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)

In this podcast we hear from Sascha Grierson, SAC Consultant and Economist, and Colin Mason, SAC Veterinary Investigation Officer. They talk to Robert Ramsay about improving productivity and efficiency in beef herds and also talk about grant support to aid this improvement.

Related FAS Resources

Cattle resources for farmers from Farm Advisory Service | FAS

Agribusiness News February 2024 - Inputs: Calf Management | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)

Beef Technical Toolkit | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)

In this podcast we hear from Sean Cursiter who has featured on BBC’s ‘This Farming Life’ program. Sean Cursiter farms at Laga Farm, Orkney with his dad and his uncle. Due to his dad and uncle still being relatively young and fit to farm Laga, Sean decided to buy a farm for himself and his family’s future; Arwick Farm, Orkney. Sean tells us about his story and strong work-ethic which led to him being able to buy a farm. Although Sean still helps out at Laga, he now has his own farm business at Arwick and has aspirations to improve the farm and breed sustainable low-input livestock. He also speaks about the wintering systems they employ at Laga (sheep slats) and at Arwick (feeding silage in the hill) to help the sheep get through the long Orkney winters.

Linked resources:

The Sheep Game slatted shed videos:

These SHEEP got a NEW SHED (youtube.com)

£70,000 UPGRADE to this SHEEP SHED - YouTube

In this podcast we hear from Rhona McAlister who is Precision Animal Health Commercial Manager (genomics specialist) with Zoetis. Rhona speaks about the role of genomics and how it can accelerate genetic progress. Breeding decisions can be made with more confidence and data driven.

In this podcast we hear from David Whiteford who has drastically changed his farming system over the past few years. He used to have a traditional system of sheep grazing on the hill and cattle housed over the winter period. Nowadays, he has crossbred sheep on the in-bye land and leaves his hill to grow grass over the summer to be utilised by the cows as deferred winter grazing. This reduces wintering costs for the cattle. He has changed his breeds of cattle and sheep along the way to suit this system. He also speaks about his experience of growing crops for cattle to graze in the winter, with this year’s crop of choice being fodder beet.

Related Resources

Thrill of the Hill - Virtually Stockproof | Information helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)

FAS meeting at Maxwelston on 13th December: Collars, Crops & Costs | Events helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)

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

In this podcast we hear from Lorna MacPherson, SAC Dairy Consultant, and Jimmy Goldie, Technical Manager at Carrs Billington. They speak about the dairy market outlook for the winter season including milk price and input costs. They discuss the importance of nutrition rationing dairy cows and trying to get the best value diet without compromising on performance. They also speak about sustainability of the dairy industry and the role of carbon auditing. The future of the dairy industry is discussed including the challenges ahead and the opportunities.

Hosted by Robert Ramsay, edited by Malcolm MacDonald, Produced by Kirstyn Blackwood, Executive Producer Kerry Hammond. In association with The Scottish Government.

In this podcast we hear from Hugh Grierson who runs an organic farm and butchery business, direct selling his meat to customers. Hugh tells us about how his organic business has developed over the years.

Linked FAS resources:

Hugh Grierson Organic | High quality organic meats delivered to your door

Organics Discussion Group from the Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)