pace but lost contact a bit before the second drive gates, but came good by pushing the sheep through the gates. The first shed could have been a bit more definite but Fraser and Fizz got the call to say it was okay and they proceeded to the pen.

The sheep were starting to get cheeky at the pen now but Fraser and Fizz had them mastered to point of no return. They finished with a good single and a total score of 189.

Next run of note was Chris Toner from Lochgoilhead running Graham’s Sam. Sam ran out to the righthand on a nice line but Sam lifted the sheep a little off line but recovered to have a good fetch by getting the gates. Chris and Sam worked well to get the sheep on a good line up the first leg of the drive and through the gates with a tight turn and a good start to the cross drive with a nice line and through the gates with a tight turn. Chris was looking to shed the sheep but Sam was a little hesitant to come through but eventually managed to deliver a shed. The pen was nicely handled where both Chris and Sam worked well by penning the sheep in style. They finished with a good single shed and a total score of 181.

It was getting near the end of the day and the sheep were starting to test the dogs. Colin Armstrong from Moffat running Mirk. Mirk ran out to the right hand well and lifted the sheep in a nice and controlled manner. Colin and Mirk had the sheep on a good line up the first leg of the drive and through the gates with a tight turn and started on the

cross drive, where they came in a little low of the gates but managed to make a move in time to catch them. The first shed was good with Mirk coming through when asked but by now the sheep were starting to test the dog and both Colin and Mirk had to work hard to keep the sheep together at the pen. There was one break, but Mirk had his eye on her and managed to put her in the pen. Colin and Mirk had also to work hard to get the single, which they did with ease once the gap was made and they finished on a total score of 181.

There were two brace runs on day two: Jimmy Menzies from Pitlochry running Balemund Cher and Hope and Ewen MacKinnon from Rosshire running Nan and Gyp. Both experienced some difficulty but Ewen was the best score on the day, which was 189 out of 280.

Saturday – Day Three

It was a nice morning with the sun shining. The judges had set a standard by today meaning that if a handler was to lose enough points they would be asked to retire. The sheep were consistently good again with the first run of note from Norman MacDonald from Kirkcudbrightshire running Jake Jake ran out to the right hand a little wide and stopped a little short, but took the command well to cover the sheep. The sheep were a little off line on the lift but Norman and Jake put them back on track and down through the fetch gates. The sheep were guided round the handler by Jake with a good turn and a nice line up the first leg of the drive through the gates and a good turn onto the cross drive. The sheep came in a little high at the second drive gates but Norman and Jake worked well and turned them down into the gates which resulted in a bit of a wide turn. The first shed worked well and it was a nice gather to the pen where Jake penned the sheep with ease. The single was taken well by Jake, where he came in and took control. They finished on a good score of 187.

There was a lot of retrials, where the judges deemed that the handlers had lost enough points that would not warrant a team position so they were asked to leave the course.

Johnny Templeton from Ayrshire was running Spot. Spot ran out well on the right hand and covered the sheep well. The sheep got off line a bit, which resulted in the fetch being a little off line on approach to the gates. Johnny and Spot worked well with a nice turn round the handler and Spot followed form up the first leg of the drive with a good line and got the gates with a tight turn. The cross drive was going well with direct line and pace and again turned the gates with finese. Spot took a good first shed by coming in when Johnny

asked him. The pen was clean with no breaks. They finished on a total score of 174.

Andrew Emmerson from Skye, now Berwickshire running Midge was the next one of note. Midge ran out on the right hand a little tight but did not do much damage. A little hesitant in her lift but got the sheep going straight down the fetch and through the gates. A good turn round the handler set Andy and Midge for a nice line on the first leg of the drive with a tight turn and a good cross drive, where they went straight through the gates with a good turn. Andy and Midge took the first shed well with good work in gathering them up to the pen, where the sheep tested Midge by being flighty, but she used her power to back them into the pen. They finished on a good single and total score of 186.

Ian Brownlie from Falkirk ran Mo She ran out to the right hand by taking a good road and straight to the back of the sheep with a nice smooth

controlled lift. This set Ian and Mo up for a good line down the fetch and through the gates. There was a slight line deviation on approach to the handler but Ian and Mo pulled them back on line for a good line up the first leg of the drive and through the gates with a tight turn. The cross drive was a wee bit low, where the sheep started to split 3 and 2 but Ian and Mo showed good skill in putting them back together before getting the second drive gates. A slightly wide turn but a good line back to the shedding ring was achieved. A good first shed was achieved by Mo coming through with purpose and the pen worked well. They finished with a total score of 190.

Runs were getting good and the tension was building between the competitors to see if they were able to hold onto a team position before the trial ended.

Third last to run was Neil Gillon from Ayrshire with Buoy. Buoy ran out to the right hand well but lifted

Scottish Team 2013

1stMichael ShearerJim 198

2ndIan Brownlie Boredale Gus196

3rd Michael ShearerBob 194

4thMosse MagnussonLlanfarian Jim194 olf

5thMosse MagnussonMyllin Davey191

6thIan Brownlie Mo 190

7thFraser ShennanFizz 189

8thNeil Gillon Buoy 188

9thPeter Martin Jill 188 olf

10thJock Welsh Tanhill Sam187

11thNorman MacDonaldJake 187 olf

12thAndy EmmersonMidge186

13thHamish MacLeanRoy 182

14th Colin ArmstrongMirk 181

15thChris Toner Grahams Sam181 olf

Res: Peter Martin Jen 181

Brace: Jullie Hill Ban & Mac235

the sheep a little off line. The fetch was good with perfect lines and pace and they got the gates. Neil and Buoy had to work the sheep to make them go up the first leg of the drive as they would not draw away from the handler. They nailed the gates with a good turn but on the cross drive the sheep were a little low. Neil and Buoy turned the sheep into the gates, which resulted in a slightly wide turn. The sheep were proving a little tricky to handle and Neil and Buoy had to work hard to get the first shed. Nice work at the pen and a classy finish saw them score 188.

Second last to run was Michael Shearer from Thurso running Bob Bob ran out to the right hand well and lifted the sheep with ease. The sheep seemed to be coming down the fetch fast but Michael and Bob had the job under control and they went through the gates but the sheep were a little sticky to get round the handler. Michael and Bob worked away and had a nice first leg of the drive but were a bit low on the cross drive but got both gates. The first shed took a bit of time, but they succeeded in the end. They finished with a good pen and another team place with a score of 194.

The last run of the day came from Hamish MacLean from Inverness running Roy. Roy went to the left hand and took a real good line, probably the only one of the whole trial. Roy lifted the sheep a little off line but soon corrected that for a quality fetch down through the gates and a precise turn round the handler. The first leg of the drive was going

well with a good line and nicely through the gates with a tight turn. There was good pace on the cross drive and a nice line where the sheep went through the gates with a good tight turn. They finished with good first shed and pen and the single was taken with purpose. They finished with 182 and a team place.

There was two brace runs on day three – one being Julie Hill and the second Peter Martin. Julie was running both her singles dog Ban and Mac. Julie sent both her dogs out and they stayed on the same side. Left hand outrun came in a little short but the right hand outrun took to the skyline. The left hand outrun pushed the sheep off line slightly but Julie has this under control and got the fetch gates with good lines. The dogs worked well together and were in control taking every command Julie gave them. The first leg of the drive was going well with a good line and getting the gates with a good turn and both dogs working together. The sheep were a bit low on the cross drive but Julie and her dogs got the gates with ease but it did result in a slightly wide turn. The next element was the shed where the sheep were to be split into two groups of 5. Julie worked this well. The first pen was done with great purpose. The second pen was a little bit more work for Julie as the sheep were facing the dog but this was soon recovered for an excellent run. It really was a dream to watch both dogs working together. The final score was 235 out of 280 and the brace champion.

The A A Armstrong Shepherds Cup – highest placed shepherd – Jock Welsh

The J W McNaughton Cup – highest pointed farmer – Michael Shearer

The Drumclog Cup – awarded to youngest competitor – Robbie Welsh

The Jack Fraser Trophy – best sportsman – Dave Smith

The Miss McFarlane Trophy – highest placed competitor, who has never been in the Scottish Team before – Andy Emmerson

The Tom Gilholm Trophy – best driving dog – Colin Armstrong

Marr Mules Top Castle Douglas

Wallets Marts Castle Douglas Limited held their Annual Premier Show and Sale of Scotch Mule Ewe Lambs on Monday 26th August when they sold some 8496 head.

Adverse weather at lambing time linked to very little grass during the spring resulted in lambs in general being not as strong as previous years. A full ringside of breeders were once again in attendance resulting in a strong trade throughout, albeit slightly down on the year.

At the pre-sale show, sponsored jointly by Novartis Animal Health and Tarff Valley Limited, saw the Champion Tickets awarded to a quality pen of 40 from regular consignors J & A Brown, Macqueston, Tynron. They went on to sell for £155 to Messrs Paterson, East Dykes, Strathaven.

The judge, Mr Rob Livesey awarded the Reserve Champion to a pen from Messrs Shennan, Farden, Dailly which later sold to £145 to the judge.

Topping the sale at £200 was a Single lambs shown by the Lowes Farming Company, Corsock and selling to Messrs J Rorison, Dallowie.

The top pen of Marr Mules –pictured at home, pre-sale above –topped the sale at £158. Marr also secured the top average across thier contingent for a second year in a row.

Overall sale average levelled at £103.64 a fall of £6.18 on last years record price, for 634 less sold.

Leading Prices

Lowes £200; Marr £158; Knockiebae £156; Macqueston £155; Farden £145; Arndarroch £141; Mains of Larg £141; Culdoach £140; Sauchrie Mains £138; Farden £131; Mains of Collin £130; Kirkmabreck £130; Upper Hardland £129; Sauchrie Mains £128; Macqueston £128; Culdoach £126; Marr £126; Sauchrie Mains £125 (x3); Mid Knockglass £125; Finniness £124; Cairnwhin £124; Mains of Larg £123; Marr £123; Upper Glenlair £123; Pinclanty £122; Pennyvennie £122; Macqueston £122; Farden £121; Mains of Penninghame £121; Farden £120; Mains of Larg £120; Sauchrie Mains £120; Macqueston £120; Aitkenhead £120; Shirmers £119; Romesbeoch £118; Mains of Penninghame £118; Aitkenhead £118; Mains of Larg £118; Culdoach £118; Upper Glenlair £118; Mains of Collin £117; Arndarroch £117; Culdoach £117; Lagganpark £117; Upper Glenlair £117; Stewarton £116; Upper Glenlair £116; Drumhumphry £116; Achie £116; Mains of Collin £115; Kirkmabreck £115; Culdoach £115; Barlauchlan £115; Old Hall £114; Mains of Penninghame £114 (x2); Pinclanty £114; Upper Hardland £114; Knockiebae £114 (x2); Cairnhouse £114; Farden £113; Arndarroch £113; Mains of Penninghame £113; Upper Hardland £113; Hannaston £112; Mains of Penninghame £112; Macqueston £112; Farden £111; Old Hall £111; Finniness £111; Culdoach £111; Sauchrie Mains £111; Knockiebae £111; Shirmers £110; Culdoach £110 (x2); Hall of Drumpark £110; Sauchrie Mains £110; Castlegower £110; Walton Park £110.

LEADING

Real hill shepherding is still practiced –where men with hill boots, a cromag (crook), two feet and a heart beat and their trusty canine cohorts scale the heights of the Scottish hills and glens on foot.

No more so than in the heart of Argyllshire – where no quad bike has dared to go – than The Pole.

David Jackson, his son Jock and his cousin – Richard Smith – cover the 7500 acres at the Pole, raising to 2960 feet and a further 4000acres of land contract farmed ten miles away – Cairndow – which has three Munros (over 3000’).

Positioned just three miles South of the famed ‘Rest and Be Thankful,’ and lying in a triangle shape between Loch Long on the East and Lochgoil on the West, the hill ground at The Pole is all above Forestry Commission Plantations at 1000 feet.

The Jacksons, who moved up from the Scottish Borders in 1975, own all the houses and inbye ground and rent

the hill ground off the Forestry Commission.

“We previously farmed Ettrickhall in the Ettrick Valley, before it was planted by the Forestry Commission,” informed David.

“I had just left school and had gone to work for my Uncle at a Buccleugh property – Stenniswater, outside Langholm running South Country Cheviot sheep. So I moved up here with my parents as we couldn’t get a farm of a decent size in the Borders.”

“When we moved it was owned by the Department of Agriculture, who then sold the hill ground to the Forestry Commission.

Pole Position

Bleak Winter & National Park

“This has been the toughest winter – not just here but across the whole country. If it had been our first lambing – it would have been our last!” commented David, who openly admitted that they had applied for weather aid, but so far have heard nothing.

“Normally we mark around 80 % off the hills, but lambs are scarce on the ground this year. The twins are lambed in bye but we had a fox problem and as the ewes weren’t fit –they were easy pickings.

“When we first came here the Forestry Commission employed gamekeepers, which helped keep fox numbers down, but the deer shooting is now let out, so we have to try and keep on top of it ourselves.”

The 250 stud ewes, which scanned at 150% this year are kept inbye on hill parks and lower ground on the shores of Loch Fyne. “As soon as they are scanned they are fed a blend from BOCM at 1lb a head. The hill twins get a wee bite too. On a normal year the hill scans at 112% – it is quite twinny for a hill farm.”

The Jacksons suffered further losses this year as only 125 hoggs out of 270 returned home from wintering in Ayrshire – they had been stolen. “They were second draw stud ones, which we would have probably sold as gimmers. We just started selling gimmers last year at £240 a head.”

“We are also farming in a National Park, which promises us the world, but gives nothing back,” commented David, who says that they also suffer

Ticks and Black Loss

The Jacksons bought the stock as it all ran, but purchased a stud flock of 120 regular ewes when Troloss were selling up. Those were the only bought in Blackface ewes as the area is tick infested.

With so many deer running wild on the hills tick is a major problem in the area. Sheep are doctored with Dysect in the spring and Closamectin in the backend and the lambs are jagged at marking.

“But there are still ticks!” exclaimed David, who says it takes a while for bought in stock to become acclimatised.

“We also suffer from a lot of black loss, due to fissures and splits in the hill, especially at Cairndow.”

“We lost a dog down a split once,” added Jock. “We phoned the Mountain Rescue and a guy abseiled down over 200 feet to rescue him.”

Contract Farming

The Jacksons took on 4000 acres at Cairndow (pictured in the background) at the head of Loch Fyne, on a five year contract farming basis, from Ardkinglas Estate in November 2004.

“When we took over the hill ewes were lacking, so we crossed with Swales for five years through the generations to inject hybrid vigour. What we lost in the price of wether

from attacks by dogs brought in by tourists that flock to area, including Munro Baggers.

An increase in tourism and traffic in the National Park has also seen more cars through dykes and fences! Young Jock is keen to build a house on their own land at the Pole, but increased red tape as they lie within the National Park is proving a nightmare with planning.

lambs we gained in the price we got for the old ewes.” Numbers are now at 950 ewes.

Tups are bought privately for the contract farming hill – last year a group of ten was purchased from Dalwyne, Straiton, Ayrshire. Home bred tup lambs make take the tally up to twenty-five.

“The contract farming agreement works fine for us,” stated the

Despite farming in rugged terrain in the wilds of Argyllshire, The Jacksons of The Pole are considered by many as top Blackface breeders, selling a lamb to a top of £50 000 at their local market of Dalmally a couple of years back. Their top priced shearling, off Allanfauld bred Tenacious D, went for £22 000 to the Dyke.

Although the bulk of the ewes are fending for themselves on the steep slopes above Lochs Fyne, Goil and Long, the 250 stud ewes are cared for on the flats.

Around 20 shearlings are sold each year and some lambs, depending on the year and growth. Dalmally, Lanark and Stirling have been the sale venues, but they find that they are getting a better trade for below par sires closer to home – at Dalmally. There are possibly four lambs for sale this year as well as the 20 shearlings. These offerings are off £16 000 Loughalsh and £50 000 Pole and three shearlings are sired by £5000 Nunnerie.

On the show front, David was judging the Blackies at Balmoral Show in Ireland this year, before the show circuit kicked off in Argyll. The show-stopper – a 16 000 Loughalsh prodigy –pictured left missed out on an appearance at the local Cowal Show as he was slightly lame, but Jock went on to lift the bulk of the silverware anyway! The ram redeemed himself once he was sound and took out the Championship at Mid-Argyll.

Highland cattle, numbering thirty-four make up the stock figures at this high country spread. “We cover them with a Shorthorn bull to get a bit more for calves,” informed Jock. A farmer from Thornhill, Stirling buys them all privately. In the summer the cattle graze in woodland and in the winter they are fed on an old road to avoid poaching.

Jacksons, who are now nearing the final year of their second five-year term.

“We get a certain amount per sheep and per cow and the rest goes in the pot and is divided after costs. It works well for us as we have land over at the head of Loch Fyne and travel there anyway. The estate lets us just get on with it. Jock does the paperwork and they never bother us as long as there is a profit!”

Stock from Cairndow is sold under Clachan Farms.

Texels Triumph

The quality in depth offered by the Texel breed in Britain has been reinforced in recent days by outstanding female sales at the four National Texel Sales and show success in Brazil for shearling ewes sired by British Texel rams.

At major Brazilian show Expo-Inter 2013, held in the southern Brazilian city of Port Allegre, two daughters from 2010-born British Texel sires, both still in the top 10% of the breed's performance recording, proved successful. A shearling ewe bred by Nedy Vargas Marques, Cabanha Cocao, picked up the supreme female championship. This ewe was sired by British sire Claybury Regatta (right).

On top of that the reserve champion was another Texel shearling ewe sired by a British sire, with this one being a Teiglum Rembrandt daughter bred by Leonardo Vier.

British Texel Genetics have been in demand from Brazil over the past few years, with many large consignments of semen successfully exported,

explained British Texel Sheep Society chief executive John Yates. “The recent news of an embryo export certificate will again raise the appeal of British Texel genetics to many Brazilian breeders keen to exploit the breeds commercial traits,easy fleshing and ease of management in challenging climates."

And it's not just the export market that is keen to maximise the Texel breed's continued commercial appeal, with strong demand for Texel shearling ewes at the recent round of National Texel sales reinforcing the message that Texel females are eagerly sought after.

Both the Scottish National Sale at Lanark and the English National Sale at Worcester achieved centre record averages, with the 57 shearlings sold at Lanark averaging £1738.21 and the 69 sold at Worcester recording an average price of £621.63,” said Mr Yates.

“The breed continues to attract interest in abundance for fleshy, good

Top Flock for Growth

Aflock of Texel sheep –established just over 20 years ago by Yorkshire pig-breeder Stephen Curtis – has come top out of over 200 Signet-recorded Texel flocks in two financially-important traits indexed by EBLEX, the independent English Beef and Lamb Executive. There are 1,178 Texel flocks in England.

The flock, run by ACMC Ltd, Beeford, near Driffield, was No 1 for both Scan Weight EBV and Lean Weight EBV. Scan Weight EBV is an indicator of genetic potential for lamb growth to 21 weeks of age while Lean Weight EBV is genetic potential for muscle yield within the carcase. This means that the 55-ewe Beeford flock has the genetics for the fastest growing lambs in the breed and potential for the greatest weight of muscle in the carcase.

bodied females and clearance rates for shearling ewes at all of the GB National sales were strong."

The versatile, adaptable nature of the British Texel breed is proving an irresistible draw for commercial producers and pedigree breeders are responding to that by continuing to invest in the best available female genetics to improve their flocks, he said.

“British Texels have proved themselves to be excellent forage converters in a whole range of systems and environments across the UK and are now showing those same excellent traits in South America too.

“Texel breeders' extensive use of performance recording has resulted in massive improvements in growth rates in recent years and this means Texel sired lambs are well suited to the demands of the modern lamb trade across the world.”

SWALEDALE RAM SALE DATES

‘A’DISTRICTat Middleton-in-Teesdale, Co Durham

Friday 11th October

Aged Rams, Shearling Rams & Ram Lambs

Samuel Boon from EBLEX says that a significant proportion of the genetic merit of these traits could be passed on under commercial conditions and estimates this would be worth around £5 per lamb.

Stephen Curtis, who established the successful international pig-breeding company ACMC, is now selling increasing numbers of Texel rams to commercial breeders –particularly in Yorkshire, The Midlands and East Anglia – who realise the value of genetically improved terminal sires. “Pedigree breeders are also buying from us to improve the commercial trait values in their flocks,” he said. Texels are being increasingly recognised for commercial crossing because of their excellent gigots, good loin eye and high lean content in the slaughter generation of lambs, he added.

‘B’DISTRICTat Hawes, North Yorkshire

Thursday 10th October

Aged Rams & Ram Lambs

Wednesday 23rd October

Shearling Rams

Thursday 24th October

Shearling Rams

‘C’DISTRICTat Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria

Wednesday 16th October

Aged Rams & Ram Lambs

Thursday 17th October

Shearling Rams

Friday 18th October

Shearling Rams

‘D’DISTRICTat St John’s Chapel, Co Durham

Tuesday 8th October

Shearling Rams

‘E’DISTRICTat Ruswarp, Whitby, North Yorkshire

Friday 4th October

Aged Rams, Shearling Rams & Ram Lambs

CCM Skipton’s annual show and sale of gimmer shearlings, one of the largest fixtures of its kind in the North of England and the traditional pipe opener to Skipton Auction Mart’s 2013 breeding sheep season, saw a local victory in the Mule class with a ten-strong pen from the Hall farming family, of Darnbrook Farm, Darnbrook, in Littondale.

Shown by brothers James and William Hall, the red rosette-winning pen received the Edgar Boothman Memorial Trophy, presented by his brother James Boothman, of Linton. The Halls also won the title in 2011, finishing second in class last year. Back on top again, their 2013 victors sold locally to Threshfield’s Angus Dean for £205 per head.

The turnout of 4,083 head of shearling gimmers sold to an overall average of £142.52 per head, up £1.97 on last year’s fixture.

As in previous years, there was keen interest at the ringside in NEMSA-tagged consignments from regular vendors, many of which had been purchased at last year’s annual CCM Skipton Mule gimmer lamb show and sale, itself one of the UK’s top fixtures of its type.

The Halls, represented with a consignment of 350 Mules, also presented the third prize pen, knocked down at £188 each to George and David Whitwell, of Austwick They sold six further pens, including four at £178 per head.

The second prize Mule pen from Raymond and Robert Johnson, of Felliscliffe, joined Geoff Booth in Lothersdale for £195 per head, while fourth prize winners John and Elizabeth Greenhalgh, of Bashall Eaves, sold their pen at £188 each, again to the Whitwells. Mr and Mrs Greenhalgh, Mule show class winners in 2012, were again prominent when selling six pens in total from £180 to £198 per head.

The top-priced pen of Mules at £210 per head came from a quality run presented by Coniston Cold’s David Coates. The buyer was Claire O’Neill, a brand-new sheep breeder who has just taken over a small farm in Silsden. Mr Coates also sold six

further pens at prices ranging from £162 to £202 per head.

With a total of 3,406 Mule shearlings penned for sale, the overall selling average of £144.62 per head was £3.70 up on the year, reflected in an across-the-board improvement in the quality of sheep at this year’s renewal. Smaller sheep sold at £125 to £150 per head for most of the sale, with just a handful of pens dropping into the teens.

Masham shearling gimmers received particular attention, and, with regular buyers at the ringside, enjoyed good trade throughout, with the 45-strong entry averaging £138.67 per head overall, an increase of £12.71 on 2012.

Breed stalwart Margaret Watkinson, of Brimar Farm, Sessay, Thirsk, repeated her first prize success of the previous year, selling her 2013 pen of ten for a class-topping £155 per head to Edgar Moore, of Settle.

Colin Willoughby, of Redmire, showed the second prize pen of Masham shearlings on behalf of B Orkney, of Carperby. They sold for £151 apiece to Norman and Jackie Binns, from Oakworth. The third prize pen from WD Dowthwaite & Partners, of Kirkby Overblow, made £150 per head when selling locally to Norman and Jeanette Marshall, of Niffany.

Continental shearlings sold to a highly selective audience, with noticeably more interest in first-cross Mules. The overall selling average of the 602 Texel shearlings was £135.71 per head, down £5.92 on the year.

Norfolk breeders Henry Harvey & Son, of Waxham Hall, Waxham, presented a nice run of 330 Texelcross sheep, with their two show pens taking first and second in class.

Harvey ’s Ben Harvey, who was making a welcome return to the annual fixture after an impressive debut last year, when he also presented the first prize pen, saw his 2013 victors fall for £175 per head, to Malcolm Campbell, 0f Horton-in Ribblesdale, with the second prize pen also selling for the same per head price to CT&EM Hammond, of

Halls on High at CCM

Summerbridge.

Six further Harvey pens sold from £150 to £178 per head, top price in class. The Harveys are now raising increasing Mule sheep numbers at their 500-acre holding near the Norfolk coast, carefully selecting Blue Face Leicester rams and putting them to Swaledale ewes bought at CCM Skipton last autumn.

The third prize Texel-cross pen from T Jackson and Son, of Goosnargh, became another Malcolm Campbell acquisition at £155 each.

Thirty Suffolk shearlings were also offered for sale, with Hartwith’s Nick Dalby to the fore when selling pens at £122 and £110 per head. The overall average of £116 per head was £5.74 down on 2012.

Show judges were Andrew Bradley, of Darley, and Francis Caton, of Weston, with a five-strong line-up of sponsors – JACS Trade & DIY Warehouse, Townson Bros Fuel Oils, Tops Tags, JG Animal Health and Carrs Billington.

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Bunn Brings It On

Sean Gets the Cream

Leading Scottish Property Agency

Rettie & Co have added to their experienced Country House Sales Team with the recruitment of Andrew Smith MRICS previously of Strutt & Parker.

Simon Rettie, MD commented; “Andrew’s arrival comes on the back of the continued expansion of our business. We have added three new offices in recent years, all of which are trading strongly. Andrew is joining us at an exciting time as we see Country House sales improve significantly compared to recent years

Boosting its intellectual capital for further innovations, Bunn Fertiliser Limited has appointed Stuart Staples to a new position of UK Crop Nutritionist.

Based at the Bunn headquarters in Norwich, Stuart will be learning about customers’ specific crop nutrient needs and responding with new products and services.

“I look forward to working with our technical sales managers, advisors and customers to assess our whole portfolio, looking to adapt, change and adjust, to better meet customer requirements,” Stuart explains.

“There are great opportunities with

Smith Joins Sales Team

as market sentiment and transactional volumes increase. We are excited in focusing our attention on expanding the Country Residential Division of the Company providing more clients with our unrivalled access to market data and exceptional levels of service.”

Andrew Smith qualified as a Chartered Surveyor in 1988 and since then has concentrated on the sale of Country Houses, Farms and Estates across Scotland. He has worked for Savills and most recently was an Equity Partner at Strutt & Parker before joining Rettie & Co as a

exciting new technology and techniques that enable us to develop innovative products with even greater performance. We will be building on the success of our new Koch Advanced Nitrogen® fertilisers where our own stabilisation technology ensures that nitrogen is retained in the soil and available to the crop whatever the weather. This is the kind of innovation we will be bringing to the market.”

With an Honours Degree in agricultural plant science from Nottingham University, Stuart joins from a company that specialises in fertilisers for turf and amenity,

Director of Country House Sales. Andrew and his family live in East Lothian and throughout his career he has acted in the sale and acquisition of some of the finest Country Houses and Estates throughout Scotland.

On his appointment Andrew said: “I am very pleased to be joining Rettie & Co and leading its Country House Team. With access to unparalleled research data, we will continue as a team to build the Company’s service offering throughout Scotland”.

horticulture and specialist crops. He has been developing value-added products for the turf and amenity sector, giving technical support and advice to end-users and can take credit for the quality of the turf in some of the country’s top premier league football stadiums and foremost golf courses.

“This is going to be a great new challenge,” says Stuart. “Working closely with the team here in the UK and my colleagues at Koch Fertilizer I feel there are some great opportunities for bringing further innovations to the fertiliser market.

Promoted after-sales manager for New Holland

James Carroll has stepped up to his new role of After Sales Country Manager UK and ROI determined to continue strengthening New Holland’s offering to dealers and buyers.

He has been promoted from his old position as sales area manager in the Republic of Ireland and brings 16 years’ experience and understanding of the brand.

James (39) joined New Holland in 1997 and one of his key achievements was to help instigate the New Holland apprenticeship scheme at

Müller Wiseman Dairies has confirmed a key appointment in advance of the opening of Britain’s largest butter plant in Market Drayton.

Sean Whitfield (44) joins Müller Wiseman Dairies as Business Unit Director – Cream, having spent more than five years in senior sales roles with Adams Food Ltd, part of the Irish Dairy Board.

His role is to ensure that the company maximises returns from cream and cream derived products including the butter set to be manufactured at the new £17m plant in Shropshire.

Müller Wiseman Dairies Trading

Reaseheath College.

Now he is putting to good use his extensive knowledge of the dealer network at ground level to build further on New Holland’s after sales products and quality.

He said: “My main objective is to promote the after sales business in the networks as a strong product for the dealers and to enhance profitability. It covers everything under the after sales umbrella.

“I’ve been on the ground doing the role that I am now managing. I have had that experience in Ireland and it’s

and Account teams will manage customer responsibility for butter as well as the Company’s existing fresh milk and cream business.

The Company has already pin-pointed opportunities created by the UK’s trade deficit, which sees over £2.2bn of dairy products imported each year including more than 100 000t of butter.

Carl Ravenhall, Managing Director said: “Müller Wiseman Milk Group farmers are producing more than 90 000t of cream each year and Sean’s role is key to optimising returns from this product in all market conditions.

“Cream is a very important part of our business and in making this

that knowledge of the networks that I am able to bring to my new position.” James will be based at the Basildon tractor plant and will report to New Holland business director Andrew Watson.

Andrew Watson said: “James’s promotion is well deserved and he brings a deep knowledge of the business – from the farm gate to the factory – to his work.

“This know-how will help us strengthen further our market-leading delivery of satisfaction for customers and dealers.”

appointment and investing in the Country’s largest butter making facility, we are placing a strong focus in this area.”

Originally from Lytham St.Annes, Sean began his sales career with Jeyes PLC before taking up roles with household products company Robert McBride. He entered the food industry with the Grampian Country Food Group in 2000 and was appointed Sales and Marketing Director at the Irish Dairy Board’s Kerrygold Company seven years later before taking the reins as Sales Director at Adams Foods in 2010. Sean is married to Fiona and has two children, Jemima (8) and Henry(6).

BEEF

PIGS

Agri Expo 2013

Livestock experts from both sides of the border have been appointed to judge the top commercial animals at this year’s seventh Borderway Agri Expo event.

Recognised as England’s top winter livestock show and agricultural business event, this year’s Agri Expo takes place on Friday 1st November at Carlisle’s Borderway Exhibition Centre. The four judges will be responsible for choosing winners from an expected entry of around 550 in the 26 cattle classes and 19 sheep classes.

Charles Anderson, who buys store and finishing cattle and farms around 200 acres at Nether Stenries, Carrutherstown, Dumfries, will be judging the main cattle classes.

He said: “Borderway Agri Expo is one of the leading shows in the country and it is a great honour to be asked to judge the main cattle classes.

What I will be looking for is a well-proportioned animal with a bit of style, which is fit to be a good carcass animal when it is eventually finished.”

Hugh Dunlop,of Holehouse Farm near Cumnock in Ayrshire,will judge the baby beef classes. He has 120 cross bred suckler cows and British Blue, Limousin and Charolais cattle. He has no breed preference and will be looking for correctness, class and potential.

“Prime livestock is sought after and that is why an event such as Borderway Agri Expo – one of the foremost winter shows in the country – is so important for the livestock industry because it showcases the very best of British beef,” he said.

Andrew Finch, livestock manager of Dunbia (Preston) Ltd, will judge the main sheep classes; Dunbia is one of the UK’s leading suppliers of top quality red meat products to local, national and international retail, commercial and foodservice markets. The business kills and processes lambs 12 months of the year for the domestic and export markets.

Mr Finch, who has a lifetime of experience in the industry, said: “I am delighted to be asked to judge at such a high profile and prestigious event. What I am looking for is a dual purpose lamb suitable both for the UK and good export markets, so it needs to be lean and with good conformation.

“The livestock market here in the UK is very dependent upon export, so we do need to highlight the quality and availability of prime British meat. An event such as Borderway Agri Expo is very important for the industry, as it unites the breeders with the commercial farmers and gives them an opportunity to look at the most efficient and effective ways to improve their stock. I am encouraged to see that in recent years we are seeing more and more of the younger generation taking part in these events.”

Judging the special Mule ewe lamb class will be Cumbrian farmer, Harry Gass, Nunscleugh, Bewcastle. Harry is a noted stocksman. He farms a herd of suckler cows, producing high

calves and also has,renowned flocks of swaledale sheep producing mule ewe lambs for breeding replacement, and in addition a registered bluefaced Leicester flock.

Harrison & Hetherington’s Operations Director and Agri-Expo Co-ordinator David Pritchard said: “First of all, I would very much like to thank all four judges for agreeing to judge at this year’s event. They are all specialists in their areas and knowing that classes will be judged by such expertise means that it will be a key date in exhibitors’ winter calendars. Commercial livestock will be joined by pedigree animals from 5 breed societies/clubs that will be exhibiting and staging annual or winter shows at Agri Expo; the Aberdeen Angus Winter National Show, Border British Blue Calf Show, Beef Shorthorn National Calf Show, Hereford National Calf Show and Simmental Regional Calf Show. Full details and entry forms can be found on www.harrisonandhetherington.co.uk/agri-expo or 01228 406230.

Afantastic temperament is just one of the reasons why Bruce Dixon chose the Hereford breed for his Mid Argyll farm. Situated at sea level, Laggan Farms, Killinochonoch, is eight-miles north of the Mid Argyll town of Lochgilphead.

Bruce owns and farms over a mix of 1300 acres of hill-land and lowland ground, whilst leasing 200 acres of rough ground.

Having farmed this landscape all his life, Bruce is well versed on how to get the best from his farm, including his animals.

He runs 100 cows: 55 Hereford crosses and 45 Highland cross Shorthorns, as well as four bulls: two Simmental, one Hereford and one Angus. The Angus, a recent purchase for Bruce, was bought to cross with the Hereford-cross cattle to produce Black Baldies.

But since strongly introducing the Hereford breed into his herd more than five-years ago, Bruce has not looked back.

“I was impressed when I saw them in Australia,” explained Bruce. “I was taken by their scale and temperament but also their ability to produce strong calves.”

Bruce’s purebred 1300kg Hereford Bull, Newpride’s Druid, was purchased five years ago from Mrs Ellis of the Newpride herd in Hull and to date he’s sired 150-calves.

“I saw him being shown at the Royal Highland Show as a two year-old and I was impressed by his stature and temperament. I bought him privately at the RHS there and then, when I knew his genetics were Australian,” added Bruce.

“His father was Doonbiddy Hustler. That bull has been dead for

nine-years but he’s still in the top 10% of breeding bulls and I think that speaks for itself.”

Once a popular breed in Argyll, Herefords have been staging a come back in the area and Bruce is playing his part to ensure the animals are seen thriving again.

“Twenty-five to thirty years ago there were a lot of Hereford Crosses but the bulls got too small. Half the cows in Mid Argyll would have been Hereford Crosses at one stage.

“But the scale and size of the bulls has got better for breeding and I’m certainly seeing a difference.”

Bruce continued: “My heifers went out to grass at the end of May this year with an average weight of 340kg. By the end of July they had put on 90kg, which took them up to 430kg which is the weight I like to have them at to bull with the Angus; that

allows them to calve at two-years-old, which is a year younger than I’ve done with any other breed.”

Next year Bruce expects to have 60 calving in March/April with a further 40 to calve in May/June. Each year six heifers are bought to put into the stock.

“I’ll buy Highland x Shorthorns locally at six-months old and I aim to get a lifespan of 10-years out of them,” explained Bruce.

“I always buy the replacements locally because of the ticks; they have to be acclimatised to them living in this part of the world.

“When I buy a bull I have to acclimatise them slowly due to the high level of ticks, midges and rainfall here. All the bulls live out throughout the year and the Hereford always fairs well,” added Bruce.

Bruce sells his stock 25-30 at any

one time to make up a full lorry.

“It’s more cost effective for me to sell this way.

“The calves are sold farm-to-farm and weighed before they leave, which helps me sell batches of cattle often to repeat buyers. This works for me due to the distance to market living in this part of the world.”

Bruce sells his calves at one year-old.

“Last year I averaged £750 for bullocks and heifers, which I was quite pleased with.”

But the success of Bruce’s herd is not just down to the quality of his stock, but the nurturing that goes into his land.

“The calves are spained in October and the cows go out onto the hill until the end of December with no feed. This helps budget the feeding costs as we can often feed well into May at this end of the world,” explained Bruce.

“They will come into silage in December and they’ll have no cake during the winter – just quality silage.”

Bruce takes two cuts off 65-acres and a further cut from 15-acres each year. He sows 20-acres of arable silage undersown with hybrid ryegrasses and red clover. “That gives me the bulk of good quality silage,” he added. “I think it’s important to re-seed each year if I can.”

“The low ground will get around 100-tonnes of lime put in it each year to keep the pH levels right due to the high level of rain fall we have in this area.”

But come the summer months, Bruce takes a break from the day-to-day farm work to show his Herefords at the local show.

In 2010 Bruce was crowned Confined Beef Champion at Mid Argyll Show with Newpride’s Druid as a four-year-old.

“My reason for showing is to showcase the breed and hopefully sell Hereford crosses to farmers, who might be undecided on whether to introduce the breed to their farm.”

“The scale and temperament of the breed has to be the impressive aspect of them.

“Herefords are still the biggest breed in the world and I think that in itself speaks volumes,’ added Bruce.

Herefords Make Mark In Argyll

Bruce Dixon talks about his love for this ‘all-round’ breed of cattle

FARM FACTS

Farmer: Bruce Dixon

Farming: Laggan Farms, Killinochonoch

Location: Lochgilphead, Argyll

Area: 1300 acres owned 200 acres rented

Stock: 55 Hereford crosses 45 Highland cross Shorthorns, 4 bulls: 2 Simmental, 1 Hereford and an Angus

Other: Bruce also runs a contracting business, baling and wrapping silage.

Shorthorns Shine at Millerston

The best thing that ever happened to the Native Breeds was the Continental cattle coming into the country – as they had to up their game!

Jack Ramsay is a well kent face in Highland cattle circles, having secured 13 female championships at Oban and having won every major show nationally.

A change in farming circumstances has seen Jack Ramsay of Millerston, by Mauchline in Ayrshire – a doyen of the cattle breeding industry, show and sale ring – move to another breed –Shorthorns – since his business partner Tom McClatchie passed away.

Brought up, just along the road at Millerston Mains, Jack headed to Edinburgh and studied for an HND in Agriculture. He then ‘found out what the East coast farmers were like –they are a different breed,’ before returning home.

Jack moved to Millerston in 1979 and worked in partnership with Mr McClatchie, a confirmed bachelor, for over thirty years. They both shared a passion for Highland cattle and excelled in show and sale rings.

“It was back in 1996, I was helping prepare stock for the Moncrieff dispersal sale that I first thought that the Shorthorns had a great nature and big wide tops. I bought two heifers in calf at a commercial price. They are

still the two main families of cows here – Irania and Greta. These two families go back to Bulmyle – Friar Thompson,” explained Jack.

His next purchase was an Augusta cow from the Culrossie dispersal.

“Culrossie dominated for 50 years, securing high prices in the 50’s with cattle exported to the USA and the Argentine.

“The cattle then bear no resemblance to the cattle now – they were bred so small that the commercial man wasn’t interested in them. Shorthorns were classified as a rare breed in the 70’s – the breeding was in so few hands,” informed Jack.

“The Society opened up the herd book to Maine Anjou blood – a French bred Shorthorn. The percentage of that blood was listed next to the name in the herd book. They put milkiness and size back into the breed.”

When Tom was alive both farms –

Millerston and Pollock were run in conjunction with each other. “We no longer have the scope to run Highland cattle here at Millerston as Pollock was sold and the proceeds were donated to a cancer charity.

“Highlanders thrive better on rougher ground, but always manage to produce a good calf no matter what you cross them with.”

Twenty-five Highlanders were previously kept at Millerston and their off-spring were exported all over the world – across Europe and as far as Australia. “BSE knackered that job but markets have reopened with demand from Eastern Europe.”

“A lot of our Highlanders went for conservation work, especially to Holland and Germany,” shared Jack, who was a fieldsman for the Highland Cattle Society for a number of years. That position took him across the UK.

Jack has judged at the Toronto

FARM FACTS

Winter Fair. “It was all about education over there, with so many school parties in attendance and the cattle were all shown by youngsters. It started off with the young handlers classes – kids first then cattle.”

He is one a select group to have judged all four Royals – three with Highlands and the Royal Welsh saw him place the Shorthorns.

“Nature is a big thing – I’d never entirely trust a cow at calving but a Shorthorn by and large is very good natured and easy calving.

“I’m looking for an EFFICIENT suckler cow and one that would live into double figures – I hope to get 10 calves from each cow. I look for a 600 - 650kg cow, that will wean half her body weight – a 300-350kg calf in the backend.

“I do like a bit of muscle in a cow – it’s not the be all and end all in a maternal side.”

Jack, for the past couple of years has grazed his Shorthorn calves on, till 18 months and sold them at the Caledonian special Native Sale in September. “The first year was an absolute flier, on the back of the Morrisons deal.”

On the health front the herd is covered by SAC Health Scheme, accredited for BVD and level 2 for Johnnes. Fluke proved a problem in the herd for the first time last summer and cattle were dosed through the winter.

The Shorthorn Society runs health tests prior to the Bull Sales for; IBR, Lepto and BVD. “By 2014 vendors must be a member of a health scheme to sell as pedigree. And it will only be a matter of time before performance recording becomes compulsory,” stated Jack, who has recently just started recording on the ABRI Australian system.

Millerston will have three bulls on sale at the February Bull Sale at Perth.

Farmer: Jack Ramsay

Farming: Millerston

Location: Mauchline, Ayrshire

Other: HND - class of “76 from Edinburgh Judged at all 4 Royal Shows

F

For Dave Easton, keeping Luing cattle and looking after them is very much a way of life.

Dave from Quoyhalen, Quoyloo, on Orkney began keeping Luings in 1985 when he bought the fields surrounding his house.

Dave, who turns 65 next month, is a somewhat unique Luing breeder in that he is one of only a few keepers who has exhibited his animals at shows.

He explained that originally the breed society said that animals should only be seen on the hill and not in the show ring but that he had gained praise from breed society members and others for showing his cattle at the Orkney Dounby and County Show over the past 25 years.

Dave said: “Taking animals to the show is a great shop window. Over the years I have sold a number of heifers and a bull simply by taking them to the show.”

Explaining how he got into breeding Luings he commented: “I thought I would rather breed cows than let the land out for grazing. I

had seen Luing cows in the late 1960s down around Oban. They are docile – easy care and easy calving and I thought that they were a bit more commercial than the Highland cattle and certainly better natured at calving. That was a big factor in deciding to keep them!”

Starting off using AI, Dave first took one of his own bulls, Scarwell Viking, to a sale in Oban in 1996,

He went on to achieve some of the top prices at sales on the Scottish mainland in the following years.

Currently Dave has 21 breeding cows, 3 bulls, younger heifers and 12 two-year old heifers, which he plans to sell shortly. He runs them across 65 acres of owned land split between Quoyloo and Marwick in neighbouring Birsay and an additional 12 acres of rented fields.

get phone-calls from Caithness, where I sell a lot privately.”

Dave is a keen exhibitor at the shows having entered almost every year since 1987. He says that the only years he has missed have been when he was “incapacitated.”

His first year of showing ended in disappointment, when one of his bulls, which had caught the judge’s eye, was qualified because it was

where he got the top a price of 3000gns. He was sold to the Cadzow Brothers who founded the breed on the island of Luing.

At the same sale he also sold a Dirnaean Monarch daughter, Scarwell Veizla for 1250gns, which was a breed record price for a heifer at the time.

“It is my farm policy is to be against ‘big farming’ – I like keeping things small. My youngest cow is four-years old and my oldest is 17. As long as they have good feet and good udders I don’t see any point on selling them off. I plan to sell the heifers in Kirkwall Mart but I often

deemed that the pure-bred section was only for Continental breeds.

Dave later wrote to the society and the any other pure-native breed section was introduced.

Despite this his animals have still been in amongst the inter-breed prizes on occassion with his bull being

FARM FACTS

Farmer: Dave Easton

Farming: Quoyhalen

Location: Quoyloo, Orkney

by David Delday

named best in the yard at the Dounby Show in the past.

He believes that he has won the any other pure native breed championship at the Dounby Show on over 20 occassions but he is dissappointed that there is often a lack of competition.

It appears that the breed is becoming more popular in the isles with four registered Luing breeders in the area. He said that he believed the Sim-Luing cross gave a good outlook for the future of the breed.

“My main challenge is that I am not a big farmer. If I had a big farm I would be more accepted, because I am somebody that’s pushing against them sometimes it’s not very well

accepted,” added Dave.

He is quick to point out that there are more Luing cattle in Scotland than there are Beef Shorthorns, but said that he had been disappointed that the Breed Society had chosen not to pay an official visit to his farm when hosting an ‘open day’ event in Orkney around two years ago.

“The future for the breed looks quite bright. The Breed Society have a development programme, which I believe is ahead of a lot of other breeds,” said Dave.

Dave, who was brought up in Bathgate but whose mother was originally from Orkney, said that his only real farming connection was that his mother was in the Land Army!

After going to sea, Dave would spend much of his leave at Skaill Farm in nearby Sandwick, where he would work to pay for his keep.

“There’s not much interest for bulls up here – occassionally for hire –but that’s it, so I stopped breeding bulls about ten years ago. The market for heifers is reasonably good though and the steers – there is a good market for the meat. I keep them on till about 28/29 months old and then I get four folk interested in a mixed quarter. I finish the steers but they are all brought out naturally – I don’t force feed them in anyway.”

His heifers are outwintered while the cows have access to an open cattle court with a sloping floor and bedding

Turning 65 next month, Dave said that he now had plans to downsize slightly but would still be keeping his Luings for the forseeable future. He said he had never really considered going into any other breeds, as was his love for the Luings.

LUING CATTLE SOCIETY

Less Action, More Profit 2013-14 Sales & Events

Westmorland Show, Kendal, Cumbria Thursday 12th September

Autumn Sale at U.A. Stirling Saturday 26th October

Borderway Agri-Expo, H&H Carlisle Friday 1st November

Premier Sale, Wallets Marts, CD Friday 7th February 2014

DUMFRIES AND GALLOWAY BLACKFACE SHEEPBREEDERS

Angus in the North East

Nestled in the heart of Aberdeenshire is a pedigree Aberdeen Angus herd, where encouraging the next generation to work with animals is top priority.

The Glassel herd is owned by Sir Moir and Lady Audrey Lockhead and managed by daughter Claire (whose background lies in the equestrian world) and her partner Keith Anderson, a former mechanic.

Arguably the “real boss”, however, is 12-year-old son Ian, whose eye for spotting a good beast and ability to bring out cattle is already paying dividends in the show ring.

Sisters Nicole (11) and Crista (7), meanwhile are both talented horsewomen and Nicole is a member of the Scottish showjumping team, having taken the 12.2 and 13.2 outdoor championship in Ayrshire earlier this year.

The herd began when Sir Moir and L ady Audrey moved to Glassel Estate near Banchory 16 years ago, followed by Claire and Keith a couple of years later. The desire to focus on another native breed in addition to a small number of Highland cattle meant that the Aberdeen Angus was a natural choice for the Lockheads and soon a few animals were bought in from the nearby Blelack herd.

Numbers eventually swelled to 100 with the emphasis switching from commercial to pure cattle – nowadays only one cross cow and her calf remain at Glassel.

Two years ago the decision was taken to maximise herd efficiency and manageability, and the head count was reduced to around 30. Claire takes up the story: “We have 500 acres here and about 150 acres of that is woodland so the farm was making a loss because we had to buy in so much feed, straw, etc.

“At that time we decided to take the numbers down to a level we could manage and feed ourselves and we installed 250 solar PV panels on the farm buildings to bring in an extra source of income. We’re also looking at the possibility of other renewables projects on the estate in the future and we are always ready to look at getting involved something new because you can’t afford to have tunnel vision in farming.

“The result of the changes we made is that there is now more time

to spend on bringing animals out for showing, something which couldn’t be done to the same extent before because we had to be so busy concentrating on the day-to-day things.”

The move is already paying off, with young Ian taking home a clutch of accolades after a busy summer on the local show circuit. In addition to exhibiting the male champion at Echt Show, he took the reserve champion male title at Banchory, where his animal stood next to the Royal Highland Show champion. Ian also secured first place in the 15 years and under section of the young handlers’ competition at Banchory.

Claire explained: “The herd had been showing at a few local events before but, because we are part of the premium cattle health scheme, we have to be mindful of that and adhere carefully to all the rules and regulations there are about attending shows. It was really when Ian got involved when he was about eight or nine that the showing side of things became more of a focus.

“Ian tends to exhibit the progeny of our herd. Our bulls are here to work so taking a stock bull out to show is taking him away from his work and not an option as far as we are concerned – you are effectively

removing an asset from your business for up to two or three weeks and that’s not really on. By showing the youngsters from the herd, we are enabling Ian to take part whilst showing what we have produced so it is a good system all round.”

Also key to the ongoing success of the Glassel herd is stock bull Eastfield Jacobite (known as Jack) who was supreme champion at Stirling in February 2012. The family had been on the lookout for another bull to join Wedderlie Kansas at Glassel, with temperament being number one on the list of characteristics needed for an enterprise where children are so closely involved.

Claire added: “We had been looking for another bull to join Wedderlie Kansas at Glassel and we’re delighted with Jack. When we reduced the herd numbers, Wedderlie Kansas went back to the people who bred him and we were really pleased that that was possible.

“This first of Jack’s calves started arriving in March this year and we are really pleased with all 27 of them.”

Critical to the success of the Glassel herd is the fact that it truly is a family business with Claire and Keith working side by side with their children to nurture their livestock interests – and the girls are looking to join Ian in the

show ring at the Black Beauty Bonanza later this year for a bit of healthy family rivalry!

Claire continued: “The children all attend Lathallan which is an independent school and we are incredibly lucky that the school is so supportive of everything they do away from the classroom. They recognise that children have other interests and are keen to ensure they have time to enjoy them as well as studying and that means we can encourage our children in their hobbies.

“All the children are closely involved with everything that needs to be done, not just show preparation, so they have a good all-round understanding of what is involved and know that it’s not just standing in the ring holding a halter.

“For us, it is very important to encourage the next generation into agriculture and we are doing everything we can to make sure out children have the option of looking at the industry for their future careers.”

To find out more about the Glassel herd of Aberdeen Angus cattle, visit www.glasselfarms.com

by Lesley Eaton

BELTED GALLOWAYCATTLE SOCIETY

Belted Galloways combine legendary hardiness with an ability to efficiently convert poor grazing into succulent top quality beef, making them an increasingly popular choice for profitable upland beef production. These striking animals are much in demand and the Society is currently expanding at around 10% year on year.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS:-

24th October 2013: The Society holds its Annual General Meeting and Annual Dinner at Threave Gardens, Castle Douglas.

25th October 2013: Our prestigious annual show and sale takes place at Wallets Mart, Castle Douglas. This provides the best and biggest selection of Belted Galloways to be had anywhere in the country, and is a must for those looking to start a new herd or improve their existing one.

For more information contact the Secretary, Belted Galloway Cattle Society, Rock Midstead, Alnwick, Northumberland, NE66 2TH.

Tel: 07891 245870 Email: info@beltedgalloways.co.uk www.beltedgalloways.co.uk

New Battery Powered Clipper

Anew battery-powered Wolseley clipper – called the Goshawk – with a long clipping time and a short re-charge time, has been launched by livestock equipment supplier, Stockshop Wolseley Ltd. Its powerful motor and lightweight design make the clipper ideal for use on cattle – both when trimming heads, backs and tails, and when grooming for shows.

With a 100W battery, the new Goshawk is not only one of the most powerful clippers available, but it also has one of the longest clipping times of 3.5 hours.

Moreover, its latest generation NiMh battery takes just 4.5 hours to charge from flat. And unlike older battery types, it can be topped up at any time, rather than having to be fully ‘run down’ before re-charging.

The well-balanced design of the Goshawk clipper ensures it runs very quietly with minimum vibration, and it also runs cool.

The Goshawk’s battery pack is small and easily carried in a pocket or attached to the user by belt or shoulder strap, making the clipper easy and light to operate. It is also a safer option for use in wet environments than electric clippers.

The Goshawk clipper is supplied in a strong storage case complete with blades, clipper brush, mains charger, clipper oil, a waterproof battery bag with belt attachment or shoulder strap, and an instruction booklet and clipping guide. Three different types of blade are available: A2 for fine hair, A6 for coarse hair and A7 for extra coarse or dirty hair.

The Goshawk has a 2-year warranty, and retails at around £399 plus VAT. Additional batteries are available to extend clipping time, if required. For details of their nearest Goshawk stockist, farmers can contact Stockshop Wolseley on 01392 460077 visit www.wolseleygrooming.co.uk.

Galloways on the Hills of Blackcraig

Renowned for producing both top Galloway cattle and Blackface sheep, the Finlays of Blackcraig, Corsock, in the Galloway hills have recently acquired a new grassland property, which will compliment their hill farm. They plan to increase their Galloway numbers, utilising both the lower ground farm and they will continue to use the hill at Blackcraig for summering.

Galloways Going Great Guns

With the recent acquisition of Corse, a 360 acre grassland farm, only four miles from the homestead at Blackcraig, the Finlay family plan to gradually increase their Galloway herd from fifty cows to one hundred and fifty head.

“We intend to up the numbers by using our own replacements over several years. We plan to run the two places as one unit, summer grazing the cows on the hill here at Blackcraig and move them down to the rolling grassy drums on Corse,” explained Jock, who farms in partnership with his wife Ann and son Iain.

Iain, who is the fourth generation to farm at Blackcraig, had just moved into the farmhouse at the Corse and had spent his first night in his new bachelor pad!

It was his Great Grandfather who first introduced the Galloways, when he bought Blackcraig over seventy years ago. With each generation the numbers have doubled, but are set to triple in the near future – from the 12 original cows from Slogarie and Craigmoy bloodlines from his Great Grandfather’s time. The herd expanded to 25 cows in the 70’s while his Grandfather was in charge.

“When we took over we increased

the cattle to 50 cows,” stated his father.

The Finlays are not just following on family tradition, they find that their Galloway enterprise leaves the most profit. “The Galloway has become more economically viable –we only have them as they make money,” informed Jock.

“The Galloway is a medium sized cow, weighing on average 600kgs, but a lot of calves will wean out at 300kgs. There is a good market for Galloway steers – for the last few years we have sold all ours privately to Calum McGinlay, manager for Jock Rome, Kilnford, who runs a farm shop and butchery. We sell them to him as forward stores at 18-20 months. He finishes them inside on a home mix, which includes mulched up bread.”

Currently the cattle are all autumn calvers, with the first few having calved before our visit. “We used to finish all our own steers for the Christmas market and it suited our system, but we will probably aim to have half calve in the spring when we have a larger herd,” said Jock.

“There is more interest now in the Galloway breed. People are looking at what profit their cows are leaving and there are less costs with a Galloway. They utilise the grazing and help sheep on the hills.

“Alec Murray says that there are thousands of acres in Scotland not being farmed and they should be given to young folk to rear quality beef,” agreed Jock.

The cattle at Blackcraig are all BVD accredited through the SAC Health Scheme. The Galloway Cattle Society now also assesses cattle, like the Luing Cattle Society.

“They look at skeletal size, feet and legs, udder, temperament and mobility,” stated Ann. “It is marked on a scale of 1 - 10 where 10 is best.”

“There is no fail, but if you score a 2 for temperament – it is time to sell,” laughed Jock.

“Our cattle are not wild – anything but – but we do leave them for 24hours after calving.

“Temperament and size have made leaps and bounds in the breed over the past 20 years. This has been mainly due to Canadian influence,” enthused Jock.

“The Canadians have helped with teats and udders too,” added Ann.

“Yes they run on hundreds of acres out there so they have to get up and suck tight udders,” added Jock, who, with Ann, first went out to Canada in 2000.

“We bought a half share of Diamond B Cosmos – the sire of Noreen D2, whose daughter won the

Royal Highland Show twice. Noreen D2 is now 19 years old and is rearing a heifer calf this year! She is also the mother of Blackcraig Noreen J38 –our dearest in-calf heifer to date –who sold for 7500gns at Castle Douglas,” shared Jock.

“We normally sell heifers at CD in February and some go privately to Southern Ireland. The Irish buyers have been back for embryos,” added Ann. The Finlays will have three or four for sale at the local market in February 2014. Latterly they have averaged £2000 +.

Diamond B Knockout was then imported and since then the Finlays have only imported embryos, with more to arrive soon.

Jock and Ann judged at Agribition – a huge winter beef event in Canada a couple of years back. “It was a great experience and then we bought a cow and flushed her, but we spent about a week getting home – finally flying to Germany then Scotland on Christmas Eve, losing our luggage en route!”

Jock has also judged the Royal Show and judged both the Galloways and Blackfaces at the Royal Highland Show.

All three Finlays have judged the Galloway Sale in Castle Douglas and Iain has also notched up the Yorkshire.

At home all four current stock bulls are homebred – Blackcraig; Sid (pictured on page 24), Rasputin (shared with Troloss), Sam and Superman.

“Other bulls that have helped out the herd must include Glenkiln Dynamite and latterly Australian genetics,” pondered Iain, whose parents headed to the Antipodes for the Canberra Show in Australia and the World Galloway Congress in New Zealand in 2008.

The Finlays have sold semen from Glenkiln Dynamite to Australia, Germany and Switzerland.

“Using semen from Ozzie bulls Globex Quota and Globex Winchester has helped improve milkiness in our females,” commented Jock, who has also imported embryos from Norseman from Australia.

“Line breeding is quite a good thing – if it works it is line breeding, if not it’s in-breeding,” laughed Jock. “As the gene-pool was getting closer in Scotland – it is the main reason we headed to Australia, to get new genetics.”

Jock reckons that a Galloway eats less than ‘most folks cross ewes!’ He says that they can live on no more than 50% of what a Limousin cross Friesian cow consumes.

“A Northumberland farmer recorded by EBLEX found that he was losing £200 a head before subsidy with his continental cattle and last year the Galloway made him £180 before subsidy was taken into account,” concluded Jock, who is a current Junior Vice President of the Society and a real advocate for the Galloway breed.

There is currently huge interest in the breed from Eastern Europe, especially Russia and Latvia – the only limiting factor is exports.

FARM FACTS

Farmers: Jock & Ann Finlay and son Iain

Farming: Blackcraig & Corse

Location: Corsock, Castle Douglas Dumfriesshire

Area: Blackcraig - 1700 ac owned Corse - 360 acres owned Thorniehill - 140 ac rented

Stock: 50 Galloway cows and folowers increasing cows to 150 4 homebred Galloway bulls 700 Blackface ewes

Other: Jock - Jun vice CM Galloway Cattle Society

Hosting an August farm walk Stranraer farmer John Douglas held over a hundred fellow farmers spell bound with his knowledge of and enthusiasm for breeding cattle.

“Weproduce cattle that grow margins by performing better on lower inputs by using Line One breeding,” John explained.

“A visit to Montana where Line One Herefords have been bred continuously by researchers and farmers since 1934 convinced me this was the way ahead. The Line One emphasis on yearling growth rates has yielded extra income for cattle farmers across the USA.

“Line One Herefords are pedigree Herefords, not composite cattle, and they have more than lived up to our expectations and those of our customers for bulls and heifers across the British Isles.

“Our Ervie herd is performance recorded with yearling bulls and heifers scanned for muscle and back fat to select replacements that will improve red meat yield. We operate a line breeding programme using sires resulting from our Line One importations and have established five female ‘tribes’ within the Ervie herd to prevent our bloodlines from becoming unacceptably close.

“The aim is always to consistently

Line One Breeding in SW Scotland

produce profit with the minimum of hassle and cost.

“Our heifers calve down as two year olds and the entire herd now calves over six weeks from May 10 onwards. Moving to late calving has really paid off in making calving time more enjoyable as by then lambing is complete, stock are at grass and spring field work is done and dusted. In 2012 only one heifer failed to conceive and went for beef.

“I cannot understand why some folk want a massive cow and heavy bull to produce a good calf. We aim for a birth weight of around 40kg. Heifers go to the bull at 340kg to 400kg and fill out into fit mature cows weighing 600kg up to 700kg. Cows that are long lasting, low on maintenance and as last year proved, being light, suit wet ground conditions.”

Continuing the farm tour John noted that only weaned calves come into accommodation in November with the rest of the herd out wintering strip grazing kale and getting silage.

Winter accommodation in an area of prevailing wet westerlies that is low cost and practical. Young bulls

looking their best in open corals with three metre high tin on one side, no roof, no deadly slurry lagoons and no respiratory problems!

“To me the Line One Hereford is a superior animal for the actual task in hand, producing level batches of cattle killing out to give producer and processor a margin and the consumer meat they remember as an eating pleasure!”

As regards selecting stock John makes great use of figures, using raw data plus the physical attributes of the individual to make decisions. Animals must be structurally sound with good testicles, feet and frame, and out of dams with ideal udders and teats.

“The bull I want to see with a batch of females is like a big cat softly patrolling the field checking if cows are ready for service.

“We run the cows in five batches or tribes and put a young bull to the heifer group with, until this year, an Aberdeen Angus used. Now a young Line One Hereford bull has gone to the heifers as we need more bulls to meet demand. Also there is a concern in come circles that a

minority of AA breeders have gone for size and put at risk the famous breed’s major attribute, ease of calving.

“Using Line One Herefords optimises hybrid vigour and produces a bull that can go to a huge range of crossbred cows from the famous Hereford AA ‘Black Baldie’ to Limousin, Simmental and Charolais.”

At question time it was clear visitors were impressed with the Line One stock bred to meet the needs of commercial herd owners.

As host John Douglas put it, the aim is to have, “cattle that easily keep us and we find easy to keep.”

“Last May we could have sold another 30 Line One Hereford bulls with our website www.ervieherefords.co.uk drawing in extra buyers from all across the UK.”

“By maintaining a strong performance line-breeding program, selecting for important commercial traits, coupled with strict culling, we produce a recognisable Hereford ‘improver type’ to perform consistently and match the requirements of top commercial beef producers.”

The Farm

Mains of Airies, the Douglas family farm, runs to 600 acres on the Rhins of Galloway, a peninsula on the Wigtownshire coast of SW Scotland.

Overlooking the North Channel with spectacular views of the Ulster coast the farm is mainly in grass with a rotation of kale followed for two years by spring barley or oats, before going back into grass.

In 2013 some 41 acres were in spring barley, 51 in spring oats, 30 in kale and another nine in rape with 157 acres of silage plus some hay made. Unusually 2013 also saw 30 acres of second cut silage saved.

John puts great emphasis on good grassland management as a means of cutting costs and enhancing profitable livestock performance. Most new swards are undersown with barley and all consist of modern grass and clover varieties best suited to west coast conditions.

“By better use of clover we have dramatically reduced the tonnage of fertiliser bought, yet more than maintained output,” John explained to those attending the farm walk.

“For example, silage ground now gets just 2cwt to the acre of 0N; 15P; 30K early in the year followed by 2cwt per acre of 46N in the spring. Great use is likewise made of well rotted FYM, well broken up by the spreader and, if necessary, by a chain harrow.

“Grazing land only gets 2cwt to the acre of 0N; 22P; 13K once every second year during the winter plus half a cwt of 46N urea each spring. Well managed clover swards cut costs and boost the performance of cattle and sheep alike.

“Yes, like everyone else we had problems with poaching in 2012 and into 2013 due to the record rainfall, but were able to spread stock out in small groups to minimise damage and ensure clover can keep on working for us!

“Using native breeds such as the Hereford and Angus adds value to our output and making the best possible use of grass full of clover cuts costs. We can grow good grass here and Herefords are bred to convert grass into beef with flavour.”

The Family

John Douglas runs the 170 cow Ervie Herd of Herefords with his South African born wife, Alexandra and daughters Rosie, Ellen, Olivia and Kristina. The pedigree Hereford herd having been founded by his father John Telfer Douglas in 1969. With their daughters all sharing the family passion for farming, one is already learning more Hereford breeding in the American west, the Line One Herefords of the Ervie Herd will have a growing impact for many decades to come.

Farmer: John Douglas Farming: Mains of Airlie Location: Rhins of Galloway, Stranraer Area: 600 acres owned

It takes a certain amount of courage and some would say a slight madness to start a business based on farming wild boar – an animal that by all accounts is not for the faint hearted.

Bob Webster, pig farmer and proprietor of Gosford Bothy farm shop in East Lothian however is used to living life with a certain degree of challenge; he was after all was in the police force until an injured back forced him to take sick leave.

It was during this period of leave that he found himself watching a farming programme one Sunday morning on wild boar farming and that was it, he was hooked. Not long afterwards he visited the same Wild Boar farm and somehow ended up buying six weaners despite having never kept pigs before.

The Wild Boar run free on 15 acres of woodland, which is rented from the Wemyess and March Estate just outside the village of Aberlady.

Shelters are provided and the boar are fed once daily with low protein sow rolls. “They require about half of what a pink pig eats a day as they can put weight on especially the gilts when they muscle up, I usually gauge a kilo a day per pig,” Bob informed.

He worms them once a year and up to now doesn’t seem to have had a worm problem.

His initial plan was to breed and take the excess stock to farmers markets, which he did for a few years. Though as time progressed, it was clear to Bob that unless something drastic was done, his business would come to a rather rapid end. The opinion of his accountant at the time, Bob admitted “was to shoot them.”

The price of the pig food along with butchery costs were crippling, and that coupled with the nature of the beast to produce around five boarlets a sow annually and take 15 to 16 months to finish meant he was losing money year after year.

Bob realised the only way to begin making a profit was to sell direct to the public, so with this in mind, he approached the Factor to put forward a business plan to open a farm shop on the estate, renovating a derelict building to do so. Surprisingly not only were the estate very supportive of his plans, they wanted to come into partnership with him. They thought along the same lines as Bob, the importance of the quality, locally sourced and above all honesty in the selling. “Too much meat, which is supposed to have been produced locally has in fact been bought in,” Bob commented.

Unusually Bob slaughters the wild boar at home, although this wasn’t always the case. “We occasionally had

Ex Pig Breeds Pigs!

problems at the abattoir on top of which, getting them into the trailer wasn’t the easiest job, especially if you had one or two that were just plain bad.”

So Bob contacted the Food Standard Agency to apply for a licence to enable him to shoot them on the estate. He cited that although he was paying for a wild animal licence, he wanted to treat them as farmed wild animals. Luckily the FSA accepted what he was doing and after a few checks agreed to give him the licence necessary to slaughter at home.

“Nowadays, the whole process is simple, the vet comes out, signs them off and the animal is shot with a 243 rifle whilst its head is down feeding. It’s then hoisted onto a tractor, bled, and the body is then placed in the back of a trailer and taken straight down to Wishaw abattoir.”

Things are now moving in the right direction for Bob, the shop, which is a separate business from the wild boar

is making a profit and the wild boar side of things is at long last breaking even. “Wild Boar sausages and burgers fly off the shelves.”

At times he is barely able to keep up with the supply. It’s for this reason he doesn’t sell on any of his weaners.

“We have about 120 boarlets a year, we ideally require 150.”

So what of the future? “Expansion of the farm shop,” Bob informed. He’s also been chewing over the possibility of bringing in Oxford Sandy and Black breeding stock and decreasing the wild boar numbers.

Whatever Bob decides, if the past is anything to go by, his future will be a success.

by

Pig Prices Remain Firm

Although Scottish pig producers have seen their prices slightly decline over the past few weeks, prices still remain more than 10% higher than last year.

According to Stuart Ashworth, Quality Meat Scotland’s Head of Economics Services, pig prices are also firm across Europe with the average European price 5% higher than twelve months ago.

“UK prices quoted in Euro have been impacted by currency exchange rate movements and prices are just over 2% higher than 12 months ago,” said Mr Ashworth. “This means that the competitiveness of imported European pigmeat on the UK market is reduced from 12 months ago, while UK exports to mainland Europe are more attractive.”

Latest trade data suggest that exports of UK pork were more than 20% higher than last year with growth in sales to both the EU and Asia. Imports of pork were marginally up but imports of bacon and ham were more than 10% down.

“Higher prices across Europe have been aided by tighter supply,” said Mr Ashworth.

“The December census showed a European sow population decline of 4% and this is leading to a tighter supply of prime pigs.

“In May, the European Union slaughtered 2% fewer pigs than it did in the same month last year. The current forecast is that pigmeat production across Europe will be 4% lower over the second half of 2013 than it was last year.”

Another factor currently helping the European market is the politics of international trade.

“Russia has restricted pigmeat imports from the US, Canada and Brazil over concerns about the use of growth promoters,” said Mr Ashworth. “This has created greater demand from Russia for European pigmeat and, at the same time,

Plus Points

The Lower Saxonian equippers of pig houses, WEDA Dammann & Westerkamp, have developed the new self-catching pen SF3, which is available as of now. The pen does not require mechanical suspension and can be employed as a retrofit system for the predecessor, SF1.

Based on a new lever technology, the ergonomic construction principle of this maintenance and wear-free opening and closing system ensures easy release by humans and by animals.

demand from China and Hong Kong continues to grow.

“Notwithstanding the speed with which the politics of international trade can change, the continued tightness of European pig supplies are likely to underpin prices for some time yet.”

However, while UK producer prices may have increased over the past 12 months, producer margins and confidence still remain fragile.

“Feed is the largest input cost for pig producers and pigs currently being sold will have been produced with high cost feed,” observed Mr Ashworth. “However, looking forward there is some prospect of feed prices falling.

“Prices for feed grains eased back as the European harvest got under way and currently stand around £50 per tonne lower than last year,” he added.

“Similarly protein prices, particularly soyabean meal where global production is expected to be 6% higher than last year, have also eased. Latest soyabean prices, although edging up in the past couple of weeks, are around 15% lower than this time last year.”

Producer margins will, therefore, be slowly improving. Producers, however, still remain wary with regards to expanding their sow herds.

“Slaughter statistics show that across the UK sow slaughterings over the first six months of the year were 2.5% higher than last year, although they have fallen below year earlier levels during July,” said Mr Ashworth.

“Although the December census showed an increase in gilts intended for breeding, the combination of higher sow slaughterings in the first half of this year and the 2% decrease in sows reported in December do not point towards any material increase in the sow herd, and hence future production, unless the herd has become more productive.”

In sow managements, an advantage of the system can be experienced in everyday use: due to the new free range systems, the opening and adjustment of the desired function is perfectly easy for up to twenty sows. With this new variety, WEDA are reacting on the demands of modern pig managements with regard to the easy operation of self-catching pens. This fulfils the requirements set down in the EU Directive 88/2001 as well as in the Ordinance on Animal Welfare.

The SF Series makes handling of the mechanics a lot easier, in particular for persons who are smaller or possess less physical strength. These concrete improvements are modern responses to the agricultural industry, where more and more women are employed. Handling of the self-catching pen is, however, also advantageous for users with more physical strength as it saves energy.

The springless SF System furthermore prevents problems with corrosive parts as well as expenses with regard to the procurement of spare parts or service activities. Below the line, due to a simplified technology, operators gain time which can be sensibly used for animal control and management duties. Last but not least, the barrier-free locking system is advantageous for animals that can take up their feed in a considerably more relaxed way. After a sow has entered the pen, the mechanism installed inside the trough immediately releases the locking device.

Slat Plate Solves Wear Problem

Slatted floors in piggeries in areas subject to high wear, particularly adjacent to feeders, can become dangerous and non-compliant with EU regulations regarding slat gaps. However, concrete slat panels, are usually difficult and costly to replace. Suffolk equipment specialist, Quality Equipment, has come up with a simple solution — a high density plastic slat plate.

The slat plates are simply placed over the worn area and are secured by stainless steel anchor bolts, either directly through the plate or via clips fixed around the edges.

Suitable for weaners, growers and finishers, the 15mm plates are generally supplied at 1m x 0.5m (3ft 3in x 1ft 7in) and slots can be cut to ensure a snug fit around equipment. Priced at £29.60 per plate, including fixings, they are suitable for areas too badly damaged or eroded for conventional repairs. Larger plates can be supplied if required.

“With pig welfare rules tightening, piggeries are coming under increasing scrutiny, particularly slatted floors,” said QE director Graham Baker. “We produced these panels in response to requests from customers and have already had a good feedback.”

QE has sold large quantities of a stainless steel slat inert which it developed in 2012 as a result of new EU regulations on maximum slat gaps. The slat plate complements this product.

Performance Plus Peace of Mind From Pneumonia Vaccination

“If it was up to me, all calves sold straight off their mothers at the autumn sales would be vaccinated against pneumonia.” That's the considered view of David Houstoun at Glenkilrie, Perthshire, based on several years experience selling spring-born calves from his 150-cow predominantly Limousin suckler herd at United Auctions' autumn sales.

“There are few things worse than hearing from a buyer that calves you supplied have gone down with pneumonia.” he says. “More positively, calves that stay healthy are good for long term relationships with buyers.

“When you think about what selling calves involves, there's not a lot more you could do if you actually wanted to make them ill: Weaning, gathering, moving, mixing with a couple of thousand others, then moving again to a new farm – all within 24 hours.”

Whether calves are for sale or keeping as future herd replacements, Mr Houstoun ensures they get the kind of health protection specified in the SureCalf® programme supported by Zoetis (formerly Pfizer). For calves being sold, this requires vaccination with Rispoval®4 against the three respiratory viruses most commonly associated with starting a pneumonia outbreak – RSV, Pi3 and IBR – and against the immuno-supressive BVD virus, with a formal declaration via the programme from seller to buyer. Without such formalities, spring born heifers retained at Glenkilrie for breeding receive Rispoval® IntraNasal vaccine against RSV and Pi3 before housing.

“This way, we see the benefits in both types of cattle,” he adds. “In contrast, before SureCalf we'd be jagging [injecting with antibiotic] one or two every week of the winter, and a few would go really bad. Some would then go sick a second time. A few would die.

“Since we've been vaccinating, hardly any cattle have needed jagging. And the occasional ones that do usually get better quickly. It's about peace of mind as well as performance.”

According to Zoetis area veterinary manager covering Mr Houstoun's locality Graham Baird, the impact of pneumonia on lifetime performance can be

profound. A large scale study found that 78% of animals treated for pneumonia had lung damage at post mortem examination.

Among group-mates that had shown no signs of disease and were untreated, Mr Baird says an alarmingly similar 68% were found to have damaged lungs when examined, indicating the presence of sub-clinical disease at some time.

“This study involving 469 cattle

also found six per cent slower growth associated with lung damage,” he added.

“So if sub-clinical respiratory disease is present for six months before sale, for example, affected but apparently healthy animals could take 11 days longer than genuinely healthy ones to reach the same live-weight. Feed costs alone for those extra days would be in the region of £10 to £20 per head on most farms.”

SureCalf –a Win-Win Solution

SureCalf is a pre-conditioning programme aimed at minimising the impact of bovine respiratory disease (BRD) and improving the welfare of calves passing through market. By doing so, it can offer confidence to both buyers and sellers.

The stress of transportation and mixing of calves from different sources increases exposure to new pathogens and is a challenge to the immune system. For these calves, respiratory disease is a major risk, so it makes sense to minimise the risk at this critical time.

SureCalf is a free certification system that helps sellers, who invest in vaccinating against respiratory disease to increase the value of their calves at market. It also helps protect a buyer’s investment from the potentially devastating effects of BRD on calf health, welfare, and farm profitability (www.surecalf.co.uk or free helpline 0800 668 1886).

Thoughts on Feeding by Steven

Hunt

With harvest in full swing, second cut silages being made, the first breeding sheep sales taking place and backend store/suckler cattle sales around the corner, now is the time to take a look at feed stocks for the winter, says Stephen Huck, Carrs Billington’s Beef and Sheep Manager. Last winter exhausted most forage stocks, with animals housed early and a very late spring.

Forage quality and quantity is the key to the profitability of all beef and sheep enterprises. Is there enough conserved forage for the livestock to be fed during the winter? How many tonnes of grain have been harvested? Of course no one knows how long next winter will be, is there enough for a normal winter? The earlier it can be established whether stocks will fall short of requirements, the easier and usually the cheaper it is to source extra fodder, straw, roots, or moist feeds. Alternatively, should lambs be sold as stores to ease grazing pressure in the autumn, or should suckler calves be sold early in the New Year to cut back on silage use?

Fodder quality this year looks a lot better than last, but it is vital that farmers have all forages and grain analysed, so that diets can be formulated correctly to suit expected animal performance. Knowing the forage quality will also have a bearing on what they need to buy in if forage stocks are low.

Barley prices off the field this season look competitively priced against other raw materials, so they are likely to feature in the winter diets on many farms, however whilst barley is an excellent feed, we need to remember that it needs to be balanced with proteins, vitamins and minerals in most situations.

For example, a 250kg weaned suckler calf needs an overall diet of 16% protein, with an energy content of at least 10.5ME, around 40% digestible fibre and a low starch content. If barley was the only

concentrate, fed along with a 12% protein, 9.5ME silage, the energy level would be satisfactory, but the levels of protein, vitamins and minerals would be inadequate. In addition, the amount of starch being fed would be a little excessive for a young animal and it would be important to include a second, digestible fibre energy source such as sugar beet pulp, soya hulls, or citrus pulp. Feeding low protein starchy diets to young growing animals encourages them to put on too much condition at the expense of frame.

Finishing animals do require high levels of starch and lower protein levels of around 12-13%, so barley plus minerals, along with good quality silage and maybe a little protein supplementation will be sufficient for some animals during the final finishing period. A word of caution though; when a large percentage of the diet is made up from cereals, care must be taken to avoid acidosis. Cereals should be introduced slowly over 10-14 days and a buffer and/or a live-yeast should be fed to keep the rumen stable.

SHEEP

A long winter, followed by a slow spring has left some ewes in poorer condition than normal. Now is the time to sort out the poorest ewes and put them onto better grazing to improve condition before tupping. In extreme situations feed blocks or concentrates should be fed to improve condition.

Finishing lambs on aftermaths or good pasture may benefit from a little concentrate from now on to finish them quicker, providing the opportunity to sell more before grass growth slows down. An added benefit of offering supplementary feeding at grass is that lambs will

finish at a heavier weight, they will look better and they will have an improved killing out percentage. If cereals are being fed to sheep, leave them whole, as this not only reduces rolling and handling costs, it also helps to avoid acidosis because the starch is released slower from whole grains.

BEEF

Suckler Calves

Spring born calves will benefit from creep feeding before housing and/or weaning. Calves that are creep fed are heavier at weaning, they adjust quicker to winter diets when housed and they are less prone to disease at this time. It is also financially beneficial, as young animals convert feed more efficiently than older ones, therefore, it takes less feed to produce a kilo of weight gain.

Store Cattle

Store cattle at grass need to be averaging a live-weight gain of 1kg/head/day. This will have been achievable on good grazing through May/June and into early July, however when grass growth and quality declines later in summer, supplementation will be required to maintain this level of LWG. Good levels of energy from cereals and digestible fibre with a protein content of around 14% is required as either compound, blend, or home mix.

Finishing Cattle

Fewer cattle, particularly continentals, are finished on grass nowadays, as they need a high starch diet to finish them correctly. Although grass is high in energy and protein, it contains no starch, so a high cereal compound, blend or home mix should be fed to ensure good weights and ideal levels of fat cover.

Suckler Cows

Autumn calvers will need adequate supplementation to keep condition, to help them hold to the bull and to help prevent hypomagnesaemia. Spring calvers should be back in calf, running with the bull. Again, hypomagnesaemia is the main cause for concern and it is important to introduce magnesium rolls, buckets or liquid feeds to help in the prevention of this condition.

Suzuki Bytes

Get Ready For Potato Week

Potato Week is to return from 7-13 October, helping the industry grow value sales as it encourages mums to ‘trade-up’ from generic whites to named varieties.

The event will celebrate the potato’s role in our food heritage and demonstrate that great named varieties are worth paying ‘a little bit more for.’ Run by Potato Council for the benefit of the supply chain, the campaign will focus on providing an ideal solution for mums, which has the potential to increase category sales of up to £5.9million.

Activity will incorporate a major PR drive for the most commonly sold varieties, such as Maris Pipers which are a natural choice for mums. This will be fronted by bestselling author, food stylist and mum herself, Jo Pratt, and supported by an integrated advertising campaign and recipe placement.

To enhance its success, Potato Council is calling for industry support through the use of promotional and point-of-sale material at the fixture, along with recipe and message sharing on-pack, online and via social media platforms.

Potato Council marketing manager, Kate Cox, said: “Potato Week 2013 will build on our work to raise awareness for potato varieties. This started with the shopper-driven signposting project in October last year (to promote ‘fluffy’, ‘salad’ and ‘smooth’ potatoes), making it easier for shoppers to choose the right potatoes for the right meal.

“We know that some varieties already have higher recognition with shoppers; for example 81% could name Maris Pipers, and by encouraging mums to trade-up just

once during the year will deliver a real boost to the sector.”

Activity for Potato Week has been designed to deliver maximise impact and give the sector many opportunities for involvement. Artwork, literature, recipes and key messaging will all be available to use, to suit multiple and independent retailers, suppliers, processors and growers.

To build consumer awareness, Jo Pratt, a regular on TV (Good Food Channel and ITV), will be used to share her personal recipe ideas and cooking tips to inspire shoppers. In addition, high impact advertising spanning print, digital and social media channels will run from 30 September to 20 October. This is expected to reach approximately 4million mums, four to five times over.

Additional activity will be undertaken with ‘Brit Mums,’ Britain’s biggest collective of lifestyle bloggers and social influencers, as well as a nationwide search for ‘Mrs Piper’ to capture the nation and get mums talking.

Kate added: “Potato Week is a platform for the whole supply chain to engage with shoppers and promote a strong message about the versatility of potatoes. Encouraging shoppers to trade up for more consistent results will not only improve their dining experience and reduce waste, but deliver longer-term profitability to the sector.”

Make sure you’re part of Potato Week 2013. To request promotional material, contact marketing@potato.ahdb.org.uk or visit www.potato.org.uk/promotion/ get-involved

Summer Success for Potatoes

Potato Council’s summer ‘Many Faces of Potatoes’ campaign has been hailed a major success, following positive industry and consumer feedback. The impact of activity, which included national TV advertising and a consumer-facing roadshow, triggered a clear shift in awareness of the healthiness of potatoes, as well as their versatility and convenience.

The TV advert aired on ITV and Sky Media channels in July to a target viewing audience of 3.6 million 25-44 year olds. After seeing the ad, 95% of consumers agreed that potatoes are healthy compared to 83% of non-viewers; an increase of nearly 1 million shoppers. During the two weeks of broadcast, the ad also increased visitor traffic to the Many Faces of Potatoes website (www.manyfacesofpotatoes.co.uk) by a third.

In addition, a series of roadshows reached well over half a million shoppers, with over a thousand samples and recipe booklets handed out daily. Initial feedback from the stand again pointed to health being a cut-through message, with 71% of consumers saying it had positively changed their overall perception of potatoes as a healthy food.

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Industry support was strong as Gillian Kynoch, Albert Bartlett development and innovation director, said: “With health and taste at the top of everyone’s agenda, Potato Council’s advertising campaign really highlighted these wonderful attributes of

potatoes. This should help stamp out any misconceptions and put potatoes at the top of shoppers’ minds when they are looking for a tasty, easy and nutritious meal.”

Stu Baker, Potato Council marketing and PR executive, said: “Many Faces of Potatoes has been an excellent platform to reach consumers. The TV ad was impactful in terms of raising health awareness and driving traffic to the website.

“The roadshows provided additional opportunities for in-depth interaction with our core audience and provided much needed recipe inspiration. The TV commercial played continually on our stand at each centre to attract consumers and we had a skilled chef on hand to cook three potato dishes every hour for sampling.

“Reassuringly at the end, 95% of consumers visiting the stand agreed that potatoes were a healthy choice. People also love their convenience and versatility – all of which are essential messages to drive sales.”

Consumer response to the new classification system has also been positive throughout the activity, with high recognition of ‘salad’, ‘fluffy’ and ‘smooth’ amongst the general public. ‘Natural’ and ‘nutritious’ also scored well, with over a third of consumers associating these terms with potatoes.

Stu added: “It is clear the threeyear Many Faces of Potatoes campaign has had real influence, generating much needed awareness for potatoes and giving shoppers more reasons to choose them.”

World Cereal Production Set to Reach Historic High in 2013

Serious food insecurity affects Syria, Central Africa, parts of West Africa

World total cereal production is forecast to increase by about 7 percent in 2013 compared to last year, helping to replenish global inventories and raise expectations for more stable markets in 2013/14, according to the latest issue of FAO's quarterly Crop Prospects and Food Situation report.

The increase would bring world cereal production to 2 479 million tonnes, a new record level.

FAO now puts world wheat output in 2013 at 704 million tonnes, an increase of 6.8 percent, which more than recoups the previous year's reduction and represents the highest level in history.

World production of coarse grains in 2013 is now forecast by FAO at about 1 275 million tonnes, up sharply (9.7 percent) from 2012.

World rice production in 2013 is forecast to expand by 1.9 percent to 500 million tonnes (milled equivalent) although prospects are still very provisional.

Import forecasts, cereal prices

Cereal imports of Low-Income Food-Deficit Countries for 2013/14 are estimated to rise by some 5 percent, compared to 2012/13, to meet growing demand. Egypt, Indonesia and Nigeria, in particular, are forecast to import larger volumes.

International prices of wheat declined slightly in June with the onset of the 2013 harvests in the Northern Hemisphere. By contrast, maize prices increased, supported by continued tight supplies. Export prices of rice were generally stable.

Food insecurity situations

The report focuses on developments affecting the food security situation of developing countries. In its review of food insecurity hotspots, the report highlights the following countries, among others: In Syria, 2013 wheat

production dropped significantly below average due to the escalating civil conflict leading to disruptions in farming activities. Livestock sector has been severely affected. About 4 million people are estimated to be facing severe food insecurity.

In Egypt, civil unrest and dwindling foreign exchange reserves raise serious food security concerns.

In Central Africa, serious food insecurity conditions prevail due to escalating conflict affecting about 8.4 million people in Central African Republic and Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In West Africa, the overall food situation is favourable in most parts of the Sahel following an above-average 2012 cereal harvest. However, a large number of people are still affected by conflict and the lingering effects of the 2011/12 food crisis.

In East Africa, although household food security has improved in most countries, serious concerns remain in conflict areas in Somalia, the Sudan, and South Sudan, with 1 million, 4.3 million and 1.2 million food insecure people, respectively.

In Madagascar, damage caused by locusts and a cyclone is expected to reduce crop production in 2013, causing increased hunger, especially in the southern and western regions of the country.

In the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, despite improved cereal harvest of the 2012 main season and the near normal outcome of the ongoing harvest of the 2013 early season, chronic food insecurity exists. An estimated 2.8 million vulnerable people require food assistance until the next harvest in October.

In total, there are 34 countries requiring external food assistance, of which 27 countries are in Africa.

Crop Conference

With less than a month to go until the AHDB Crop Research Conference, there are still places left at this essential event for anyone involved with the science behind crop protection. With three sessions chaired by leading scientists, delegates will get an early look at the next generation of crop protection methods and have the chance to shape future research priorities.

Entitled ‘Knowing your enemy –the future of crop protection’, the landmark conference features some of the latest research on insect pests, weeds and crop diseases. The event will build on AHDB’s longstanding commitment to applied research and link it to the government’s new Agri-Tech Strategy.

Two major issues prompted AHDB to host this event; pesticide resistance and product restrictions due to environmental concerns. Dr Susannah Bolton, Head of Research and Knowledge Transfer at HGCA, AHDB’s cereals and oilseed division, is excited that recent scientific advances will provide ways to overcome these challenges.

“The conference has three sessions, each taking a slightly different approach to understanding pests, weeds and diseases. Also, there are twenty-four posters from postgraduate scientists who will be instrumental in delivering top-class crop protection research in the years ahead,” she said.

The first session, Advances in Genomics, looks at making the most of technical advances that allow faster gene sequencing. This includes working with plants’ innate defence systems, as well as rapid ‘diagnostics’ to identify and control crop diseases before they cause serious damage. “Our ability to use genomes of pests

and pathogens to indicate potential novel routes for control is expanding rapidly and will play an increasingly important role in practical crop production”, explained Professor Peter Gregory of East Malling Research, who chairs this session.

Session two, Population and Evolutionary Biology, addresses the development of resistance to the agrochemicals that the world relies on to produce its food. Speakers will discuss how different types of resistance can be managed, including using computer models to give early warnings and non-chemical control through more refined variety selection.

“The development of resistance to fungicides and herbicides in pathogen and weed populations is a significant challenge to the UK agricultural industry. I'm looking forward to hearing new ideas, insights and approaches in this session,” said Dr Rosie Bryson, Fungicide Team Leader at BASF, who will chair session two.

Lessons from Ecology, the final session of the conference, looks at how crop protection can take an integrated pest management approach by taking advantage of ‘beneficial’ organisms present in the air and soil.

The session concludes with a presentation from Professor Allan Downie, who is leading the UK’s response to ash die-back: his presentation will highlight lessons for agriculture from the rapid emergence of this disease.

The AHDB Crop Research Conference takes place on 25 September 2013 at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in London. More details about the event, including how to book, programmes and abstracts, are available at www.hgca.com/events or phone 024 7647 8724.

CLAAS Expand Student Placement Opportunities

The recent DEFRA report on the Future of Farming Review highlights the importance of attracting young people into agriculture in order for the industry to remain competitive and sustainable, and to meet the future technological challenges that the industry will face.

Whilst the review concentrated on attracting young entrants into actual farming, by the same measure there is a similar need within the agricultural industry as a whole, and CLAAS UK are responding to both this and the need to meet demand for the growth in the CLAAS Tractor business.

As a family company, CLAAS has long been committed to the employment and training of young people, and currently has over 500 vocational trainees within the Group worldwide. In the UK, CLAAS were one of the first to develop their own apprenticeship scheme and has led the way in the development of the industry-wide LTA (Landbased Technician Accreditation) scheme. In addition, many of those now in senior positions within the company, including CEO Trevor Tyrrell and Sales & Marketing Manager Jeremy Wiggins, joined the company’s graduate management trainee programme from University.

As part of a review of its future needs and the continued increase in CLAAS tractor sales, for 2013/14 CLAAS UK has considerably expanded its student placement year programme with Harper Adams University (HAU), both in the number of positions offered, but also to students from other universities. In total, 20 placement students have been recruited, and whilst the majority are from HAU, they have been joined by students from the universities of Nottingham, Loughborough and Northumbria as well as one from Germany.

For the first time 15 of these placement students will be working within Claas dealerships throughout England, 10 supporting CLAAS tractors and telescopic handlers and five working in after-sales. A further five will be working in IT, sales, marketing, parts and training roles at the CUK headquarters at Saxham.

The students will be with CLAAS UK for up to 15 months, by which time they will have gained valuable experience that will provide a sound basis for future employment and the potential opportunity to join the CLAAS management trainee programme upon completion of their studies.

Vapormatic Expands

Whilst Vapormatic has offered a relatively small and selective range of combine parts for a number of years, the UK based leading all makes parts company has just launched a significant range expansion.

The range expansion will initially focus on offering replacement parts for the Case International and John Deere combine machines that have been manufactured in the US and sold in to Europe. This has been achieved by Vapormatic working closely with its ‘sister’ company A & I Products, which is based in America and a leading ‘All-Makes’ business in the US.

The expanded range includes replacement parts for all the known wear and service areas on a Combine including, rasp bars, knives, belts, sieves, feeder chains, elevator chains, sprockets, concaves and even large

augers, amongst many other product categories. The parts are supported by Vapormatic’s leading 12 months parts and labour warranty.

These new parts can be found on Vapormatic’s website in a dedicated new ‘Combine Parts’ section with easy navigation to all the product groups.

To support this online section Vapormatic has produced a ‘Combine Parts’ printed catalogue, which presents a selection of the parts available for Case International and John Deere combine harvesting machines. Hard copies of this catalogue are available from your nearest Vapormatic Stockist, alternatively, it can be viewed online and downloaded as an ‘e-catalogue’ from www.vapormatic.com.

For more information on the Combine parts available, please visit www.vapormatic.com.

Since 1983, Oerlikon Graziano has manufactured more than 20 million synchronizer units for agricultural vehicles, construction equipment, trucks, sports cars and a variety of off-highway vehicles: “We are the market leader in tractor synchronization and are helping farmers, particularly those in emerging countries, become more efficient,” says Andrea Serra, Product Manager for Synchro and Powershift Design at Oerlikon Graziano. Looking ahead, Oerlikon Graziano plans to complement its proven standard components offered as part of “Shifting SolutionsTM” by focusing more intensely on customized transmission solutions. The aim is to optimally help customers manufacture products that are both more efficient and get better mileage.

Since producing its first synchronizer unit in 1983, Oerlikon Graziano, a member of the Drive Systems Segment, has manufactured more than 20 million of these basic transmission components. The annual production total has climbed to around 1 million units. The company is the world market leader in the area of synchronizers for transmissions used in agricultural vehicles like tractors. The synchronizer’s are also employed in the transmissions of sports cars, trucks, construction equipment and other off-highway products where maximum efficiency and toughness are essential. The company’s leading customers include such well-known manufacturers of agricultural and construction machinery as CNH, John Deere, Massey Ferguson and Caterpillar as well as the sports car companies, Lamborghini and Aston Martin.

Synchronization reduces fuel consumption

Synchronizer units are key components in manual transmissions: when a driver shifts from one gear to another, the ring handles the job of coordinating the speed of the gear and drive shaft. As a result of their conical form, the synchronizer act like a brake between the gear and the clutch sleeve: the next gear can be engaged only if both components are moving at the same speed.

“By minimizing the loss of torque when power is transmitted from the engine to the wheels, the synchronizer units boost the efficiency of high performance engines and help improve gas mileage in the process,” Serra says. Thanks to optimal design and exceptional material characteristics, state-of-the-art synchronization systems like those used in today’s agricultural or commercial vehicles can handle approximately 1.5 million shifting cycles. The most important innovations achieved in recent years include servo synchronizer technology that reduce drag torque by up to 50 percent compared with double-cone solutions and synchronizer units containing new types of friction materials like carbon.

High performance delivered by customized integrated solutions

The manufacturers of agricultural vehicles, construction equipment and other off-highway products face the challenge of lowering fuel consumption. An integrated transmission system in, which all individual components optimally work with one another plays a major role in efforts to reach this goal. With “Shifting SolutionsTM” Oerlikon Graziano has created a new product line that gives manufacturers the opportunity to obtain a transmission solution that is created especially to meet their needs. “In particular, our customers in the high-performance segment can measurably boost the efficiency of their vehicles and further lower fuel consumption by using a complete customized solution.”

New Overseas Market for Seed Potatoes

On-going communications with Vietnam officials by Potato Council and SASA, to discuss seed potato importation requirements, has resulted in the seal of approval for the official importation protocol between Vietnamese and GB authorities, allowing GB seed potatoes to be imported into Vietnam for the first time.

Liaison with this new, Far-Eastern market has been on-going for some time. Robert Burns, head of seed and export for Potato Council and Dr Triona Davey, Plant Health Liaison for SASA (Scottish Government) have been communicating with Vietnamese officials for many months, advising and informing on specific phytosanitary conditions and the production of seed from GB, and emphasising the benefits that GB seed potatoes can offer the Vietnamese growers and supply chain.

Mr Burns said “The outward mission by Potato Council and SASA to Hanoi earlier this year led to the finalisation recently of the importation agreement between GB and Vietnam – which is now signed –and we are absolutely delighted that this important new market is now accessible for GB’s seed growers and exporters.”

Moreover, the Vietnamese officials are due to visit Potato Council and SASA in September to observe GB seed production at first hand, and will meet Potato Council and SASA plant health teams, visit micro-propagation

laboratories and mini-tuber production facilities and view this season’s seed crops in-situ.

Until recently, potatoes ranked below production of other Vietnamese staples such as rice, maize and sweet potato with an average yield of potato crops in Vietnam of around 12 tons/ha [1]. Until now, a lack of quality seed is thought to have been one significant barrier to production efficiency and profitability in Vietnamese potato production.

Mr Burns commented on demand for the potato in Vietnam, saying

“Middle class consumer numbers are rising in Far-Eastern markets and they are demanding potatoes in their diet. The GB seed industry is now able to help Vietnamese growers increase the yields and quality of their potato crop by providing high-health, high quality seed from Britain –already grown successfully in over 50 countries.”

You will be able to meet Potato Council’s and SASA’s seed potato teams, together with GB’s leading seed breeders, exporters and crop researchers, at the forthcoming Potato Europe event, 11-12 September, Emmeloord, The Netherlands. www.potato.org.uk/events and www.potatoeurope.com for more information.

[1] Source: ‘POTATO PRODUCTION IN VIETNAM’, Pham Xuan Tung, Dalat Research Center for Food Crops, Thai Phien, Ph. 12, Dalat, Vietnam http://www.eseap.cipotato.org/MF-ESEAP/FlLibrary/Pot-Vietnam.pdf

Know Your Rights of Employment

Anumber of requirements are needed for running a successful agricultural business including hiring the right staff.

Amy Jones, employment lawyer at Thorntons Solicitors, discusses the issues to think about when recruiting new employees.

She said: “When recruiting a new employee, the various legal requirements involved mean that there is plenty to think about in addition to getting the right person for the job.

“The Equality Act 2010 protects against discrimination on the grounds of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. The Act covers job applicants, so employers must think carefully about their recruitment process to avoid accusations of discrimination.

“Jobs adverts must not be discriminatory and the wording used must be carefully considered. For example, advertising for ‘youthful and enthusiastic’ staff

by Amy Jones, Employment Lawyer at Thorntons Solicitors

could be said to discriminate against older people, whilst advertising solely in Polish on a website only visited by Polish individuals, as was recently reported in the media, could discriminate against groups who are not Polish.

“During any interview process, care must be taken as to the questions which an employer asks a prospective employee. It is unlawful for an employer to ask job applicants or their previous employers about their health until the applicant has been offered a job.

“However, it is acceptable to make the offer subject to a positive occupational health report and to ask questions regarding a function that is intrinsic to the job. For example, if you are recruiting for farmhand, it would be lawful to ask questions about an applicant's ability to lift weight, walk long distances or work long hours.

“When interviewing, candidates should be assessed, as far as possible, against fair and objective criteria and clear notes should be kept to enable an employer to demonstrate a non-discriminatory reason for

rejecting a candidate.

“Another important issue for employers to keep in mind when employing new staff is ensuring they have the right to work in the UK. Establishing who is entitled to work in the UK is complex and under the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006, the onus is on employers to police illegal working. In short, it is an offence for an employer to employ someone who is not entitled under the immigration rules to work in the UK. Employers could be fined up to £10,000 per employee who is not entitled to work in the UK.

“In addition, employers in the agriculture sector, who receive foreign workers from a Gangmaster, must ensure the Gangmaster is properly licensed and has the necessary paperwork in place to ensure workers can work in the UK legally.

“As a general rule of thumb, workers fall into 2 categories: British citizens, Commonwealth citizens, European Economic Area (“EEA”) and Swiss nationals can work in the UK with no restrictions.

“However, until the end of 2013, whilst EEA nationals from Bulgaria

and Romania are free to enter and live in the UK. They require permission to work in the UK unless they are part of the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme

For non-EEA Nationals, a five Tier points based system applies and employers require to be licensed by the Borders and Immigration Authority before they can act as sponsors for foreign workers.”

Useful Tips:

1. Keep job adverts simple and stick to actual requirements only.

2. Do not ask health questions unless it relates to a requirement of the job and even then be very careful.

3. If possible, keep applicants' personal details separate from the rest of the application form so that those making a decision do not have details of protected characteristics such as sex or race.

4. Do not ask an applicant’s age.

5. Wherever possible, more than one person should be involved in assessing candidates.

6. Ask all successful candidates for copies of their passport or details of their right to work in the UK, not just those you suspect are not British.

by Graeme Davidson EQ Accountants LLP

Forfar

Many successful businesses I know would consider their staff to be one of their most important assets, if not the most important. Attracting good quality staff, and keeping them, must therefore be high on the list of priorities for business leaders if they are to meet their aims and objectives.

In my profession as an accountant dealing mainly with rural businesses I find that clients want to deal with my firm if they like our people as individuals and we are able to show an understanding of what they do.

Clients, quite righty, assume that we are technically competent, and able to give them the right advice in relation to their accounts, tax and business operations.

Where we are able to develop our relationships with the clients, show understanding and empathy towards them and the business issues they face, we usually have long-standing, loyal clients, who will seek our advice on a range of diverse issues and recommend us to others.

Looking for Staff?

Our starting point with recruitment is to look for the right type of person. We recruit people with different backgrounds, abilities and experience, from schools leavers, to graduates, to experienced professionals. Where possible, we prefer to train and retain people, and we’re fortunate to have a relatively low level of staff turnover for our sector.

What all the staff we recruit have in common is the ability to get along with people and relate to the clients they are working with.

We work hard to foster relationships and an awareness of what we do with the universities, colleges and local schools. Through those relationships we get opportunities to speak to potential future employees as they go through their education and initiate with them the prospect of working in a business like ours.

Different approaches to the recruitment process itself will work for different businesses. We prefer to keep matters relatively informal, with an initial interview attempting to cover as much of the candidates previous experience of education, training, employment and other interests as

possible. That usually gives us a good feel for their character and an indication of their appropriateness for the role we are looking to fill.

Some employers use various testing techniques, online or otherwise, to try to get some hard data on an individual’s suitability. It’s always important to check references too, and often you can learn as much from what isn’t said here, as you can from what is said!

The current job market is competitive when it comes to finding and keeping the best people, especially qualified people in any specific discipline. It’s important therefore for the employer to sell the virtues of working for their particular business to prospective employees.

There is no doubt that money talks in this context and often a new employee will be attracted to a new employer by the prospect of enhanced remuneration. But for many there will be more to it and considerations will include the working environment, job satisfaction, prospects for future progression and training, and other benefits that an employee may be entitled to.

Rural businesses can often find themselves at a disadvantage when competing for staff who could potentially earn more money in a city or central belt location, if competing on salary alone. That is why it is important to sell the other attractions and benefits of working in a rural location. The value of non-financial benefits and advantages should not be underplayed – quality of life and the setting for that can be decisive factors for many people.

Our graduate recruitment programme gets underway every autumn, so, as we get ourselves geared up for that process for 2013, we know that we are competing for the best graduates against big city firms, and international businesses. We focus on our strengths; the quality of working experience we can offer, the quality and diversity of the clients we are fortunate to work for, and put together the best financial package we can to attract the best talent. Good employees don’t just come along by luck – they have to be attracted to your business and be kept happy once there.

Fyall’s Focus

Looking back over the summer, there have been (as can now be expected) unexpected setbacks and still much to be grateful for. This year has seen the postponement of access to subsidy to new and growing farmers for at least another year, and with it comes the extra negotiations with banks, suppliers, and consideration of plans and budgets.

The CAP will bring two things, which will not help the growing farmer, a stated land calculation on 2015 acres and the potential to define activity highly, which I am in favour of, but may create an artificially high demand for stock over productive value for a couple of years.

There are of course many, many more issues, which will be covered here, but for now a look at the farm.

A low lambing percentage counted in our favour when turning lambs out, with ewes continuing on cobs in May rather than creeping lambs as we took our first draw in the second week of July. (If you recall previous articles this was after serious trouble with dogs in June). Lambs averaged £85, which included a couple of Logie Hybrids out of Shetlands at £75, and 7/8 logie lambs at £90.

This was a trade worth catching, and we took the decision that rather than use the long acting maggot repellent we normally used (and long withdrawal) we would use a treatment/preventative with only 8 days withdrawal so we could keep selling lambs. The maggots continued to work on areas that had not been directly applied, and we lost a few big lambs and with the heat and a cycle of only 3 days from laying to burrowing. After another application

of the same product we continued to get problems, with fat lambs growing lethargic, the flies were laying in the sweaty spots under the legs and burrowing up the way. On return from the Black Isle Show we were forced to dip all, which now puts us on a 70 day standstill.

It has been an expensive lesson, with too many dead and a lucrative trade missed, my full Organic certification next year will allow one long acting pour-on and this WILL be used late June regardless of lamb size.

Better news on cattle front – my last heifers calved either side of the Black Isle, with John Scotts Fearn heifer putting out a white bull calf to give us another good calving with a live calf running with every cow –except the one with twins.

Also our barley has come through the summer very well; a mix of Armada/Westminster out of an old ley with plenty clover. From a pH of 5.4 I dressed 100kg of prilled lime and some 60kg Sylvinite over the seedbed with no other input and I am now excited about what will come off (hopefully in 5 days of writing on 31st August). But we pray as always for kind weather.

August was a cracking month, although the above mentioned problems has meant some cows and calves have been picked out for sale to replace lambs in the cashflow. We had some welcome distractions from the politics & finances. My annual trip to the Black Isle Show was once again enjoyable, with a well organised and hospitable committee and a wonderful livestock display. Then we had the National Sheepdog Trials near to Sittyton so had 6 folk from

the Borders staying with their dogs. It was great to have a few days in good company and also very encouraging that our two youngest guests had left other industries recently to take up shepherding and I hope it rewards them appropriately. They see exactly what brought me into this job and reminded me why I should stick at the sheep.

And of course August’s other busman’s holiday was my first trip to sheep sales in the Highlands. The autumn Cheviot sales at all marts started down a bit, but still seem fair prices offered given the likelihood of profit. I would however, given the activity provisos on Single Farm

Payment mentioned before, have been tempted by some ewe lambs. Had I ground or spare cash I think 2nd draw well bred ewe lambs at around £45 are perhaps the cheapest thing in the market place just now, with a mind to potential demand for hill gimmers & ewes in 2015 (or some hairy heifers might not be a bad buy either). Despite the stiffer trade, the ever diminishing bunch of shepherds I met up there were as good company as ever; it would be good to see more new faces amongst them though, let us hope whatever comes in 2015, there is incentive to keep farming families in the hills, as it is not just the dogs who are on trial sometimes!

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Nitty Gritty of Anaerobic Digestion

“Renewables” has well and truly superseded “diversification” as a buzz word in the rural sector over the last 5 years. You would be forgiven for thinking that by now we would have moved on to something new, but not yet ……..so watch this space!

The support system provided by Feed-in Tariffs (FITs) for renewable energy was reviewed in the summer of 2012. The biggest loser was the small wind sector, reducing the tariff by 25% in the sub 15kW band. The solar PV tariff reduction was much lower than planned, taking the 15.2p down to 13.5 p for the 10-50kW installations. Hydro and Anaerobic Digestion (AD) remain largely unchanged. The basic principles of wind, solar and hydro technologies are widely understood, but AD is not so familiar to most.

So what is AD?

AD technology is similar to the digestive process of a cow’s stomach. Organic matter is put into a sealed digestion tank and kept warm at about 40 degrees, where it is mixed to encourage a range of micro organisms to digest the material into a runny digestate fluid. During this process, a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide gases known as biogas is released from the fluid. The biogas is collected and piped to a containerised Combined Heat and Power (CHP) system, which burns the biogas in an engine to produce electricity and heat. This process also produces a residual liquid known as digestate, which can be spread back onto the land as a fertiliser. With the landfill tax on the rise and food recycling set to become compulsory in the future, the potential for AD looks positive.

Most of the AD plants currently in the UK are operated by commercial waste disposal businesses, but there is an opportunity for farmers to grab a slice of the action and some already have. This opportunity may be in the form of growing energy crops for an AD plant operated by a third party, or building and operating their own AD plant. The dilemma, however, is whether it is sensible to divert land into energy crop production at a time when prices for combinable crops are generally quite good. Many would argue this would not be a sensible move, but with volatility in the food commodity market, and the fact farming is a long term business, AD may have a role to play – particularly with the continued increase in energy prices. Energy crops are not often

grown on prime land, therefore, comparing the economics against wheat growing is flawed.

For assessing the risks in an AD project, typically the main factors are:

Planning risk – how much will it cost to obtain planning consent?

Financial risk - have I got access to capital?

Operational risk – is the technology reliable?

Political risk – will the FIT rates change?

Supply chain risk – how can I guarantee cost and continuity of supplies?

Financial risk and supply chain risk are probably the two most important factors. Like most renewable technologies, the capital investment is significant, potentially around £2m, depending on the size of the AD project. I am sure this number will automatically switch some readers off, however, is there a way to spread the risk and reduce the capital required? Yes, possibly.

AD is one of the few renewable technologies that needs a guaranteed supply of feedstock at a controllable cost. The feedstock could be maize, whole crop silage, sugar beet or low grade potatoes. In order to be self sufficient, a reasonable amount of land is needed to grow the feedstock required, and with the present level of cereal prices, it is not an attractive proposition to over commit your available acres to an AD facility. Therefore, is there a means, or any incentives, to dovetail an AD project into a farming business without compromising the existing operations too much? Yes, possibly.

In the Chancellor’s 2012 Budget, it was announced that trades involved in the generation or export of electricity, which attract FITs are specifically excluded from qualifying as an Enterprise Investment Scheme investment (EIS). However, hydro power and anaerobic digestion were excluded from this. The Enterprise Investment Scheme is designed to help smaller, higher-risk trading companies to raise finance by offering a range of income tax and capital gains tax reliefs to individuals who invest in those companies.

One of the conditions to qualify for income tax relief under EIS, is that investors are not allowed to control more than 30% of the company. This lends itself to a small group of unconnected farmers setting up an EIS company to build the AD plant and investing no more than 30%

each in it. The commercial risks of securing feedstock supplies and raising the finance is therefore spread amongst the investors, whilst at the same time, significant tax reliefs are generated for the investors.

Whilst the above might not be for everyone, there are opportunities for interested parties. As always the innovators and early adopters will shape the way forward.

AD technology is similar to the digestive process of a cow’s stomach.

by Ian Craig

Around the Summer Shows

Show 2013

All in a Day at UA

Young Farmers at 75!

When the Scottish Association of Young Farmers (SAYFC) formed in 1938, little did they imagine that 75 years later they would be celebrating its anniversary with a concert for more than 5000 people on a stage that will be used by the likes of Rod Stewart, Fleetwood Mac, Bruno Mars, The Proclaimers, Jessie J and the Stereophonic.

On Saturday 30th November 2013, more than 300 members, past and present, will come together to perform for family, friends, colleagues, members, sponsors and media at the new Hydro Arena in Glasgow. The concert, appropriately named “Stayin’ Alive @ 75,” will encompass all that is great about this rural youth organisation by showcasing a range of talents from across Scotland. There will be solo singing, two choirs –Farmer’s Wives and Farmers – dancing, comedy sketches, past Pinta Princess and Miss Scotch Lamb winners and a special opening and closing scene to name but some of the content. There will be music from the last 50 to 60 years as well as a number of traditional Scottish elements such as highland dancing and pipers, particularly significant with the event taking place on St Andrew’s Day.

It is impossible not to reflect on the association’s history with an event of this scale, which only enhances is positive reputation within the rural sector. Whether it is at National or Regional level the members of SAYFC can not be accused of lacking in imagination or commitment when it comes to their performances. This is true as much 75 years ago as it is today. We have seen walking tractors, dancing sunflowers, Scottish cowboys, a battle of the contractors, the Inbetweeners (they were destined for Magaluf but ended up in Mozambique!), Bobbies garden centre and rural grannies and this is only in the last ten years. Go back further and you will find sailors in some of Scotland’s city centres, highland dancing Indians and dinner with the queen! The range is certainly very diverse and it is evident to see how much fun the members have but the benefits go beyond the performance. Individuals gain in confidence, new networking opportunities arise as they work with sponsors, stage production teams and other clubs; and life-long friendships are developed as members work together. And if a member does not want to be in the lime light they can still be a vital part by supporting with the scenery, costumes and make-up.

Rehearsals take place for many months, with some clubs been known to practice for up to 8 months prior to the performance! This in itself is remarkable for a social group who’s committee and council members are all voluntary. And if you look into the performance in more depth it is clear to see how so many members are now Agricultural and Rural Leaders. Take “Milk Aid,” performance that was light-hearted about the price of milk but got it’s idea from the successful charity event “Live Aid,” and came with the slogan “Just Milk It!” (recognise Nike!) By using such well known elements the audience were able to relate, whilst appreciating the skills required to deliver such an adapted performance.

With Talent Spot in the West, Cabaret in the East and the recent announcement by the associations North Committee of their own talent event, the yearly calendar is a full and exciting one. The addition of the National ‘Stayin Alive @75; concert for 2013 just goes to show the appreciation that the movement has towards its members and supporters. It is without doubt that all involved will look back on the event with fond memories, and for those in the audience it will be a truly special moment to sit with thousands to celebrate such a tremendous accolade.

The concert will take place from 7pm at The Hydro Arena, Glasgow. Tickets can be purchased from www.sayfc.org at £10 for concessions and £15 for adults.

For more information contact the National SAYFC Office on 0131 333 2445 or email rebecca@sayfc.org

*Read more about SAYFC in October issue as we look back at special moments over the last 75 years*

Sheepmeat Issues

Another attempt to rationalise New Zealand’s meat processing and exporting sector to reduce processing over-capacity and improve farm gate returns to farmers has failed.

The two largest companies, both producer-owned co-operatives, were reportedly talking about a form of tradable slaughter rights (TSRs) for lambs and cull ewes, in order to make their seasonal work flows more predictable and enable them to mothball or close slaughter chains and/or plants.

But they couldn’t get any agreement from the second-level companies, many of which are privately owned.

TSRs would require farmers to nominate their preferred processor and use their nearest slaughterhouse, after which companies would be allocated export volumes based on their historical tallies and the farmer preferences.

Alliance Group, the biggest lamb processor, and Silver Fern Farms, the biggest processor and exporter of sheep and cattle combined, have around 5000 farmer-shareholders each, with a degree of overlap through common shareholdings.

Farm leaders have argued for some time that these two co-ops should merge, which would provide a good start on industry rationalisation and capacity reductions.

But their balance sheets are quite different, as Alliance is in pretty good shape having re-organised itself back in the early 1990s when the company nearly went under.

Silver Fern continued to expand by acquisition until quite recently and

therefore has much more debt, which has worried farmers, who remember when Waitaki NZ Refrigerating did the same in the 1980s and then collapsed.

That was when New Zealand had up to 70 million sheep at the height of the season and the annual export lamb crop was 40 to 50 million, totalling more than 400,000 tonnes of bone-in exports annually.

The flock has fallen to 30 million, down 25% in just the past decade, and 17 million lambs are expected to be available for export in the season, which begins on October 1. They are bigger carcases these days and each ewe is more productive.

The meat companies still have enough chain capacity to kill and process twice the number of lambs that will be available. Put another way, each facility will only be active half of the year.

But the lamb crop is strongly seasonal, demanding peak killing capacity through late summer and autumn. That is when each lamb has grown to optimum size and needs to be slaughtered before the onset of winter.

Frozen and chilled storage and shipping has improved considerably, allowing the companies to even out their product flows to international markets, but the seasonality and over-capacity still eat into their processing profits.

Most seasons a “procurement war” breaks out when companies compete to pay higher prices for slaughter numbers, to fill their export orders and keep their plants busy.

In the 2011-12 season Alliance and Silver Fern lost a combined $110

by Hugh Stringleman

million (£56 million), which seriously threatens the viability of both.

The meat industry as a whole, and lamb producers in particular, are looking for a “Fonterra solution” to their worries, which means a mega-merger in the same way that the NZ dairy industry did in 2001.

But that is not going to happen, because over 40% of the processing is in companies which have no desire to merge and the biggest, co-operatively owned companies don’t have the borrowing power to make purchase offers followed by plant closures.

A simple Alliance-Silver Fern merger is also problematical, because it would cost tens of millions and ultimately benefit the other companies.

Farmers themselves are captive shareholders in the two big co-operatives, which require share ownership, and are reluctant to contribute more capital.

As happened a few times previously, it looks like rising lamb prices will take the heat out of the industry restructuring argument.

The companies will battle on, looking for ways to rationalise their facilities and improve their efficiency. The issues in New Zealand are shared with the United Kingdom and Europe.

Representatives of the sheepmeat sectors from the UK, France and NZ met during August and agreed that the volatility of returns is negatively impacting long term viability.

They agreed that the roller coaster ride of good years followed by poor years saps the confidence of farmers, resulting in a decline in production in most sheep producing countries and

makes it difficult to attract and retain good young people.

Beef + Lamb New Zealand chairman, Mike Petersen said all of the producer organisations agree that sheepmeat supplies from the northern and southern hemispheres are complementary and vital to ensure that lamb is available on supermarket shelves in European markets throughout the year.

Uncontrollable factors like climate conditions or exchange rate movements can sometimes disrupt orderly marketing programmes and result in unexpected volatility in pricing.

Petersen said while there is currently every sign that returns will improve over the medium term, the organisations consider that there is an opportunity over the next six months for sheepmeat producers, processors and exporters on both sides of the world to better understand market dynamics and to consider how more stable returns might be able to be generated in the future, and in doing so, improving the long-term viability of the sheepmeat sector.

Farming leaders from the groups agreed that they should continue to work together in areas of common interest and on how farmers deal with the level of volatility facing the sector.

“We’ll be working with others in the supply chain to encourage better returns for farmers and a more profitable and vibrant industry,” Petersen said.

It was agreed that the Global Sheepmeat Forum to be held in Brussels later this year could provide another opportunity to continue this work.

With a family of four, Robert and Sharon Buchanan, Pow Farm, Clackmannanshire are no strangers to pocket money. They are used to the normal requests from their son and three daughters for school trips, new hoodies and concert tickets, but as their off-spring have grown up the couple have developed a tax efficient way to help the children save and reward their family for the hard work that they carry out on the 440 acre farm.

The Buchanan’s herd of 180 Holstein Friesians are milked twice daily and the whole system is run using family labour.

Their son, Andrew (21), who recently completed an HNC at the Barony College, Dumfries, is now the main milker alongside Robert, whose family have been farming at The Pow for over 50 years.

As dedicated milk producers to Sainsbury’s through Muller Wiseman Dairies their contract requires a commitment to continuous supply. Thus the herd, which achieve average

Calf Rearing - Buchanan Style

yields of about 8000 litres, calve all year round. Calf rearing is therefore a 365 day a year task and this is the part that the children have all been involved with.

Katie (19), Lynsey (17) and Sally (14) help out regularly and between them carry out the evening calf feeding routine. Katie and Sally (above) are often working together and Lynsey, who is a pupil at Queen Anne High in Dunfermline sometimes lends a hand milking.

They don’t have a fixed rota but the girls are committed to the calves and enjoy seeing the heifers eventually join the milking herd, usually when they calve at 26 months old.

Welfare is at the top of the agenda at The Pow. Calves receive colostrum from a bottle until they are 48 hours old. It is often Sally, who has lots of patience, who teaches them to suck from a teat on a milk bar style feeder, which clips onto the gate.

The family like to see the calf mimicking the natural instinct to suck whilst also stretching for their milk.

They find this aids digestion of the feed and reduces rumen issues across the whole herd.

Aiming for a calving interval under 400 days means up to 16 calves are born monthly. They are batched into groups of five in straw bedded pens and stay there on milk with free access to water and calf pellets until 10 weeks old.

With two of the girls feeding the calves plus undertaking a few extra jobs they spend between one and two hours daily. Sally, who is a keen Highland Dancer and enthusiastic Girl Guide fits this in around her extra-curricular activities. One of the main benefits of this system is that Mum, Sharon, is free to do other jobs and get the tea ready for when everyone is finished for the day.

Robert recognised a number of years ago that the children could play their part in the success of the farm and talked to their accountant about how to reward their efforts. David Walker of Thomson Cooper Accountants, Dunfermline advised

paying appropriate wages to each child through the books. This reduces the tax liability of the business and as Robert and Sharon have saved the money for each of their children, by the time they reach 18 they have a sizeable nest egg for their future.

Katie, who is studying for a degree in Chemistry at Strathclyde University now only helps out when she is at home during weekends and holidays. She says the savings have been very helpful during her studies.

“During my first year, I was settling into life away from home and getting used to the coursework – I didn’t need to take on a job at that point as I survived by using some of the money that had been put away. Uni life is fun but expensive and I now work part-time at a cupcake stall to supplement my living costs. I still have some savings in a fund to fall back on though and this has really taken away some of the pressure of the costs involved while living in Glasgow.”

Willie Skilling talks shearing, lorries and cucumber sandwiches!

Haulier, Shearer and Gentleman

I’ve fondly nick-named him, the ‘Scarlet-Pimpernel of the farming world’ and believe me, it’s been no easy task pinning down Argyll’s, Willie Skilling, for an interview.

To be precise it’s taken me the best part of nine months to catch-up with Willie and after spending an afternoon with him, I can understand why; he’s a busy man. I joined him for a cup of tea and a chat at his home in Kintyre to find out what life is like for Argyll’s answer to Eddie Stobbart.

“I couldn’t imagine not farming – it’s in my blood,” explained Willie. “I was born in Ayrshire, left school when I was 14, nearly 15 and started shepherding straight away.”

Raised on his grandfather’s farm, Willie’s father and mother both worked on dairy farms. But Willie was always set for a life working with sheep with his trusty dogs by his side.

Before moving to Kintyre in 1984, Willie worked work at sheep farms across Scotland and England. In 1972 he went to work at Connachan Farm in Crieff. “The first wage I took home was £11 a week; I put £6 a week into the farm house, which left me with £5 a week to live off. You couldn’t manage a day on that now.”

After three years Willie left to work on Balliemeanach Farm near Dalmally..

“I was there for two years and in that time I got good experience of working on a West Country Hill Farm.”

From there Willie moved onto Eriboll Farm, Durness, where he worked 20,000 acres with North

Country Cheviot Ewes. During this time Willie attended Elmwood College for five-years on block release studying hill and upland farming, machinery, grass land and cereal crops and farm accountancy.

Shortly before moving to Kintyre, which was to become his home, Willie worked in the South of England wintering hoggs.

But finally, in 1984, the lure of Argyll was too much, and Willie moved to Campbeltown to manage Ugadale Farm for the town’s creamery.

“I spent five years working with a mix of sheep and beef cattle,’” explained Willie. “It was good experience and I enjoyed my time there.”

Willie began to find himself shearing the creamery sheep; 1,000 over nights and weekends and that led him into contract work shearing sheep around the area.

“Today we’re up to shearing between 31/32,000 a year,” he said. “I’ve got four shearers, including myself but I also use seasonal workers from New Zealand and Ireland.”

Willie, who has enjoyed several ‘working holidays’ in New Zealand, is

renowned locally for his shearing efforts.

“Some farmers won’t shear their sheep nowadays. I suppose it’s seen as another expense, which is understandable in the current climate,” said Willie. But this has not had an impact on the work load and busy schedule for Willie and his team.

“We shear from June through to August and in that time we’ll travel throughout Mid Argyll, Kintyre, Cowal and the Isle of Arran.”

Willie operates three shearing trailers and has recently built one from scratch using Solway recycled plastic. “I decided to adapt the new trailer using recycled plastic,” explained Willie. “The thinking behind that is the plastic will be kept clean easier and it’s lighter to tow than the wooden trailers.”

Over his years shearing sheep in the area, Willie has seen the price of wool fluxtuate.

“At the moment you can expect to get 50 pence per kg for Blackface fleeces, 95 pence per kg for a Cheviot fleece and 80 pence per kg for Crosses.

“We haul one load of wool a year and it goes to Texacloth, an Irish buyer,” explained Willie.

When the shearing season draws to a close at the end of August, Willie then takes up his other passion –trucking.

From his customer base through shearing, Willie branched out into livestock haulage – something Argyll farmers benefit from year-on-year.

“I’m running a three-deck trailer, which gives me the capacity to transport one deck of cattle or three decks of sheep.

“I tend to move more sheep than cattle; last year I took over 16,000 sheep to Longtown and 2-3,000 to Stirling.”

“I’ll pick animals up from around Kintyre, Mid Argyll, Cairndow and up the Oban road and take them to whatever sale my customer wants.

“I’ll stay and see them sold at the sale, which gives my customers a full service and I think they appreciate that,” explained Willie.

But as well as hauling cattle and

sheep, Willie also brings hay and straw into the area for farmers.

“Whether they want a full load or just a few bales, I’ll deliver to them what they need. If someone’s needing some feed, I’ll do that too although I don’t tend to do too much of that,” he shared.

“It’s expensive to get animals to market when you stay here but it’s also expensive to bring in feed and bedding,” added Willie.

In fact the cost to run his lorry out of Kintyre to Longtown and back can see Willie spend £500 in diesel with the average running cost coming out at £1.80 per mile.

“On top of that I’ll go through five tonnes of sawdust a year to bed down the lorry and that’s a cost, let me tell you.”

Willie can find himself out on the road twice a week travelling mostly to Longtown but will attend sales around Scotland and the north of England.

“I’ll travel to where my customers want their animals to go,” added Willie. “It’s about them getting the best prices for their animals and that’s one of the main reasons I’m in Longtown so often; the prices are better.”

And if Mr Skilling wasn’t busy enough, he manages his own animals; 600 ewes with a contract farm and two bulls, which are hired out – a Shorthorn and an Aberdeen Angus. Willie relies on his shepherdess, Mhairi Barr, to look after the flocks when he’s working.

“To be fair it’s Mhairi who really looks after the lambs and ewes – she does a great job and she helps with the shearing as well,” added Willie.

And when Willie isn’t shearing sheep, driving a lorry or managing his own animals, what else does he get up to?

Well a visit to HRH The Queen’s Garden Party at Holyrood Palace with his partner, Maureen Taylor, earleir this year.

“It was a long way to go for a cucumber sandwich,” concluded Willie, who tied in the journey with picking up a load of hay, parking the lorry up in Stirling and taking the train to Edinburgh!

by Jenni Sutherland

DUMFRIES MART

Huntingdon Road, Dumfries, DG1 1NF

Tel: 01387 279495

Primestock Wednesday’s Cattle 9.45am, Sheep noon

Saturday 14th September at 10.30am

Second Sale of 3000 Scotch Mule & Tex Ewe Lambs

Main Sale of 500 Blackface Ewe Lambs, Second Sale of Gimmers of all classes

Store Lambs and Sale of Suff Rams & Other Breeds

Monday 16th September at 10.30am

Annual Rood Fair Sale of Store Cattle

Sunday 20th October at 10am

Autumn Sale of Working Collie Dogs at Hammerlands, Moffat

LONGTOWN MART– 01228 791215

Primestock Thursday’s Cattle 1pm, Ewes 7am, Lambs 12noon

Tuesday 10th September at 10.30am –4000 Store Lambs to inc Chev & BF

Friday 13th September

361 “CYDECTIN” KELSO RAM SALES

Ring 1 – 12 Reg Blue Tex (10 shlgs & 2RL), Ring 2 – 204 Beltex x shlgs (MV)

Ring 11 – 15 un-reg Suff shlgs, Ring 18 - 98 un-reg Texel

Ring 16 – 32 un-reg Cross Bred Shlgs

Tuesday 17th September at 10am

4,500 Principal Show & Sale of Mainly “North of England” Mule Ewe Lambs also Tex, Suff & Other Breeds

Inc. 2nd Sale of Chev Mule Ewe Lambs, 2nd Sale of Greyface, Cont. & other Breed Ewes & Shlgs

Fortnightly Sale of Store & Breeding Cattle Entries close Mon 9th Sept at 12noon.

Wednesday 18th September at 10.30am 5,000 Store Lambs of all classes

A Day in the Life Of a....

Ashley Connolly works for Tesco, as Local Buying Manager for Scotland, and has been in this post since December 2012. She has 18 years of experience in the industry, and says that she enjoys the pace and diversity of retail, as well as having a passion for food, so this is her perfect role. Ms Connolly states that the most enjoyable part of her job is, “nurturing a supplier from supplying a few local Scottish stores, to see them gain a listing nationally across the UK.”

We spoke to her about her role as Local Buying Manager.

Ms Connolly states that her job is difficult to sum up, but to put it basically; she has to “get the right products to the right stores and on time.” Day to day tasks are extremely varied, and there is not a set routine that she works with every day: she has to work with suppliers on existing products, new product developments and promotions; resolve queries and deal with issues from both suppliers and stores; ensure that systems are kept up to date and accurate; as well as monitoring the competition. These can arise daily; there is no set structure in order of dealing with these tasks!

That is just on regular days. She jokes that there are extreme days, which are often “self-inflicted!” She

Helping

OFarming Folk in the SW Tesco Buyer

ver the past 20 years, a scheme has run in St John’s Town of Dalry and the surrounding areas to offer affordable housing to those who need it, something which is a great benefit to retired farm workers in the area.

A local woman, Pamela Young, established the Pamela Young Trust in 1992, buying houses in St John’s Town of Dalry and offering those who needed housing, tenancy in these properties.

An extract from the Scottish Charity Register states that the objects of this Charitable Trust is the relief of those in need by reason of financial hardship through the provision of low cost housing in or near to the following areas:- the

says: “Within the Tesco Local Scottish office we have inspired and created some extreme events – one of these is running now – we call it ‘Scotland’s Favourites.’ We are terribly fortunate in Scotland to have such a huge number of suppliers – we have over 150 Local Suppliers in Scotland alone (and this doesn’t include the suppliers based in Scotland who supply Tesco nationally).

“Those suppliers produce a tremendous range of products from traditional Haggis, whisky, shortbread, oatcakes to more artisan suppliers like some of the microbreweries, garlic from the Really Garlicky company, daffodils from Grampian Growers, crisps, Lorne sausage, ice cream, tea, confectionery etc. all produced in Scotland.”

Her job is no easy task, with 170 stores in Scotland to keep on top of, but she recognises that a good working relationship with suppliers is important: “By having the relationship that we have with our local suppliers we can create tremendous events in our stores which demonstrate that the sum of the whole is greater than its parts.

“This means that by co-ordinating the wide variety of Scottish lines to be part of an event like ‘Scotland’s Favourites’ can really create an impact as well as generate sales for Scotland.

We are hoping this event will sell £10M of Scottish products within 4 weeks.”

When asked how local ‘local buying’ is, she replied: “Local is really important to Tesco. Tesco were the first retailer to have such a network of Local offices across the UK. Sarah Mackie started the Scottish Office in 2004 and today we have local offices across Wales, NI and England.”

This development has come from market research, “Customers in Scotland tell us that they believe that Local means to them products that are produced in their area or that come from Scotland.”

There is also a range of supply from the local producers, whether it be one or two stores, for example in Shetland, Orkney or local bakeries like J+I Smith, Simpsons of Stranraer, etc; or other local suppliers can supply stores all over Scotland.

However, some products are not sourced locally: “We classify products like beef and Milk from Scotland as a “regional” line and not included in our “Local” line sales.”

Connolly states she enjoys seeing businesses expand with the help of Tesco: “It is also very rewarding to work with suppliers and see their business grow with Tesco. Some local suppliers start by supplying local stores and then gradually the whole of

Scotland and then sometimes roll out nationally.”

Amidst the horse meat scandal that shook the British food industry, Ms Connolly says that is has affected her job, as it shows the importance of traceability. “Customers trust foods produced locally so we are pleased to already have a good range of local products available across our stores.”

When asked if there was anything about local sourcing that people may not know but should, she said it is important that people recognise how much Tesco do for local suppliers: “People often don’t associate Tesco with buying local products and yet we are probably the largest purchaser of local products there is.

“Last year Tesco sold £155M of local products. This would be over £1bn if you included all the local and regional products combined.

“In Scotland we sell £370M of Scottish products of which nearly £70M are local products to Scotland. Across the UK we sell over £2bn of products from Scotland each year. Customers also probably don’t realise that there are so many different products that are available across different parts of the country from MacNabs kippers in Orkney to Butteries in Aberdeenshire, to skirllie in Banff to Morning Rolls in Stranraer the list could go on….”

by Tamsin Tyeson

villages of Dalry, Balmaclellan, New Galloway and Carsphairn in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright and in Scotland.

In this small rural area, many of those fitting this requirement are retired farm workers. As retirement age neared, those who were in tied houses often found themselves with nowhere to go, but as the Trust bought up the houses there was affordable accommodation available.

The houses bought were often those houses that no-one else wanted, but they were perhaps run down and required a lot of work. Miss Young spared no expense in making these houses habitable, and then making them available to those who needed them.

Originally the houses were only in Dalry, but when a few became available just outside the village, Miss Young did not hesitate to add them to her collection of ever growing real estate.

David McKay, a farm hand who has worked across Southern Scotland all his life, has spent the last 15 or so years in Dalry, but had previously lived near Carsphairn, and today takes residence in a house, which is owned by the Pamela Young Trust, just outside the village – a useful location for him, as well as a very high standard rented property.

Pamela Young inherited family money; her father, Sir Arthur Young, used to own the Garroch Estate after earning their money through the tea

industry. As she had no descendants, she used the money to help the community in the later years of her life.

Miss Young passed away in 2008, but the Trust is still active and operating in the Glenkens.

Samantha Kinghorn, an accomplished wheelchair racer aspiring to become a member of Scotland’s 2014 Commonwealth Games squad, has launched a new performance and nutrition guide for athletes and young people.

The guide, produced by QMS, outlines the benefits of eating a balanced, healthy diet. It provides a range of recipes designed to fuel the body and features well-known Scottish sports stars including Lee McConnell, triple Olympian and Commonwealth Games silver medallist and Craig Benson, Olympian and World Junior swimming champion.

Samantha, who recently won the sports category at the Young Scot Awards, was paralysed from the waist down in December 2010 after an accident while clearing snow at the family farm, Middlethird, just outside the Berwickshire town of Gordon.

“I’m a great believer in the role nutrition plays in training and recovery,” said Samantha. “A healthy, balanced diet is essential for me to maintain my energy levels throughout the day so I can exercise and study.

“I have my sights set on competing at the Commonwealth Games and at the Paralympics in Rio,” added Samantha. “To do that, I know I need to train hard, focus and eat well.”

The guide includes twelve quick and easy recipes including Scotch Beef, Scotch Lamb and Specially Selected Pork. The nutritional analysis of each recipe is also included showing how the dishes provide the essential protein, carbohydrate, fat and minerals, which make up a

healthy, balanced diet.

Jennifer Robertson, Quality Meat Scotland’s Health and Education Coordinator, said: “Performance + is aimed primarily at young people, who would like to lead a healthier lifestyle and who may have a sporting hero as their inspiration.

“Performance is not just about sporting achievement – mental or psychological well–being is just as important as physical fitness. Motivation, determination, enthusiasm and focus can all apply to everyday life and for many teenagers, about to embark upon a new life as a student, without mum as a resident cook, this book will also be invaluable.”

Irene Riach, senior performance nutritionist at the SportScotland Institute of Sport, said: “We work with sports and athletes to ensure their diet provides all the nutrients they need to maximise training, reduce risk of illness, recover well and, ultimately, be in peak condition when it’s time to compete.

“While we tailor nutritional advice to our athletes to meet the needs of their sport, having the right fuel in the tank is essential for everyone –whether you are a young person at school or aiming for gold in Glasgow 2014. A well-balanced diet is central to a healthy, active lifestyle, and this guide aims to show how easy it is to achieve.”

Performance+ is available on request from Quality Meat Scotland by emailing info@qmscotland.co.uk and can also be downloaded at http://www.qmscotland.co.uk.

Wheelchair Racing Ace

Plum Pickings

There were 45 entries at the Scottish National Show held in Perth, from all over Scotland, for this year’s Judge Miss Melissa Timmis, Shraden Herefords.

Following her judging, Miss Timmis praised the exhibitors for the “quality and presentation of the cattle put in front of her.”

Following on from her success at the Great Yorkshire Show, Romany 1 Plum A84 E37 took top spot for breeders JRB Wilson & Sons, Kelso. Their 5-year old cow by the current Sire of the Year, Baybridge 1 Atlas, was first awarded the Female Championship and then went on to take the Supreme Title.

Taking the Reserve Supreme award was 16 month old bull, Baldinnie 1 Victory, from JA Cameron & Son, Fife. “Victory” a Baldinnie 1 Orient son, had earlier taken the Junior Male and Grand Male Championships. Later in the day “Victory” was also judged Reserve Native Inter-breed Junior Champion.

The Baldinnie Herd had further

successes in the Female Classes with another sired by “Orient”, this time with Baldinnie 1 Dom Lass 15th, who took the Junior Female and Reserve Grand Female Championships. The Reserve Senior Female was Baldinnie 1 Katie ET, a Leos Pride 1 Vanquish daughter.

Senior Male and Reserve Grand Male honours went to JM Cant and Partners, Arbroath, with Panmure 1 Jimbo, a Romany 1 Distiller Son.

The Reserve Senior Male went to JA Cameron & Son, for their six year stock bull, Dorepoll 1 499 Einsteine.

The Reserve Junior Male and Reserve Junior Female titles went to JRB Wilson & Sons, Kelso with Romany 1 Kaiser D1 K30 and Romany 1 Julia D1 K25, both sired by their Danish bred bull SMH Castro.

In a keenly contested Young Handlers Competition, put through their paces by Miss Timmis, the Senior Title was won by Miss Sophie Harvey with the Junior Award going to Miss Shona Andrew.