Find out how small changes make big impacts at latest Banff and Buchan Monitor Farm meeting

Find out how small changes make big impacts at latest Banff and Buchan Monitor Farm meeting

Bruce Irvine, the Banff and Buchan Monitor Farmer is welcoming North East farmers to an on-farm event on Wednesday 31 January. The meeting will focus on how small changes, using readily available farm information, can impact positively on late winter management of cattle and sheep.

The meeting offers the opportunity for attendees to have practical discussions on livestock operations at Sauchentree Farm, before heading to New Aberdour Hall for more on nutrition and decision-making using blood and forage analyses, led by the Monitor Farm Management Group.

Using his farm as a starting point, Bruce will explain how he makes outwintering his livestock work on the exposed Buchan coast, while agricultural data specialist Andrew Ward-Smith will hold an interactive session on Sauchentree’s store beasts and the value of knowing feed values in planning performance.

Buchan Vets’ Seb Batchelor will bring his large animal veterinary experience to the meeting. He has a particular interest in using blood analyses to drive decision-making for mineral supplementation.

For a pregnant cow or ewe, the north-east weather, forage quality and the animal’s overall condition impacts hugely on its ability to calve or lamb and then rear a newborn successfully. David McClelland and Euan Munro from feed supplier Norvite will discuss how to plan nutrition for pregnant livestock at this critical time as calving and lambing approaches.

Attendees who bring their own forage analyses will have an opportunity to gain a fuller understanding of how to use them in drawing up nutrition plans for their livestock.

Peter Beattie, North regional adviser, said: “This is a Monitor Farm meeting which encapsulates the programme’s ethos of being ‘Farmer Led, Farmer Driven’. The speakers are all part of the Monitor Farm Management Group, and bring with them expertise and experience with livestock across the area. They are each passionate about using information to drive decision-making on farms.”

Monitor Farmer Bruce Irvine added: “This is an important time at Sauchentree, leading up to a larger number of cows calving and good scanning results from the ewes. The Monitor Farm programme has helped me plan feeding better and be more accurate in assessing my livestock’s needs. This meeting is an opportunity to share with local farmers in a real-farm situation.”

• The event is on Wednesday 31 January from 2pm-6pm, starting at Sauchentree Farm, New Aberdour, Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, AB43 7LN. Booking is essential – sign up here; http://bit.ly/buchan_mf
• All visitors are asked to come with clean cars, footwear and clothing for biosecurity reasons, and to car share wherever possible to help with limited parking.
• For further information on each Monitor Farm, see www.monitorfarms.co.uk or contact North cluster adviser Peter Beattie on 07769 366614 or email monitorfarm@qmscotland.co.uk