Welcome to Stock Talk hosted by Principal Consultant Kirsten Williams.  On today’s episode Kirsten is joined by farmers Ben and Harriet Lowe. HB Farms in Aberdeenshire consists of Newseat of Dumbreck, an arable farm on tenancy and Pitmillan Farm which is home to 450 breeding sows and a finishing unit. In addition to grass, forestry and land for environmental schemes, they grow 397ha of crops, with the grain used as feed for the pigs whilst manure is recycled back onto the fields. Soil health, circular agriculture and long-term biodiversity are priorities for HB Farms. 

Episode Timestamps  

01:05 Introducing Ben and Harriet Lowe 

05:38 Farm stats 

06:38 Pigs, from breeding to finishing and managing a weekly system 

09:15 Knowledgeable staff 

10:46 Creating a circular farm 

11:36 Saving on inputs due to pig FYM 

14:04 Ration changes throughout the cycle 

15:53 Data driven decision making 

19:19 Genetics and feed conversion 

21:14 Target carcase weight and spec 

23:36 Processing pig meat 

26:13 Managing cashflow 

27:31 Protein in the pig diet

33:18 Nuffield: closing the loop in pig production: the 5-mile pig 

39:30 LEAF demonstration farm 

41:09 Resilience in the business 

47:35 Advice for New Entrants 

FAS Resources 

FAS Case Studies - Gaining A Tenancy As A New Entrant  

Other Resources    

Instagram - HB Farms 

Nuffield scholar - Ben Lowe  

Leaf demonstration farms - HB Farms  

For more information, visit www.FAS.scot 

Facebook: @FASScot 

National Advice Hub 

Phone: 0300 323 0161 

Email: [email protected] 

Welcome to Stock Talk hosted by Beef and Sheep Consultant Kirsten Williams.  On today’s episode Kirsten is joined by farmers Craig and Claire Grant who run a mixed farming enterprise across 1,300 acres arable and 400 acres grass (owned and rented) along with their team of 20 full and part time employees. The business has poultry across five sites with a total of 225,000 laying hens, in addition to 330 bulling heifers that are sold privately with high health off farm to producers throughout Scotland. Craig and Claire regularly engage with the public, sharing information about where food comes from. 

Episode Timestamps  

00.35 Introducing Craig and Claire Grant 

04.30 Business components, systems and staff 

07.44 Finding and retaining labour 

11.20 Enriched colonies and free-range birds 

14.50 Egg markets and Kindrought Egg Hoosie 

19.03 Cooperation in farming  

21.37 Audits 

23.47 Cattle: marketing on farm, scoring charts, high health, certification packages 

32.10 Buying young stock 

35.57 Building relationships and trust 

37.05 An award-winning business (Young Farmer of the Year, Mixed Farm of the Year, Overall Farm of the Year) 

FAS Resources 

Contract Farming Agreements Explained | Farm Advisory Service 

Business planning and financial management: An introduction | Farm Advisory Service 

Other Resources    

C J Grant | Facebook  

For more information, visit  www.FAS.scot 

Facebook: @FASScot 

National Advice Hub 

Phone: 0300 323 0161 

Email: [email protected] 

In this podcast we hear from Kirsten Williams who will be taking over Robert Ramsay’s role as the host on Stock Talk. Kirsten talks about her farming system at home as well as her interests at work. Robert mentions some of his favourite Stock Talk podcasts and how they can develop into something bigger (e.g. the deer farming podcast has now turned into a FAS Deer Farming Group). Kirsten wishes to continue Stock Talk with more farming stories as well as discussing more technical aspects.  

Related FAS Resources

Kirsten Williams: Let your determination grow stronger | Information helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service

In this podcast we hear from Sam Parsons from Balcaskie. He talks about the organic farming system and the use of regenerative agriculture practices at Balcaskie and how it has helped reduce costs. He also talks about meat eating quality in their choice of cattle as they sell their beef direct to customers through the butchery. They are using Lincoln Red bulls across the herd.  Sam talks about the challenges he has faced with changing his system from 6-7 months winter housing cattle to outwintering them most of the year. He also discussed with Robert the importance of young people coming into the industry. 

You can contact Sam by emailing [email protected] 

Related FAS Resources

Stock Talk - James Biggar & Lorna Galloway | Information helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service

In this podcast we hear from Jock Gibson who is a farmer and butcher. He talks about his farming system at home and how his cattle are certified with Pasture for Life. This means they are on a grassland and forage diet and are therefore slower to reach finished weights than conventional finishing systems which feed concentrate feed. Jock has native breeds of cattle to suit this system. Jock also talks about the butchery side of the business and direct selling to customers and the importance of eating quality of the meat he is selling to customers.  Jock also talks about his Nuffield Scholarship focussing on eating quality of meat which included travels to other countries to experience different systems and abattoirs.  Jock is a trustee of Farmstrong Scotland and this is something he is passionate about. This is now setup as a charity and is designed to help people with their mental health and wellbeing and encourage the creation of positive habits.  

Linked resources: 

Farmstrong Scotland - Live Well, Farm & Croft Well 

In this podcast we hear from Bruce Wyper, Stockperson at SRUC Easter Howgate. He talks about some of the projects have been going on at Easter Howgate including GreenCow and Green Shed. He also discusses the move to running the herd more commercially than it has been previously although it is still a farm used for research projects. He talks about the challenges the herd has faced including Johnes and fertility issues and how dynamic health planning has helped them to improve the performance of the herd.

In this podcast we hear from Jan Vos, Agronomist from Agrovista & Lorna Galloway SAC Consultant from SAC Stranraer Office. They talk about soil health, agronomy, and sustainable practices to get the desired outcome – healthy crops and effective weed management. They also talk about the best way to establish and keep clover in the sward and a clover-safe herbicide that is undergoing trials and should be available to use soon. Rushes and bracken control is also discussed.

Linked resources:

GrassCheck - HOME - GrassCheck GB

In this podcast we hear from Vic and Jason Ballantyne, who are tenant farmers on the edge of Brora. They talk about their forage based farming system and the importance of their low input system to achieve a good a work-life balance. Vic and Jason are continually trying to improve the genetics in their livestock through a strict culling policy. They currently run 100 suckler cows and 400 ewes of their own plus they contract farm a further 230 ewes. 

Related FAS Resources

Livestock resources for farmers from Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)

Sustainable Sheep Systems - Clynelish Case Study | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service

In this episode, host Robert Ramsay speaks to Graham Lofthouse, beef and sheep farmer from Bankhouse Farm, in the Scottish Borders, and winner of the AgriScot Scottish Sheep Farmer of the Year award 2016. Robert and Graham discuss the strategies and challenges of rotational grazing systems, lamb growth, flock efficiency, genetics and how Graham established his wool-shedding flock.

[email protected] mobile 07708060236

Related FAS Resources

Selecting the Right Ram for the Job | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)

Technical Note (TN767): Management and Selection of Rams for Efficiency

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

Lamb Performance | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)

Sustainable Sheep Systems | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)

In this podcast we hear from Andrew Marchant. He started on his tenanted farm, Clonhie Farm, with 12 ewes and worked off-farm in order to maximise income for the farm in the initial years to allow him to purchase stock and build up numbers on the farm quicker. As well as building up stock numbers he explored different enterprises, now having a herd of 65 pure Luing and Aberdeen Angus cross Luing cows, a flock of 850 ewes, 200 Aberdeen Angus cross dairy stores (purchased as weaned calves), and a deer herd. He also has a contract farming agreement in place which allows him access to another income stream. Andrew has continually expanded his business, gaining extra rented land nearby allowing him to build stock numbers further. His farming system is relatively extensive and low input with cows outwintered and ewes lambing outside. The cow and sheep genetics are improving from buying in performance recorded tups and ewes, and more recently, Andrew has started using wool shedding tups. He highlights the importance of turnover and cashflow to make his business work and he isn’t afraid to purchase inputs if he thinks he can make a profit from doing so.  

Linked FAS Resources

Farm Tenancy Webinar - Andrew Marchant

New Entrants resources for farmers from Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)

Agricultural Tenancies | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)

Writing a Farm Tenancy Tender Application | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)