In this podcast we hear from David Kerr, ScotEID’s Technical Manager. He speaks about cattle EID tags and their importance in the future for traceability for food safety and disease control. David tells us about the technology and the differences between Ultra High Frequency (UHF) tags which will be used for cattle tags, and Low Frequency (LF) tags which are used in sheep tags. David explains the minimal affect this will have on beef farmers once compulsory EID tagging of cattle comes into effect – the minimum is to tag the calf with a pink EID tag. The use of EID readers and performance recording etc is all optional and up to the farmer if they wish to use them to its full benefit as a management tool.

Related Resources

Consultation on cattle identification and traceability in Scotland - Page 1 of 10 - Scottish Government consultations - Citizen Space

ScotEid - 2024 - Board 7 - v1

In this podcast we hear from James Biggar who has drastically changed his farming system in recent years. His main aim is to reduce the cost of production with his beef herd which includes the use of forage crops and deferred grazing with bales to outwinter cows. 120 of his cows are kept outside 365 days a year. James talks about the importance of options and having a Plan B in case of a crop failure in his system, this is why he spreads the risk by growing different types of forage crops and has the bale grazing (deferred grazing with bale silage) which breaks up the winter into 3 parts. Lorna speaks about soil health and how important it is setting up for growing a forage crop including the factors you need to think about beforehand. James talks about how he has learnt a lot from going to events and approaching farmers with a similar system.

Related Resources

Chapelton Farm - Pedigree Beef Sires

Event on 14th June 2024: Forage First Systems at Corbieton Farm | Events helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)

In this podcast we hear from SRUC Veterinary Investigation Officers Megan Fergusson and Tim Geraghty. They talk about the importance of good husbandry and top tips to save time and to prevent disease spreading at lambing and calving time. They also talk about health planning and how recording lamb and calf losses can help when reviewing these losses and how to improve survival rates in the future.

Linked FAS resources:

Lambing | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)

Calving Heifers Vlog Series | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)

Losses at Calving – should I investigate? | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)

Maximising Calf Survival | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)