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farmingscotland.comIssue seventy-four • January 2011
74 MAG 11/2/11 10:10 am Page 1
Skye’s the Limit
Secluded coastal farm locationStunning views
Book your holiday cottage accommodation now
www.skye-shepherdscottage.com
016444 60644
Please mentionfarmingscotland.com
when replying to adverts
74 MAG 11/2/11 10:10 am Page 2
CONTENTS
Eilidh MacPherson
3
farmingscotland
EDITOR: Eilidh MacPherson Marbrack Farm, Carsphairn,Castle Douglas, DG7 3TE
Tel: 016444 60644Mobile: [email protected]
PUBLISHER - Eilidh MacPherson
ADVERTISING –Eilidh MacPherson – 016444 60644Fiona McArthur – 01583 421397Alison Martin – 01292 443097
Cover - Nutritionist Ian Houston of TarffValley see article page 17..Text and photography by Eilidh MacPhersonunless otherwise stated
Page 12 - Andrew Arbuckle
Page 20 - Hugh Stringleman
Page 21- Julie Wilson
Page 22 - LANTRA
farmingscotlandIssue seventy-four • January 2011
farmingscotland.comIssue seventy-four • January 2011
20 World Marketswith NZ correspondent
Hugh Stringleman
1011
Get Swept off Yer
Wellies
22 Rural Round-up
1415
New Products
21 Sheep Shearing
49
Beef
1213
News
1618
EducationLife After SAC
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As the North East AreaRepresentative of the NFUSLivestock Committee,
Banffshire beef farmer – MichaelDurno – has devoted a fair bit of timeto the Pack Report. “It looks likereally bad news for this part of theworld,” he exclaimed.
“When it comes down to workingout the formula for farms like this,with quite a lot of cows, the subsidyis 44% down. Our neighboursworked out 50% down. Orkney, withits intensive cattle operations is worseoff still with a 60 to 70% reduction.
“If those proposals were to come
Livestock Convenor for the NFU – in the North East ofScotland – Michael Durno feels that the Pack report will decimate the beef industry in the NE and across Scotland.
in, in 2013, it would decimate thebeef industry in Scotland and have aknock on effect on the marts, feedmerchants and other subsidiarybusinesses,” stated a concernedMichael.
As a member of the LivestockCommittee Michael is looking at proposals for different systems and istrying to come up with somethingthat works better within the NorthEast.
He feels that being part of theNFUS keeps him abreast of policiesaffecting his business. He attendsfour or five meetings a year in
Edinburgh and the rest are atThainstone. When quizzed howmuch of his time it takes up heresponded ‘not much,’ but his wifeMorag didn’t agree!
Michael has been involved withthe NFU for the past 20 years, havingchaired the Banffshire branch. Hismother Jo Durno, who used to writea column for the Press & Journal, presently chairs the CroftingCommittee of the NFU.
He reckons that by the end of thiswinter cow numbers will certainly bedown in the NE, as with the increasein fuel, straw and feed costs, calvesare back £100/head.
“There are no passengers this winter – anything not in calf is sold orculled.”
“I think we need a signal from thesupermarkets that they will putmoney into beef pretty sharp. Aprice lift will keep the finishersencouraged. Without the finishers wehave no chance.
“Hopefully the price of barley willencourage farmers to grow more andhelp the price of straw this year.”
Beef production is the mainstay onthe 2863 acres of Auchorachan,which translates into – Fields ofGold – from the Gaelic language.
Three small pedigree herds are runalongside the main suckler cow herd.The pedigree cattle are slowly increasing in numbers, with pureSimmental cows now numberingtwenty-four, six Limousins and threeCharolais. The other cows are madeup of pedigree Simmental crossFriesian with a few Charolais, BritishBlues and Aberdeen Angus.
Michael, who performs DIY AI,admits that for a lot of years he didn’thave a Simmental bull on farm. For anumber of years he acted as an agentfor an Irish AI company sellingsemen, but now he is only offeringfrom three bulls in his own right
Glenlivet Single Malt, a homebredCharolais bull, is probably the mostwell known of these, as he has sold alot of his semen. His Charolais stockbull – Castelmarw Daniel – a Welshsire purchased for 10 000gns and theSimmental stock bull, Clonagh TigerGalliant, who was bought in Eire as acalf are the other two.
“They are all selling very well astwo local independent techniciansstarted up since Genus left the areaand are selling a lot of it.”
The other Simmental stock bull onthis Banffshire holding is SaltireTalent. “The breeding of this bullattracted me. I was looking for aBrighton Brilliant son. He has left alot of good females, which are cominginto the herd now. He has also bredAuchorachan Wizard, the Junior andOverall Champion at Perth lastFebruary, who sold for 20000gns. Healso fathered the calf AC/DC, whowas unbeaten in his class this summer. He was Breed Champion atGrantown Show and Reserve at Keithand Champion at the Stars of theFuture Competition in Forfar inNovember.
Calving at Auchorachan is still
Beef from Banff
BEEFfarmingscotland.comIssue seventy-four • January 2011
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FARM DETAILS
Farmers: Michael Durno in partnershipwith his father
Farming: Auchorachan
Location: Glenlivet, Banff
Area: 2863 acresTenant on Glenlivet Estateowned by the Crown Estate
Stock: 160 cows550 Blackface ewes
Crops: 30 acres barley & wholecrop12 acres turnips/kale/rape for sheep
Labour: Michael, his father Leslieand his son Craig (17)
Height: 850’ at steading, 1160’on farm, 2700 on hill.
Positions: NFU Livestock Conveynorfor North EastVice Chair Hi-Health
predominately in the backend, with acamera in the shed. The calves aresold store the following September atThainstone. One would image thatcosts could be reduced considerablyby converting to Spring calving, butMichael reckons that, “There is agood market in the backend as lowland farmers fill their sheds inSeptember and feed grain from theirown harvests.”
“We have to assist at one or twocalvings but there are no serious problems,” said Michael, who has theCharolais and Simmentals recordedwith Breedplan.
“Breedplan say 85% of good calving is down to cow management
and environment and the other 15%is genetics. The bull is thereforeonly 7.5%, so the bull calving figureis not that important in the whole picture.”
Michael is getting rather fed upwith people preaching figures. “Alot are now looking at the figuresbut don’t understand – they want allthe graph to be on the right side. Ithink that it can be quite a marketdistorting thing.”
He feels if you keep breedingfrom easy calving bulls with goodgrowth weights, that you will bebreeding daughters that are narrower and narrower. “Peoplethat do understand realise that theycannot use an easy calving bull allthe time, if they do they will breedfemales that have pelvises that cannot calve a reasonable sized calf.
“Look at the October sales inStirling, a couple of bulls in the top1% were rejected as they were notup to weight.”
The cows come in mid Octoberand the earliest that they go out is20th May. “I like to sell between460-500kgs, that’s what the marketseems to want,” said Michael, whohas five or six repeat buyers fromAberdeenshire.
Auchorachan is one of the manylivestock farms on the 57000 acreGlenlivet Estate, which is owned bythe Crown Estate. It is by far thelargest Scottish Estate owned by theCrown: Applegirth at Lockerbie(17300 acres), Fochabers (11900acres), Whitehill, Midlothian (3500)and Stirling (450).
Five hundred and fifty Northtype Blackface ewes are also run onthe slopes of Auchorachan. “I like abit of size in the carcass,” commented Michael, who hangs thelambs up direct at Woodhead
Brothers as he believes that Blackfacelambs don’t lend themselves to livesales and are penalised through thering.
“They come to the same price as across lamb when you hang them up.”Just prior to my visit the Durnos hada batch away weighing in at 21kgs,paying £4/kg. At that juncture theystill had 150 in the fields feeding offthe last of the turnips and finishingpellets adlib from Portequip hoppers.
Michael now buys his ‘Perthy’ type
stock tups out of Stirling, often fromhis neighbour, Stephen Duncan,Auchdreggnie. “Our heather hill isbeyond Auchdreggnie – three farmsaway. It was added to the farm whenmy grandfather took over as the original hill was taken for forestry.”
Texel tups cover 150 of theBlackfaces and these ewes are kept athome on grass for the summer. Alllambing is done outside, with Leslie;Michael’s father the main man.
The severe winter weather from
last year left its mark on Auchorachan.“It snowed on the 18th December andlay till the end of March. We pulledup and reseeded forty acres of grassthat was almost completely killed off.Some clover survived, but there was alot of chickweed.”
The Crown Estate was hit quitebadly being uninsured for many thesheds which came down under theweight of snow last winter. But theDurno’s had all the new buildings thatthey have erected covered.
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For the past decade AlastairMcIntyre has been selling anddelivering poultry all over
Scotland. “We specialise in smallernumbers, small holders, small farmsand in the past couple of years havedelivered more and more into townsand cities.”
Alastair, who had spotted a gap inthe poultry market in Scotlandobtained an HNC in PoultryManagement from Auchincruive.
“The course has been very usefulfor disease, biosecurity and costings.The course has since become quitepopular, probably due to the increasein people wanting to rear their ownfoul. Most of my comtemporarieswere from Pakistan.”
The layers are independently contract reared in England for theMcIntyres – between 15000 - 20000a year, including around 100 a monthbred as meat chicks for the table.
The McIntyres offer a full servicefor anyone setting out rearing poultryon a small scale. They can providethe foul, housing and even feeding,teamed with plenty good free advice.
The past two years they have seenmore competition, with DobbiesGarden Centres now offering chickens and B&Q covering the housing side.
Advertising in the Oban Times,Scot Ads, Ag Trader, Yell.com,
Hotfrog, the Small Holder, word ofmouth and a new website is how theyreach their customers. “We plan tohave a facebook page and use Googleads in the future. A shop online isalso in the pipeline.”
Alastair has been keen on poultrysince he was a youngster and did a bitof showing with New HampshireReds, Light Sussex and Buff PlymouthRocks. He says that the Rhode Rock– a cross between a Rhode Island Redcock and a Bare Plymouth Rockfemale is their best seller.
“In the first cross sex link, whenthe chicks are hatched, there is autosexing as the females are all black and
6
BEEFfarmingscotland.comIssue seventy-four • January 2011
FARM DETAILS
Farmers: AA McIntyreTrading as Cedar CottageCountry Foods
Farming: KnockshoggleLease 100 acresown 5 acres
Location: Stair, Ayrshire
Stock: sell 15-20000 birds/year
Other: Sell at 15 farmers marketsa month
“And on that Farm thereare some...Pigs, Hens &Highlanders...”
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the males have a white dot.”Their largest customers are
farmers, who take 500 Isa Browns orRhodes at a time – “they usually havea son or daughter who has an interestand wants to make some pin money.At the other end of the scale, wedelivered 12 hens to a tenament inEdinburgh, where the occupants had ashared garden.
Every September a trip deliveringpoultry to Orkney is organised.Consignments to Shetland and theWestern Isles are sent by carrier fromInverness. In busy periods a couple ofseasonal drivers are taken on.
The McIntyres are agents for LittleAcre housing in Scotland. They triedout a few henhouses but reckonedthat this brand was the best. Feeders,drinkers and electric fencing are alsoall readily available from this emporium. They are also agents forHollyberry turkeys
Alastair and Morag married in2002 and initially attended someFarmers Markets in 2004 selling pork– offspring from Trinny and Suzannah.The couple have now added foul andbeef to their stand at the 15 farmersmarkets that they attend monthly.
Alastair’s father Archie spent a lifetime in agriculture – as a stockman
caring for Highlanders for the Earl ofMansfield at Strath Allan Castle,Tarland, Aberdeenshire and LadyMcRoberts of Douneside, also inAberdeenshire. He was also with JimBiggar, Chapelton, Haugh of Urr.
“The cattle have blossomed on theback of the success of the poultry,”explained Alastair.
The initial heifer calves came fromKilochries and Knockard in SouthUist. Angus Dubh of Inver Castlie’ssemen was administered with greatresults. Rose of Knockard producedAlexander Dubh of Stair, who wasreserve champion at Oban and sold to1800gns.
The family took out the Junior bulltitle at the 2007 Royal HighlandShow with a homebred Jock of Stair.They took home more silverware in2008 from the Highland and lastOctober they scored the champion 2yo heifer and reserve for a pair ofheifers. They were bought as year-lings and sold off as 2 year olds for1300gns and 650gns.
The Highlanders now tally 71 andin busy periods cattle have to besourced elsewhere to meet demand.November sees peak production with18 Highlanders being hung up readyfor the Christmas rush.
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Atop price of 5,100 guineas andan average of 2,500 guineas forthe 14 bulls sold tells the story
of the best ever Premier Sale for theNI Hereford Breeders Association.
John and Melanie Williams travelled all the way from Cornwall tomake the headlines, setting a newrecord price with their purchase ofLisrace Loyalist from David Wilsonand family from Co Fermanagh.
Sired by Lisrace Lionheart thisApril 09 born bull has impressiveEBV's for growth and carcase traits,qualifying as a Superior Carcase Sirehe will make the long journey to jointhe Anhay herd near Helston in theSouth West of England.
A packed saleyard saw pedigreebreeders compete with commercialproducers for the sires on offer. The
Reserve Champion, Solpoll 1 GrandSlam from John and William McMordie was purchased for 4,200guineas by Des Kelly for his Mullanherd, Andrew McMordie soldSolitude 1 Gold Bar to AdrianPatterson of Cabra Herefords at 3,000guineas while M. Horner fromKilkeel, Co Down purchasedGraceland 1 Fonz from Robin Irvineat 2,900gns for his Ballyardle herd.
The Champion FortviewFrontrunner from David Smyth failedto meet his reserve as did the FemaleChampion from James Graham. Christies 1 Best Spice topped theheifer trade at 2,500 guineas and willcross the Irish sea to join MarkPatterson's herd in Ayrshire whileDessie Martins Reserve ChampionFemale sold for 2,000 guineas.
At the British Cattle BreedersClub Conference recently,Holstein UK President
presented Craig Brough fromCumbria with the annual HolsteinYoung Breeders President's Medal.
The award is the highest accoladefor HYB members and is presentedannually to a member who has madean outstanding contribution to thebreed, the movement and their ownclub.
Craig is a member of the Borderand Lakeland Club and currentlyworks for H&H Bowe Land Agency,part of the H & H Group plc, after
graduating from Harper AdamsUniversity College in 2008. NowCAAV and RICS qualified, he is currently County Chairman ofCumbria YFC. Craig has enjoyedmany successes with HYB, includingthe Littlestar Award in 2001 for anoutstanding contribution for an HYBmember under the age of 18.
The two other finalists for thePresident's Medal were Neil Robertsof the Townhouse Holstein herd inCheshire and Neil Eastham fromLancashire, who is a vet currentlyworking in North Yorkshire.
Commenting on the three finalists,
Bernard Liddle said, “It was no easytask to separate these three outstanding Holstein Young Breedersand they are a credit to themselves,their families and their clubs.”
“They were selected on the basis ofan essay and an interview and all threedemonstrated that they are committed to the idea of a very positive future for British dairy farming in general and the Holsteinbreed in particular”, concluded Mr.Liddle.
The two other judges of the competition were John Torrance,Holstein UK and David Dunlop, HYB.
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Cogent Breeding Ltd hasstrengthened their beef portfolio with the top
Hereford sire Romany 1 Frisky.The show-winning bull is in the top
2% of the breed for retail beef yieldand in the top 5% for performancefigures and milk.
With a breed leading pedigree, heis sired by Baybridge 1 Atlas, theHereford 2010 ‘Sire of the Year.’ In addition, his high performancedam, Romany 1 Dawn, was ‘FemaleChampion’ at the Royal HighlandShow 2004 and the UK’s ‘Top PollFemale’ in 2005.
Frisky transmits the characteristicsrequired for profitable breeding;tremendous muscling combined withoutstanding performance figures, easyfleshing, good locomotion and quiettemperaments.
With an extensive pedigree andexceptional performance figures,Cogent’s Beef Specialist Boomer Birchexplains that he is a unique bull that
will suit all markets. “Friskyhas great strength and cleannessthrough the shoulder, whichsupports his powerful loin thatis full of width and stretch. Hisoverall conformation is outstanding and he is squareover the plates with a superiorsecond thigh,” says Boomer.
Frisky’s breeder, Rob Wilson,says that the high performancebull was, “greatly admired onthe show circuit and his winning highlight was JuniorMale Champion at the 2010Royal Highland Show.”
To make elite genetics available to pedigree and commercial breeders, Frisky iscommercially priced at £7 RRPand sexed semen will be available in the spring.
For more information youcan contact your local CogentBreeding Advisor or callFREEPHONE 0800 783 7258.
Frisky to the Fore
New research from Tridentdemonstrates that replacingcombinations of traditional
protein sources and cereals with3kg/cow/day of bio-ethanol wheatdistillers’ feed could save up to9p/cow/day at current feed prices,whilst maintaining both milk outputand quality.
“The trials were carried out on twocommercial dairy farms, and used bio-ethanol wheat distillers’ feed todirectly replace a combination ofwheat, rapemeal and soyabean meal,or barley, heat-treated rapemeal and ahigh protein liquid,” explains Trident
technical manager Dr MichaelMarsden.
“The change improved thevalue of the rations by4p/cow/day and 9p/cow/dayrespectively, equivalent to£180?405/ month for a typical150 cow herd. And contraryto popular thinking, the loweroverall starch levels in the trialdiets didn’t cause any reduction in milk yield orquality, a fact supported bypublished academic research,”he adds.
Trials show better value dairyrations with bio-ethanol wheat
distillers’ feed
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Max
Age - 53Location - East LothianCareer - Whisky/CreativeInterests - sailing, cycling,swimming & photography1 child
Welcome to our newcountry dating section– ‘Get Swept off YerWellies.’Each month we willhighlight several menand women looking for their perfect partner.
If you would like to get in touch with any of ourfirst four romantic hopefuls please post a cheque for£6 to ‘Get Swept Off Yer Wellies,’ Marbrack Farm,Carsphairn, Castle Douglas, DG7 3TE.
You can either include a photograph and yourdetails, with an intorductoury paragraph along withthe cheque or you can e-mail your photo and detailsand post the cheque.Your details will then be passed on to the person inquestion
Anyone wanting to put themselves forward forfuture issues can [email protected] with a photograph,their age, location and a wee blurb.
74 MAG 11/2/11 10:11 am Page 10
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Alison
Neil
Dawn
Age - 28Location - DumfriesshireCareer - FarmerInterests - dedicatedfarmer, beef cattle
Age - 44Location - AyrshireCareer - Ag related salesInterests - walking, swimming, socialising &fundraising for Save theChildren
Age - 33Location - AyrshireCareer - Vet nurse/ adminInterests - Pets, collies,cats & poultry, 2 kids, girlsunder 11’s football coach,shooting clays. Outgoing,social, gsoh.
r
s
74 MAG 11/2/11 10:11 am Page 11
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World food prices surged to anew historic peak in January,for the seventh consecutive
month, according to the updated FAOFood Price Index, a commodity basketthat regularly tracks monthly changesin global food prices.
The Index averaged 231 points inJanuary and was up 3.4 percent fromDecember 2010. This is the highestlevel (both in real and nominal terms)since FAO started measuring foodprices in 1990. Prices of all monitoredcommodity groups registered stronggains in January, except for meat,which remained unchanged.
High prices"The new figures clearly show that
the upward pressure on world foodprices is not abating," said FAO economist and grains expert
Abdolreza Abbassian. "These highprices are likely to persist in themonths to come. High food pricesare of major concern especially forlow-income food deficit countries thatmay face problems in financing foodimports and for poor households,which spend a large share of theirincome on food. The only encouragingfactor so far stems from a number ofcountries, where – due to good harvests – domestic prices of some ofthe food staples remain low comparedto world prices."
FAO emphasized that the FoodPrice Index has been revised, largelyreflecting adjustments to its meatprice index. The revision, which isretroactive, has produced new figuresfor all the indices but the overalltrends measured since 1990 remainunchanged.
The FAO Cereal Price Index averaged 245 points in January, up 3percent from December and the highest since July 2008, but still 11percent below its peak in April 2008.The increase in January mostlyreflected continuing increases in international prices of wheat andmaize, amid tightening supplies, whilerice prices fell slightly, as the timingcoincides with the harvesting of maincrops in major exporting countries.
The Oils/Fats Price Index rose by5.6 percent to 278 points, nearing theJune 2008 record level, reflecting anincreasingly tight supply and demandbalance across the oilseeds complex.
The Dairy Price Index averaged221 points in January, up 6.2 percentfrom December, but still 17 percent
below its peak in November 2007. A firm global demand for dairy products, against the backdrop of anormal seasonal decline of productionin the southern hemisphere, continued to underpin dairy prices.
The Sugar Price Index averaged420 points in January, up 5.4 percentfrom December. International sugarprices remain high, driven by tightglobal supplies.
By contrast, the FAO Meat PriceIndex was steady at around 166points, as declining meat prices inEurope, caused by a fall in consumerconfidence following a feed contamination scandal, was compensated for by a slight increasein export prices from Brazil and theUnited States.
NEWSfarmingscotlandIssue seventy-four • January 2011
World FoodPrices ReachNew Historic
Peak
74 MAG 11/2/11 10:11 am Page 12
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NEW PRODUCTSfarmingscotland.comIssue seventy-four • January 2011
74 MAG 11/2/11 10:11 am Page 14
ALamb Reviver Box to save lamblives and farmers' time formany years to come has been
developed by farm based SolwayRecycling of Dumfries.
Lambs suffering from Hypothermiaare provided with a constant flow ofwarm air to heat them up in the safety of this draught free LambReviver Box. Easily kept clean toavoid a build up of disease the SolwayLamb Reviver Box is manufacturedfrom 100% recycled agricultural wasteplastic. The durability of this plasticalso means a Lamb Reviver Boxshould go on saving your valuablelambs for a lifetime.
Designed to give weak lambs thebest possible chance of recovery thenew Solway Lamb Reviver Box can besupplied flat packed or erected ready
to use complete with a convec-tor heater. It has four compart-ments, but is easily adjusted intotwo or three warm spaces to suitthe size of lambs.
Why make do and mend,wasting your time and losinglambs when the Solway LambReviver Box is available at a special, introductory offer of£199 plus VAT, including a freeheater and free delivery.
Dimensions – 900mm long x500mm wide x 650 mm deep,excluding heater protectioncompartment. Weight – 29.5kilos. For further details contactSolway Recycling 01387730666,[email protected] orwww.solwayrecycling.co.uk
Effective supplementation will allow sheep producers to make better use of forage, reduce purchase feed costs and stretch valuable forage stocks, according to Dr Cliff Lister, Technical
Manager for Crystalyx.“When forage stocks are tight it makes sense to maximise the
efficiency with which they are eaten and digested to reduce wastage,”Dr Lister observes. “Good management can significantly improve theintakes of forages.
“Hay and baled silage offer the best options for ewes at grass in midpregnancy as they will be readily eaten. Straw can readily be fedindoors but is unsuitable for ewes at grass as intakes will be very poorand wastage high. Keep hay dry to retain its palatability. Once it israined on intakes can be poor and wastage high.
Independent university research at the University of Newcastle andKansas State University has shown that increasing and modifying therumen bacterial populations and specifically boosting the proportion ofcellulolytic bacteria improves the digestibility of forage. Where forage isin plentiful supply forage intakes will also increase.
“If the digestibility is improved, then more nutrients are releasedfrom every kilogram fed to help maintain body condition of all over-wintered stock but especially ewes in mid pregnancy.
“In the trials feeding low moisture molasses-based blocks, foragedigestibility was increased by as much as 10%. In practice this meansup to 10% less forage can be offered without compromising animal performance allowing tight forage supplies to go further. The intake ofthese blocks can actually be used as a good barometer of ration adequacy since they never replace forage but complement and balance it.”
Dr Lister recommends feeding Extra High Energy Crystalyx in latepregnancy to twin and triplet bearing ewes alongside forage to helpreduce supplementary feed costs. Research at Kansas State Universityrevealed that when forage is freely available, low moisture molasses-based blocks can stimulate intakes by up to 13% allowinggreater reliance on home-grown forages and savings in supplementaryfeed costs.
Trials at Newcastle showed that single bearing ewes can be safely fedExtra High Energy Crystalyx and hay or silage in late pregnancy withoutthe need for any further supplementary feed. Many shepherds reportthat this system reduced the risk of excessively large single lambs andassociated lambing difficulties.
“By planning ahead and devising rations that maximise the digestibility of forages, sheep producers can confidently expect to manage forage supplies to last throughout the crucial lambing period andnot see performance suffer,” Dr Lister concludes.
Maximize Efficiency ofForage Use to Offset
Feed Cost Rise
Lamb Reviver Box Launched
74 MAG 11/2/11 10:11 am Page 15
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EDUCATIONfarmingscotland.comIssue seventy-four • January 2011
Being the 3rd son of a Perthshirearable/potato farmer, cominghome to work on the farm was
always my main aim following completion of the HND at SAC,Edinburgh.
However on leaving college it wasapparent that the opportunity to buyland or get a tenancy was very limited, so I started to look foranother role, leaving my elder brotherto farm on his own. Subsequently hehas expanded the acreage farmed significantly through ContractFarming arrangements – oh howthings may have been different if contract agreements were as commonat that time.
I have never been far away fromagriculture in my business or personallife. Like many businesses, it is thepeople that define your interest and
this industry is very stimulating with afull range of people who areoptimistic, pessimistic and those withtheir feet firmly on the ground.
I have worked for the bank forover 20 years in various retail, commercial and mainly agriculturalroles. Banking has been a real challenge in recent years, but therewould be no better place than to bedealing with the farming industry whohave been incredibly loyal and supportive. The industry has such arange of enterprises and enterprisingpeople, with skills you know would bethe envy of many other sectors, hadthey not been "born a farmer".
Agriculture and the rural economyplays a major part in Scottish businessand social life and it is good to be soclosely involved and supportive of thesector.
Sandy Hay –Head ofAgriculture Bank of Scotlandand Lloyds TSBScotlandLife After SAC
The Scottish Agricultural Collegeoffers a range of courses. Manystudents return to the family farmonce they have graduated, butfor those not fortunate enough tobe in that position, there aremany varied career paths forthem to follow. We have caughtup with four ex-SAC studentswho have excelled in their field.
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Ian HoustonNutritionist, Tarff Valley and Beef and Sheep Farmer
AngusDavidson –owner AngusDavidson RuralConsultancy
Kai Thompson –SustainableEnvironmentalManager forDOF Subsea
Angus Davidson started life in acrofting community in WesterRoss. Although his grandfather's
croft was no longer in the family, heknew he wanted to work outside, andwas interested in stock. “But thatbackfired a bit,” he says laughing,“because I still have to do officework!” However his office work is ina field that interests him, and thatmakes all the difference.
After graduating with an HND inAgriculture, Angus got hands on experience working at various farms inScotland, then more during a fourmonth stint in New Zealand. Whilethere, a job he'd applied for with thethen Department of Agriculture camethrough, and Angus found himselfheading for a job on Shetland.
The small office exposed Angus toa broad range of activities to do withcrofting regulatory work, grant applications, subsidies and inspectionon cattle and sheep. He stayed forfive years, and his experience formeda firm foundation for the rest of hiscareer.
He then moved to an office covering all of the Highlands based inInverness, where his crofting
experience stood him in good stead,and he gained more arable, particularly potato experience.Several more years and a promotionlater, he decided to go it alone, andopened the doors of his own consulting business.
“I felt a bit like a glorified policeman working for theDepartment,” he says.
As someone who enjoys workingwith people and who enjoys the countryside, Angus now finds that hecan use his regulatory knowledge andexperience to be more creative. Hisconsultancy helps others to expandtheir businesses while working withinthe current regulations, rather thansimply imposing them.
In fact, keeping up with the work,the constant changes due to CAP, willprobably generate work for him foryears to come. “If you can handle adiverse range of work, your prospectsare good,” he says.
Angus's younger brother James hasnow joined him on a part time basis,to provide bookkeeping services, andanother two part time employees provide agri-environmental and agri-diversification services.
Kai Thomspon grew up on asmall holding near Glamis. Hefelt that a more practical
course would suit him, so he lookedto SAC. With employment foremostin his mind he took a 'gamble' on theenvironmental sector and studiedEcology and Community Developmentat the Aberdeen campus.
There is little doubt that the practical skills he gained at SAC leddirectly to his employment in Sustainable EnvironmentalManagement Systems and Auditingfor oil company, DOF Subsea.
In particular, Kai enthuses about anexercise SAC organised, where students spent a day at QuayleMunroe – an Edinburgh merchantbank. Afterwards they wrote anEnvironmental Audit and reportdetailing how the bank might reducetheir environmental impact andbecome more sustainable.
Kai thoroughly enjoyed this, whichclearly reflected in the work that heput into his report, which won himthe bank's prize for the best audit.
When he graduated with FirstClass Honours, the Press and Journalpublished his degree and audit prize.
His now manager, saw the articleand immediately contacted Kai, whoended up going straight from university to his first day at work Inan economy where many graduatesare experiencing difficulty in findingwork, Kai is most grateful for thepractical skills and expertise he gainedfrom his lecturers at SAC.
With a pedigree of farming onhis mother’s side of the family, Ian Houston from
Castle Douglas opted for a career inagriculture.
Following fifteen months on ForestEstate, Dalry, where he worked as alumberjack, with the gamekeepers andon farm to gain practical experiencehe headed to SAC Auchincruive and afour year degree course in Agriculture.Ian admits that he initially thoughtabout becoming a factor.
An assistant farm manager positionfor Smiths Gore proved an ideal stepping stone for Ian, before he washead hunted by Tarff Valley to fill anew role as company nutritionist.
Ian (28) has been the Nutritionistat the farmer owned co-operative forthe past four years, working in theoffice on the phone and on farm in a60:40 split. He helps farmers
formulate rations for their dairyherds, store beef units and somesheep flocks and deals with any problems.
The SAC Feedbytes computer programme is used for formulation.
Ian feels that had he not been astudent at SAC, he would never havehad the opportunities that he has had.
“I find that I use a lot of what Ilearnt at Auchincruive on a daily basis.You have to have an understanding ofthe broader spectrum: agronomy,reproduction, budgeting etc beforeyou can apply nutrition.”
In spring 2009 Ian took on a 2200acre hill farm – Grobdale of Girthton– near Gatehouse of Fleet. So far hehas built the sheep stock up to 250Blackface breeding ewes. “It hadn’tbeen stocked for five years.”
Ewes were purchased from Gass,Blackcraig, Greenside and The Glen,
while tups came from the first threehomes and Connachan and Dalchirla.
There is a problem with RedWater, a tick borne disease, on theproperty. It doesn’t affect sheep, butbreaks down the red blood cells incattle. As ticks are dormant in thewinter, fifty cows are brought on asadded income. Ian is establishing hisown herd, having bought fiveGalloway heifer calves. He intends tobreed his own replacements, whichshould be immune.
Long term, Ian would like to breedBlackface sheep that can look afterthemselves and produce lambs thatfinish off grass. He also strives to beable to sell some breeding stock in thefuture.
He intends to continue running hisfarming operation while working fulltime as a Nutritionist at one ofScotland’s leading farm co-operatives.
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Two new grass and red cloverseed mixtures are now availablein the Sinclair McGill range of
ley mixtures: Admiral’s Choice, whichwill produce protein-rich silage for atleast three years, and Crimson King, aone-year ley ideal as a nitrogen-fixingbreak crop.
Admiral’s Choice is formulated toproduce high yields of protein-richsilage for at least three seasons. Itcontains the red clover blend RedAdmiral to ensure consistent yieldsthrough the growing season and a latetetraploid perennial ryegrass to boostsugar content.
Crimson King, which is recommended for sowing in late summer/early autumn, will producehigh yields of protein-rich hay orthree to four cuts of big bale silage
the following year, before it isploughed in to release nitrogen to thesoil. The mixture contains Crimsonclover, red clover, a tetraploidWesterwolds ryegrass and Italian ryegrasses.
Limagrain UK’s Ian Misselbrookexplains: “Crimson clover – alsoknown as Italian or French clover – isan annual type of red clover with veryhigh yields. Ideally it should be sownwith a clover inoculant. When grownfor hay, the Crimson clover flowerswill provide a valuable nectar sourcefor insects.”
For more information on theSinclair McGill range, including thetwo new red clover mixtures, contactLimagrain UK on 01472 371471 orvisit www.limagrain.co.uk to downloada catalogue.
Joanna Dick grew up in smallcountry villages in the North East.Her Dad's love of the outdoors
rubbed off on her as she accompaniedhim on shoots with their gun dogs.Joanna looked to SAC for practicaltraining that would giver her opportunities to work outdoors. BothTourism and CountrysideManagement were candidates. In theend Countryside Management wonout for its mix of farming, forestryand shooting.
After graduating from SAC,Joanna's first job was as a SeasonalRanger at St Cyrus National NatureReserve. It's the norm for graduatesto start their careers in this field withthree to four seasonal positions,before they're taken on full time by anemployer. It's also a field which isconsidered 'difficult to get into.'
Joanna says the key to getting workin the conservation field is doing volunteer work before graduation.This builds valuable experience and
shows enthusiasm and commitment.Having done lots of volunteer work inthe conservation realm, which included time at St Cyrus, Joanna wasable to get work as soon as she graduated from SAC last year.
Her first season's experienceincluded guiding school and walkinggroups, and conducting surveys bird,butterfly, and wildflower populations.Practical conservation activitiesincluded bracken beating and wildflower burning. Her farming education also landed Joanna incharge of a herd of 14 HighlandCattle for a project where a grazingarea of rank grassland was taken backto a wildflower meadow.
Seasonal work in conservation typically runs from 1st April to 31stOctober. Joanna found that herenjoyment and interest in shootingprovided the perfect natural complement to her seasonal occupation - paid work on pheasantand partridge shoots.
Mhairi Robb grew up inGirvan, South Ayrshire andis now enjoying her first job
as an assistant agronomist withEurofins Agroscience Services aftergraduating from SAC last year.
She assesses new chemicals fortheir effect on crops such as wheatand barley, oil seed rape, sugar beet,and potatoes in the process for registration.
When Mhairi first considered hercareer options, she was convinced shewanted to be an occupational therapist. However she soon realisedthat wasn't for her and, encouragedby her sister's experience atAuchincruive, she looked at the SACprospectus.
Countryside Management with itsbroad range of subjects immediatelyappealed to her, even though shedoesn't come from a farming background. In particular, she felt
that farming and conservation, wenthand in hand.
One day, Mhairi's class was interrupted by somebody looking fornew students to do work in the labtaking plant samples for field trials.Mhairi volunteered, and has neverlooked back. What was initially a tenweek paid summer job led to employment in the AgronomyDepartment during the holidays yearafter year, giving her a reliable holidayincome and a level of independence.
Mhairi clearly enjoys her work inagronomy and her enthusiasm forSAC is obvious. She was offered herjob with Eurofins the day before shegraduated, and has no doubt that theexperience she gained working in thelab at SAC was pivotal.
“It was very good going to gradua-tion knowing that I already had workto go to,” she says.
Mhairi Robb – Assistant AgronomistEurofins Agroscience
Joanna DickSeasonalRangerSt CyrusNationalNature Reserve
New Clovers
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BackgroundLandowner is approached, say, by a
windfarm developer to sign an optionagreement giving the developer theright to a 50 year lease over land onwhich a large windfarm developmentwill be sited. Developer undertakesall pre-planning works and is successful with the planning application. Lease for 50 years isentered into and attractive rentalterms are offered, based upon a percentage of the income generated atthe site.
Landowner meantime has not hadto outlay any, or very little cash, aspretty much all of the work has beenundertaken by the developer. All theLandowner did was to have a quickmeeting with his solicitor to give itthe once over. The Landowner hasnot thought to ask about tax, Capitalgains (CGT) and Inheritance Tax(IHT), as it was assumed to be business as usual and that all of thenormal reliefs due to farmers wouldbe available. The developer has nointerest in the Landowner's tax position.
Surprisingly, the situation, as outlined, is very common and onlywhen it is too late, does the penny drop.
ValuationIn valuing a Landowner's interest in
the lease over the windfarm site,there are two principal considerations:How long is there to run on the leaseand what is the likely rental stream?With this data it should be possible toplace a value on the Landowner'sinterest. For even modest sites, thenumbers are big and for the large sitesthe numbers could be substantial.
TaxIn this single lease set-up the
Landowner has ceased to be a farmer(over the site), becoming “just a
Renewables and Capital Taxes
landlord” and, as windfarms are notfarming, removed the entitlement toAgricultural Property Relief (APR),for IHT purposes.
But surely such the Landownerwould be eligible for BusinessProperty Relief (BPR) for IHT purposes, as it is a business. It is, butnot the Landowner's business (it is thedeveloper's business) so no BPReither. None of the windfarm site iseligible for APR or BPR. It hasbecome fully chargeable to IHT,because it is no longer theLandowner's business asset. Whatcould the Landlord do? Nothing atthat stage, other than to pray forimmortality or a very long life, in thehope if the Landlord or his or herspouse were to die substantiallythrough the term of the lease, thatthe valuation would be low, in relativeterms, minimising the IHT liability.
Migrating to CGT, the positiondoes not get any better because, onsimilar grounds to IHT, the windfarmsite is no longer used for theLandlord's business and the entitlement to Entrepreneur's Relief(10% CGT rate) is lost. RolloverRelief would also be compromised.
What appeared, therefore, as asimple lease, that produced excellentrental revenue, year on year, hasturned out to be something of a nightmare, in capital taxes terms forthe Landlord.
A different approachThe main issue is the commercial
lease and the fact that the Landlord isno longer in business, relative to thesite. Ideally, a lease on more modestterms, should be put in place, withthe Landlord entering into a businessjoint venture with the developer,where the Landlord's interest (beyondthe lease) is regarded as being part ofa trade, thus safeguarding IHT andCGT reliefs. This could be doneusing an LLP or Scottish LimitedPartnership, such that the real value isnot in the lease but in the ongoingtrade and the profits that result fromthat trading involvement.
ConclusionIt is too easy to be seduced by
money. Draw breath and please thinkabout the long-term tax consequencesof renewables projects. Havingundertaken your own diligence on thecommercial risks of a joint ventureproject, have your solicitor draft sensible agreements to ensure you areprotected from the unreasonablebehaviour of your JV partner, alwaysthinking about tax and reshape thesame deal with a completely differenttax outcome.
Campbell Dallas LLP are one ofthe largest Scottish accounting firms,acting for farmers and landowners,with a dedicated renewables team wespecialise in imaginative and proactive tax planning advice.
by Ian Craig 01738 441888
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farmingscotland.comIssue seventy-four • January 2011
WORLD MARKETS
As the world's biggest strongwool exporter, New Zealand isshort-changing itself by not
participating in the Prince CharlesCampaign for Wool with a unifiedwool industry, according to BritishWool Marketing Board chief executiveIan Hartley.
Speaking at the huge annualSurfaces exhibition flooring exhibitionin Las Vegas, Hartley said NewZealand wool interests were beinghalf-hearted about the campaign.
“For the first time ever we havegot all wool-exporting countriesbehind the one campaign and NewZealand is half-hearted about it.”
Part of the NZ industry is workingin the campaign through the NationalCouncil of Wool Interests, includingthe independent wool exporters andmerchants, but Wool PartnersInternational, the largest broker,declined to be involved.
Wool Partners International (WPI)is joint-owned by a co-operative ofgrowers and the country's largest ruralservicing company, PGG Wrightson.A subsidiary is the old New ZealandWool Board remnant, Wools of NewZealand, which has three off-shoreoffices, including Ilkley in Yorkshire,and hundreds of annual partnershipagreements with spinners, manufacturers and retailers of NZstrong wool products.
These agreements provide a greatdeal of technical support and marketing assistance for carpet andrug manufacture and sale.However the NZ wool industry, partly in response to much betterwool prices because of the sheep and
wool shortages, is now undergoingsubstantial re-organisation.
Some NZ grower leaders areattempting a Wool Partners Co-operative launch to raise $65million (representing $1 shares forabout half the annual NZ strong woolclip of 130,000 tonnes). They believein unifying the industry commerciallyand vertically integrating wool production with in-market brandingand marketing with a strong emphasison fibre sustainability. They wouldpurchase WPI and Wools of NewZealand for about UK£8 million ifthe capital raising is successful.
The commitment period for NZgrowers ends in mid-February and itwas evident in late January, at thetime of Surfaces, that the co-operative was not going to meet itsown target of 65 million shares.
That result potentially leaves ahuge cloud of uncertainty over Woolsof New Zealand and the WPI fieldforce of wool agents because PGGWrightson itself is subject to a partialtakeover offer on the stock exchangeby China's Agria Corporation. Agriais also reported to be interested in a63% stake in Wool ServicesInternational (WSI), which is NewZealand's largest wool scouring andwool exporting company.
That stake has become availablebecause of the financial collapse ofone of NZ's richest men, AllanHubbard, who built a portfolio offarming assets, which are now beingsold by the receivers.
It is conceivable that the Chinesewill emerge shortly as the majorityowners of WPI (the largest wool
broker), WSI (largest scour andexporter) and New Zealand Merino,the fine wool co-operative.
WPI and Wools of New Zealandwere at Surfaces in force, gathering23 of their US brand partners intoone “wool zone” in a high-profile areaof the exhibition halls, which coveredtwo floors of the MandalayConvention Centre.
The partners included major carpetand rug companies like Couristan,Nourison, Godfrey Hirst, CavalierCorporation, Fabrica, Sphinx,Stanton, Hagaman, J Mish, Kane,Momeni, and Hibernia.
The annual Surfaces exhibition inLas Vegas covers the size of severalcity blocks and attracts hundreds offlooring retailers and manufacturersand tens of thousands of delegates.
NZ strong wool's presence was buta fraction of the floor space, groupedunder the Wools of New Zealand banner. The only other specific woolstand was the British Wool MarketingBoard sharing with the Prince CharlesCampaign for Wool and a number ofUK carpet companies.
If the heir to the British thronewas here in person, he would hardlyhave been noticed.
The aim of all NZ wool interestsand their US connections is to getwool's share of carpets in this marketup from 2% to perhaps 3%. Muchmore than that and our 35 millionsheep couldn't cope.
At Surfaces, as the name suggests,carpets of all types, mainly syntheticsand jutes, occupy only part of themassive flooring sector, with its wooden, vinyl and stone
predominance.That's what British Wool Marketing
Board's Ian Hartley was driving at –grouping wool interests togetherunder one banner, the Prince CharlesCampaign for Wool, so as to havemaximum impact at a huge event likeSurfaces, where all the US players insoft floorings are gathered.
“New Zealand can promote NZwools under the campaign brand, asthe British Wool Marketing Board canpromote UK wools. We can all worktogether to lift wool's profile.
“We will accept whatever WoolPartners want to contribute and wedon't want to get involved in NZ woolpolitics.”
Hartley believes the campaign hashighlighted a wool trend to consumers, with a natural, sustainablemessage at a time when the wholeworld is being urged to be more carbon efficient and think green.
Stage two of the campaign will bethe international roll-out of promotion. The campaign executivewould not try to guess what is neededin the US market, but seek ideas frommanufacturers on what would beappropriate.
Events will also be held in Japan,Australia, New Zealand, Scandinaviaand part of Europe, moving to Chinain 2012.
Prince Charles has been verypleased with the campaign so far, suchas the support from 120 major retailers, Hartley said.
The prince intends to make a number of the 2011 events andrecord a second video of his thoughtsand encouragement.
WorldMarkets –Wool
by Hugh Stringleman
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140 Open Wins for Johnny
Cam slams lamb record in King Country heat
21
New Year's resolution or not,shearer John Kirkpatrick madea profound statement of his
intentions for 2011 when he won hisfirst New Zealand LambshearingChampionship at the Western Shearsin Raglan at the start of the year.
It was one of the few major titles
the 40-year-old hadn't won, givinghim an unbeaten record in three competitions this season.
In November, Kirkpatrick made ashort trip home from Australia wherehe has been working around Victoria,to win another Friday /Saturday double – the NZ Corriedale title inChristchurch and the CentralHawke’s Bay Shears in Waipukurau.
Clearly elated to overcome hisRaglan hoodoo, he said he still has noplans to do anything else in sport,other than chasing the shows andwatching the exploits of son Daniel,aSuper Rugby player and his twodaughters.
"With the World championships inNew Zealand next year, everyone willbe going for it," he said.
Runner-up at Raglan last year hefinally claimed the title by turning thetables on 2008 World teams championpartner Paul Avery, whose trainingover the last nine months has beendirected at his multi-sports debut inthe NZ Coast to Coast Challenge.
New World champion Ferguson,the youngest in the five-man final wasthird, just two days before a bid tobreak a World record of 736 lambs ineight hours in the King Country.
There was disaster for shearingicon David Fagan who shore the lastfive sheep missing the bottom toothof his second comb, and having to settle for fourth overall.
Nephew James Fagan was first tofinish – his 14min 39sec for 20 lambsbeating Kirkpatrick by 13 seconds –
World champion shearer CamFerguson logged anothermagic moment in an amazing
15 months of triumph when he set anew World shearing tally record in theheat of a King Country woolshed.
The 27-year-old from Waipawa, inCentral Hawke's Bay, set an eighthour lambshearing record of 742,after a horror start including a powercut in the first 20 minutes and threelambs being rejected by the judges inthe first hour and a half.
The power cut put the record bidback an hour, and regaining his composure to hit steady half-hour tallies of 46-48 lambs, Ferguson setthe record inside the last five minutesbefore the rescheduled finish time of6pm.
On hand to congratulate him wasNew Zealand-based Irish shearer IvanScott who set the previous mark of736 south of Rotorua in 2008.
Ferguson's record was set atMoketenui Station between Te Kuitiand Benneydale, four years to the daythat fellow Hawke's Bay shearer DionKing, set a nine-hour record of 866 inthe same shed. Ivan Scott will bechallenging that record on Friday atOpepe Trust, east of Taupo.
Needing an average of 184 for eachof the four two-hour runs to equal therecord, and hoping to get close to
Scott's opening run of 192 two yearsago, Ferguson opened with 183. Butwith 188 and 187 in the next tworuns to afternoon smoko, he neededjust 179 in the last two hours to breakthe record. He came home stronglyin front of an ecstatic crowd of over200 supporters to complete a finalrun of 184.
Ferguson, with partner Teresa Hall,daughter Kaylah, nan Hine Aramoana,dad Brian, mother Marion and assorted other whanau (family) overfrom Hawke's Bay, added the recordto a string of other successes since thestart of the 2009-2010 season.
With only three wins in five seasons of Open-class competitionsince winning the Golden Shears senior title in 2004, he won the NewZealand Spring Championship inOctober 2009, and a number of othertitles climaxing in the Golden Shearsopen title last March and the Worldtitle in Wales in July.
The efforts won him the CentralHawke's Bay and Ngati Kahungunusupreme sports awards, and a nomination for the Halberg Awards.He also helped New Zealand to itsfirst away transtasman series win overAustralia for eight years and has wonmore than 60 Speedshears.
The most significant loss may havebeen the 4kg he sweated from his
frame today, from an effort whichimpressed chief judge Tony Abbey,from Badgingarra, West Australia."He's done it hard, and it's been agood effort," said Mr Abbey, one offour judges appointed by the WorldSheep Shearing Records Society.
"It was a very trying start, he hadto overcome that obstacle, and he didwell to get quickly back into gear," hesaid. "It was a good effort to riseabove it."The shearer was parched speechless,having to wait several minutes whilesomeone went to fetch some water,before someone else intervened with abeer."I'm buggered," he said, but was quickto thank all of his supporters. As wellas Fagan the team included at leastfive other record holders, includingStacey Te Huia, from Te Kuiti, IngridBaynes, from Wairoa, and RodneySutton, from Porangahau, all holdersof records set in the same shed.Ferguson recalled the moment thepower went off midway through his28th lamb, which went back into thepen while everyone waited anxiouslyfor power to return, initially limitedand from a generator."Some people might have thought itmade it easier with another break," hesaid. "No. I had to psych up and getgoing again."
but suffered heavily in judging andwas placed fifth.
There was still some silverware forthe family to take back to Te Kuiti,with David Fagan’s son, Jack, winningthe intermediate final – his biggestwin to date and despite being last tofinish his four-lamb final. His betterquality enabled him to beat runner-upScot, Damon Macdonald, of Coroglenand Irish shearer Robert Davidson.
The youngest shearer on the day,where competitors ranged from 14 to75, was Masterton schoolboy DavidGordon who won the junior title, togo with his famed Golden Shearsnovice win last March.
Heilin Thomas, from Lampeter inWales, was second, and third wasNatalie Crisp, who representedEngland in the World woolhandlingchampionship in Wales in July.
David Fagan ended the visit toRaglan in style when he won the TeMata Club Speedshear with a $2000prize for the fastest lamb, shorn in18.24sec. Masterton-based,Dannevirke shearer Paerata Abrahamwas second in 18.54sec and Te Kuiti’sDigger Balme third – 19.22sec.
Scottish shearing icon – TomWilson – has become the firstsheep shearer from the Northern
Hemisphere to have been awardedthe ultimate accolade in shearing circles – a Master Shearer Award. Infact Tom is the only non-Kiwi toreceive the honour. He joins an elitegroup of sixty shearers.
Tom who lifted the WorldChampion Title at Bath and West in1984 and the teams title in 19with Geordie Bayne, is the only non-Antipodean to have secured it.
Before emigrating to NZ, he ranthe largest shearing run in Scotland,from Grantshouse in the Borders.Now based in North Canterbury, New
Zealand, Tom is a TECTRA sheepshearing instructor, where he is affectionately known as ‘Tommy Gun’– where a ‘gun’ is a top shearer.
Tom is pictured above with hiswife Julie, son James and daughterElizabeth on the night of the awards.
Along with fellow Scot, GrantLundie, Tom recently joined thecream of the Kiwi shearing fraternitystaging a fundraising Speed Shear insupport of the families of the PikeRiver mine disaster.
Tom, rightly so, has been given thehonor of managing the ScottishShearing Team when they travel toNew Zealand in March 2012 to takepart in the World Championships.
Top Scot
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Women entrepreneurs in agriculture and forestryacross Scotland will have the
opportunity to develop business andleadership skills through Lantra'sBusiness Skills for Rural BusinessWomen.
Already a proven success, the project recognises the entrepreneurialand important role rural businesswomen play within the Scottish ruraleconomy. It provides them with theessential skills needed to participatewithin industry groups and trade associations to ultimately becomerural business ambassadors.
Caroline Millar and her husbandgrow crops and raise cows and sheepon their 650 acre farm. Following acourse of training seminars, theydiversified, converting a derelict bothyinto a romantic 4 star retreat.
Caroline said: “There is an abundance of opportunities foremployment and business development; it just often takes a bitof creative thinking.”
Since completing the training,Caroline has attended seminars
organised by Lantra for businesswomen from rural areas, to shareideas and experiences, and explorethe opportunities for women in modern rural industries.
Business Skills for Rural BusinessWomen is available for women fromacross rural areas of Scotland, including Argyll & Bute, Ayrshire,Dumfries & Galloway, Fife, Perth &Kinross, Forth Valley. In 2011-2012this will also include the Highlands &Islands, Morayshire and Shetland.
Women will be given the chance todevelop their business and leadershipskills by attending a range of workshops and seminars including:Support for Small Business, BusinessPlanning, Sales and Marketing,Succession Planning, Diversificationand Knowledge Transfer. A numberof other exciting networking eventsare also offered, which includes anexclusive invitation to a reception atthe Royal Highland Show.
The Business Skills for Rural
Recognising women business entrepreneurs in rural Scotland
Business Women 2010-2012 projecthas been approved by, and is partlyfunded through the Scottish RuralDevelopment Programme's SkillsDevelopment Scheme. The project isalso partnered by NFUS, SRPBA,STFA and SFTT.
For further information about theproject, or find out how to getinvolved, visit www.lantra.co.uk/Projects/Rural-Business-Women, oremail [email protected] telephone 01738 553311
EDUCATIONfarmingscotland.comIssue seventy-four • January 2011
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With renewable energy continuing to be a hot topicin Scotland and many people
eager to gain more knowledge and discuss opportunities with like-mindedindividuals, law firm Harper MacleodLLP has announced the date of thesecond annual Scottish HighlandRenewable Energy Conference(SHREC). Chaired by SandyCumming, former Chief Executive ofHighlands and Islands Enterprise, theevent will take place on 7th April2011 at the Drumossie Hotel,Inverness, from 9.30am to 4.30pm.
SHREC 2011 promises to delvedeeper into the subjects introduced atlast year's event, with industry leaderspresenting on the main talking pointswithin the renewable energy sector,including planning and developmentconsiderations and installation andfunding issues. There will also be aseries of breakout groups coveringsubjects such as: Supply Chain Issues;Feed-in-Tariffs and Opportunities forLandowners; and Hydro and Wind.
Speakers already announcedinclude: University of the Highlandsand Islands' Mike Weston, who willdiscuss Supply Chain Issues; Highland
Wood Energy's Bruno Berardelli andNFU Scotland's Jim McLaren, whowill explore the topics of Feed-in-Tariffs and Opportunities forLandowners; and Hydro will be covered by both Peter Graham fromPeter Graham Associates and GordonBlack from babyHydro. Iain Clark,Head of Agribusiness, ClydesdaleBank, will also talk about fundingHydro projects. More speakers willbe announced over the coming weeks.
Last year's SHREC reached fullcapacity months before the event,with more than 200 delegates rangingfrom land-owners, developers, funders, suppliers and communitymembers attending. For delegateswishing to attend, it is recommendedto reserve a place early. Limited floorspaces for companies wishing toexhibit are also available.
SHREC is hosted by HarperMacleod LLP, a top ten Scottish lawfirm recently shortlisted for 2011Energy Team of the Year at theupcoming Scottish Legal Awards.
For more information, contactAnne Macdonald by email [email protected] by phone on 0141 227 9280.
Highland RenewableEnergy Conference
Leading supplier to dairy farmersBolshaw Agriculture has addedto its range of 'Care' products
with the launch of its unique LiquidFoot Care. Designed to tackle theproblems caused by digital dermatitis,the product's long lasting protectioncan reduce the chances of lameness inthe herd.
This specially formulated limeproduct remains in suspension so thatit can be transferred directly to thefootbath without any preparation. Itsviscosity means that successful application is easily visible; each cowemerges from the footbath effectivelywearing protective white socks!
The company's Jonathan Bolshawsays, “Cubicle Care has been hugelysuccessful in reducing the incidenceof mastitis on farms throughout theUK, so I'm delighted that we can nowoffer dairy farmers a similarly effective treatment that will helpcombat digital dermatitis. Both diseases are a constant headache; theproblems caused by any outbreaks can
be hazardous not only to the cattlebut also a farm's financial viability.”
Cumbria herdsman Andrew Brownhas been using Liquid Foot Care atSmalmstown Farm for the last fewmonths and believes it to be the bestproduct of its kind. He says “my ownexperience has been first class. I originally tested it on a substantialnumber of cattle and the results wereexceptional; they were in the best ofhealth and there were no foot problems at all. I even saved moneyon the treatment plan that I used previously.
“Now, as I extend the use ofLiquid Foot Care across the wholeherd I'm likely to be making significant savings every month and,most importantly, having healthiercows.”
A further benefit of Liquid FootCare is that it reduces the acidity offarm effluents. As a natural limeproduct it has a positive impact onslurry allowing time and money savings to be made elsewhere on thefarm.
New Liquid Foot Care tackles digital dermatitis the natural way
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