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)