Well, here we are more than halfway through what seems to have been a very varied year for all parts of our great country.
This week has seen some much-awaited settled weather and many Morayshire farmers are trying to make hay from grass that should have been cut weeks ago, hence quality is down but bulk is up. This has resulted in plenty of bales. However, I’m sure most would have preferred less but better quality fodder.
Our wet summer has suited us here as with most of Moray. I have never in my life seen so much grass growth at Kennieshillock, with the cows now basking in what seems like paradise on silage aftermath that was cut late May.
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Our calves were introduced on to creep feeding about a fortnight ago but uptake has been slow which I’m putting down to the quality grass on which they are grazing.
Calves are no better though than in previous years, where we have struggled for forage, and I think this is down to the lack of warm weather in May and June when animals should have been lying around contentedly instead of parading round the field looking for shelter.
The first of our bulls were pulled out from the cows last week after running for a 12-week period. I tend to leave the bull a bit longer with the earlier calved cows so if I do get a late repeat then they move into my later group of spring calvers.
I take my hat off to the brave people who run their bulls for less than three cycles – but maybe this is something I should be looking at doing to remove the unproductive end of cows and, by the looks of the new suckler beef support scheme, this is where we are being pushed towards.
I feel sorry for the producer that has a breakdown in a bull and does not notice there’s a problem until it’s too late and some of their cows exceed the 410-day calving interval. Surely this is a double blow and may lead to cows being culled and not replaced? The whole point in a support scheme is to encourage production, not drive people out of the industry.
It is very disheartening to read that prime cattle are now worth more south of the Border than in Scotland. Where has our Scotch Beef premium gone? We are world leaders in producing quality beef and lamb from a sustainable system – why can this not be recognised in the price we receive as producers?
This week saw the beginning of our local shows, where we have five in the space of two weeks. It’s a very hectic schedule. Our sons are keen and a great help nowadays, and they really enjoy the shows. It’s great to see the young, talented people showing the stock – it provides our industry with hope that the next generation are keeping these traditions going.
Like all livestock shows, numbers are dwindling. During Covid, it became evident with no shows how much time and effort went into presenting stock – and I believe some people just decided they would give it up. We have a team of three young bulls for the shows, all sired by our stock bull Thurso Paul. I’m very pleased with them and hopefully, all going well, they will be going to the bull sales at Stirling in October.
We also have a small flock of crossing-type Bluefaced Leicesters which my wife Carolyn runs and will be showing some lambs from the flock at a couple of shows. The boys grew up doing young handlers competitions with them at the shows. They are generally a placid breed and the enjoyment both ourselves and the boys got out of competing in these classes was brilliant and a great way to introduce little kids into showing stock. I do feel sorry for the young handlers’ judge though – it’s not an easy job!
On the arable front, our spring oats are looking tremendous and now we just hope they stand up to the weather and don’t go flat before harvest.
Our earlier sown spring barley is looking very well but the later fields in some of the heavier land are struggling. Hopefully it will even itself out come harvest and we get a decent average yield over the lot.
Our forage crops have been in the ground about a month and are looking very well – they are a mixture of stubble turnips, forage rape and kale. Hopefully these continue to grow well and allow me to keep the cows outside for a considerable part of the winter, as talk of high prices for straw is ongoing.
I hope the sun continues to shine on you all and we can enjoy what is left of our long-awaited summer!
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