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]