Farming

How’s your Silage? Getting the best out of what you’ve got

A practical day looking at the importance of silage analysis: understanding dry matter, intake, nutritional needs and building a diet. How to make best use of home-grown forage and save on inputs. Speakers include Robert Gilchrist, Farm Profit Programme Advisor and livestock consultant, as well as a speaker from a local farm for each event.

Field Lab: Plant Teams

Soil Association Scotland is teaming up with the James Hutton Institute on a field lab, part of a Europe-wide project, to trial crop mixtures or ‘plant teams’. We want to test the potential that inter-cropping peas and beans, for example, has to improve Scottish soils, yield stability and resilience as well as to suppress pests and diseases. 

Come hear from experts Ali Karley (The James Hutton Institute) and Robin Walker (SRUC) to find out which crops might work best together on your farm.

Making Woodland Work for You

A practical walk and talk afternoon exploring the benefits of woodland creation and management, as well as funding opportunities.

Includes discussion on what to plant, where and why; managing existing woodland and accessing available support. 

Come along to hear and discuss what trees can do for you. 

Speakers from Forestry Commission Scotland, Woodland Trust Scotland and the Association of Scottish Hardwood Sawmillers, with Dee Ward of Rottal Estate.

Field Lab: Grass Seed Mixes

Come and join the Soil Associations third meeting at Mouldyhills, where they’ll be looking at how the five trial plots (which were seeded last summer) have fared this year in challenging conditions. The field lab will be joined again by grass and soil expert James Bretherton from AgScope.

Beef Efficiency Scheme: Autumn Events

​Autumn events to help farmers and crofters optimise winter nutrition and grazing availability​

In response to concerns that this year’s weather conditions will result in Scottish farmers and crofters facing feed and fodder shortages this winter, Scottish Government has opened this autumn’s Beef Efficiency Scheme events for all farmers and crofters to attend.

These events will provide advice and guidance on how to provide plentiful food over winter, maintain the wellbeing of livestock and optimise beef enterprise performance.

River Margins Enhancement
Name of organisation/business: 
Mains of Auchriachan Farm
Funding: 
Agri-Environment Climate Scheme

Efficient grassland management is one of the most important factors determining the profitability of beef and sheep farms across the UK. In a recent study conducted by the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI), it was shown that improving pasture usage by one tonne per hectare is worth an additional £204 profit per hectare per year to a beef farm.

Scotland’s farm safety record is of a considerably lower standard in comparison with the rest of the UK. To bring Scotland up to par, the Farm Safety Partnership Scotland (FSPS) has launched a new initiative in an effort to encourage farmers and crofters to prioritise their safety.

Futureproof your Farm

Come and find out what’s out there to help you make the most of your farm business, at a time when the future seems uncertain.

Hear from farmers and others involved in:

The Rural Innovation Support Service (RISS)

RISS provides you with a facilitator to get your practical, sustainable business idea off the ground

LEADER

The LEADER programme funds local projects including farm diversification.

Discuss your ideas with other farmers and RISS facilitators over lunch.

More than three-quarters (76%) of farmers feel fairly or very optimistic about their business prospects in the next six months – despite the obvious challenges caused by a lack of summer rain.

That’s according to the Farming Sentiment Index, conducted in July by Farmers Weekly.

In the longer term, optimism is tempered by uncertainty no doubt linked to the general expectation that input costs are expected by most to increase over the next 12 months (89%), with fewer farmers (51%) anticipating any improvement in the price they are paid for their outputs.

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