Farming Scotland Magazine (July - August 2019 Edition)

Scotland’s longest established national farming & rural lifestyle magazine

Tuathanachas Alba

magazine

Combine Balers Telehandlers Perth Show Turriff Show

Livestock Market Review with Katrina Macarthur

Breed Profile Glenericht Charolais

Flavour of Scotland Scottish food successes

Made in Scotland Native sheep and lamb

Cooking with lamb with Wendy Barrie

Country Woman Featuring Wendy Proud

World Farming Bulgaria

Topic For the Love of Banjo

Exotic Farming The ethical dairy

£3.50

Trainview Talk Diary by James Cameron

August 2019

Book Serialisation Part 4: Calum’s Road plus Farming Travel Guide Scotland s Scottish Country Life Beatha an Eilean s SWI s Renewable Energy including our regular news sections and columns

contents

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August 2019

56

51

MAIN FEATURES

EXOTIC FARMING

22 30 40 52

56

Perth Show Combine Harvesters Telehandlers Turriff Show

The ethical dairy

BREED PROFILE 58

Glenericht Charolais

FLAVOUR OF SCOTLAND

BEATHA AN EILEAN

16

SCOTTISH COUNTRY LIFE

76

Prize winners!

TRAINVIEW TALK 20

Diary by James Cameron

COOKING WITH LAMB 21

With Wendy Barrie

Sheep and lamb of course!

Bulgaria

TRAVEL GUIDE 50

BOOK SERIAL 78

Part 4 of ‘Calum’s Road

COUNTRY WOMAN 80

82

WORLD FARMING 28

With Linda Mellor

Featuring Wendy Proud

SWI

MADE IN SCOTLAND 26

77

Life on the Islands

With Janice Hopper

All Editorial & PR enquiries to EDITOR Athole Murray Fleming Tel. 01738 639747 E-mail: mail@farmingscotlandmagazine.com

Scottish Women’s Institutes

TOPIC 88

For the Love of Banjo

NEWS 6 12

Arable Potatoes

All Advertising enquiries to ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Athole Murray Fleming Tel. 01738 639747 E-mail: mail@farmingscotlandmagazine.com

60 19 35 36 38 49 59 60 64 66 69 70 72 83 85 86 89

Food Organics Renewable Energy New to Market Science & Technology Beef Livestock Dairy Sheep Market Review Forestry Estate Finance Rural Style Cars Machinery

63 65 67 71 73 75 81 84 106 106

Crofting N.S.A. Scotland Scottish Wildcat Action Scottish Land & Estates Conservation Matters Southern Belle The Money Man People on the Move Book Review

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COLUMNS

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Out 1st September.

Editor’s Bit In my view R.S.A.B.I. Hutton Institute Scotland the Brand Scottish Government Next Generation Farming for the Climate NFU Scotland Quality Meat Scotland The Vet

ADVERTISING MANAGER Barry Tweed Tel. 01738 550157 Email: barry@farmingscotlandmagazine.com

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PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Christina Fleming Email: christina@atholedesign.com COPYRIGHT This publication has been produced and published by ATHOLE DESIGN & PUBLISHING LTD who are the copyright owners. No reproduction, copying, image scanning, storing or recording of any part of this publication without the permission of ATHOLE DESIGN & PUBLISHING LTD. Contents disclaimer: FARMING SCOTLAND MAGAZINE is not responsible for any factual inaccuracies within press information supplied to us. Any concerns regarding such matters should be directed to the supplier of the materials.

FARMING SCOTLAND MAGAZINE is designed, produced and published by Athole Design & Publishing Ltd., Tolastadh, 18 Corsie Drive, Kinnoull, Perth, Scotland PH2 7BU. Tel. 01738 639747 est 1994

ISSN: 2041–918X

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arable editor's bit Forever evolving and growing Nothing stays the same here at Farming Scotland Magazine, in fact, I would get bored if I didn’t change things around a little or bring in new ideas.

Firstly, in this issue we are delighted to have been joined

by Katrina Macarthur who will be writing two new articles to compliment our already extensive ‘livestock’ areas.

‘Breed Profile’ is where Katrina will write about various cattle and sheep breeds and those who farm them around the country, and ‘Livestock Market Review’, is where she will look at the latest sale prices and trends as we weave our way throughout the farming year.

In addition to these new ‘livestock’ articles, we have also expanded again, our distribution network to include yet more Livestock Markets in the UK. For the very first time, we are now available in Wales in their three main markets, and we have doubled the markets in England to twelve. So we now reach as far south as Skipton – for the moment!

For the first time ever, I can now say that Farming Scotland Magazine is promoting Scottish farming and farmed produce through all the nations of the UK. We are also promoting great British farming and produce too of course and we still have more plans to come.

So “Watch this space” – as they say!

Slàinte, Athole.

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The Sustainable Smallholders’ Handbook is out now!

Lorraine Turnbull was born in Glasgow and has wanted to be a farmer since she was five years old. Although her parents scuppered her teenage plans to attend agricultural college, she never gave up on her dream.

After running a successful gardening business in Glasgow she uprooted herself and her family and moved to a run-down agriculturally tied bungalow on 1.2 acres in Cornwall, and planted an orchard. She retrained as a teacher and taught horticulture at both adult & further education level, whilst running the smallholding where she kept bees, was a small scale egg producer and did part time lambing relief for other local farms. After working as a Skills Co-ordinator for The Rural Business School,

she began commercial cider making from her own orchard in 2011 and until recently ran a profitable small craft cider business, producing up to 4000 litres full juice traditional and bottle conditioned cider annually.

In 2014 she was recognised for her contribution to sustainable living by winning the Cornwall Sustainability Awards Best Individual category.

She has written occasional articles for Country Smallholding and Smallholder magazines and after successfully removing the Agricultural Occupancy Condition on her home began writing her first book; The Sustainable Smallholders Handbook, which is aimed at aspiring and existing smallholders and rural

businesses and is a practical guide to running a sustainable and profitable landbased business. Lorraine has now relocated to France; where unsurprisingly, she continues to run a smallholding and make cider.

New Geofolia Greenscan Landmark Systems, the rural business software specialist, has launched Greenscan - a new crop analysis imaging feature in Geofolia.

The proven crop recording and mapping program, Geofolia, was developed by Isagri, parent company of Landmark and Farmdata, and is wellestablished in Europe. Geofolia was selected by Landmark three years ago and has made inroads into the UK market as an easy to use crop management tool

with integrated mapping, stock management, compliance and financial reporting functions as standard.

Early adopter Stephen Eales has been testing Greenscan on his business J.G. Eales & Sons, a UK business farming 1200 acres of arable. “‘Greenscan gives you regular satellite images of your crops by measuring light reflected from the crop canopy. Thicker crops can be easily distinguished from thinner crop areas. You can

scan your whole farm in a few minutes and identify problems rapidly enabling you to target areas to be inspected closely, for example, wet spots, pigeon grazing and rabbit damage.

Over a season poor crop growth area will show within fields enabling these areas to be noted for nutrient deficiency testing, soil sampling or for subsoiling to remedy soil compaction.”

Geofolia’s popular useful standard features include the ability to import directly from agronomist’s recommendations and a ‘split activity button.’ The latter for when the weather turns against an operation; it allows a pre-ordained field activity to be split if the operator has had to postpone the work schedule - for example a change in wind speed during spraying. Version 6.2 also boasts the new ‘Field performance dashboard’ for instant access to profitability by field from any smart device with signal. The software is available as cloud hosted or pc install.

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In my view

arable New barn-filling barley adds weight to higher hybrid quality

By John Cameron Balbuthie, Kilconquhar, Fife

Brexit – the waiting game!

A new hybrid winter feed barley that has given consistently high yields over the last three seasons, as well as delivering added grain quality, is being launched to UK growers for this autumn.

SY Kingsbarn is the newest in the line-up of Hyvido hybrids from breeder Syngenta.

Delivering a UK treated yield of 10.7 t/ha on the 2019/20 AHDB Recommended List, 1% above the popular hybrid Bazooka, it adds to the trend seen among hybrid barley over recent years, of higher yields combined with improved grain specific weight.

“At 69.9 kg/hl, the specific weight of SY Kingsbarn is around 1 kg/hl above Bazooka,” says Syngenta marketing manager for hybrid barley, Mark Bullen. “Its grain quality is further underlined by a lack of small grains: SY Kingsbarn has the lowest screenings figures of any six-row barley on the AHDB Recommended List.

“Concerns about grain quality used to put some growers off six-row barley, but the average specific weight of hybrids on the AHDB Recommended List has increased over the last 16 seasons. It’s now at the point where it equals the average for conventional two-row feed barleys,” he adds.

This combination of improved quality and yield, coupled with other timely hybrid benefits – such as providing another crop in rotations for the three-crop rule; providing an early harvest as an entry for winter oilseed rape; and providing a vigorous crop to compete against black-grass – have fuelled a rise in the popularity of hybrid barley, believes Mr Bullen.

Roughly 1 in 3 winter feed barley fields in the UK is now in a hybrid, he says, and nearly 30% of winter barleys on the AHDB Recommended List are now hybrids.

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Once again I have to apologise for returning to the Brexit saga but unfortunately its effect on our industry is now being felt – for the livestock sector in particular but also ‘across the board’.

With some of the many prospective candidates for No 10 committing themselves to leaving the EU with or without a deal there has to be a very real possibility that that might well be the outcome. The possible effect of that in agricultural terms is now being seriously considered by Ministers both at DEFRA and Holyrood as are possible measures to alleviate the impact.

So what are the implications for Scottish Farmers? Looking firstly at the livestock sector and the sheep sector in particular. Exiting from the EU without a deal would mean the creation of a tariff barrier for goods entering the EU. The exact level of tariff has still to be determined but it could well be of the order of between 30% and 40% of the value of the product.

Because of the volume of exports of Scottish lamb to the EU – this could have a devastating effect on our sheep trade. It is certainly true that a lot of our lamb is consumed in England but at certain times of the year it is undoubtedly the export trade which sets the price level. The

beef trade would be similarly effected – but of course the level of beef exports to the EU is substantially less – so the effect on beef prices would be less.

As far as imports of meat into the UK is concerned we would lose the protection of the conditions which the EU apply to present imports.

On the arable side the biggest fear will come from any new trade deals – particularly with the USA where the cost of production of many of their exportable cereal products is lower than ours. And will the UK Government continue to ban hormone treated products as the EU has done?

My fear here would be that the UK Government’s first and prime consideration would be to achieve food imports at the lowest available price to the consumer? Let’s hope I am proved wrong.

With all these uncertainties it really is no wonder that the cloud of uncertainty is beginning to effect the industry’s development.

The topic of the day is changing – from an enjoyable discussion on the sheep sectors good lambing – both in the hills and in the arable – to a much more sombre note of what price are these lambs going to make at the store lamb sales? We shall see!

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arable Resources issued to guide management of mycotoxin risks Rainfall-related mycotoxin risk assessment scores can now be calculated automatically, thanks to a new tool issued by AHDB. Covering thousands of sites across England and Scotland, the map-based tool also shows how much rain has fallen during the critical winter wheat flowering and pre-harvest periods.

Guidance on how to target T3 fungicide sprays during flowering has also been issued.

Dr Dhan Bhandari, who manages grain quality research at AHDB, said: “The pathogens that cause head blight are spread by rainfall. If they reach the ear at the right growth stage, they can infect it. Once infected, some of these species produce mycotoxins – so it’s important that they are managed. The new tool can help people quantify the

rainfall risk during the flowering and pre-harvest periods.”

In winter wheat, the first risk period is during flowering – GS59 (ear completely emerged above flag leaf ligule) to GS69 (flowering complete).

As infection occurs via fresh anthers (i.e. not dry, light-coloured and falling off), the duration they are present is critical – this period rarely exceeds 10 days. The second key rainfall risk period is GS87 (hard dough, thumbnail impression held) to harvest.

Once the date range is known for each period, it can be entered into the AHDB rainfall tool. The amount of rain that fell during this time is then calculated at each site and the corresponding risk scores shown. If no fieldlevel rainfall data is available, risk scores from a nearby site can help

guide the completion of the AHDB mycotoxin risk assessment.

Wet conditions at flowering not only increase ear-infection risk but also make the application of fungicides a challenge. For the management of ear diseases, sprays should be applied when the first anthers are visible (GS63–65).

The effective window for control is narrow and the power of a T3 diminishes rapidly after the optimum spray timing. To improve the targeting of T3 sprays, AHDB has issued a pictorial guide.

Paul Gosling, who manages fungicide performance at

Green Area Duration Essential for OSR Growth

For maximum seed fill and yield in oilseed rape, expert advice is clear: the canopy should be kept green for as long as possible. The longer the green area duration for OSR, the more photosynthetic energy can be absorbed by both leaves and pod canopy – vital components for a stronger and healthier yield. Crop management should therefore place a heavy focus on maintaining green area duration, with careful attention dedicated to ensuring adequate nutrition to meet this goal.

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AHDB, said: “A T3 should not be a default in any wheat fungicide programme. If it is dry when anthers are out, then the disease pressure is unlikely to warrant the spray. However, if a T3 is considered necessary, azoles should be combined with a multisite to help protect the azole from resistance. A multisite will also provide added septoria control.”

Information on mycotoxin management, T3 timing and fungicide performance can be accessed via: ahdb.org.uk/ mycotoxins

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“Keep canopy development in mind when planning nutrient application,” says Natalie Wood, Country Agronomist at Yara.

“Nitrogen and magnesium are particularly important. A strong nutrition programme is key to developing and maintaining the structural strength of the canopy and resulting health of the crop.”

Establishment of a canopy begins with decisions around the optimum plant population for a farmer’s particular requirements, before producing a seedbed and soil structure conducive to

arable rapid and even germination and emergence. Establishment can be improved by ensuring the availability of the key nutrients through fertiliser application at drilling, and the removal of weeds through timely herbicide applications.

The main determining nutrient of the canopy size and structure will be nitrogen. The

target Green Area Index (GAI) should be 3.5 at the beginning of flowering, measured from the middle of February onwards or when growth has restarted properly. Each unit of green leaf area in oilseed rape needs 50kg/N per ha to achieve the optimum target of 3.5 GAI from your starting position. N is only 60% efficient depending on soil type,

with the crop requiring about 220kg N/ha on average, though this can vary from field to field.

This is particularly significant at approximate 150-180 days after sowing – the period when the canopy truly starts to expand.

During this rapid expansion stage, light is intercepted by the green area within the plant, including green pods once

flowering is finished. Maintaining this green area for the longest possible duration means maximum light interception, which the plant then can convert to energy and therefore ‘fuel’ pod fill.

Maximising Green Area Duration (GAD) is therefore crucial.

For more information on oilseed nutrition then please visit www.yara.co.uk/crop-nutrition

Break bruchid egg laying cycle Bean growers have a better chance to control bruchid beetle this season, but may need to start control programmes earlier and protect crops for longer if there’s another long hot summer.

The good news is that, after such a relatively mild winter, adult beetle populations are typically less problematic, according to Syngenta Insecticides Technical Manager, Dr Max Newbert. He cited research that showed when beetles remain active through a warm winter, but without adequate pollen food resources, there are lower numbers surviving through to the spring.

“Coupled with the reports of good establishment of winter bean crops, along with strong emergence of spring beans with few signs of weevil damage, there is the potential to justify controlling bruchid beetle and aiming for a human consumption premium,” he advocated.

Whilst the BruchidCast advance warning system has proven highly effective in predicting the onset and inseason bruchid beetle breeding and egg laying, Max reported trials have shown a big advantage in earlier well-timed control of the adult population to reduce initial numbers.

“If bruchid are actively present in the crop as it reaches the susceptible first pod set on the

lower trusses, apply a knockdown treatment with Hallmark Zeon when temperatures reach above 15°C,” he advised. “That has shown to positively reduce the amount of egg laying when the BruchidCast trigger point, of two consecutive days with a temperature in excess of 20°C, is reached.”

Max pointed out that this approach, to reduce egg laying potential, means a second application, with thiacloprid, could better target any remaining hatched larvae. He also reminded growers that, with any insecticide application for bruchid beetle, no triazole-based fungicide should be included in the tank mix.

Trials had shown alternating knockdown of adult beetles with Hallmark Zeon, along with systemic treatment for larvae with thiacloprid, could give the best reduction in physical holes in beans. Initial reduction in egg laying is key, however, since even tiny nicks in the bean seed as any larvae ingest the insecticide, can make the seed more susceptible to fungal infection during storage – leading to greater losses.

“If BruchidCast indicates prolonged beetle breeding activity through the summer, growers may need to continue the alternating programme to achieve desired levels of control,” he added.

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9

arable Changing weather conditions heaps blight pressure on potato growers

Farmers are facing challenging conditions in which to control late blight after Hutton Criteria disease warnings were declared in key potato-growing areas.

A large percentage of the UK crop is at the critical rapid canopy growth stage and in need of robust protection but heavy rain and waterlogged soils in some areas means it may not be possible to apply protective sprays in a timely fashion.

Temperature and humidity in the past week have sparked red warnings – indicating the highest level of blight threat - in many counties including East Anglia, the south and west of England and as far north as East Yorkshire.

Corteva Agriscience advises that current conditions will lead to product choice and application timing taking on even more importance.

The crop protection and seed company’s field technical manager Craig Chisholm says growers should consider the length of 10

protection they need and whether their chosen blight spray has any curative properties.

Craig said: “The potential for a high blight pressure year was already present due to the increase in volunteer potatoes across the rotation, coupled with the mild winter. Dry conditions and recent cooler temperatures kept a lid on it.

“But the deluge of rain we’ve witnessed and rising temperatures triggered warnings across many key potato areas. Growers will be particularly concerned about this as many crops are at rapid canopy stage and need protection of vulnerable new growth.”

Where sprays have been postponed by the conditions, a product with some curative activity will help tackle any blight infection already developing in the crop.

Craig said: “Choosing an active ingredient with curative properties will ensure growers claw back some of the days of lost protection.”

Flexibility on timing future sprays is also part of the conundrum.

The efficacy of most blight sprays burns out after seven days which will be a problem if the wet and windy weather persists and sprayers can’t get on the field.

“By including a molecule such as oxathiapiprolin (Zorvec) in a programme, growers will be better able to cope with

inclement weather as the 10-day spray interval provides flexibility for growers.

“Under high blight pressure when agronomists would generally be looking at reducing spray intervals to five days, the robustness of oxathiapiprolin will enable growers to stick with their seven-day schedule, enabling crop coverage to be maintained.”

Not all weeds are equal – Scientists show wildlife refuges on farms need careful placement Wildlife friendly refuges around the edges of farmers’ crops have been credited with slowing biodiversity declines, however, new research shows their success

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ultimately depends on what’s growing next to the field.

Recent reported increases in some crop pollinating insects suggested the upturn was due to

arable more UK farms creating these pesticide-free areas.

However, this new study by Rothamsted Research shows conservation areas sited directly adjacent to areas of grassland, or even other conservation measures such as grass margins, end up with a predominance of the wrong type of weeds that, rather than enhance biodiversity, could smother beneficial arable plants.

The authors say their results show that such conservation measures need very careful placement if they are to be successful and not over-run by less beneficial plants, such as grasses.

Dr Helen Metcalfe, who led this new study, said: “The location of these wildlife refuges is key in determining how successful they are in supporting important plant species, which provide food for farmland birds and habitats for pest-eating insects.

“By creating unsprayed strips of land away from sources of problematic weeds, we not only provide a refuge for the beneficial plants we want to protect, but we also reduce the risk of the wrong type of weeds invading the field and becoming a problem for crop production.”

Jointly funded by the Natural Environment Research Council and Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, this new research answers an age-old question of whether these weedy field edges are mainly populated by seeds coming from within the field or from outside it.

Weeds can spring up in fields either from seeds that persist in the soil ‘seedbank’, or through ‘spill-over’ of seeds from adjacent areas, and its long been recognised that the diversity of weeds is much greater at the field edge than its centre – but what wasn’t known was whether this was mainly because these margins typically receive less pesticides, or if it was due to colonization from nearby natural habitats.

As this new study shows, it’s predominantly the spill-over

from the habitat on the other side of these ‘conservation headlands’ that is crucial in determining whether or not they will be a success.

Published in the Journal of Applied Ecology, the findings also show that herbicides are currently providing effective control of the weeds coming into the field from outside but if left unchecked they could become problematic.

The researchers analysed a dataset of almost 300 fields from across the UK’s main crop growing areas, to study the impact of the immediate landscape on the weeds in and around arable fields growing sugar beet, maize and oilseed rape.

They found 181 species of plants ranging from typical arable weeds such as field pansy, shepherd’s purse and fat hen, to perennial species typical of grasslands, like creeping bentgrass and red fescue.

Fields adjacent to grasslands had the greatest number of problematic weed species at their edges, whilst fields adjacent to bare ground had very low numbers of species.

“Creating conservation headlands at the edges of fields near built up areas or water courses where there are few problem weeds nearby, would reduce the spill over of these weeds from adjacent habitats and give the beneficial seeds already in the field the best chance to grow,” said Dr Metcalfe.

Conservation headlands were first developed in the 1980s and comprise a strip anywhere from 6-24 metres wide along the margin of a field in which pesticides are used selectively.

If the crop is left unfertilised and free from herbicides and pesticides, they can provide a habitat for typically weedy plants which support bees, beetles and other beneficial insects.

In turn, these provide food for important farmland bird species including the grey partridge, corn bunting and yellowhammer.

By Margaret Granger

The previous 12 months have seen a significant increase in the numbers of working farmers and crofters seeking support from RSABI across Scotland.

While the reasons that prompt an initial call to the helpline vary - money worries, illness and relationship issues to name but a few - the one thing they can have in common is an impact on mental wellbeing. Stress and anxiety can impact the farm and family as well as motivation and mood, so it is important to get help as early as possible.

People often fail to identify that they are suffering from poor mental wellbeing, especially when working alone.

While physical symptoms such as headaches, IBS indigestion and migraines signal stress; social changes too, perhaps recognised by others can be a sign that “things are not quite right”.

It is important we all take time to talk when we

Check in on mental wellbeing see changes in someone; self-help only works when someone is aware that they have a problem, and many don’t. Talk about their feelings and encourage them to get some help.

RSABI has a range of support for working farmers and crofters and can offer a helpline call out service with many farmers receiving a regular call to make sure they are okay.

On a practical level, RSABI organise independent business reviews for those struggling emotionally and financially to explore opportunities for the business to be more profitable or easier to manage, working with the Farm Advisory Service to ensure that reviews are relevant to the farmer concerned.

To help get things moving again, we can also liaise with statutory agencies and creditors to bridge the communications gap and can be on the farm for animal welfare visits and inspections as a support to the farmer.

Call the helpline on 0300 111 4166

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11

potatoes Scottish potatoes help keep GB potato sector afloat

After a tough 2018 season, Scottish potatoes have become increasingly important to maintain supply this year, according to statistics from AHDB. Scotland avoided the worst of last year’s drought with production only slightly below average and as the season has progressed an increasing proportion of GB stocks have been held north of the border.

Previously responsible for a quarter of GB levels, figures up to the end of March show that Scottish growers now account for 34% of total grower held stocks.

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To ensure their statistics on GB production and stocks are robust, AHDB runs regular surveys on stock levels (endNov, end-Jan and end-March) using their grower panel. The grower panel is a group of approximately 500 registered potato growers who provide information on seed use, yields, stocks and sales from their farm.

A mixture of heavy demand and issues with ambient storage saw above average drawdown between Nov-Jan in England and Wales. However, drawdown rates in Scotland remained steady with better quality helping potatoes keep better in stores.

AHDB Analyst Aidan Wright explains: “The start of the season saw massively reduced production across GB, mitigated in part by a large carryover from the 2017 crop.”

“Scotland has remained fairly stable with large quantities of old crop potatoes being marketed well into the new season. This helped reduce dependence on new crop at the start of the season. The relatively healthy situation north of the border means that Scottish production has been supporting demand down south.

“Since harvest, Scottish potatoes have made a slow and

steady exit from grower stores, heading south of the border and over the Channel to mainland Europe.

“While the 2019 crop appears to be coming on well at this stage, the reserves of potatoes left in Scotland will go some way to ensuring packing supply across GB for the remainder of the season. Exports continue to storm ahead and the majority of this assumed to be of Scottish supply.”

For more information on potato production and stock levels growers can visit AHDB’s Potato Data Centre.

FARMING SCOTLAND MAGAZINE Next Issue 1st September

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potatoes Seeking a seed grower for AHDB’s next strategic potato farm AHDB is on the hunt for a host for their next strategic potato (SPot) farm in Scotland.

The current project – based at Bruce Farms in Perthshire – will come to a close in December, and the team are keen to have a new farm in place by the autumn of this year.

Having worked closely with a prime Scottish ware producer they are now looking for a high grade seed farm.

AHDB Senior Knowledge Exchange Manager Claire Hodge explains: “GB seed potato production is absolutely critical to the whole industry as the health of the national crop is founded on the health and quality of the seed potatoes we produce.

“We’re keen to work with a seed producer to better understand that crop, in terms of plant health, cost of production, and of course the export market which makes up a significant proportion of the sector.”

Seed growers interested in hosting a strategic farm should be able to answer yes to the following three questions: • Do you like working with other growers in your region?

• Would you be happy to invite researchers to your farm and to try out some of the latest thinking?

• Are you looking to make positive changes to your business?

If selected the host farm will use plots in their potato fields to run demonstrations which they will then discuss with other local growers, agronomists and industry reps at a series of open days.

The possibilities for demonstration topics are hugely varied and could include areas such as cultivations and soil management practices, crop nutrition, varieties, seed

generations and the use of precision.

Current SPot Scotland host, Kerr Howatson, Potato Farm Manager at Bruce Farms, says: “We got involved in the project as it allowed us to do fieldscale trials which would give us meaningful results at the end of the day.

“Doing trials on your own land, with your own machinery and your own management is really useful,

and you make lots of handy contacts.

“The key for us was having a hands on project team which worked well together to make sure that we focused on trials which would be of use to the wider industry.”

Seed growers interested in finding out more about hosting the next strategic potato farm in Scotland should contact Chris Leslie at chris.leslie@ahdb.org. uk.

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BRADLEY REFRIGERATION LTD 929 Abbeydale Road Sheffield S7 2QD Tel: SHEFFIELD 0114 553 7780 Email: agriculture@bradley-refrigeration.com www.bradley-refrigeration.com

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potatoes Haith group is celebrating selling its 1,000th vegetable washer!

The milestone machine, one of a pair, rolled off the production line at the end of last month destined for Branston Ltd. As well as being the thousandth vegetable washer to be sold since Haith invented the modern barrel washer in 1961, Branston’s machine is the eighth Haith Supa-Wash to be sold since it was introduced in March 2018.

Haith’s barrel washers have come a long way since Mr Haith Snr introduced the first spokeless steel washing barrel in the early ‘60s. In the 1970s Haith’s innovation produced the brush roller bed, which was superseded in the ‘80s by the Hydro Flow washer, with its unique pump which moved the produce from the barrel. At the beginning of this century,

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Haith launched the Self Clean washer, a machine that is still operating in food packers and processor factories across the world, thanks to its robust and innovative design features, such as an electrically operated radial door, direct barrel drive, thick steel slotted barrel and full pintle lining. When launched, the Haith Self Clean washer was significantly ahead of its competition, with most other manufacturers relying on less advanced features, such as hydraulic doors, chain driven barrels and thin punched barrels.

The latest Supa-Wash is a significant step forward in another way too says Nigel Haith, managing director of Haith Group. “Our new washer is the result of months of development work. It is packed

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potatoes with technologically advanced features, such as cooper split bearings on the top shaft for easy maintenance, and on the main drive shaft, a SEW energy efficient shaft mounted barrel drive and externally mounted stainless steel bearings for longer life. The machine is further enhanced by the presence of a gentle air operated vertical rising crop discharge control gate, a laser cut stainless barrel with slots or holes depending on the produce which will be washed, a full pintle rubber lining inside the barrel and HMI touch screen control with intelligent feedback. All of these features are standard.

Branston Ltd will use the record-setting machine at its Lincoln factory. The company, which handles 350,000 tonnes of potatoes each year, is no stranger to Haith’s high-quality machines, using them in its fresh and prepared factories

in Lincolnshire, Somerset and Scotland.

Mark Willcox, Technical Director at Branston said: “The team at Haith recognised the challenges we face in terms of constantly improving our packing process. As a result the new door-less design has further reduced the potential for damage and we’ve been delighted with the impact it’s had on the quality of product to our retail customers.”

All Haith barrel washers can be supplied as a complete system if required, with destoning on the in-feed and a floating waste removal unit on the out-feed of the barrel, which is ideal when the washer is incorporated into a potato processing line.

For further information about Haith and its range of vegetable handling equipment, please visit www.haith.co.uk, email sales@haith.co.uk or call 01302 831 911.

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Research to focus on ‘green shoots’ of population turnaround in Scottish islands

The Scottish islands are often regarded as places where population is in decline, with younger islanders leaving for education and employment and older people moving in to retire.

However, recent anecdotal evidence suggests that, on some islands at least, the tide may be turning, with young people increasingly choosing to stay, return or relocate to island homes.

Social scientists of the James Hutton Institute, in collaboration with Community Development Lens (CoDeL), Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) and Community Land Scotland, are to highlight experiences of population turnaround in the Scottish islands through the Islands Revival project.

The project is collecting success stories to raise the profile of demographic recovery in island settings, and to identify ways of ensuring that such developments are supported by island policy.

Dr Ruth Wilson, a researcher based within the Institute’s Social, Economic and Geographical Sciences group in Aberdeen, said it is crucial that policy is informed by these ‘green shoots’ of recovery in order to respond effectively to opportunities and challenges for island renewal.

“During the spring and summer of 2019, we are inviting groups from across the Scottish islands to contribute examples from their own communities, to be published on the Islands Revival blog.

“These contributions will inform a workshop at the end of August, which will facilitate discussion between communities, local and Scottish Government, island businesses and international experts, culminating in a Workshop Declaration with recommendations regarding how policy can best support island repopulation.”

Islands Revival is funded by the Scottish Governmentfunded SEFARI Responsive Opportunity Initiative. For further details, visit the project website at islandsrevival.org and follow @IslandsRevival on Twitter.

The James Hutton Institute is a world-leading scientific research organisation working to resolve global challenges in food, climate, energy and water security. The Institute works in partnership with people, organisations and governments to enhance sustainable environmental, social and economic development to deliver practical solutions for our shared future. www.hutton. ac.uk

FLAVOUR OF SCOTLAND

Scottish berry grower triumphs at prestigious UK-wide industry awards

Scottish cheesemaker scoops another award in 2019 Organic artisan cheese producer Connage Highland Dairy has once again been recognised for its produce. Just weeks after winning ‘Best Cheese in Scotland’ at the Melton Mowbray Artisan Cheese Awards, Connage Highland Dairy has been awarded another ‘Best Scottish Cheese’ award.

Their Connage Aged Gouda was presented the accolade at the prestigious British Cheese Awards on the 30th of May. Founded in 1994, the British Cheese Awards attracts cheesemakers from across the UK and Ireland and hosts over 800 cheeses every year at the Bath and West Show.

Connage’s Aged Gouda is a pasteurised, waxed cheese matured for two years with firm texture with a delicious flavour.

As well as winning ‘Best Scottish Cheese’ for their Aged Gouda, they also won a silver 16

Scottish berry grower and supplier, Angus Soft Fruits has triumphed at this year’s Fresh Produce Consortium (FPC) Fresh Awards held in June at The Pavilion in London, winning the coveted Foodservice Supplier of the Year Award.

Hosted by former English international cricketer Graeme Swan, the awards celebrate the outstanding achievements of individuals and businesses working in the UK fresh produce industry, with a focus on innovation, creativity, CSR, sustainability and employee welfare.

Named Foodservice Supplier of the Year, Angus Soft Fruits was recognised for its rapid growth in the “out-of-home” sector, which encompasses foodservice

award for the Connage Dunlop, a silver award for their younger Gouda flavoured with Cumin, and a bronze award for their Connage Smoked Dunlop.

Jill Clark of Connage Highland Dairy had the following to say about their most recent win: “Having not long won an award, we were astounded to find out we had won Best Scottish Cheese at the British Cheese Awards. There’s so many fantastic producers around Scotland, so it’s such a compliment to receive the award.”

She continued: “We couldn’t do any of it without our customers, and the people who continue to support us and spread the word about our produce.

When we decided to diversify in 2006, we never even imagined we’d be collecting awards for our cheese!” www.farmingscotlandmagazine.com

and wholesale customer outlets, achieving almost 100 per cent growth year on year (2017 / 2018).

Andy Wareham from Fresh Direct said: “We’ve been working with Angus Soft Fruits for over 5 years now and have always been impressed by their innovative approach and the quality of their produce. It is clear how hard the team works to continuously improve, and the success of their Breeding Programme is evidence of that. They are always developing new varieties of strawberries, raspberries and blackberries that are sweeter, last longer and look incredible. These are all qualities that are incredibly important to our customers and I don’t believe there is anyone more deserving of this award than Angus Soft Fruits.”

FLAVOUR OF SCOTLAND

Aberdeenshire Butcher Provides Tips During National BBQ Week

Scotland The Brand

Time To Talk About Slaughter

By Ruth Watson

Scots in need of barbeque inspiration this summer have been given some fantastic hints and tips courtesy of renowned Inverurie butcher and barbeque enthusiast, John Davidson.

A self-taught butcher, John is director at Davidsons Specialist Butchers which has won countless awards culminating in UK Butcher Shop of the Year 2011 and now employs 26 people full-time over the three shops.

To celebrate National Barbeque Week recently. John has shared some advice on how to wow friends and family by grilling quality meat such as Scotch Beef PGI, Scotch Lamb PGI and Specially Selected Pork to perfection this summer.

“One of the things that makes people most stressed when barbecuing is lighting the coals and getting it to temperature,” said John.

“To guarantee a good cook every time, I always say to use the best quality lump wood charcoal you can find and avoid using briquettes. A lot of people tend to go for them because they are easy to light but the chemicals and binding agents used in them can impact the flavour of the meat.

“One of the best ways to ensure taste, flavour and tenderness is to make sure you choose the best quality meat. As part of the Scotch Butchers Club, run by Quality Meat Scotland (QMS), the Scotch Beef, Scotch Lamb and Specially Selected Pork we sell at Davidsons comes from local producers whose farms meet the highest standards of quality and animal welfare, meaning we can give our customers a product that comes with a guarantee of trust.

The number of abattoirs in Scotland has dropped significantly in recent years, from 38 in 2008 to 24 in 2015. The North Ronaldsay and Boreray flocks in Orkney have been particularly hit by the loss of Kirkwall’s excellent facility in 2018.

These flocks are among the last of the North European short-tailed sheep in Scotland, heritage breeds which kept our ancestors alive. Bones from Skara Brae place the North Ronaldsay Sheep at the heart of Orcadian agriculture for 8,000 years. Their value is not just measured in sentimentality, but as a repository of resilient DNA which may be the future of commercial flocks, as yet unbred.

As the consultation into mobile abattoirs in Scotland moves forward, we need to have a serious, communitywide conversation about slaughter. A spokesman for Quality Meat Scotland says, “The challenge is volume and cost. Mobile abattoirs are a great concept but the running costs could be prohibitively expensive.”

Smallholders, often the last refuge for rare breeds, provide a realistic route into farming for many.

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Smallholding Scotland is keen to see a positive outcome to the slaughterhouse question, “more accessible abattoir provision is absolutely crucial. 200-mile round trips are not unusual for smallholders taking animals to be killed. That isn’t good for animal welfare or the economics of an enterprise.”

The Crofting Federation would like to see abattoir provision increased. The potential for servicing local and international demand for naturally-reared meat and artisan produce “would help retain crofting communities in our most remote and iconic areas.”

Much of Scotland’s livestock occupies land which provides perfect carbon capture in idyllic, unspoilt, traditional settings.

More people are looking at the carbon footprint and the food miles taken to get food onto their plates. Mobile abattoirs could play an important role in ensuring Scotland’s name is synonymous with high welfare meat which is good for the planet.

For an industry looking for a marketing story to sell, Scotland’s brand is hard to beat.

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FLAVOUR OF SCOTLAND

Wemyss Bay Butcher Scoops Scotch Product of the Year Award The hard work and passion of Scotland’s top food and drink businesses and retailers has been recognised at this year’s Scotland Food & Drink Excellence Awards with McCaskie Butchers scooping the prize for Scotch Product of the Year.

Competing against extremely stiff competition, Wemyss Baybased McCaskie Butchers took home the coveted award in recognition of its Unsmoked Back Bacon - a delicious and versatile product that has proved popular with consumers and demonstrates dedication to the Specially Selected Pork brand.

Nigel Ovens, owner of McCaskie Butchers said: “We

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are so delighted to have won this prestigious award for Scotch Product of the Year with our unsmoked back bacon. With so much competition this year, it is testament to our hard-working team and to my family with whom I run the business.

“We’re extremely proud of our heritage and being a traditional family business specialising in quality meat and meat products.

“As with all McCaskie products, our bacon range is hand produced in small batches in order that we can ensure premium quality control. Our bacon only uses 100% Scottish Specially Selected Pork and our

cure is made to a special recipe which has been passed down through the generations. The end result is a supremely tasty bacon! Our bacon sells really well across the counter in our shop in Wemyss Bay, but we also sell it throughout the country via our website and to a number of Scotland’s top restaurants.”

Now in its 20th year, this year’s Food & Drink Excellence Awards was held at the Edinburgh Corn Exchange, where 800 guests from across the industry came together to celebrate Scotland’s thriving food and drink sector.

The prestigious Scotch Product of the Year award,

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sponsored by Quality Meat Scotland, recognises businesses in Scotland which are retailing Scotch Beef PGI, Scotch Lamb PGI or Specially Selected Pork in products of exceptional taste and quality.

Alan Clarke, QMS Chief Executive said: “Supporting the Scotch Product of the Year category at the Scotland Food and Drink Awards gives us the chance to champion those getting behind the Scotch Beef PGI, Scotch Lamb PGI and Specially Selected Pork brands who are creating delicious, innovative and versatile products for Scottish consumers to enjoy.

food ALDI wins Scottish sourcing award at Scotland Food and Drink Excellence Awards Aldi triumphed recently at the Scotland Food & Drink Excellence Awards winning the hotly contested Scottish Sourcing (Multiple) Award.

Beating all rivals including Lidl and Asda, Aldi was recognised for its dedication to fostering strong relationships with its Scottish suppliers and bringing high quality, locally sourced produce to its customers.

The judges also commended Aldi on its commitment to the Scottish food and drink industry, noting the retailer’s aim to increasing

the number of products in its Scottish range to more than 450 by the end of 2020.

Graham Nicolson, Group Buying Director, Aldi Scotland said: “We’re extremely proud to have won the Scottish Sourcing Award this year. Provenance, traceability and sustainability are incredibly important to us at Aldi and we work tirelessly to ensure our stores stock the highest quality, locally sourced produce.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to extend a very warm thank

Crowdfunded cheesemaker campaign successful in challenge against Food Standards Scotland Five Scottish cheesemakers have succeeded in a crowdfunded campaign against the legality of Food Standards Scotland inspection and enforcement Guidance for the production of raw milk cheese in Scotland.

As a result of the action, the FSS and the Scottish Food Enforcement Liaison Committee (SFELC) has published new Guidance, in line with World Health Organisation and EU recommendations - leading to the advocate representing the cheesemakers to drop the action as a full judicial review was no longer required.

The producers are delighted with the outcome of the ruling and

said that the Guidance has now ‘undergone significant changes which secures of future of raw milk cheese production in Scotland’.

The five businesses, Errington Cheese, Isle of Mull Cheese, Galloway Farmhouse Cheese, Cambus O’May Cheese Co. and Finlay’s Farm Ltd, launched a Crowdjustice campaign in February and exceeded the initial

£15,000 funds for legal fees allowing for the preparation and submission of a potential judicial review.

They believed the FSS’s Guidance was contrary to agreed EU industry guidance and established best practice’, concerned that it would make ‘raw cheese production in Scotland unviable’.

Initially requesting a suspension of the Guidance to enable changes to be considered, the group sought legal support and lodged a petition to overhaul the new protocols.

In addition to the successfully amended guidelines, Food Standards Scotland abandoned its motion to seek expenses against from the cheesemakers.

Workshop will discuss opportunities for British producers to become leaders in plant-based product development A one-day workshop taking place on 12th September at the University of Nottingham’s Sutton Bonington campus will discuss the opportunities and challenges for food producers of more people adopting a largely or exclusively plant-based diet.

The rise in popularity of vegetarianism and veganism offers opportunities for farmers, food producers and retailers. However, it is also causing concerns about how agriculture can react to the speed of change. Nine speakers will discuss the effects that this

trend is having and explore what farmers and food producers can do to keep up with, and benefit from, consumer demand.

This one-day workshop, entitled ‘Capturing a Growing Market - Developing exciting new products for consumers choosing a plant-based diet’ is aimed at anyone who wants to hear from industry experts about how to face the challenges, and reap the benefits, of providing more plantbased products to consumers. It is an opportunity to meet, share ideas and discuss how British farmers,

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food producers and retailers can prepare for even more dramatic changes in consumer choice.

The workshop is being run by the Agrifood Training Partnership (AFTP). It will feature a variety of presentations from industry speakers including Dr Muyiwa Akintoye, Head of Research and Development at Quorn Foods and Carol Wagstaff, AFTP Director and Professor of Crop Quality for Health at the University of Reading. Tickets are just £50 and are available from www.aftp. co.uk/node/158.

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TRAINVIEW TALK

As midsummer approaches I should be putting my winter jacket away but sadly I am getting value for money out of it, snow on the high tops and a thin wind has made sure of that.

Calving has now finished and it ended with a bang with an Irish Moiled cow having twins to the shorthorn bull.

So we finished with a calf for each cow and one extra and the quality is very pleasing too. The next job is to AI a batch of cows again for the April calving. Finding semen that has the right myostatin status is difficult as new rules have been introduced by the Beef Shorthorn Society and the goal posts there change without warning. There’s also the right health status, good EBV figures, the right colour and whether he looks half like the job is proving to be difficult. We used a bull last year that was born in 1996 and even though his figures don’t stack up he has left a super heifer so that one will get another shot of the same bull so that’s one of the easiest decision made!

The Stirling May Bull sale was a nice weekend away despite our bulls not selling, the Beef shorthorns in general struggled away but most sold not too bad until we ran out of buyers at the end and guess where ours landed….if at first you don’t succeed so they say…

We attended our first show of the year at Fife taking a first and two second prizes.

The number of shorthorns were the best they had been for a few years and the quality has risen too. The rain wasn’t so welcome and I have to thank Sian Sharp for her help as I had the day job to do before I made it to the show but between Sian and Valerie 20

DIARY

Trainview Talk Our new diary page

By James Cameron who runs Trainview Livestock with partner Valerie Orr the cattle were settled in and looking well. In no time the world’s youngest Aberdeen Angus breeder wasn’t so impressed under the cover of the pram but it all went without a hitch and having girls on the show crew I know what mascara to wear in the rain which I hope I never find useful.

The shed is now mucked out and ready to be washed it might get a paint too if its lucky, white wash fairly keeps it tidy and keeps the bugs at bay although there may be a shortage of volunteers to help me with that job.

A quick trip to Northern Ireland to see Valerie’s brother get married has been squeezed in this month although Alec’s attempt at singing wasn’t required and an afternoon with him in the beer garden wasn’t the most unpleasant way to spend a day. When we were over it was noticeable the amount of hooded crows and magpies over there. There are very few gamekeepers NI to keep onto top of them and the shameful way the ban in controlling corvids was pushed through in England with no notice is beyond belief. Let’s hope

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land managers and farmers in Scotland keep a united front to ensure the withdrawal of general licences doesn’t get extended to Scotland which could see the death knell for all waders and songbirds.

In coincidence there is a grouse moor in Dumfriesshire just come on the market, once a productive moor employing many people now a monument to the stupidity of people with little idea and no intention of listening to a point of view contrary to their own.

A few more shows to do and try to make silage in the next month if the rain allows.

A couple of pure bred steers and a cross heifer with a calf at foot also have to be marketed shortly before the best of the grass is past. Also we are going to pick out a couple of young cows with calves at foot for a possible sale in Stirling in October to lighten the pressure in the shed for winter time.

It’s tragic to hear this spring of yet more deaths and serious accidents on farms.

There’s an ever increasing pressure to do more work with less help, less time is being spent with cows and some react badly to being handled especially with a new born calf with catastrophic results.

I have been hurt in the past with cattle, no cow is ever worth getting hurt or worse, the sun will shine tomorrow however dimly make sure your there to see it.

On a lighter note the calf with the broken leg has made a full recovery I took the cast off and her mother came over and licked every inch of the leg that had been covered up, slowly and with great care this hard hearted teuchter could only watch and admire nature at its best.

cooking with lamb

Rack of North Ronaldsay Mutton with Leeks and Carrots.

By Wendy Barrie

Recipe & photography Š Wendy Barrie

North Ronaldsay Sheep has just been named as Scotland’s first Slow Food Presidium. Descendants of the North European short-tailed sheep, this closed flock is probably unique in thriving exclusively on a shoreline, hence the nickname ‘seaweed sheep.’ Its strong flavours can be a surprise to the uninitiated as the meat is naturally spiced and gamey. When slow cooked with local vegetables, even modest morsels of mutton will deliciously flavour the whole dish. Cooking a larger joint of mutton results in a sensational centrepiece that you can serve ‘pulled’ or slice later for cold cuts.

Ingredients: Approx 1kg rack North Ronaldsay Mutton A drizzle of Scottish rapeseed oil Isle of Sea Salt and freshly milled black pepper to season 50g home made chive butter 4 medium carrots, cleaned and cut in chunks 1-2 leeks, depending on size, cleaned and sliced A small pinch of dried rosemary – or a sprig of fresh to be removed later.

Method: s (EAT OIL IN A CASSEROLE DISH WITH A WEDGE OF CHIVE BUTTER AND SEAL THE MUTTON PIECE ON ALL SIDES 4HE BUTTER ADDS mAVOUR AND the oil prevents butter from burning. Sealing the meat gives the depth of colour to your finished dish. s 3EASON WITH SEA SALT FRESHLY MILLED BLACK PEPPER AND ADD ROSEMARY s !DD LEEKS TO LIGHTLY SAUTĂ? THEN POUR OVER HOT WATER SUFlCIENT TO HALF lLL THE DISH AND CASSEROLE FOR HOURS IN OVEN AT ÂşC or simmer on hob. After an hour of cooking, add carrots. As long as you have a close-fitting lid it should be fine but check from time to time and add a little water if it is getting too dry. It should be simmering gently. s 7HEN FULLY COOKED REMOVE FROM HEAT AND LIFT OUT JOINT 3ET ASIDE IN FOIL TO KEEP WARM .OW IS THE MOMENT TO SPOON OFF ANY excess fat if wished. s )F YOU WISH TO THICKEN THE LEEK SAUCE ADD A DESSERTSPOON OF CORNmOUR TO A SMALL GLASS OF COLD WATER AND BLEND !DD THIS TO the gravy and return to heat for sufficient time to bring the liquid to the boil, stirring all the time, and the gravy will thicken.

Serves 4-6, delicious with buttery mash and boiled greens.

Wendy has just launched an e booklet on the North Ronaldsay Sheep, available for free download. Scottish Thistle Award Regional Ambassador (2018/19) for Central, Tayside & Fife, Wendy Barrie www.wendybarrie.co.uk is a highly respected campaigner for local sustainable food, popular cookery show presenter and food writer.

Founder & Director of award-winning www.scottishfoodguide.scot & www.scottishcheesetrail.com Wendy is Leader in Scotland for Slow Food Ark of Taste & Member of Slow Food Cooks Alliance. www.farmingscotlandmagazine.com

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PERTH SHOW 2019

So much to see and do as farmers' showcase comes to town There is no other show like it in Scotland For two days every year, the centre of Perth resounds to the lowing of cattle, the bleating of sheep, the braying of donkeys and the clatter of horses’ hooves as the annual Perth Show brings the farming community right into the heart of the city.

For 157 years, Perth has enjoyed the unique distinction of hosting Scotland’s only agricultural show to be held in a city centre.

During that time, the popular event has evolved to become one of Scotland’s leading agricultural showcases with a packed two-day programme of agriculture, equestrian, food

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and fun events guaranteed to appeal to everyone.

This year Perth Show will be held on the city’s South Inch on Friday 2nd and Saturday 3rd August.

And organisers are promising that the 157th annual spectacular will be another crowd pleaser in a show that competes with the best in Scotland, thanks to the support of main sponsors Binn Group and key supporters Morris Leslie, Morris Young, United Auctions and QMS. Attractions include one of the finest line-ups of wouldbe champion horses, donkeys, goats, cattle and sheep. Over

1,200 head of livestock will compete in around 360 classes while other competitors vie for prizes in cooking and handcraft.

And throughout the two days, trade stands, sideshows, entertainment, activities, shopping, music and parades all add to the vibrancy of this annual “must see” on the Perthshire events calendar.

Show secretary Neil Forbes said this year’s event will again not only appeal to the agricultural community but also the general public and city residents.

“Perth Show has evolved to offer a vast range of entertainments and attractions

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and 2019 will build on the successes of the most popular elements from recent years as well as introducing new activities to appeal to young and old alike.”

A draw for national livestock shows Perth Show’s status in Scotland has attracted two major national livestock shows to this year’s event.

The Scottish Regional Progeny Show for Blue Faced Leicester sheep and the Hereford Cattle Society Scottish National Show have both opted to bring their respective events to

PERTH SHOW 2019 Perth Show as a key platform to showcase their breeds in Scotland.

“This is a great coup for Perth Show as it will bring in additional livestock from across the country and also attract those particularly interested in seeing the best of those breeds,” said Neil. “Any show is a shop window to display the finest bloodlines and it will be good for Perth Show regulars to see the finest pedigree animals.”

“Both organisations have chosen Perth Show before to showcase their pedigree stock and it will be great to welcome them back.”

Perth Show has always been known for showcasing some of the finest animals across all breeds year on year and this August looks set to be no different with around 1,200 animals viewing for the silverware.

Outwith the stock pens, two highlights of last year’s Show are set to make a welcome return Private Driving and Pony Club Games - following their wide appeal last year.

“Last year we put Private Driving classes into the main arena

instead of the outer showings and the public absolutely loved it,” explained Neil.

“This year we will again turn the spotlight firmly on these amazing entrants - which range from donkey-drawn gigs to four horses in harness pulling beautiful carriages containing handlers in immaculate turnout.”

“There is a huge amount of work and effort goes in to preparing the teams and carriages for the competition classes and it's only right that they should get their time in the spotlight and allow the public to enjoy this beautiful spectacle.”

Perth Show commentators will guide spectators through the intricate moves and skills of the different class competitors as they parade Saturday’s main showing.

Another great crowd pleaser making a welcome return is the Pony Club Games - heartstopping dare-devil riding by youngsters on their plucky ponies as they race across the show ground competing in a variety of speed and agility challenges.

“We welcomed Pony Club Games back to Perth Show last year after an absence of about six years,” explained Neil, “and the public delighted in what is a really exciting event so there was no hesitation in making them a key part of the 2019 main showing entertainment.”

Around half a dozen clubs from across Scotland are set to compete in the edge-of-your-seat action.

Celebrity chefs, local talent and food and drink producers Firm favourites making a welcome return to the Perth Show include the Perthshire On A Plate food festival which draws thousands to the food and drink pavilion for a two-day programme featuring cookery demonstrations by celebrity and local chefs at the Food Theatre, food and drink producers offering tastings and sales in the produce marquee and chefs from local restaurants offering taster-size portions from several local eateries in the popup dining area.

This year’s headliners at Perthshire On A Plate - supported

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by Blackhills Specialist Dental Clinic and Scotch Lamb PGI - are breakfast TV favourite celebrity chef Phil Vickery on the Friday and Scotland’s own Masterchef The Professionals winner Gary Maclean heading up the Saturday line-up.

Perth Show is also delighted to host the Scottish regional judging of the Delicious Magazine Produce Awards 2019 at the dedicated Fisher & Paykel award winning home appliance kitchen within the Perthshire On A Plate food and drink pavilion.

A team of expert judges will be overseen by Valentina Harris, chef, broadcaster, cookery teacher and champion of small producers.

They will be faced with tasting the very best of produce from across the whole of Scotland, across several different categories.

Baking and handicraft skills will be on display at the much-loved Farmhouse Kitchen and SWI marquees. This year will see the introduction of a new children's section at the Farmhouse Kitchen with children

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PERTH SHOW 2019 invited to don their aprons and produce a variety of delicious entries from treacle scones to raspberry cordial and show off their craft skills with decorated wellies or a DVD cover for "The City Of Perth”.

Much more than a day out for farmers Perth Show Chairman Donald McDiarmid explained that the Show is now much more than a livestock gathering where the area’s farmers can chew the cud.

“It’s two of the most exciting family days out on offer in Perth throughout the year,” he said.

"We have focussed in recent years on creating an event that appeals to all ages, all walks of life and all interests - it’s a Show with something for everyone.

“We also work hard to ensure Perth Show is a learning ground with educational aspects for young and old alike interested in learning about agriculture, equipment and animals and we're delighted to welcome back the

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Royal Highland Education Trust (RHET) who have captivated Show-goers for the past few years with their hands on displays and interactive displays including a lambing simulator, an oilseed rape press and their ever-popular Daisy - the milking cow.

“The pet show and newly introduced Farmhouse Kitchen children’s classes also allow youngsters to really get involved with the Show.,” he added, “and children under 13 years of age get in to the Show FREE.” (If accompanied by adult) Farm manager Donald (43) said it was unique to be able to bring the country in to the heart of a city and let townsfolk learn about the agricultural community.

“This year we are introducing our ‘Ask A Farmer’ volunteers,” added Donald. “A group of easily-identifiable badged farmers who will circulate and invite questions from the crowds about anything to do with farming and country matters, drawing on their years of experience. This will

be a great way for the public to have their questions answered and hear some great tales about rural life.”

The Show Chairman also stressed the importance of being able to depict the full 'plough to plate' story of how the country's food is reared, produced and refined to become the wealth of outstanding local produce on display at the Show.

“They can even see top celebrity and local chefs take those raw ingredients and wonderful products and create something sensational for the dining table - it’s the full farming and food story.”

Other new aspects to this year's two-day event will be a Dog Show, Children’s Races and a Battle of the Buskers showdown - all to offer wider appeal and attract both new and loyal visitors. And payment at the gates can now be taken by card as well as cash.

The heart of Perth Show, as ever, centres on the livestock

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and Friday is devoted to the equestrian community.

Horse lovers can delight in all-day judging of ponies and horses proudly shown by exhibitors ranging from tots to adults.

A day of champions Horses also feature on Saturday when heavy horses, carriage teams and show jumpers share centre stage with some of the country’s finest livestock in terms of cattle, sheep, goats and donkeys - all competing for class and breed honours as well as the day’s ultimate prize - the Champion of Champions Trophy.

This August, the difficult task of selecting the ultimate champion falls to sheep and cattle farmer Joyce Campbell from Armadale, Sutherland, who was 2015 Scottish Sheep Farmer of the Year and current brand ambassador for Scotch Lamb.

Perth Show presents a vast array of some very beautiful and historic silverware and

PERTH SHOW 2019 visitors will be able to view the magnificent trophies on display on the Saturday.

New trophies being fought over this year include: The Cally Storm Trophy presented by Gavin Drummond of Forteviot in the showjumping classes; the Binn Group Trophy, presented

by Allan MacGregor for the best stand in the food and drink pavilion; the Fotheringham Trophy for the Junior Heifer Champion presented by the Fotheringham Family of Craighall Farm, Forgandenny and two new trophies in the goat classes - one presented by Right Mann Services Ltd and the other

by Kim Falconer from Dundee.

The Saturday livestock judging gives way to an afternoon of Main Ring entertainment starting with the hugely popular Pet Competition, followed by a rousing display from Perth & District Pipe Band. Then it's over

to the crowd-pleasing parade of vintage vehicles before the spectacular display of animals in the Grand Parade of show winners. Private Carriage Driving followed by Pony Club Games take centre stage to complete the afternoon’s entertainment.

Magnificent giants in riding spectacular The heavy horse turnout always prove one of the Shows’ most popular and spectacular attractions, with their glittering harnesses and artful tail, mane and harness decorations.

This year, lovers of these magnificent giants will be treated to a unique spectacle as ridden Clydesdales take to the main arena early on Saturday morning - a rare sight as the fabulous animals thunder across the show ring and set the turf trembling.

“We hope to attract ridden Clydesdales from all over Scotland to create a must see

unique scene in the heart of Perth,” said Show Secretary Neil.

"It is something that few people will have witnessed and a joy to host at this year’s Perth Show.”

And visitors to the Show will be able to see how the lower end of these magnificent creatures is cared for with national team manager Jim Balfour from Tealing and the Scottish Farrier Team staging a series of shoeing demonstrations for the public.

Other rural skills such as sheep shearing, beekeeping and wool spinning will also feature in the two-day programme as townsfolk join their country cousins to marvel at these traditional experts.

“This year’s Show will continue to feature many of the traditional aspects of agricultural shows loved and valued by generations of farmers, as well as a growing array of new and exciting visitor attractions,” said Neil.

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“No matter where you are in the showground or what day it is, there will be something to get involved with, compete in or marvel over - whether it's watching a celebrity chef in action, strolling through the livestock pens, trying your hand at a challenging sideshow, enjoying hospitality at one of the many trade and business stands, pouring over the latest state-ofthe-art machinery, watching the champions on parade, chatting with the experts, stopping for a tasty bite or a drink at the food pavilion or concession offerings, shopping from the wide range of goods and crafts or cheering on your favourite tug-o-war team.

“It’s two days of constant and widespread entertainment and engagement that we feel sure will appeal to both farmers and townsfolk, So we look forward to opening the gates for all on Friday and Saturday, August 2 and 3.”

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Scotland our brand Scotland is blessed with its fair share of the world’s best produce when it comes to natural heritage foods indigenous to our climate. We benefit, by enlarge, from steady rainfall and reasonable sunshine, the Gulf Stream and maritime breezes. Sure we have midges and haar but who has beef, lamb, shellfish, berries and game like us? Our dairy farmers are diversifying into high quality ice creams, cheeses and yoghurts and we have Scottish heritage grains grown commercially for the first time in over a century!

Indeed over fifty Scottish foods have been officially recognised as among the world’s valued heritage foods on Slow Food’s International website.

With such fabulous and intrinsically Scottish foods, past, present and future, this regular feature will focus on Scotland’s natural bounty and the folk who have used their ingenuity, passion and business acumen to use the produce in their own imitable ways.

Counting Sheep!

By Wendy Barrie Scottish Thistle Award Regional Ambassador (2018/19) for Central, Tayside & Fife Director of Scottish Food Guide

Wendy Barrie with Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon

Hebridean sheep

In a global food world of ‘chlorination chicken,’ vast feedlots for cattle and almond plantations bereft of bees let’s pause for a moment and think sheep! Scotland still has more indigenous breeds of sheep than most countries and yet too many still measure commerce in kilos and rate abattoirs by capacity.

When are the powers that be going to grip that our native sheep have the potential to be gold dust? When I recently presented The Heritage Foods of Alba Exhibition at The Scottish Parliament there was great interest in these rare breeds so there is hope for the future.

In a Good Food Nation with Food Tourism the name of the game, what better opportunity than to visit the far – and not so 26

far - flung places where these animals thrive sustainably and environmentally? There are those who have stated sheep are the most un-environmental form of meat production there is (generally the ones advocating bringing back wolves) however this is rubbish!

Nothing is that simple. During the highland clearances when sheilings and crofts were decimated and populations banished, multitudes of sheep over-grazed the land but in a sustainable farming system the right breed has an important role to play in biodiversity and food production. They keep landscapes open, produce good milk, tasty, healthy meat and natural fibres from their wool. The key is there should always be more cows than

sheep in rotation. Sheep are picky so can clear rare flowers given half a chance but alternated with cattle, biodiversity is enhanced.

Ruminants work in harmony and mixed grazing is always advantageous in keeping landscape lush. Landrace animals are slow growing so generally have a longer lifespan and don’t intensive feed.

They thrive on grassy hills, nibbling herbs that appeal to them, machair, heather heath or even seaweed!

Scotland is currently investing in school meal service, aiming for pupils to experience more unprocessed and local foods, reduce processed meat and replace with superior Scottish meat, along with improved food education, using the Soil Association’s Food

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for Life Served Here banner to support this. Scottish sheep would fit well in this regime. Naturally there are vegetarians to cater for however for omnivores, lamb is a perfect meat. Such a pity about the name! Cattle are known as beef and deer as venison so arguably less contentious. ‘Lamb’ is ambiguous as many heritage sheep are eaten as hogget or mutton and none as baby lambs but we are probably stuck with the name! We have eaten Värmland mutton, related to the Orkney and Shetland breeds, that was nineteen years old, and delicious!

When children watch an entertaining episode of Shaun the Sheep or drink from a pottery mug painted with a white ‘cloud’

sprouting four black legs they can be forgiven for not knowing the variety of breeds, colours and flavours of our native sheep.

Scotland is home to short-tailed sheep so our rare breeds all have short tails in their DNA. They are small boned, lightweight and fulsome in flavour from the breed and feed. According to a Norwegian science investigation any ruminant ‘fattened’ elsewhere on a different diet will alter the very essence of their distinctive flavour profile in as little as a few days, and the nutritional values change detrimentally too!

So what are these sheep? To date Scotland has five heritage breeds recognised on Slow Food’s International Ark of Taste, all of which are fascinating, very different, low carbon footprint and delicious. There is an increasing demand for them from ethical eaters, cooks and chefs. This is a premium product that can command a higher price. They are ‘undeveloped’ and this is very important for their provenance, retaining their valuable genetics.

Native Shetland Lamb happily exist in the most rugged land and extreme climate. They can be successfully marketed from the islands to a worldwide audience with a distinctive delicate herbal flavour that is superb. It is protected under the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) scheme, meaning that true Native Shetland Lamb must be born, reared and finished on the Shetland Islands. These old breeds are dainty in size but what they lack in bulk they more than make up for in flavour. They are traditionally reared to roam the open land, fed only by nature’s

North Ronaldsay yarn

herbs and spiced with local flora.

Mutton and Reestit Mutton are also produced, available from local butchers subject to seasonal availability. Their wool and yarns are also in great demand. www. uradale.com & www.briggsshetlandlamb.co.uk Hebridean Sheep are another direct descendant of the ancient North European short-tailed sheep.

The small, hardy and lively ewes rarely weigh more than 40kg and originated on the Hebrides. They have distinctive dark fleeces, up to eight horns and a delicious delicate flavour, lightly herbal and easy to cook. Ardoch Hebridean Sheep are one of the few who are dedicated to the breed and have a multi-awardwinning flock, often to be seen at the Royal Highland Show. www. ardochhebrideansheep.co.uk Soay has the most primitive appearance of any British sheep breed and takes its name from the island of Soay (‘sheep island’ in Norse) in the St. Kilda group.

The meat is delicious, dark and full flavoured – usually sold as mutton for slow cooking. They are brown in colour, from tan to chocolate with beautiful fleeces.

Pre-dating the Vikings they are in their element in these far north isles. They are good mothers and successfully protect their young from raptors in the rugged terrain.

They are available frozen from www.wildfarming.co.uk Boreray is another primitive breed of sheep, also with fine wool highly desirable for spinning. All sheep have heavy spiralling horns and their meat is flavoursome, usually eaten as hogget or mutton to allow the meat to mature. Boreray Island is also part of the St. Kilda

group where the breed originated in the late 1800’s from a cross between Blackface and the ancient Scottish Dunface sheep from the Iron Age that is now extinct so this is all that remains. When the people left St. Kilda in 1930, sheep were left behind on Boreray where there has been a feral flock ever since. In 1970s a small group of six animals was brought over to the mainland but the mainland population is very limited. Fast forward to 21st Century on Orkney and Jane Cooper, a dedicated breeder with a fascination for wools and yarns had the opportunity to take on the ‘Lost Flock’ as they were known, making them unique. These Orkney Boreray sheep and their descendants have no crossing with any of the registered Boreray sheep in rest of UK, making them a rare genebank on Orkney. According to Danish research the Boreray and Soay are in a DNA group of their own, unrelated to anything else in Europe. www.orkneyboreray.com North Ronaldsay Sheep are not only on the Ark of Taste but also recently recognised as Scotland’s first Presidium. They are a closed flock and probably the only flock thriving so exclusively on a shoreline, hence their sobriquet ‘seaweed sheep.’ According to a Danish investigation of old bones on Orkney, their DNA is 8,000 years old, as old as the origins of island agriculture itself! Visit this beautiful isle and you will see these small sheep contentedly foraging along the shoreline on a diet of kelp and wild herbage whilst sure-footedly navigating rocks, sand and sea. Winter storms throw up swathes of kelp so unlike most breeds, winter

feeding is not an ordeal, indeed they reach their prime weight at winter. In 1832 the crofters built a dyke round the island, keeping the sheep on the shore and off the land. This separation resulted in the preservation of the breed, preventing cross-breeding, the downfall of many other sheep breeds. What started as survival of the fittest resulted in genetic changes that make the foreshore of North Ronaldsay and the ancient breed of sheep inseparable for their very survival. They adapted to the point where anything other than a primarily seaweed diet harms them. They are highly efficient at absorbing nutrients from the kelp and are quite salt tolerant. Sold as 3-5 year old mutton the flavour is superb and spicy, their meat dark and a touch gamey – totally unique and a very seasonal product although of course it freezes well.

Their yarn is also sought after, in a beautiful range of natural shades.

Without the dedication of Billy Muir these sheep may have gone the way of the dodo. To keep in touch for next harvest contact wendy@wendybarrie.co.uk And what about these absolute characters one meets on single track roads across the highlands? Blackies too can have very good meat quality and have yet to be researched in depth.

Within this genetic bundle there is great variety: those isolated living on islands, some modern and developed, others with different genetics giving them a cashmere quality to their fleece …so watch this space as we continue to study our Scottish assets and never underestimate our Scottish sheep!

Rack of Boreray lamb

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Bulgaria A country with possibilities

By Fiona Sloan

WORLD FARMING The Republic of Bulgaria, is in the southeast of Europe, bordered by Romania in the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south and on its east coast, the Black Sea. Historically, the country has been occupied by foreign invaders for centuries, until the

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Bulgarian Empire became an independent state in the late 1800s but that only lasted until 1944, when the monarchy was overthrown.

Following WWII, Bulgaria mirrored Russia’s economic plan and enjoyed significant success initially, with strong growth and improved living

standards. However, during the next 40 years the economy produced poorer and poorer results and living standards were in decline, when the country moved to free elections in 1990. That election was won by the former communist party, who without the experience of running a market economy, saw

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the economy continue to decline, especially with the loss of the Soviet markets after the fall of the Iron Curtain.

Subsequent governments attempted to introduce privatisation, mainly through selling off state assets but they were hampered by a poorly performing economy, that was running a triple-digit inflation and increased national debt. It was not until the IMF engaged with the government in 2005 and imposed financial conditions on loans to influence policy, that the trend was reversed and acceptance into the EU came in 2007.

The economy to date is still not strong and currently remains unable to join the euro zone despite the EU being the main importer of Bulgarian produce. Agricultural products as a percentage of total country exports is around 18% (4 bn euros), most of this representing trade with EU countries (69%).

Export of crop and plant production represents 46% of the total export value.

Post-communist rule, the farms have almost entirely been returned to their former owners, however, the continued shift of the economy towards an industrial base, means that many of the current generation of owners live and work in the cites and have no ability or desire to farmland. This has resulted

WORLD FARMING in land being sold cheaply or rented out on long term leases, allowing some farms to grow to a significant size.

Under 7% of the workforce of the eight million population, are employed in agriculture, which accounts for a fifth of the national income. The main production by far is in cereals at 9 million tonnes per annum, with wheat being the most important at 1.5 million hectares and sunflowers and other plant crops taking up two

thirds of the 3.6 million hectares available. Other crops such as rye, oats, soya beans and rice are grown. Tobacco is a particularly important crop in the south of the country, where the type grown and the high quality of the crop, is well sought after in the Asian markets. Soft fruits and salad vegetables continue to do well, as they are not so reliant on modern machinery unlike the cereal sector, where advances in machinery has been better than most eastern European

countries but is still hampering increases in production.

The livestock sector is dominated by the dairy industry, which accounts for 10% of livestock production, with sheep and goats following behind.

Only half of the milk produced is processed, with the rest being marketed through direct sales on farm and local farmers markets.

Currently, almost half of the country’s 300,000 dairy cows are not compliant with EU rules on dairy production.

Smaller units continue to amalgamate, helping production to become more efficient. While the meat industry, mainly pork, continues to consolidate and grow slightly, due in the main to improved economic conditions and increased disposable income, a run of animal health and disease problems has hindered its development and it could be some time before Bulgaria gets all of its ducks in a row to move forward in agricultural terms.

Ethical Farming Conference Hailed a Success Two hundred farmers, researchers, academics and students from Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Ireland, the USA and from across the UK took part in what is believed to be the first ever conference on the emerging ‘ethical’ farming sector.

The event was co-organised by four farms – Mossgiel Farm, Peelham Farm, Rainton Farm and Whitmuir Organic – all based in the south of Scotland.

The programme explored a systems-based approach to farming and regenerative models of food production that address growing public concerns about climate change, biodiversity, social impact and animal welfare.

The event was organised around sustainability principles; highlighting locally produced foods, using recycled paper and avoiding single use plastic.

Wilma Finlay of host venue Rainton Farm, the largest cow with calf dairy farm in Europe, said: “The conference is the start of a conversation that invites our industry to meaningfully explore the very real concerns that the public has with current food producing systems and how we might address them. Ethically produced food is an important emerging market and livestock farming needs to have a place within that market.

“In the past few weeks we’ve seen a ‘climate emergency’

declared by political leaders across the UK. We’ve also seen the publication of the UN’s IPBES report on devastating biodiversity loss, with the report calling for more sustainable, regenerative and ecological farming - exactly the topics that were discussed at the conference.

There is a clear opportunity for Scotland to take the lead in incentivising ecological farming; pioneering a pasture-based, regenerative approach that is as sustainable as it is productive.

The alternative, intensification, in a country that excels at natural, pasture based systems will place our whole industry in the frame as a health and climate liability.”

The conference was opened

by Mairi Gougeon, Scottish Government Minister for Rural Affairs and Natural Environment.

Speaking before the conference Mairi Gougeon said: “For a relatively small country, Scotland’s efforts to tackle climate change, support farmers, and ensure the highest

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standards of animal welfare mean that we should be leading the way internationally in ethical and sustainable farming. I know that there is already a lot of enthusiasm for this amongst Scotland’s farmers but I would encourage everyone working within the industry to embrace taking a more future-focused approach to their work, to ensure that we continue to produce an abundance of food and drink, in an increasingly unpredictable global climate

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COMBINES

Bringing in the harvest A look at new and current combines available for 2019

Axial-Flow 250 series from Case IH Case IH has been leading the way on harvesting technology since 1977, When the first rotary combine was launched. The brand offers three models in its 250 series (498-634 HP), plus a further three in the 140 series (312-449 HP), all focused on harvest productivity.

The newly-launched Axial-Flow 250 series will be making its debut on farms for the 2019 harvest and builds on the machine’s track record of ‘reliability through simplicity’.

This simplicity can firstly be seen in the driveline which features fewer moving parts than a traditional combine. Here, a single rotor carries out all of the threshing and grain separation, meaning fewer belts than the competition, reduced parts wear, less downtime, and ultimately a lower cost of ownership.

Furthermore, the rotor has a positive mechanical drive, enabling the rotor to be reversed if necessary to tackle blockages

quickly and easily, without even leaving the cab.

Simplicity can also be found in the luxurious cab, where simple controls allow even an inexperienced operator to harvest with increased productivity. A range of automation options further improve output, with the Case IH AFS Harvest Command technology providing full automation for a number of previously operator-led tasks.

AFS Connect™, takes this even further, transferring data to farm computers in real-time, enabling those outside The field to provide instant advice and directions to make immediate operating adjustments.Axial-Flow 250 series machines are also equipped with in-cab adjustable rotor cage vanes for easy adjustment to ensure that even the toughest crops are threshed out efficiently.

What’s more, on sloping ground, the cleaning system can compensate for up to 12% side slopes, with self-levelling sieves,

grain pan and fan all moving in unison to maintain output and performance.

Case IH combines feature the fastest unloading in the business, with the 9250 being able to unload its tank capacity of 14,100 litres in just 91 seconds – the biggest tank unloaded in the shortest time.

To make unloading even easier, the unique pivoted and infinitely adjustable spout coupled with a wide choice of unloading augers allows harvesting and haulage

machines to stay within a field’s tramlines in Controlled Traffic Farming situations.

In terms of residue management, the Axial-Flow 250 has a high velocity air flow which can spread residue the full width of the combine. This finely-chopped residue gives the quickest straw breakdown, and ultimate seed bed for the next crop in the ground. Alternatively, switch from chop to swath at the touch of a button, for fast and easy baling.

TUCANO from Claas - new control concept and MONTANA hill-side levelling The latest touchscreen CEBIS terminal, an extended model range and optional hillside levelling are among the highlights of the latest generation of CLAAS TUCANO combines.

Launched for the 2019 harvest, the latest TUCANO range included a new top-ofthe-range model, the TUCANO 580, plus for the first time models with MONTANA hillside levelling. In addition, the operator assistance systems AUTO CROP FLOW, which controls the crop flow to allow 30

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the combine to be worked to its maximum potential, and AUTO SLOPE, which adjusts the fan speed to ensure minimal losses and optimum grain cleanliness, are now also available in these combine harvesters, along with a grain tank capacity of up to 11,000 l.

A total of 8 TUCANO models are available, ranging from the 381hp TUCANO 580 through to the 245hp TUCANO 320. All TUCANO models are powered

by Mercedes Benz engines that comply with the Stage V (Tier

COMBINES 5) emissions standard and also feature DYNAMIC POWER. Originally introduced on JAGUAR forage harvesters, DYNAMIC POWER matches the engine power curve to the prevailing operating conditions.

When less power is required, for example when not chopping and just leaving a swath, engine power is reduced so saving fuel. If more power is needed, for instance when unloading, the full engine output is

immediately available again. The machines offer further scope for savings through the reduction of the full-load engine speed to 1,900 rpm and the reduction of the idling speed to 850 rpm.

Five TUCANO models are available as MONTANA hillside variants. This system compensates for slide slope inclines of up to 16%, or up to 18% for the TUCANO 560 and 430. In the field, all the functions run automatically with

the current tilt and cutting angle displayed in CEBIS. The MONTANA models are equipped with a 2-speed manual transmission with automatic adjustment of the engine load. In both gears there are two drive ranges which are selected on the basis of the load on the ground drive. No manual selection is necessary, the machine switches automatically to the lower drive range when high traction is required.

The all-wheel-drive axle in the MONTANA models provides up to 70 % more tractive power compared with the standard allwheel-drive axle. A differential lock for the front axle is available as an option. Hill-side levelling is also available for the APS HYBRID TUCANO 580, 570 and 560 machines as well as for the APS 6-walker TUCANO 450 and the APS 5-walker TUCANO 430.

Deutz-Fahr C6205 combine harvester The C6205 completes the range of combine harvesters with a new design, innovative technical solutions for operator comfort and advanced systems to manage engine emissions. A gem in the category of 5 straw walker machines which embodies the technology and winning philosophy of the DEUTZFAHR systems that users already enjoy with the C7000 and C9000 range. Experience in the field and contact with loyal DEUTZFAHR customers has created the foundation for the C6205 – a combine aimed at medium-sized farms, capable of tackling all harvest conditions.

Powered by a DEUTZ TCD 6.1l T4F engine providing 230hp of uncomprimised power. The engine management is designed to respond to peaks in load without losing productivity, whilst returning the lowest level of fuel requirement on the market per ton of harvested product.

All models are equipped with high-performance cutter bars, available in standard form with cutting widths from 4.2M to 6.3M or Varicrop up to 6.5M which employs a hydraulic cutter bar system that can be extended up to 700mm. All cutter bars are a one-piece construction, available with Autocontrol and the Schumacher Easy Cut II system ensuring safe and efficient operation in all conditions, providing a uniform cut with minimal wear.

The C6205 and C6205 TS are available with a host of features including the renowned Turbo Separator – an

enhancement to the standard threshing system increasing the work capacity by up to 20%. The ‘Optimum’ threshing system has the same characteristics as the 6 walker machines, guaranteeing maximum performance in all crops and making it particularly efficient in ‘greener’ and more challenging material.

Separation capacity is maximised by the 600m wide drum and fully adjustable concave system; a segmented concave provides even greater threshing options. Power and delicacy distinguish the C6205 - thanks to the DEUTZ-FAHR branded cleaning system you get maximum yield and product quality guaranteed.

Crop goes from the straw walker to the grain preparation pan, which distributes the product in a uniform manner. Before reaching the upper sieve, it gets to a pre-sieve which creates a double jump essential to slowing down the product before the actual cleaning process. The C6205 has two overlapping sieves for a total surface area of 5.28 m2. The effectiveness of cleaning doesn‘t just come from the double jump and the sieves, a large contribution comes from the ventilation system with ‘cross flow’ turbine. Despite its compact size the C6205 has a turbine fan as a standard feature, which thanks to its large diameter (400 mm) and 44 blades along the entire length of the rotor, manages to blow air on the whole width of the combine, not leaving any dead zones where the product isn‘t cleaned.

Another distinctive feature of the C6205 is the DGR, which is a unique system that improves the

combine harvester‘s performance, effectiveness of the threshing system and reduces losses.

New tracks and higher performance for John Deere combines John Deere is expanding its range of innovative, advanced technology combine harvesters for 2019. In addition to the allnew W330 and W440 compact machines, the W- and T-Series are being updated with higher performance features, and completely new tracks are being introduced, with numerous options and benefits.

The next generation of John Deere track systems set a new standard in the combine industry, offering 20 per cent more comfort, a 30 per cent larger footprint and 50 per cent more uptime. Manufactured by

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Soucy, the new rubber tracks are available for all S-Series combines plus the T560, T660 and T670 models.

On average the footprint is now 30 per cent larger compared to existing systems on the market. Due to a significantly longer track belt design, the 24in (609mm) track option for the S700 and T-Series combines has the same footprint as competitive 30in (762mm) versions, while transport width remains below 3.5m and is only 3.29m on the five-walker T-Series model: Top speed is up to 40kph on all models, while ride comfort 23 31

COMBINES has been improved by an undercarriage with five pivot points. Measurements taken at the axles and the cab floor have confirmed a 20 per cent more comfortable ride compared to a competitive make.

Increased uptime is achieved by using four instead of three steel cord layers on the new tracks, while the track profile has also been improved, with the lugs now deeper and angled at 55 degrees. In addition, track durability has been road tested using a front-mounted eight-row maize header. With the combine running at a test speed of 40kph for seven hours a day over 20 days, the result was 50 per cent more durability than the previous design.

The tracks can be replaced by wheels if required for field work or to enable easier resale of the combine. Another feature is the triangular design with positive drive – in tough conditions the tracks lift up at

the front and pull themselves out of the soil instead of digging deeper into it. Maintenance of the tracks is also very easy, as there are no greasing points and the transmission oil only needs replacing every 500 hours.

The new Interactive Combine Adjustment (ICA2) system makes it easier for S700 Series operators to consistently achieve maximum performance from the combine.

After optimising machine settings such as grain quality, losses and cleanliness of the sample, ICA2 maintains the pre-selected levels while harvesting conditions are changing.

IDEAL combine harvester from Massey Ferguson receives Platinum A’Design Award win Massey Ferguson was honoured to win the Platinum A-Design Award

WILKS BROTHERS Main dealers in Perthshire for DEUTZ FAHR Combine Harvesters

in the Agriculture, Horticulture and Fisheries Design Award Category.

The coveted was award at a ceremony in Como, Italy, in June.

The A’Design Award is one of the biggest international design competition globally with 98 categories such as vehicle design, architecture, graphics and visual communication, digital and electronic devices design or website and web design. All the products were assessed individually by an international panel of renowned press members, designers, scholars and experienced entrepreneurs.

“It is a new high performance combine range designed on the basis of farmers and operators’ requirements worldwide”, stated

the Jury. “It sets new efficiency levels in any harvesting conditions and includes three models from 451 to 647 hp that deliver significant gains in productivity and output thanks to the biggest grain tank capacity in the European markets, the fastest unloading rate and the largest threshing area. Special attention was paid to efficiency, grain and straw quality, reliability, user friendliness, and a revolutionary sensor technology for optimal machine setting.”, the judges said Francesco Quaranta, Vice President Sales, Marketing and Product Management Massey Ferguson EME accepted the award on behalf of AGCO’s

3ALES s 3ERVICE s 0ARTS Repairs for a wide range of Agricultural Machinery Murthly, Perthshire, PH1 4HG Tel: 01738 710381 Fax: 01738 710581

www.wilksbrothers.co.uk (continued on page 34)

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COMBINES international design and development team. “The IDEAL combine harvester is the result of many years’ research and development, dedicated crossfunctional teamwork and leading industry expertise,” said Mr Quaranta. “We are always looking for new, innovative and

sustainable ways to help farmers who want the best from us. The IDEAL combine is a perfect example of AGCO’s and Massey Ferguson’s mission to provide high-tech solutions to farmers feeding the world.”

“This new Award will join our already well fulfilled trophy cabinet

together with the 2017 DLG Silver medal Innovation Award, Machine of the Year 2018 and Machine of the Year Audience Choice Awards as well as the Red Dot Award 2018 : Best of the Best”, concluded Mr Quaranta.

IDEAL from Massey Ferguson is a completely new, game-changing

combine harvester range designed using requirements taken directly from farmers and operators around the globe.

The range sets new levels of efficiency in the field and includes three models from 451 to 647hp, leading the way in productivity and output.

New Holland extends CR Revelation combine range and takes automation to a new level New Holland’s new CR Revelation combine range takes automation to a new level with the award-winning IntelliSense system and introduces a host of improvements that further consolidates the supremacy of the world’s highest capacity combine.

Lars Skjoldager Sørensen, Head of Harvesting Product Line, said: “The CR Revelation combine is once again setting the industry’s benchmark: the world record holder and most productive and high-capacity combine in the world has taken efficiency to an entirely new level, significantly cutting harvesting costs through reduced losses and best-in-class grain sample. It has made a significant step forward in automation, taking over decision making from the driver to optimise output, grain quality and operator comfort.”

The CR Revelation combines feature New Holland’s IntelliSense pro-active and automatic combine

setting system, which takes automation to a new level to address a combine operator’s big challenge of maintaining maximum throughput while keeping losses and damaged grain to a minimum. This ground breaking feature winner of the Silver Medal at the Agritechnica Innovation Award 2017 - delivers significant advantages to the customers’ productivity: increased daily output, reduced grain loss and improved grain quality. It also introduces important benefits for the operator: fewer decisions to take, better comfort and driver confidence, less fatigue and a simple user interface.

With IntelliSense, the operator can choose from four strategies: Limited Loss, Best Grain Quality, Maximum Capacity, or Fixed Throughput.

The patented cleaning shoe sensors provide very precise measurements of the load, and based on this data the combine will proactively constantly adapt

Twin Rotor™ speed and vane angle, fan speed and the opening of pre-sieve, upper and lower sieve to automatically deliver the desired result.

The patented automatic rotor vane adjustment improves the rotor’s power efficiency without impacting the threshing and separation settings, resulting in greater fuel savings and performance.

Customer clinics conducted in France and Germany in 2017 generated extremely positive feedback. Participating customers found the system to be intuitive and easy to use, said it gave them great confidence, and indicated it would be a big help for new or less experienced drivers. They also remarked that it delivered a true increase in performance and grain quality.

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organics Dumfries House farm declared organic after two-year conversion process

Five year vision outlined

By Rural Affairs Secretary Fergus Ewing

John Rowell and Denise Richardson-Rowell work on the farm at Dumfries House

The new organic status of the farm at Dumfries House marks the realisation of a major element of the vision of HRH The Prince of Wales, who saved the estate for the nation 12 years ago.

Home Farm, which is a commercial farm located on the 2000-acre estate, attained full organic certification earlier this year from the Scottish Organic Producers Association in recognition of its commitment to good farming practice.

John Rowell, farm manager, said: “Full organic certification is something we have been working towards for several years as there are countless benefits to organic farming and organic food. We are very proud to have achieved it.

“As an organic farm, you can’t use any artificial fertilisers

or pesticides, and we are making better use of manure. The farmland contains more clover and improved soil. Animals typically take a little longer to get fat from grass, which means keeping them longer.”

As a result of the certification, Home Farm plans to bring organic lamb and organic beef to market later this year. Breeds on Home Farm include Cheviot and Border Leicester sheep and Beef Shorthorn and Whitebred Shorthorn cattle.

The farm sits adjacent to Valentin’s Education Farm, which welcomes hundreds of school pupils from East Ayrshire and beyond to observe and engage with animals while learning about the importance of having a balanced diet as part of The Prince’s Foundation’s farm education programme.

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A second phase of the Scotland Food and Drink Export Plan has been announced - to help the industry to achieve its overall aim to double turnover value to £30 billion by 2030.

The Food and Drink Export Plan is supported by £4.5 million of joint funding from the Scottish Government, industry and Scottish Development International. This second phase of the plan will last from 2019 to 2024.

The funding will help Scottish companies take their products into new and existing markets, and ‘in-market specialists’ will be employed to offer expert advice, forge stronger relationships with buyers and encourage Scottish businesses to develop new products.

Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing said: “Scotland’s food and drink sector has grown year on year, increasing by 78% since 2007.

Last year exports reached a record level of £6.3 billion, which is in part thanks to the success of the first phase of the export plan.

“This is a hugely exciting time for the sector and I’m confident that government and industry will continue to work together successfully to identify new opportunities for Scotland, with the clear strategy set out by this latest plan.

“The need to explore and exploit international markets

could not be clearer, given the current uncertainty around our future trading relationship with Europe – our single largest market, which is eight times larger than the UK market alone.”

The Scottish Government recently launched a wider export strategy - A Trading Nation - setting out plans for growing Scotland’s exports to add around £3.5 billion to GDP and create 17,500 more jobs.

James Withers, Chief Executive of Food Drink Scotland said: “Food and drink has become Scotland’s biggest export and yet there are still huge opportunities still in front of us. From Tokyo to Toronto, there is growing demand for world class products with a strong provenance story and on that front Scotland can compete with anywhere in the world.

“The development of a global team of trade specialists in cities around the world has been a gamechanging investment for Scotland. Industry and government has come together to share funding and we now have more international customers than ever before wanting to do business with Scottish food and drink producers. Our ambition is to double the size of our industry to £30 billion by 2030 and this next export plan will be crucial to unlocking our full potential.”

renewable energy

MSPs unite to back onshore wind power MSPs from across politics joined the onshore wind industry at the Scottish Parliament recently to celebrate Onshore Wind Week.

The politicians, including Energy Minister Paul Wheelhouse, joined industry body Scottish Renewables and ScottishPower Renewables, among many others, to show their support for the sector.

Onshore wind provides two thirds (67%) of Scotland’s renewable electricity and employs 5,800 people in Scotland, from the Borders to the islands.

UK Government in May showed the technology is more popular than ever (79% support) - and more popular in Scotland than in the rest of the UK (80% support).

It has however been locked out of the UK energy market since 2015 by the UK Government.

MSPs who attended the photoshoot included Energy Minister Paul Wheelhouse (SNP), Mark Ruskell (Greens),

Elaine Smith (Lab) and Colin Smyth (Lab) and Liam McArthur (Lib Dem).

Organisations represented

at the photoshoot included EDF Renewables, ScottishPower Renewables, CS Wind, Locogen, Senvion, innogy and more.

Land owners need to consider more advanced O&M approaches for their post-subsidy hydro portfolios

By Crispin Angood, Senior Engineer at Dulas, an award-winning renewable energy installer and consultancy Following the end of the feed in tariff for UK hydro projects earlier this year, it’s time for land owners with multiple hydro assets to increase their focus on operations and maintenance (O&M) planning in the management of their schemes.

As margins tighten, adopting planned O&M practices as seen in the wind and solar sectors will ensure long-term cost efficiencies and optimise the performance of these schemes.

Too often owners of multiple hydro assets leave maintenance under a ‘fix it when it’s broken’ response. By only making significant repairs or upgrades 36

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once the functioning of the asset is compromised, it’s significantly more expensive to repair and often involves complete downtime on the asset itself.

Planned maintenance is the mainstay of on- and offshore wind and utility scale solar. Both of these sectors expanded quickly through tariff support but have rationalized their costs as subsidies have fallen away. I believe that there is a clear opportunity for land and hydro asset owners to take a more proactive scheduled program of maintenance that follows the example set by other renewable energy technologies such as wind and solar.

renewable energy The nature of the wind and solar sectors is that operators usually hold a portfolio of multiple assets, and, as with hydro today, historically reactive maintenance was carried out asand-when components failed.

However, the potential for revenue loss and high repair costs has driven advances in preventative and predictive maintenance strategies across their portfolio.

The most commonplace of these O&M strategies is preventative maintenance, which involves carrying out regular servicing and repairs across the asset portfolio in order to minimize the possibility of unforeseen component failures.

Compared to reactive maintenance, preventive maintenance helps increase the lifespan of an asset and can cut costs associated with downtime, overtime and

emergency spares procurement.

Scheduled maintenance can also streamline O&M by allowing technicians to carry out multiple repairs or replacements during a single site visit.

Regular maintenance schedules also allow engineers to become familiarized with each scheme, which often creates opportunities for them to advise on potential optimization strategies that will help the asset owner to achieve

the best possible returns from their whole portfolio.

By following the example of wind and solar, land owners with multiple hydro assets who invest in enhancing maintenance programmes for their portfolio – whether they are new installations or 70-year old legacy schemes - will be able to secure better availability, optimise their portfolio, and therefore see a better return on their investments in hydro power.

Talking trash: Why steam could be the hidden gem of your biomass heating system Imagine being able to use industrial waste to heat a building. Now imagine the ability to use steam to generate electrical power. Waste products may not be the first thing we think of when we look at power, but as the future of fossil fuels is more widely discussed, steam and waste may just become the power couple of the future green economy.

In the world of industrial heating, chicken farmers are sitting on a goldmine. High in nitrates and phosphorus, chicken waste has typically been used as a farming fertiliser. This has, however, come with its own issues, such as water-course contamination from run-off, as well as transportation costs. Now, thanks to advances in technology, chicken waste, or litter, has become the fuel warming the very chickens that created it. Talk about recycle, reuse, reduce.

“Biomass is a significant area of growth for commercial industry,” says Angelo Giambrone, business development manager for Spirax Sarco UK. “As pressure from government bodies continues to mount, so too does the push towards greener, more sustainable fuel sources.”

The biomass industry has developed strongly over the past few years, and as the technologies advance, so too does the number

of products that can be burned as fuel for heating.

“Biomass, biofuels, anaerobic digestion – they all encompass the concept of creating energy from sustainable sources, which can include waste products,” Angelo says. “Combustion technology is helping to drive this change, as is a rising awareness of the benefits of managing your own fuel source.”

The UK government in particular has taken an interest in the potential of biomass to

contribute to the UK’s CO2 emissions targets, and has introduced the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) to encourage more businesses to invest in biomass heating systems.

“The RHI was first launched for domestic properties in 2014 and is the first of its kind in the world,” comments Angelo.

“For chicken farmers, for example, it’s like the cherry on top of an already sweet deal. Not only are they burning animal waste as an inexpensive source of

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fuel, but they also receive money from the government in the form of a quarterly payment.”

The RHI is open to businesses and organisations across England, Scotland and Wales but, as Angelo explains, there are a few caveats.

“You can’t stick a woodchip boiler in the back garden and claim the benefit. You have to be able to demonstrate that the biomass installation is making a valid contribution to your energy requirements.”

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new

to market

NEXT

Zeolite Granules Great news for all farmers in Scotland…

Bulk storage of zeolite for the first time in Aberdeen Free delivery in Aberdeenshire on any orders

Stored with IDI SERVICES LTD the lift & shift specialists are now agents for zeolite.

24/7 call out hotline Ian Isaac 01224506143 or 07734879069.

Zeolite has many benefits for all farmers. Zeolites can be used in agriculture because of their large porosity and high cation exchange capacity. They can be used both as carriers of nutrients and as a medium to free nutrients.

They improve soil quality, increase crop yields and promote nutrient efficiency. Can also be used in applications as a 38

carrier of slow release fertilisers, insecticides, fungicides and herbicides.

Tests have now proved that zeolite can be used as a feed additive. Helps any animals digestion, as it soaks up any toxins then can be used as a fertiliser as it is bio degradable. It can be used to turn chicken droppings into fertiliser, soaks up any animal urine instantly then can be used as compost.

An amazing product.

Free samples are available for the customer to test or try.

www.farmingscotlandmagazine.com

GENERATION This new Next Generation column will share news and views from Rebecca Dawes, Royal Agricultural Society of the Commonwealth Next Generation Trustee Rebecca Dawes who lives in Scotland and NFU Scotland Next Generation Chairman Colin Ferguson.

This month we hear from Rebecca.

We have all read an article or listened to a speech where the emphasis on the “Next Generation” was paramount to the future of our industry and whilst I don’t disagree we have an important role to play, we must collaborate across generations for the sustainability of the agricultural industry.

Late last year I attended the Royal Agricultural Society of the Commonwealth (RASC) Conference held in Alberta, Canada thanks to support from the Royal Highland Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS).

RASC is the only Commonwealth organisation that represents agriculture so it felt more appropriate than ever to join the participating delegates from across 11 countries and four continents to share ideas and collaborate.

My participation was part of the Next Generation group of 70 young people under the age of 35 and the group certainly made sure they were heard. They were ambitious, encouraging and I left feeling a sense of empowerment; however, it was the interaction with the speakers and our older peers that really drove home the message – we need to stop relying on others to tell our farming story and work together regardless of age.

This was a similar theme on the recent Netherlands Urban/Rural Learning Journey, organised by Jane Craigie Marketing for the Rural Youth Project and Scottish

Enterprise. The group of 5 young rural leaders (18 to 28 years of age) and 15 Scottish Enterprise Rural Leaders had the opportunity to see first-hand how the Dutch are collaborating to improve the perception of agricultural with their consumer, whilst maintaining high-welfare and environmental standards. The inter-generational mix of the delegation has developed mentoring partnerships that will better inform and shape both the young and not-so-young rural leaders as they make key business and personal development decisions.

Farming often faces the challenge of isolation but with the support of networks such as RASC, Scottish Enterprise and the Rural Youth Project there are opportunities to learn and grow. I went to the RASC conference with no pre-conceptions other than the knowledge that I was a “Next Generation” member, I came away with a feeling of unity and friendship from peers twenty- or thirty-years senior. The challenges we face in the UK are recognised across the Commonwealth but so are the solutions and for me our passion for the industry outweighs our age!!

Rebecca Dawes has just been elected as the RASC Next Generation Trustee and CoFacilitator for the 2020 RASC Conference which will take place in Norfolk, England from 30 June to 11 July.

environment New independent climate change inquiry in Scotland

Agroforestry – could it work for you?

Stephen Adlard, Woodland Consultant, SAC Consulting.

Woodland grazing in Perthshire (K. Williams)

A new Independent Climate Change Inquiry is to explore how a low carbon landscape can support a bright future for farming and food.

The ‘Farming for 1.5 degrees’ group met for the first time in Edinburgh yesterday (11 June).

The ten strong inquiry panel includes four farmers from different sectors as well as leading scientists and environmentalists. It will be cochaired by Mike Robinson and Nigel Miller.

The aim is to produce a consensus report on the way forward for farming and land use in Scotland in the context of the Scottish Government’s commitment to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045.

The inquiry is supported jointly by NFU Scotland and leading food policy charity Nourish Scotland. Over the next 12 months the panel will hear from a wide range of witnesses and bring together evidence and views from many different sources.

Its final report will propose agreed targets for reducing net greenhouse gas emissions from Scotland’s agriculture and related land use while continuing to produce high quality food: and will identify the specific

measures needed to achieve these targets.

Kicking off the first meeting, co-chair Mike Robinson, Chief Executive of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society commented: “Farming and agriculture have a huge role in delivering a safe climate. We’ve brought together an expert panel who are really well placed both to detail how best to achieve this and what government and others will need to do to help support the farming community.”

NFU Scotland President, Andrew McCornick said: ““Scotland’s farmers and crofters are part of the solution in delivering on the landmark CCC recommendation that Scotland can achieve net-zero emissions by 2045.

“This independent inquiry is a ground up initiative looking for solutions that work for the industry at grass roots level.

“The farmer involvement in this inquiry will help shape its findings and build on the green credentials that already exist around Scotland’s agriculture.

Reducing agricultural emissions in Scotland will be fundamentally challenging but, we believe, need not be at the expense of producing food, cutting livestock numbers or exporting our emissions by relying on food imports.”

Hedges, hedge row trees, shelterbelts, woodland pasture/ grazing and wooded riparian buffers are common place in the Scottish landscape, however, there are real opportunities for further integration of trees and farming.

Agroforestry integrates trees and shrubs with agricultural crops or livestock. It can boost farm productivity, improve soil health and help manage WATER mOWS PROVIDE LIVESTOCK welfare benefits, enhance wildlife and contribute to mitigating climate change.

Here are two examples: The Forestry Grant scheme offers an agroforestry grant for establishing individually protected trees at either 200 or 400 trees/hectare in sheep pasture which in certain situations is attractive. Some farmers have found other approaches to achieve the benefits they want in their particular circumstances. If the land can be taken out of grazing for a period, trees can be planted under a traditional forestry model at 2m spacing.

Final crop trees, at a spacing of between 7 and 8m are selected at about 12 years old. Gradual thinning of the other trees starts about this time. The final crop trees are pruned to improve their form and raise the tree canopy. A grass sword under the tree canopy quickly develops. The sheltered environment under the tree canopy brings forward THE mUSH OF SPRING GRASS AND provides ideal resting areas for livestock. The trees help improve the soil structure and keep the soil drier thereby also extending the grazing season at the back end.

Another example where agroforestry has enormous potential is with chickens. The hens are less stressed and range better under the cover of trees and are therefore more productive.

Welldesigned woodland planting around chicken sheds not only screens the building but can also to help recapture ammonia emissions. More details of this system can be found at www. farmtreestoair.ceh.ac.uk/.

For more ideas on improving farm efficiency visit www. farmingforabetterclimate.org, find us on Facebook and Twitter @SACFarm4Climate.

Farming for a Better Climate is funded by the Scottish Government as part of Scotland’s Farm Advisory Service www.fas.scot

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TELEHANDLERS

Reaching the heights A brief look into the wide range of telehandler models to choose from

Bobcat Shows Expanded UK Ag Telescopic Loader Range At a special event held at the Heart of England Conference & Events Centre in Warwickshire in the UK, Bobcat unveiled a new expanded range of telescopic loaders for the UK farming market. At the event, Bobcat presented the new topof-the-range TL43.80HF AGRI telescopic loader for the first time in the UK. The TL43.80HF AGRI combines several new features to take lift capacity, lifting height and breakout force to unprecedented levels in the farming market.

Attendees including Bobcat dealers, prospective customers and the media put the TL43.80HF AGRI through its paces, together with several other models from the Bobcat farming range, including the TL30.60 AGRI, TL34.65HF AGRI and TL38.70HF AGRI models.

They were also able to try out and compare several telehandler models from other suppliers, as part of their assessments of the Bobcat telescopic loaders.

John Christofides, Regional Sales Director, UK/Ireland,

D-K-R

AGRICULTURAL SERVICES LTD. Main Dealers for Kramer Telehandlers

D-K-R AGRICULTURAL SERVICES LTD. Westfield, Coulter, Biggar, Lanarkshire ML12 6HN 4EL s &!8 E-Mail: dkrcoulter@hotmail-com 40

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TELEHANDLERS Nordics and Baltics for Bobcat EMEA, said: “We are delighted with how the event went – it represents an important milestone for Bobcat in the UK, with the launch of our newly expanded telescopic loader range for the agriculture market. We were able to combine presentations to farming customers and the press with forums and training for our UK and Ireland dealers, all at the same location.

“The event allowed us to demonstrate the productivity provided by Bobcat telescopic loaders, combined with the ease of operation and comfort they offer. All are available on short lead times and come with an industry unique three year/3000 hour warranty as standard”.

FARMING SCOTLAND MAGAZINE Subscription page 105

Farmlift loader series from Case IH The Farmlift telescopic loader series from Case IH caters for the needs of all types of farm, offering six models with maximum reaches ranging from 5.7 to 9.1 metres.

The Farmlift range is built with safety at the core, featuring a stable design with a lift capacity of between 3,300- 4200kg depending on model. Further safety features include a ‘visual safe load indicator’ to check a load is within safe limits at a glance and an automatic cut off system to prevent overloading or putting the machine in an unstable situation. Inboard wet disc brakes offer excellent stopping power and increased durability and all Farmlifts are built with a heavyduty frame ensuring stability and rigidity throughout the whole machine A large, curved windscreen allows all around visibility in the cab, with a 360o LED lighting package available for safe

working at night. On high spec models, all key functions are ergonomically grouped on one joystick, which is mounted onto the comfortable seat allowing it to move with the operator.

Power shuttle and gear changing commands as well as hydraulic attachment locking can be carried out from this joystick, meaning that in most cases, headstock can be connected without leaving the cab. Each model has a dedicated

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hydraulic system designed to its height and weight capacities, ensuring fuel and power is optimised. Furthermore, the 636 and 742 models are equipped with load sensing hydraulics that automatically match oil flow to requirement. All models are designed to have the fastest cycle times, with the 636, for example, performing a lift, lower, extend, retract, dump and rollback cycle in a total of 26.5 seconds.

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TELEHANDLERS

Claas Scorpion telehandlers, developed in cooperation with Liebherr The well proven SCORPION models from CLAAS have been raising the bar in terms of telehandler technology for many years, and this continues with the latest generation of SCORPION telehandler, which has been developed in cooperation with Liebherr.

The latest SCORPION models offer greater handling performance, thanks to increased lifting capacity and advanced driver-assistance systems, improved driver comfort and efficiency, along with improved safety and reliability.

These benefits stem from a range of new features, such as DYNAMIC POWER for engine management, the SMART LOADING driver-assistance system for fine control of the working hydraulics and overload

protection, a fully automatic parking brake, controlled crab steering as a fourth steering option and an all-new cab configuration.

All SCORPION models boast efficient working hydraulics and high lift capacities ranging of 3.2 to 5.6 t, enabling optimal handling performance and productivity, thanks to quick cycle times.

The proven hydrostatic VARIPOWER or VARIPOWER PLUS transmission has three speeds, which are easy to control using the joystick.

Safety and driver comfort are guaranteed, thanks to an electrohydraulic parking brake which is automatically activated if the driver leaves the seat, the machine stops or the engine is switched off. When the driver

The Dieci GD range

The new Dieci GD range can be summarized in three concepts; technology, reliability and durability. The new range of Dieci Telehandlers aim at excellence, developed around the operator environment.

Research and experience with our customers has assisted in the overall design requirements.

The Agri Farmer range is the one of the most agile handlers in the new product line up with the new futuristic cab designed by Giugiaro Design.

The new cab offers excellent thermal and sound insulation

with a new shock absorption system offering greatly improved ride comfort.

Dieci offer a very large range of models from 2.6t to up to 7.5t lift capacity with lift heights from 5.75metres to 10metres in the Agri range. To complement our fixed Telehandler range , we offer an extensive range of Pivot steer machines with capacities from 2.2t to 4.1t, with lift capacities up to a maximum of 5.7 metres.

For further information on the new Dieci range visit www. dieci.com.

puts a foot on the accelerator to travel in a set direction, the parking brake is automatically deactivated. As in the previous series, all models come with Deutz diesel engines, which develop 136 or 156 hp and meet

Stage IV (Tier 4) emissions standards.

Alternatively, all 136hp models arer also available in Trend versions, fitted with a stepless 30kph Hydrostatic transmission.

JCB telescopic wheeled loaders and telehandlers

Within one of the most comprehensive ranges of agricultural telescopic wheeled loaders and telehandlers, the JCB line-up includes the most innovative solutions to materials handling versatility and productivity.

The JCB Teleskid – available in both wheeled and tracked forms

– has the compact dimensions and exceptional manoeuvrability of a conventional skid-steer loader but with the added abilities that come with a telescopic boom.

Greater forward reach and greater lift height give the JCB Teleskid unique abilities for a machine that can work in and around small buildings and (continued on page 43)

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TELEHANDLERS feed passages with ease, while also offering safe mounting and dismounting from the cab thanks to the side door and unique single boom.

Similarly, the telescopic boom of the JCB TM Series telescopic wheeled loaders provide the allround visibility, robust chassis and excellent manoeuvrability of a conventional articulated wheeled loader but with the added

versatility of adjustable forward reach and greater lift height.

The high-productivity JCB TM420 is the newest member of the TM line and the highest capacity model, with 32% more lift capacity at 4.1 tonnes, greater lift height at 5.4m, and faster boom operation thanks to JCB’s regenerative hydraulics system, which results in faster loading cycles.

Heavier-duty JCB full-time four-wheel drive axles handle the increased payload, while the 26in wheels and larger tyres optimise both traction and flotation in challenging work situations.

Within the new Series III JCB Loadall family, the AGRI Pro models with their unique DualTech VT transmission also reflect JCB’s innovative approach to machine performance.

INTERESTED IN FINDING OUT MORE? For more details contact:

Garriock Bros. Ltd T: 01595 5969 / 69 4765 *Terms and Conditions: Available for business purposes only, subject to acceptance and affordability checks. United Kingdom only. Applicant must be 18 or over. All machines must have been customer delivered, invoiced and the finance deal concluded prior to 30 June 2019. Available on new equipment only. The finance products available under this promotion are hire purchase and finance lease. For hire purchase, full VAT is due on signing.

An option-to-purchase fee of £100 (plus VAT) will be collected with the final payment. You will own the machine when all payments have been made. For finance lease, VAT is due with each rental payment, return conditions apply and you will not own the equipment at the end of the agreement. Alternative finance products available, terms and conditions apply. Annual admin fee of £40 plus VAT applies. A documentation fee of £100 (plus VAT for finance lease) will be collected with the first rental. The offer is subject to a maximum balance to finance of £30,000. Images are for illustrative purposes only.

Finance provided by Manitou Finance Limited, Northern Cross, Basingstoke, RG21 4HL. Registered in England No. 2308212.

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Kramer uses cuttingedge technology Kramer develops and produces high-quality machines for material handling from its factory located in the southern Germany. Kramer products include compact, all-wheel steer loaders (9 models), telescopic wheel loaders (5 models) and Telehandlers (11 models). Kramer machines can be equipped with a variety of manual and hydraulic headstocks as well as a complete range of hydraulic and braking options to the rear. The attachments can be changed quickly thanks to the hydraulic systems and pressure release option available.

Starting with the cabin, a new operating concept is used for the telehandlers. It enables an intuitive operation of all functions by using the electronically pilot-operated allin-one joystick and the jog dial control element. For example, the joystick’s sensitivity can be individually adjusted with this.

All relevant vehicle data and settings are displayed via the new 7” display.

Telematics have been introduced across the model ranges this summer as standard fit. Giving customers and dealers increased remote information and diagnostic data, increased uptime is ensured.

A special innovation used for the models KT507 (optional), KT557 and KT559 is the new hydrostatic, wide-angle drive system “ecospeedPRO” with 370cc capacity for increased tractive force and driving dynamics which was codeveloped by Kramer.

As a standard, all models are equipped with the driver assistance system Smart Handling with three

TELEHANDLERS

functional modes for different requirements. Smart Handling supports the end user in efficient and convenient operation, thus ensuring efficient materials handling on the farm.

Financial services are being offered through John Deere Financial and include a number of schemes that can be tailored to suit a customer’s needs. This includes a 0% offer.

New models from Manitou

At this years’ Royal Highland Show, The Manitou Group, showed a display of new and improved models including the all new range of articulated loaders.

The MLA-T 516-75 is one of the newest models which will be displayed at the show. Not only offering 360 degree visibility and brilliant manoeuvrer ability, here are some of the main benefits.

With compact dimensions with low overall height, it’s ideal for restricted access. You also receive a choice of cab configuration from fully open to a fully glazed cab with optional AC which gives the customer the choice to spec the machine as required. Large cab doors with a single speed provide an easily accessibly machine. The seat mounted armrest incorporates the main joystick and many other switch gear placing 20km/h 2speed (optional 3 speed 30km/h)

hydrostatic transmission, also available with boom suspension.

The engine includes a 25hp 3.6l Deutz engine, in a very compact engine bay providing excellent rear visibility.

Equipped with a telescopic boom, this model offers a 5.20m lifting height and 3.3 t maximum capacities. The model name suffixes correspond to the respective powers and types of transmission offered on this mode. I.e 75hp / hydrostatic.

Wim Roose, Marketing and development manager for the agricultural range, explains: “The articulated loader market represents strong potential. With this range and the Manitou brands reputation in Europe, we are confidence that we can provide an effective response to the needs of farmers with models that give them greater productivity”.

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TELEHANDLERS

Massey Ferguson TH.8043 telehandler Massey Ferguson, has extended its range of five telehandlers with a new model - the MF TH.8043.

Being unveiled at the Innovagri Show (4th-6th September, France), this new model delivers new solutions for the most demanding needs in materials handling across agricultural and industrial applications.

“This additional model represents another important step for Massey Ferguson in this key segment,” said Francesco Quaranta, Vice President Sales & Marketing, Massey Ferguson, Europe and Middle East (EME).

“The introduction of the new MF TH.8043 is part of our ongoing focus to provide a straightforward and valuable full-line of products and services to our customers and business partners.”

“This new machine is the result of intensive analysis of customers looking for something more from their machine. The new MF TH.8043 delivers superior performance for the most demanding mixed, arable and dairy farming businesses,

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as well as contractors looking for higher capacity machines designed around their needs.

You have to try it to believe it!” he adds.

The new MF TH.8043 features a greater lift height of 7.5 metres, while the maximum lift capacity

is now 4300 kg (13 % more compared to the MF TH.7038).

Lift capacity in the most common trailer loading conditions (4 metres of lift height and 2 metres of boom extension) is now an outstanding 4300kg. This significant increase of + 700 kg

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compared to the MF TH.7038 brings new levels of productivity.

The capacity at maximum boom extension has also been enhanced to 1600 kg. The MF TH.8043 is therefore capable of lifting heavy materials even when the implement is further away from the machine.

TELEHANDLERS

New Merlo Turbofarmer range

The widest range of agricultural telehandlers available on the market.

The ideal choice with three available Model Sizes (compact,

medium and heavy) and three power levels (115, 136 and 170 HP), combined with 2-speed hydrostatic transmissions and

CVTronic solutions. The widest cab in the market can be set up with CS (Suspended Cab) versions.

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The TF65.9CS is an all new turbofarmer which was revised earlier this year to enhance its performance.

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TELEHANDLERS

New Holland launches new TH Series telehandlers New Holland Agriculture extends and upgrades its six to nine meter telehandler offering, which introduces the new naming and livery. The new naming consists of the TH letters, for Telescopic Handler, and the numbering based on the key machine specifications: this combination provides a quick and easy product identification, a hallmark of New Holland products. The bright yellow of the new livery fully integrates the telehandler range into New Holland’s Harvesting family, benefiting from its well-known expertise in the sector, while the new dark grey colour of the lower part of the machine confers a sense of solidity and strength. The cab interior has been refreshed with a new look for the seat.

“The new extended TH Series offers solutions tailored to the business and operational requirements of different farming operations, ranging from the entry level S version all the way up to the Elite version ideal for the large scale livestock farmers and

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contractors, as well as biomass operations,” says Sean Lennon, Head of Tractors.

The TH Series has been extended to offer 6 models and 14 versions. The entry level S version, available on the TH6.32 and TH7.32, delivers a powerful performance with its 133 hp engine and simple specifications for a small investment.

The Classic version, available on six, seven and nine metre models, is ideal for small livestock farmers and farmyard use. It features a limited-slip differential in the rear axle to increase the tractive effort in demanding conditions, variable displacement hydraulic pump and reversible cooling fan for high efficiency allday-long.

FARMING SCOTLAND MAGAZINE Next Issue 1st September

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science & technology

Game-changing soil mapping service launched to UK growers Launched by Hutchinsons, TerraMap revolutionises the way in which soil nutrient mapping is currently undertaken in the UK - setting a new standard for accuracy in precision agriculture.

Today’s precision farming requirements demand greater accuracy and currently UK growers do not have access to a high definition soil scanning system – until now, says Hutchinsons precision technology manager, Oliver Wood.

TerraMap uses gamma-ray detection technology that delivers resolutions of over 800 points/ha, providing high definition mapping of all common nutrient properties, pH, soil texture, organic matter and CEC as well as elevation and plant available water.

“With such a growing level of interest in soils, the launch of TerraMap comes at the perfect timing for farmers that are looking for that next level of accuracy in understanding their soils - which has not previously been possible.”

“We have been looking for a new method of mapping soils that provides more accurate and repeatable results, and can also leverage the multi-layer analysis within Omnia,” explains Mr Wood.

The results from TerraMap are used to create maps within the Hutchinsons Omnia system which can then be overlaid with additional field information such as black-grass, yields and so on, to create the most accurate, consistent and detailed variable rate plans.

The infield process of collecting the data is carried out in 2 very simple steps; scanning by driving a light weight all terrain vehicle fitted with the

sensor over a field, and then taking soil samples to allow for each scan to be used to create the individual map layers.

Manufactured by Canadian company SoilOptix, TerraMap’s scanning technology is based on a scaled-down version of airborne sensors that originates in mineral prospecting, and has been used in other countries successfully.

It measures naturally emitted isotopes, like Caesium and Potassium, that are very stable due to their long half-lives.

“It’s an entirely passive sensor.”

“The significance of this methodology is that it is not affected by soil moisture, compaction, crop cover or cultivation state.”

“This means that there are very few limitations to when TerraMap can be used – offering a much wider operating window compared to other soil scanning systems.”

The consistency and reliability of the results from

TerraMap are proven, points out Mr Wood.

“We have taken satellite imagery of fields that showed up areas of soil differences quite clearly and when we overlaid this with the texture maps created by TerraMap they were identical. This has been confirmed by in-field ground truthing across a number of sites.”

“We have also tested the results between seasons and over different cultivations, and they have remained consistent.”

It was on this basis that Thurlow Estates manager, Andrew Crossley trialled TerraMap. “We had used another scanning service back in 2012 and it threw up some questionable results, which we put down to interference to the scanning from the chalky soils and changes in soil structure, but nothing was conclusive.”

“When we were introduced to the TerraMap system, we felt that it would work well with our soil

types so it was worth giving a go.

The results have been impressive and are more accurate than previous results.”

“We look forward to seeing how this will integrate this autumn with our precision farming to give us more accurate variable rate plans, especially on our chalky soils.”

TerraMap is available from Hutchinsons in a standard or premium service offer. The standard service measures 9 criteria: P, K, Mg, pH and % of clay, sand, silt, texture and elevation. In addition to these, the premium service also measures calcium, manganese, boron, copper, molybdenum, iron, zinc, sulphur, OM, CEC and plant available water, delivering 21 layers of data for each field.

To find out more about TerraMap contact the Omnia Services Centre on 01526 831000 or visit the Hutchinsons stand at Cereals.

Oliver Wood and Jim Woodward

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Farming travel guide Scotland

A Grain Store Fit for a Prince

by Janice Hopper A humble grain store at the far north of mainland Scotland became the centre of attention when the Prince’s Foundation transformed it into a boutique ten bedroom B&B. Recently opened by HRH Prince Charles, The Granary Lodge became a media sensation as royalty, press and dignitaries arrived in Caithness to take in the Cinderella-like transformation of a farming outbuilding into luxury accommodation.

Admittedly this is no ordinary grain store. Situated next door to the Castle of Mey, it was bought

by HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in 1952, along with a walled garden, some 24 acres and the castle itself. Today, His Royal Highland Prince Charles still passes ten days of

summer at the Castle of Mey, and he was personally involved in the restoration of The Granary Lodge, ensuring longevity for the properties and attracting more visitors to the area.

Shirley Farquhar, administrator of The Queen Elizabeth Castle of Mey Trust, said, “We welcome His Royal Highness to The Castle of Mey each year for his holiday here and, given his strong affinity and family connection to Caithness, it was fitting that he paid us the honour of formally opening The Granary Lodge. We are excited about opening the accommodation to the public, enabling us to generate year-round employment for local people and provide a valuable asset to tourism in Caithness.”

The original royal purchase of the castle and granary came as something as a surprise to the local community. The Queen Mother bought the estate the year her husband, King George VI, passed away. As such, it was a significant emotional purchase, and no doubt a retreat, a haven and a new start.

She added to the portfolio when she bought neighbouring Longoe Farm in 1958, and her passion for farming was given free rein.

Her Majesty’s dedication to agriculture is evident to those who take a tour of the Castle of Mey. Alongside pictures of corgis, visitors will see paintings of prized livestock decorating the walls.

In the Equerry's Room hangs a portrait of the sire ‘Castle of Mey Elscot’, painted by Judith Stowell,

commissioned by the Aberdeen Angus Cattle Society and presented to Her Highness to mark the occasion of her 100th birthday.

A second gift features ‘Castle of Mey Edwina with Heifer Calf’ painted by Jacqueline Thompson, celebrating the Golden Jubilee of Her Majesty’s Patronage of the Aberdeen Angus Cattle Society in 1987.

The Queen Mother is well known for her dedication to the Aberdeen Angus breed and its society, holding the title of patron from August 1937 until her death in 2002. Her herd at the Castle of Mey was founded in 1964, and it produced renowned beasts including Castle of Mey Princess 12th, Castle of Mey Elscot and Castle of Mey Evening Star

Castle of Mey courtesy of John Baikie

Castle of Mey Drawing Room courtesy of John Baikie

A bedroom at The Granary Lodge courtesy of John Baikie

Animal Centre at the Castle of Mey

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Farming travel guide Scotland 44th, who was also the great grandmother of Rawburn Elysium, one of the best breeding bulls in the breed. The herd currently numbers around forty breeding females.

The Queen Mother was also patron of the North Country Cheviot Sheep Society, writing in the 50th Anniversary edition of the Flock Book, ‘… it is still the best all round breed with its ability to thrive on all kinds of ground and in all weather conditions.’ As such, Cheviots are a very fitting breed for Caithness where the winters can be long and the northern winds vicious.

The Queen Mother’s flock of Longoe Cheviots was established in 1960, and today the sheep still graze and wander the land surrounding the castle and The Granary Lodge. Just like the cattle, the sheep also did well in the shows and sales. In one notable Royal Highland Show, a Longoe Cheviot not only scooped the Breed Champion award, but won the Supreme Interbreed

Sheep Champion, and the coveted Queen's Cup, creating the unusual situation whereby the Queen Mother received her daughter’s trophy from her granddaughter Princess Anne!

Further evidence of Her Majesty’s enthusiasm for farming is found in the new Granary Lodge, which is peppered with stylish black and white photographs of the Queen Mother with her animals. The images celebrate her memory, and her farming links, but The Granary Lodge has a rich history in its own right. An impressive threestorey building dating from the late 17th century, the upper floors were used to store grain, and on the lower floors agricultural tools, carts, ploughs, harrows and tackle were stowed away. The building was once the collection point of the threshed grain grown by the tenants of the estate of Mey. In later years it operated as an Animal Centre and also served as a garage for Her Majesty’s

HRH The Prince Charles attends the opening of The Granary Lodge at Castle of Mey

The Granary Lodge dining room courtesy of John Baikie

cars, so the transformation of this practical building into sumptuous accommodation is quite a feat.

The design work at The Granary Lodge was undertaken

by Michael Fawcett, CEO of the Prince’s Foundation, and the interiors subtly echo the Queen Mother’s tastes from the Castle of Mey. A colour palette of dusky pastels and natural hues, floral prints and textiles, traditional bathroom fittings, and pictures of landscapes, flora and fauna have breathed life and memories into this stylish B&B. Robert Lovie, director of outreach for The Prince’s Foundation, said: “Our objective for the interior design was to achieve a classic and timeless style that reflects the special affinity between The Castle of Mey and The Queen Mother. Upon entering the building, guests will notice Her Majesty’s cipher ‘ER’ featured in the reception area. All of the fittings, fabrics and fixtures are of a traditional style in keeping with the interior of the castle itself, and there is a strong Scottish feel that mirrors Her Majesty’s great love for Scotland.

The public rooms are as impressive as the bedrooms. The Drawing Room has exceptional sea views, stretching across the Pentland Firth to Orkney, and the coastal theme continues in the decor. Shells, ropes, seaweed, anchors and paintings of fisher folk create a welcoming retreat after a blustery day out in the Caithness countryside.

Other attractions on the estate include the new Animal

Centre in the East Woods. It’s a family destination where visitors can meet sheep, bantams, ducks, geese, piglets, rabbits, chipmunks and Alice the donkey.

In terms of learning more about the practical side of farming, children can also bottle-feed lambs, milk Daisy the wooden cow, and inspect newly hatched chicks, ducklings and goslings in the incubator.

Further afield, undertake coastal walks and drink in expansive vistas at Dunnet Head (the most northerly point in mainland Britain), the Duncansby Stacks or John O Groats. Another must-see is Dunnet Bay Distillery, famous for Rock Rose gin. Run by farmer's daughter Claire Murray, and her husband Martin, the distillery offers tours and tasting sessions in modern surroundings.

A final stop might be Mary Ann's Cottage. Now a farming heritage museum, it was once farmed by Claire Murray's family.

With rich farming ties and history, Caithness is a novel break away from it all. Factor the new Granary Lodge into the mix, and you’ll discover a relaxed rural escape in a regal setting.

The Granary Lodge castleofmey.org.uk/hospitality/ granary The Castle of Mey - castleofmey. org.uk Dunnet Bay Distillery dunnetbaydistillers.co.uk Mary Ann’s Cottage - caithness. org/community/museums/ maryanncottage

The Granary Lodge gallery wall courtesy of John Baikie

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2019 TURRIFF SHOW Sunday 4th and Monday 5th August There will be an increased focus on food and drink at Turriff Show this year. Now in its 155th year, Turriff Show is set to take place at The Haughs, Queens Road, Turriff and is again hoping to attract exhibitors and visitors from far and near. The Main Sponsor this year is Agrii Limited. Agrii is responsible for a substantial footprint in Aberdeenshire, including a cereal plant at Turriff, a contract spraying base near Methlick and a chemical store in Inverurie. There will be a fantastic array of prizewinning cattle, sheep, horses and ponies and Clydesdale Horses. There are over 300 quality trade stands promoting all aspects of agriculture including arable, livestock farm management and lines of impressive farm

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machinery. A new Food and Drink Marquee, Indoor Shopping Mall, Exhibition Marquee and Art and Craft marquee will be offering visitors a great shopping opportunity with a variety of goods to sample and purchase.

The Industrial/Horticultural marquee will have a magnificent display of home-based crafts, flowers and vegetables where exhibitors of all ages vie for prizes competing in 400 classes.

The ringside programme on Sunday will be provided by the 3SIXTY Bicycle Stunt Display Team - this adrenaline fuelled Show will combine trials displays with BMX jump box and flatland, the ultimate display of skills and thrills. On Monday there will be the return of the ever-popular Heavy Horse Turnouts providing stunning

displays as well as Show jumping including the Mini-Major Relay.

We are delighted to be hosting the Bleu du Maine National Sheep Show and judge - Mr Richard Pilkington,

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Wrexham will start judging at 9.00am on Monday morning to decide on his choice for the best of the breed.

In the livestock section, the Overall Champion of Champions

TURRIFF SHOW will be judged by Mrs Hazel England, Perth. Other champion judges include Mr Gerald Smith, Laurencekirk for the overall cattle; Miss Anne MacPherson, Inverness for groups, pairs and young bull interbreed; Mr Ian Campbell, Peebles for overall sheep; Ms Barbara Ashby-Jones, Lower Quinton for overall in-hand horse and pony; and Mr Tom Brash, Linlithgow for overall ridden horse and pony.

Show weekend will start off on Friday 2nd August with the marquee dance with music being provided by Night Fever Disco.

Judging of the Horse and Pony classes takes place on Sunday. The Grand Parade of Prize-winning Horses, Ponies and Donkeys takes place at 2.15pm. Also exhibiting on Sunday are Goats, Rabbits, Cavies and Pigeons.

Monday is the day for the judging of the Cattle, Sheep, Clydesdale Horses and Poultry. The

Champion In-Hand and Champion Ridden horse and pony winners are invited back to compete for the Sleigh Family Trophy for the Supreme Champion of Champions of the 2019 Turriff Show competing for this prestigious title with the Overall Cattle, Dairy, Sheep, and Clydesdale Horse Champions.

A new Blue Texel breed section has been introduced this year to

give local exhibitors a chance to compete for the Champion prize in this section.

With over 1600 classes ranging from the best cattle, sheep, horses through to working dogs, poultry and vintage vehicles, the Show will be offering over ÂŁ85,000 in prize money and 320 trophies to be awarded.

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Turriff Show hosts the largest Industrial and Horticulture marquee of any Show in Scotland with over 2500 classes on offer.

The Industrial marquee hosts competitive classes for a wide range of produce (eggs, butter, oatcakes etc.), preserves, cookery, honey, wine to sewing, knitting and woodcraft to name but a few. The new Hand Spinning and Dyeing

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TURRIFF SHOW Section will prove popular with a wide range of competitors.

The Horticulture part is a truly magnificent display of a variety of flowers and vegetables and both Industrial and Horticultural classes are free to enter.

There are over 250 wellpresented outdoor trade stands at Turriff Show. Agricultural trade stands include machinery stands with tractors and machinery from all the leading manufacturers and there will also be a wide range of motor vehicle stands and several quality stands featuring renewable energy, heating products and alternative technologies. There are also many stands from the agricultural service and supply industry in addition to forestry and the countryside. Other stands include fashion and clothing, horticulture, garden furniture, arts, crafts and toys – something for everyone.

In a new location this year, the new and improved Food and Drink Marquee will have an extensive range of quality stands promoting the very best of predominantly Scottish food and drink and will include a cookery theatre. The Show’s 2019 President, Graeme Mackie, has said “As organisers of such an important event in one of the iconic food and drink regions of Scotland, this region produces some of the world’s most valuable and respected brands in our Scotch whisky, Scotch beef and lamb and

Scottish seafood, and we want to make Turriff Show a big part of its promotion”. Take the opportunity to sample such traditional delights as the best of fresh and naturally smoked fish, award winning cheese, jams and chutneys, luxury ice cream, porridge oat flakes and oatmeal, craft beers and local gins.

The Indoor Shopping Mall has a selection of stands offering a range of quality goods. Browse through a range of boutiques selling fashion accessories, ladies and children’s clothing, and jewellery and original art and prints.

The Exhibition Marquee has a ‘lifestyle’ theme and some stands will be promoting good

health, complimentary therapies and nutrition whilst others will showcase kitchen planning, local hotel venues, short stay breaks and local Heritage information.

The Art and Craft Marquee hosts an excellent selection of quality crafts stands. Visitors can expect to find original paintings and prints, hand crafted greetings cards, patchwork quilts, needlefelt art, soaps, candles and a broad selection of jewellery stands.

The ‘Gin, Prosecco and Premium Drinks Bar’ will offer a wide selection of local gins and premium whiskies as well as a nice cool glass of prosecco which you can sit and enjoy while watching

the judging and great entertainment in the ring.

A visit to the Old MacDonald’s InFARMation in The Ferguson Hall is a must for children. There will be exciting displays from local schoolchildren taking part in this year’s schools’ competition with their theme ‘Farm to Fork’. There will also be hands-on activities for youngsters to try including interaction with local magician who will perform feats of magic with his mini magic schools and balloon modelling. The children will be kept busy this year with a new farm to food themed treasure trail round the Showfield with prizes being awarded to the lucky winners.

Children’s and Adult’s races will take place on both Show days – entry is free for all races with prize money and sweets (where applicable) awarded.

The Open Dog Show on Sunday will have 136 classes (under Kennel Club Ltd Rules & Regulations) and the Companion Dog Show on Monday where dogs need not be K.C. Registered and includes some fun classes for entrants.

Our new band stand area will provide the ideal spot for local bands, performers and dance groups to show off their excellent talents to the crowds. On Sunday afternoon Turriff & District Pipe

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TURRIFF SHOW Band will be performing in the Showfield.

The finale on Sunday night will be the Vintage and Classic Vehicle Display with over 150 vintage tractors and classic cars making their way round the ring – certainly a sight not to be missed!

The Showground is open from 7.00am Sunday and Monday with Trade Stands open at 9.00am each day and Showground closes at 8.00pm Sunday and 6.00pm Monday.

Adult Admission is £15: £13 advance, Concession (Senior Citizen/Student/Children 15 and over) - £10: £9 advance and Family Ticket £45: £40 advance.

Children 14 and under are free.

Discounted Admission Tickets are now on sale – visit website www.turriffshow.org and online entries are now being accepted.

Closing dates for entries are – Saturday 29th June – All Livestock, Saturday 6th July - Open Dog Show, Saturday 13th July – YFC Stockjudging and Industrial

Section, Saturday 20th July – Adult and Junior Showjumping and Vintage Vehicles. All Schedules and entry forms are available to download from the website.

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We hope to see you at Turriff Show on Sunday 4th and Monday 5th August where there is something to suit all ages – come and see for yourself!

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exotic farming scotland

A Rare Find - The Ethical Dairy

By Janice Hopper

Wilma and David

Wilma and David Finlay own and run Rainton Farm in Dumfries and Galloway. It’s an exceptionally rare dairy farm as it follows the cow with calf method, whereby calves are left with their mothers to suckle for five months. In the standard dairy farming model, calves are removed from their mothers within hours. David Finlay felt that the traditional approach was taking its toll on his livestock, and on his wellbeing.

“Some cows appear to barely notice the separation from the newborns, others bellow for days on end, distraught and clearly distressed,’ says David. ‘When the public discovers what happens 56

in dairy farming they’re often surprised and affected by it too. I started to ask, can we do anything differently? I knew I’d be put out of business if I left the calves with their mothers indefinitely, but over time I became more aware of these animals as sentient beings and I wanted change.”

Over six years ago the Finlays underwent their first trial, simply leaving 37 calves to suckle with their mothers for six months.

“It was a disaster. The cake bill was higher than the milk cheque’, says David. ‘We pulled the plug.”

The Finlays realised that they had to make significant changes and create a new system

if they were to make the project financially viable. Over the four years from 2011-2015, they built a new dairy, specially designed to house calves with their mothers, before running the full cow with calf system once more.

“For the first year we were still in a black hole of debt as the calves drank us dry. It was a dark time. Some staff walked, but others loved what we were trying to do. Remarkably the second year was dramatically different.

Ultimately the cows began to understand the new rules we were all working to. They let down more of their milk, at some level trusting that their calves would be waiting for them after milking.

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We hadn’t factored ‘trust’ into our spreadsheets!’

‘The third year is better still.

Now we have new heifers born into this system, they’re growing so fast, and they willingly share their milk. I’d say to anyone considering a project like this that six months or one year isn’t enough. It’s bigger than that, but worth it.”

The Finlays progressively wean the cattle at five months, as this is the point when the calves would drink all the milk available due to their size. The process starts with overnight separation from about six weeks of age.

This period is slowly extended, until the final week when a nose

exotic farming scotland clip is used that allows grazing but not suckling, and finally a fence is put between the calf and cow (leaving them together yet physically apart). Since using this staggered process, slowly decreasing physical and emotional dependency, the separations have been remarkably stress-free.

“All the animals were noticeably calmer and more confident. We’ve slowly made this work”, says David.

Rainton doesn’t claim to be a slaughter-free farm. The male calves are either finished as ruby veal at an organic farm the Finlays know and trust, or they’re finished as beef at Rainton. The female calves join the dairy herd. But here comes the rub.

Many vegans and vegetarians

Winter housing cow with calf

don’t view milking or slaughter as remotely ethical. Meanwhile, some traditional dairy farmers feel that the cow with calf method is unnecessary and rocks the apple cart. Can the Finlays please anyone? Well, yes, they’ve often been overwhelmed with support - for example, a crowdfunding appeal in 2018 raised £56,580 in 56 days.

“We get positive feedback from a mix of people. We get a lot of positive comments from women, who can relate to our story, and from other farmers wishing to make changes. Many non-dairy consumers would rather do something and see something change in the dairy industry, rather than maintain the status quo, so they support us too.”

The Ethical Dairy range of cheeses

Modern consumers are interested in provenance, animal welfare and flavour, and they’re willing to pay more for pioneering products. Rainton Farm produces traditional cheeses made with unpasteurised milk. The farm is also organic so it ticks that box too - David is as interested in the land, reducing disease, antibiotics and chemicals as he is in animal welfare. It’s all part of the same package.

“We have a wider purpose, it’s not just about the animals.

We wish to add value to the countryside and to the people.

Rather than a drive towards industrialisation, we’re heading in the opposite direction. We’re creating good agricultural jobs with decent hours. It’s about welfare for all.”

Rainton Farm is also keen on spreading the word and educating

youngsters about its approach to dairy farming. The farm’s sister business is the hugely popular family-friendly Cream o’ Galloway in Gatehouse of Fleet, where indoor and outdoor playgrounds combine with icecream tasting. Whilst children slurp and scoff down ten different flavours of ice-cream made with milk from Rainton, they hear the farm’s story. Families are informed how milk is traditionally produced, and it’s explained how Rainton Farm is doing things differently. Farm tours are also available where guests can see the cows and calves for themselves.

“When we started telling our niche story, people were blown away. Many consumers don’t want to think too much about where their meat or milk is coming from. When they engage, it’s difficult to go back. Equally, if we can prove cow with calf dairy farming works we know other farmers would transition to this method. Intensive farming doesn’t have to be the future of dairy.”

At the moment the Finlay’s are in the positive position of having demand outweigh supply, so they’re looking to expand production and invest in equipment. Their cheeses are available via mail order, including Fleet Valley Blue, Rainton Tomme, Laganory and Carrick. And consumers now have the option of buying cows and their calves a little bit of time. theethicaldairy.co.uk creamogalloway.co.uk

David Finlay with cow and calves

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breed profile

Drysdale’s Glenericht Charolais herd

By Katrina Macarthur

In an era of continued uncertainty and ever diminishing returns, one Perthshire farmer believes there is no better terminal sire for beef producers to rely on than the Charolais.

Allen Drysdale, together with his father Peter and his partner Fiona, who works part-time at Lawrie and Symington’s Forfar Mart, farm 1000 acres between Middle Drimmie, Blairgowrie, and two other nearby units.

They have been using the Charolais on their commercial suckler herd for a number of years now and have also built up their well-known Glenericht pedigree Charolais herd. Around 10 pedigree bulls are sold at auction every year and homebred stock regularly scoops prizes in the show ring at local and national events.

“The Charolais is the ideal terminal sire for me and I don’t believe any other breed can match what it has the ability to do” began Allen. “Charolaissired calves can be sold straight off their mothers at a young age and they always attract a premium in the sale ring. Heifers and steers can then be finished at 14 to 16-months-old at 400kg to 420kg, producing the correct carcase weight for the market.

“When it comes to feeding, animals cost you money every day but I’ve found that the Charolais is the most efficient convertor of feed. We sold a May-born stot calf to a Young Farmer for the overwintering competition at Forfar Mart, last November, and when it came back through the sale ring the following April, it had produced a daily liveweight gain of 1.62kg per day,” he added.

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Allen Drysdale with the herd’s junior stock bull, Caylers Oxford.

While just two or three spring-born calves are sold straight off their mothers in October, all progeny from the 140-cow spring and autumn calving herd is sold as yearlings through the store ring at Forfar Mart and Aberdeen and Northern Marts’ Thainstone Centre.

They regularly attract premium prices at both centres when sold to returned buyers, with nine to 12-month-old stots averaging 450kg and cashing in at £1100, while similarly aged heifers weighing 400kg often level at £1050.

“We are situated as high as 950ft above sea level so we don’t feel our spring-born calves have reached their full potential to be sold straight off their mothers in the back-end,” said Allen.

“They’re kept through the winter and fed silage, straw, barley and a protein source, while back-end calves are sold as yearlings in September/October.

“I believe Charolais stots are most efficient when fed inside,

rather than outside at grass.

Charolais cattle respond well to their diet and can be away at 15 to 16 months of age when bought at 10-months-old. There is a quicker turnover with the breed and more throughput, reducing the carbon footprint,” he added.

The Drysdale’s 30-cow pedigree herd was founded in 2002 with the purchase of Moynton Rosa at Perth Bull Sales and a heifer and calf outfit from the Balnuith herd. That was Balnuith Raemonia and her bull calf Balnuith Valour, which Peter and Allen kept as a young stock bull for the commercials and the other pedigree females from Balmyle, Elrick and Mornity herds.

He really made a stamp on the herd as his first son sold for 10,000gns at Perth in 2009, while other sons have made 12,000gns, 8000gns and 7000gns.

Another retained son of Balnuith Valour, this time Glenericht Hollywood, was shown as an 18-month-old bull

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at the Royal Highland Show, where he stood reserve in the Beefbreeder. His first son then stood senior champion at Stirling Bull Sales in October, 2017, and sold for 8500gns.

While the top price to date for a pedigree bull is 12,000gns, the herd has also produced sales at 11,500gns, 11,000gns twice and 10,000gns twice. Bulls often sell to repeat customers, many of which are pedigree breeders.

Allen said: “Initially, the success of the pedigree herd was just a bonus but it’s becoming a major part of our business now.

We run a very strict culling policy and I’ve got to know what bloodlines breed well for us so we’re more selective on what is kept.”

Current stock bulls include Carwood Lochness, Caylers Noah and Caylers Oxford, while the AI sire, Fleets Vibrant has proved a real success on the herd.

His sons have sold for 11,000gns and 7000gns at Carlisle and he is breeding quality females.

Exhibiting at local shows and the Highland Show has become a good advert for the Glenericht team. In 2015, Glenericht Hester and her calf at foot stood female champion and reserve overall Charolais at the Highland.

Allen is also current chairman of the Scottish Northern Charolais Club and is keen to help youngsters and promote the breed as a whole.

Outwith the beef enterprise at Middle Drimmie, the Drysdale’s run a 700-ewe flock of Scotch Mule and Texel crosses, which are tupped to the Suffolk and Texel. Lambs are sold direct to Dunbia and Woodhead Bros, Turriff.

2030…We have a decade to change but how do we meet the targets set for food production and the environment?

Asks Director of Policy, Jonnie Hall?

A tranche of activities to raise awareness of the key role of auctioneers in the Scottish red meat industry has been undertaken in recent months by Quality Meat Scotland (QMS).

QMS has been working with auctioneers up and down the country as part of its public relations activity to communicate the care and commitment which goes into the production of topquality Scotch Beef PGI and Scotch Lamb PGI, at every step in the chain.

The most recent piece of activity profiled Primrose Beaton, Head Cattle Auctioneer with Lawrie & Symington based in Lanark, who highlighted the importance of animal welfare and the traceability behind the Scotch Beef brand along with her enthusiasm for her role.

QMS also profiled Ellis Mutch, a trainee auctioneer with ANM Group, based in Inverurie. Ellis appeared, along with auctioneers from United Auctions and Caledonian Marts, in the TV advert for Scotch Beef, which is currently being shown in cinemas throughout Scotland.

Last weekend saw ANM Group auctioneer Colin Slessor, star of the hit BBC series “The Mart” take part in a QMS cookoff showcasing Scotch Lamb at Taste of Grampian. Mr Slessor took to the stage, in front of hundreds of visitors to the festival, to show off his culinary skills, alongside Scotland’s

National Chef, Gary Maclean, and local chef, Sandy Greig.

At the upcoming Royal Highland Show auctioneers will also take part in activities on the QMS stand.

Last autumn QMS also undertook publicity with the catering team at United Auctions who got behind the Scotch Lamb campaign as part of Love Lamb Week, and a very successful “Meat the Market” workshop for auctioneers was held this spring.

“Our thanks go to all to the auctioneers who have supported Quality Meat Scotland’s campaigns and PR activities in recent months,” said Alan Clarke, Chief Executive of QMS. “It is vital that the industry pulls together and that there is a concerted effort to communicate with the public to increase understanding of the hard work and dedication that exists in the different parts of our industry.”

As well as delivering a number of activities with auctioneers, QMS has also been working with others involved in our industry, including farmers, processors, butchers, chefs and vets.

Mr Clarke also extended thanks go to all those who have responded to our recent appeal to get involved in QMS’s new “Meat with Integrity” campaign which will be launched at the end of July. The campaign will focus on the industry’s animal welfare and environmental credentials.

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NFU Scotland

beef QMS Raises Awareness of Key Role of Auctioneers

There are complex political, physical and financial challenges facing our industry.

The obvious challenges include Brexit and the issues around trade, people and future support; dysfunctional supply chains characterised by inequitable margins and, the here and now of current agricultural policy and its delivery. The challenges have never been so conspiring as to be so daunting.

One question has been relentlessly chewing at me.

It’s a straightforward question, but there’s no straightforward answer. It focuses on the year 2030 – essentially only a decade away.

The question is: How will Scotland’s farmers and crofters pump prime a food and drinks sector expected to double its turnover by 2030 while at the very same time as playing a lead role in meeting an interim 70 per cent reduction in emissions target by the same date?

Ambition 2030, launched in 2017, essentially sets a target for Scotland’s farming, fishing, food and drinks sectors to drive profitable, responsible growth across the industry, doubling its size to £30 billion in turnover by 2030.

And now Scotland is set to legislate to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to ‘net zero’ by 2045 after receiving fresh advice from the Committee on Climate Change (CCC). But as well as the 2045 aim, the CCC advises interim targets of a 70 per cent reduction in emissions

by 2030 (and a 90 per cent drop by 2040).

Our industry has been told what is expected of us but what’s missing are the policy tools required to get there, let alone the political direction.

I look back over the last ten years at how recent and current policy regimes have all too OFTEN INCENTIVISED INERTIA STImED innovation and productivity, and undermined resilience.

Separately, these are two huge challenges.

Together, they mark a defining moment for Scottish agriculture and, in my mind, must also be a watershed for Scottish agricultural policy.

Instead of blunt area-based payments, the sooner we move to effective action-based support, the sooner farmers and crofters can drive productivity gains to improve their bottom lines while delivering higher value produce to the food and drinks sectors whose growth hinges on provenance and quality.

Agricultural policy, and the regulatory regime we must adhere to, must change to enable efficient, effective and environmentally beneficial practice simultaneously - and it needs to change soon.

Stability is a must in the very short term. But change must be instigated as a matter of urgency. Only then can Scotland’s farmers and crofters be enabled to play their unique and critical role in the future economic, environmental and social prosperity of Scotland – by 2030 and beyond.

www.nfus.org.uk

livestock Industry Urged to Back “Meat with Integrity” Campaign People who work in Scotland’s beef, lamb and pork industry are being urged to take part in a brand new “Meat with Integrity” marketing and public relations campaign being launched by Quality Meat Scotland (QMS).

QMS is enlisting the help of farmers, crofters and others working in the industry to act as the faces of the new campaign which aims to raise awareness of the industry’s animal welfare and sustainability credentials.

This exciting, fully integrated initiative launches this summer, will be focused on promoting Scotch Beef PGI, Scotch Lamb PGI and Specially Selected Pork in a campaign covering all three brands.

“The aim of ‘Meat with Integrity’ is to drive consumer

awareness of the Scottish red meat industry’s exceptional credentials,” said Carol McLaren, Marketing and Communications Director with Quality Meat Scotland.

“The campaign will also highlight our industry’s worldrenowned quality assurance schemes which cover the entire production process, including farms, hauliers, feed companies, auction markets and processors.

It will also aim to increase public awareness of the heritage and expertise in the industry and the importance of animal welfare and wellbeing.”

Farmers and others interested in getting involved in the new campaign should email info@ qmscotland.co.uk for more information.

Rumen performance powered by new improved Maxammon Maxammon is a grain treatment process that improves rumen performance and digestibility and as a result, leads to improved feed efficiency. With the resulting benefits including significant increases in production, both in terms of liveweight gain and

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improved milk yield, as well as improved health and fertility, Maxammon can make a huge impact to the overall performance of any ruminant.

At Harbro, we’ve been working with and developing our Maxammon technology for more

than 10 years. During this time we’ve partnered with 14 universities and research institutes in 8 countries across the globe to rigorously test and develop the product to ensure that ruminants from a diverse range of systems can use it to obtain the best nutritional response.

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We’ve also invested in an extensive in house testing and quality assurance programme and have a full time member of staff dedicated to the product.

Following comprehensive testing in our laboratories and grain treatment sites, Harbro

livestock

is pleased to announce a new improved Maxammon formula, which will be available from June 2019. The new formula has enhanced activity and improved ammonia production rates – the key factors which drive the rumen efficiency, feed conversion and the overall performance benefits of Maxammon.

Proven success in cattle.

Independent trials by leading

agricultural organisations across the globe have shown consistently high performance across a variety of breeds and systems using the Maxammon approach.

A recent trial co-ordinated by the University of Milan Veterinary Sciences department compared a Maxammon maize and maize silage based diet to a standard high energy, maize and maize silage based diet with equivalent levels of protein.

The results showed: • Improved daily liveweight gain-daily liveweight gain was significantly higher in the Maxammon group.

• Improved feed conversion efficiency-feed conversion in the Maxammongroup was 5.4% better than the control group.

• Significantly more stable rumen pH. • Improved rumen health and lower instances of acidosis and bloat.

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Industry Urged to Seize Opportunities to Communicate with Public People working in every part of the Scottish red meat industry have been urged by Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) to support forth-coming campaigns and seize every opportunity to communicate the industry’s positive messages.

Speaking at a briefing to announce QMS’s ambitious activity plans for the year ahead, Kate Rowell, QMS Chair, emphasised a key focus of the organisation’s activity for the 2019/20 year will be to upweight the important work it does to protect, as well as promote, the industry.

“The work we do to protect and enhance the reputation of the industry has never been more important,” said Mrs Rowell.

“In the coming weeks we will be launching our brand new ‘Meat with Integrity’ campaign which focuses on the industry’s sustainability and animal welfare messages and QMS is inviting farmers and others who work in the industry to help us with this campaign. The industry’s support will make a huge difference.”

She added: “As a farmer and a vet I am well aware

of the challenges faced by our industry and equally aware of the dedication and sheer hard graft that goes into producing the nutritious food source that is quality assured beef, lamb and pork.

“Having spoken with hundreds of people in my first six months as QMS chair I am also very aware of the immense frustration being felt at grassroots level about the wave of unbalanced, and very often totally inaccurate, media coverage driven by some very well-funded organisations with an antired meat agenda.”

QMS is, she said, delighted with the response from the industry in support of our recent ‘Know Your Beef’ campaign and keen to build on this in coming months.

“We are encouraging everyone to miss no opportunities to share their pride in the care and commitment which goes into producing the quality assured beef, lamb and pork we are famed for throughout the world.”

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livestock ESAB Rebel™ 3-phase welders offer unbeatable combination of power, performance and mobility for the farming community ESAB’s Rebel™ EMP 255ic and Rebel EMP 320ic multi-process welder for MIG/MAG, DC MMA and TIG welding are suitable for any jobs needed around the farm and with super portability can be used anywhere. Both units weigh 31.4 kg and use 400 V +-10% 3-phase supply voltage. Rebel EMP 320ic provides a rated output of 320 amps/30 volts at 40% duty cycle and maximum output of 350 amps/34 volts making it more than capable of running both solid and flux cored wires in heavy

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industrial applications. Rebel EMP 255ic provides a rated output of 255 amps/26.8 volts at 40% duty cycle and maximum output of 300 amps/34 volts ideal for industrial applications requiring 1.0 to 1.2 mm wires.

“These Rebels are the most industrial Rebels yet. Their strong output enables users to gain the productivity benefits of spray arc welding with a wide array of wires on mild steel, stainless steel and even aluminum,” says Martin Freibergs, Business Product

Manager Industrial/Light Industrial Product Systems, ESAB. “With a four-wheel drive roll system and a top wire speed of 20.3 m/min combined with great torque, they can ensure accurate and consistent feeding of wires of all diameters.”

In addition to its excellent MIG/MAG capabilities, these multi-process Rebels also handle full MMA performance with electrodes up to 5mm diameter, as well as gas-cooled TIG applications with a dedicated gas valve for professional TIG welding using Lift TIG starts. Traditional welders with similar outputs are typically single-process MIG machines.

They often fall short when it comes to power and long welding cycles.

Rebel EMP 320ic offers fabricators a machine with true industrial performance for shop work and the power, portability and multiprocess flexibility contractors need for structural steel erection.

Rebel EMP 255ic and Rebel EMP 320ic maintain the benefits of other Rebel EMP welders, including the color TFT-LCD display. The multi-lingual user interface provides a graphical and intuitive way of selecting processes and setting parameters. Also part of Rebel DNA is ESAB’s sMIG (“smart MIG”) technology for quick and easy results when short circuit MIG welding. The sMIG

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function monitors the operator’s technique and continuously adapts to provide a stable arc and superior, repeatable welds.

“You can actually hear sMIG fine tune the arc after a few seconds of welding, dialing in that perfect ‘sizzling bacon’ sound that signifies proper welding parameters,” says Freibergs. “This technology reduces downtime when changing parameters, helps train new operators and can improve consistency between welding stations.”

Rebel design is compact with a small footprint, and the machine can hold both 200 and 300 mm bobbins. Both units use the same tough case that measures 686 x 292 x 495, allows users to bring the powerful Rebel to the jobsite, manoeuvre it around a workshop using the customised 2-wheeled trolley or keep it on the work bench, providing unmatched flexibility for shop and field work.

ESAB Welding & Cutting Products is a recognised leader in the welding and cutting industry.

From time-honoured processes in welding and cutting to revolutionary technologies in mechanised cutting and automation, ESAB’s filler metals, equipment, and accessories bring solutions to customers around the globe. For more information, visit www.esab.com.

livestock National Hereford Club welcomes Nick Hewer to president’s seat

The

VET Catching them early

By Andy Cant Northvet Veterinary Group

The National Hereford Club was delighted to vote in TV star Nick Hewer as president at its recent AGM. Known for appearances on The Apprentice, and more recently Countdown, Mr Hewer is a descendant of the famed Hewer family which was so influential during the establishment of the breed. The Hewers have to take most of the credit for the dominant

white faced Hereford which was primarily successful not due to facial colour, but because Hewerbred cattle were some of the best around at the time.

The Club, dedicated to breeders and enthusiasts of horned Hereford cattle, stages its national show at Tenbury Countryside Show on Saturday 3 August, where Mr Hewer will be present.

Now that we are well into the grazing season, animals have had the chance to pick up parasites once more which can have a detrimental effect on their PRODUCTION ,IVER mUKE continue to be one parasite that causes considerable problems and in various ways. The life cycle of the mUKE WILL TAKE UP TO WKS before the adult is fully developed in the bile ducts of the liver. This fairly long lifecycle means the disease can take various forms depending what stage of the cycle we are at. Acute mUKE DISEASE IS SEEN WHERE THE IMMATURE mUKE MIGRATE through the tissues of the liver causing anaemia and sometimes sudden death.

3UBACUTE mUKE DISEASE CAN again cause anaemia and weight loss with the effect OF IMMATURE AND ADULT mUKE

AND lNALLY CHRONIC mUKE disease where the adults are present. Knowing your animals have been infected may be obvious due to

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clinical signs. A diagnosis in the live animal can be made from dung samples where ADULT mUKE ARE LAYING EGGS

however this won’t pick up ACUTE mUKE AS NO EGGS HAVE been laid yet. So how can you tell when animals have been infected with the early IMMATURE STAGES OF mUKE There are serological blood tests that can be used to show this. We are presently involved in a surveillance project taking blood samples from this year’s lambs on a monthly basis to see when positive blood samples show up. This may help inform the use of early treatments to avoid the disease progressing. Involvement of XLVet independent veterinary practices throughout the UK will also give an idea of geographical variation in the spread and timing of disease. We hope to stimulate awareness and debate on the subject of LIVER mUKE AND HOW AND when we should be treating for it.

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dairy How dairy milk alternatives could dry up An event at Cranfield University on September 24th will reveal how dairy alternatives could be environmentally unsustainable.

“Environmental Impact of My Food Products”, is a one-day course facilitated by specialist post graduate training provider Agrifood Training Partnership.

Aimed at food producers, farmers and anyone working in the food chain, it will explain how changes in consumption are depleting scarce water resources in drought-stricken countries and offer advice to help better assess the environmental impacts of global food production.

Choice, price, dietary trends and concerns about animal welfare have all contributed to a rise in the purchase of dairy alternatives, in particular milk substitutes. Dairy consumption in the UK, per capita, has been falling steadily since the 1950s.

The rise in so called “healthy” alternatives such as almond milk

has been a major contributor to dairy decline. However, almond milk often contains less than two percent almonds, and is largely water, with some added vitamins, minerals, sweeteners and thickening agents. It is therefore a poorly described product, but beyond the somewhat misleading packaging and “health” marketing there is a much more fundamental concern about almond milk production.

Water consumption.

Studies carried out by Cranfield University have shown that almond milk production is consuming huge amounts of so called “blue water”. Blue water is water collected for human consumption or industrial and agricultural applications such as irrigation. By contrast “green water” is naturally occurring rainwater that is used by plants or absorbed into the soil. As part of a wider study, Prof.Tim Hess and Dr Chloe Sutcliffe from

Cranfield, compared the amount of blue water needed to produce dairy milk and almond milk.

To produce one litre of almond milk requires a staggering one hundred and seven litres of blue water. In comparison, a litre of dairy milk requires just eight litres. The huge variance in the consumption of blue

water is more alarming when consideration is given to the geography of the areas that produce almonds.

Places are available now for £375 and there is an early bird discount of 25% making the whole day just £281.25. For more information visit www.aftp. co.uk/course/247

Producers advised to watch milk butterfat levels at grass Dairy producers are being warned that the latest report on grass growth development across the UK is flagging a potential increased risk for milk fat depression and acidosis.

“It’s common for milk butterfat depression to occur during spring turnout, as a result of the high unsaturated oil and low fibre content in spring

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grass, both of which can upset the rumen pH and reduce fibre digestion,” explains Charlotte Ward, Trident Feeds ruminant nutritionist.

“Disruption of rumen balance can lead to an increased risk of subacute rumen acidosis (SARA), so it’s crucial the ration is balanced at turnout to avoid milk fat suppression in the udder.”

According to Miss Ward, current grass samples across the UK are indicating the need for producers to ensure enough digestible and structural fibre is provided in the diet during turnout.

“One way this can be done is to supplement forage fibre with non-forage digestible fibre sources such as sugarbeet feed,” she explains.

In addition, Miss Ward notes a cost-effective way to support milk fat production at grazing is to feed a high C:16 rumen protected fat.

“Supplements such as Butterfat Extra can easily be incorporated into well balanced rations and can show immediate improvements to milk fat percentages,” she explains.

“Butterfat Extra is a palatable rumen protected fat, containing

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high levels of C:16 fatty acids targeted to boost yields and increase the energy density of the ration, with production responses of up to 0.3 percent increase in butterfat being seen.”

Based on current prices, Miss Ward says the inclusion of Butterfat Extra can be financially rewarding to the producer.

“On a 200-cow herd unit, this could mean an extra profit of £6,289*, for the first 150 days of lactation, while feeding a buffer ration at turnout will also help support rumen function, milk yields and milk constituents.”

With most milk contracts now incorporating a reward structure for higher milk butterfat and protein percentages, Miss Ward concludes producers can benefit from hitting the higher percentage bands and achieving premium milk prices.

dairy Arla farmers launch initiative to get British bees buzzing again

crofting Land for croft new entrants

By Patrick Krause, Chief Executive, Scottish Crofting Federation

A group of farmers from the Arla Foods dairy cooperative have launched a trial initiative to see whether their efforts for environmentally friendly dairy farming can be broadened to help increase wild bee populations given the crucial role they play in supporting our ecosystems.

The news follows the recent UN report which revealed 1 million animal species are at risk of extinction globally. Of these species, a further report found pollinators, in particular some bees, have been in steady decline, with an average of 11 species lost in every square kilometre in the UK between 1980 and 2013.

Forming part of the dairy cooperative’s farm standards programme Arla UK 360, the research and development module Project Pollinator, will see a trial of five farmers across the country set aside areas of land to help vital bee pollinators. Farmers will cultivate, seed and farm the land to create the best possible habitat for a variety of insects, which are crucial in pollinating many of the crops we all rely on. 15% of Arla’s farmer owners already work with independent nature organisations to support bio-diversity and many more have their own on farm

biodiversity initiatives. However, the focus of the trial will be to explore whether selecting and cultivating flowers specially for bees and farming the wildlife can help change the declining numbers of bees.

Marek Nowakowski of the Wildlife Farming Company, who is helping the Arla farmers with the trial, explains, “We look to farmers like those on Arla’s trial to lead the way in showing more of us in the UK how to better manage our balance with wildlife.

Habitat quality and variety are the key to increasing biodiversity so this trial, treating wildlife as a crop and farming it so it grows by design, could have significant impact on the efficiency of the land in supporting the types of bees that are our greatest pollinators.

“I have never seen such passion and enthusiasm from a farming community looking to provide increased opportunities for pollinators. Our growing population requires increasing amounts of land space for housing, infrastructure and food production but this can’t be don’t at the expense of the world around us, we need to give wildlife a helping hand.”

Continuing on the theme of my last column, another two recent news items have raised the issue of access to land for croft new entrants, again.

Last week Highlands & Islands Enterprise (HIE) announced that they intend to sell the Orbost estate in Skye, which they have owned since 1997. This was a worthy project that had the intention of creating new crofts. The legislation at the time did not allow for this so a few smallholdings now exist on the estate, which may be converted into crofts.

The bulk of the estate is managed as one farm and some woodland. Is this an opportunity to create new crofts and woodland crofts?

The other news release of interest came from Scottish Government announcing that 6,400 hectares of land have been contributed by public bodies to create new start-up farms. Both HIE and Highland Council have donated land but there is no mention of whether there has been consideration of the creation of new crofts.

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A key driver of land reform in Scotland has been to increase the number of people who occupy, own, manage and have a say in Scotland’s land.

SCF has called on the Scottish Government to create 10,000 new crofts, half of which should be woodland crofts. This is only a tiny proportion of Scotland’s rural land. If we use 5ha as an average croft size, 5,000 new bare-land crofts would only account for 0.5% of Scotland’s agricultural land and 5,000 woodland crofts would only account for 1.7% of Scotland’s forest. And we get 10,000 more crofting families on the land.

The Scottish Farm Land Trust recently carried out a survey asking if people are interested in starting to farm: they had 1,286 positive responses, 73% of these wanting less than 20ha. A fear of insecurity of tenure was cited by 56% of respondents as a barrier to entering farming. You can see the dots joining up – the creation of new crofts is the answer.

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sheep New Estimated Breeding Values Improve Ram Selection in Scotland The value of investing in a ram with the right genetic merit for your system has been highlighted in results from the third year of the RamCompare project.

The project has highlighted how commercial producers can identify the most profitable rams for their production system by using Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs).

The latest results from the UK’s commercial progeny test now include new EBVs for traits like days to slaughter, primal yield and tenderness.

RamCompare is a five-year project that takes nominated Signet-recorded rams from various terminal sire breeds and uses them on nine commercial farms in the UK. Three years in, the project has already tested 138 rams and over 12,000 of their progeny, one of the largest trials of its kind. It is important as it allows a comparison of progeny

of high index rams from different breeds for a range of traits.

Rams are selected on the basis of their EBVs, which are a direct assessment of their breeding merit for specific traits.

Through information collected on their progeny, the project re-assesses their genetic worth for traits that are measured onfarm, such as lamb growth rate, ultrasound muscle and fat depth.

Abattoir data is then collected from these lambs to produce EBVs for traits which farmers are actually paid for, those being - carcase weight, conformation and fat classification.

For the first time, an EBV for Days to Slaughter has been produced – indicating the degree to which sire choice can influence the speed that lambs reach slaughter weight. Over a quarter of the variation seen in this trait can be attributed to a lamb’s genetics and there are

important genetic differences between rams. Reducing the number of days to slaughter can both improve farm profitability, and reduce the farms carbon footprint, further highlighting the role genetics play in meeting our climate change obligations.

This year, Signet Breeding Services launched the biggest change to its terminal sire recording programme in decades, moving the

assessment of carcase traits, like muscle and fat depth onto a weight, rather than an age, adjusted basis.

While this has changed the ranking of Signet recorded rams, it has greatly enhanced the commercial focus of these widely used EBVs for producers selecting lambs at a fixed slaughter weight.

RamCompare results and project updates can be viewed online at www.ramcompare.com

Are your lambs finishing quickly enough?

To keep lambs developing to their maximum potential during the peak grass growing months and beyond, UK sheep producers are being urged to supplement finishing stock effectively with essential trace minerals.

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“Rapid growth in May and June can leave grazed grass up to 50% deficient in copper, selenium, iodine and cobalt,” says Dr Elizabeth Berry, Veterinary Director with Animax.

“These four trace elements impact energy, production, growth, reproduction and the nervous system,” Dr Berry says. “However, soil derived minerals can vary and become diluted especially during peak grass growth periods, to a point of negatively impacting on feed conversion, which will extend finishing times.”

Dr Berry says that it is important for sheep producers to keep lambs growing fast when grass is plentiful early in the grazing season. “Ideally, you want your lambs to finish as quickly as possible, but if their growth rates are sluggish and poor because of a mineral deficiency they will hang around and potentially start eating into grass reserves earmarked for flushing/breeding and overwintering ewes.”

To mitigate this delayed/ slow lamb finishing risk, Dr Berry says that taking advantage

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of leaching bolus technology is an effective and simple way to maintain optimum trace mineral requirements for grazing livestock.

“For example, once inside the rumen or reticulum, Tracesure© Lamb Finisher, a proven leaching bolus for lambs at grass will provide supplementation of selenium, iodine and cobalt.

Specifically designed for finishing lambs, the bolus leaches trace elements at a constant and prolonged rate for up to five months,” she says. “If copper is required, Tracesure© Lamb Finisher with Copper is available, which includes a 2-gram copper oxide needle capsule.

For further information on the benefits of leaching mineral bolus technology, sheep producers are advised to contact their local Animax representative or visit animax-vet.com.

sheep Report recognises predation of some healthy sheep stocks NFU Scotland has welcomed the publication by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) of several documents on the management of white-tailed eagles (WTEs).

These give valuable insight into the work that is underway to deal with the problems caused by some eagles and states clearly for the first time that they do predate healthy sheep and lambs.

The documents recognise that, since their reintroduction, there has been a growing impact of the birds on sheep flocks in the west coast with many farmers and crofters experiencing significant losses to WTEs, particularly in areas where there is a lack of alternative prey.

One of the SNH monitor farms has demonstrated the loss of an extra 181 lambs in the period 20122018.

Post-mortem examination of a very small sample of lambs killed

by WTEs also found most to have been fit and healthy when attacked rather than dead or unviable lambs, as some originally believed.

The white-tailed eagle Action Plan was produced by a stakeholder group following an agreement between SNH and NFU Scotland in 2014 to work together to find ways of limiting adverse impacts of white-tailed eagles whilst developing the right conditions for the sustainable coexistence between WTE and sheep farming.

Depending on a range of factors, the WTE population is predicted to continue to expand exponentially in the short term from its current level of 130 breeding pairs to several hundreds more over the next 20 years.

Figures on breeding pairs doesn’t include the potential for a much larger number of juvenile birds as adult WTEs only start to pair when they are around five or six years old.

The Union wants to ensure that the current work of farmers,

crofters, SNH and WTE monitor farms to address the issue of predation are enhanced. It believes that as the WTE population grows, the problems for farmers and crofters will only get worse.

General public appreciation and understanding of the problem is now much greater thanks to the work of NFUS and SNH. WTE predation of lambs was highlighted in a presentation at NFU Scotland’s AGM in February and the issue has received welcome widespread coverage in recent weeks on national TV and radio and in newspapers.

NFU Scotland President Andrew McCornick said: “We thank SNH for the publication of these documents, which clearly recognise that the diet of WTEs, in some locations, includes healthy sheep and lambs. For some of our farming and crofting members on the west coast of Scotland, predation by white-tailed eagles of lambs and, in some cases, adult sheep, is an unwelcome threat to their future viability.

“That makes this a very emotive issue for those of our members affected by significant WTE predation on their stock and NFUS is committed through the collaborative approach with SNH and other stakeholders to identify solutions.

“For a long time, the impression has been given that only weak or dead lambs are subject to WTE predation. Recognition that predation includes healthy sheep and lambs vindicates what many farmers and crofters affected by WTEs have been saying for some considerable time.

“With one WTE monitor farm able to clearly demonstrate the loss of an extra 181 lambs in the period 2012-2018, it is clear to me that WTE predation could have a serious impact on the sustainability of hefted hill flocks on some farms and crofts.

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It’s all a numbers game!

Maimie Paterson, NSA Scotland

Many of us remember the

was less than two-thirds

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torture

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of

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misery

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divided by a smaller number

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‘workings’ in the margin of

of more than £5 per head.

the page whichwhich only

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went to prove how utterly

divide the funds by the total

out of our depth we were.

number of hoggs claimed,

Hill farmers would like to see

which this year, gives a

Scotgov’s workings in the

payment of £68 per head.

margin in order to unravel

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the Scottish Upland Sheep

are removed and their share

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been suggested that for the

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second year in succession,

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some of it has reappeared

gone. At £68 per head for

in £200,000-worth of extra

homebred ewe hoggs, it

funding allocated to QMS.

represents an increase of

Hill

£5 on last year’s payment.

scratching their heads and

However, this is the year

trying to figure it all out.

when the full effect of the

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lamb losses arising from the

sold short again, and it now

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becomes clear why maths

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teachers always insisted that

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sheep Techion launch next generation FECPAKG2 Faecal egg counts (FEC) will be quicker and easier than ever, following the launch of the next generation FECPAKG2 diagnostic technology .

The latest upgrade to the FECPAKG2, which is widely used by both sheep farmers and animal health care professionals, means the platform is now a battery powered smart device which is Wi-Fi enabled. This will allow the system to pair with smartphones, tablets and laptops, allowing samples to be uploaded, analysed and results received, virtually anywhere.

“The technology allows internet connected and imagebased FEC testing to be carried out literally on the job,” says Tabitha Allen from Techion.

“While the current system is able to return results rapidly, samples need to be uploaded via a computer. The upgrade will therefore give users more flexibility, allowing samples

to be processed away from the office.

“Samples are then analysed by trained online technicians so we can confidently provide accurate results, which can then help farmers make informed decisions when it comes to worming.

“The new upgrade now includes a digital microscope that enhances image quality further, making it quicker and easier than ever before to provide these accurate results,” she explains.

“More and more farmers are choosing to FEC test with concerns around resistance a key driver, alongside recognition of the fact that it can save money and boost flock performance,” Ms Allen adds.

Clare Wise from Darlington runs 500 continental cross ewes and has been FEC testing for three years. Initially the samples were tested through a third party but due to the three-day delay in obtaining the results, 12 months

ago she invested in her own FECPAKG2 kit and now gets results within a couple of hours.

“Traditionally, we routinely wormed every three weeks, whether the lambs needed it or not. However now I’m testing

FEC’s weekly in high season and every fortnight in low season and only treating when required,” she says.

To find out more about FECPAKG2 call Tabitha Allen on 07989 687225.

“Blowfly prevention is key,” say experts Leading experts from Elanco and NADIS are reminding farmers that prevention is the strongest defence against blowfly strike as the season progresses.

Reports on the Elanco Blowfly Strike Tracker now show that reports of flystrike in Aberdeenshire and Stirlingshire have been reported.

Farmers are being urged to ‘strike first’ with preventative

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treatments rather than risk devastation to their own flock.

“Delaying treatment gambles with your entire flock’s welfare and productivity, even if there are no symptoms showing,” says Kate Heller, Technical Vet at Elanco.

“It’s easy to miss a struck sheep within a flock. By the time it’s spread, the damage is done.”

Results of an Elanco blowfly study conducted in partnership

with the National Farm Research Unit1 found that 99% of farmers having suffered financial losses as a result of blowfly strike. While 82% agree that the blowfly season is getting longer, with cases of strike being reported as early as February and as late as November1.

By comparison, preventing blowfly strike using a long-lasting product can offer not only peace of mind but can also be economical

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in terms of time, money and effort.

“Many farmers will wait and treat later due to perceived savings in treatment cost, but this is a false economy as the duration of efficacy for some products is so long anyway,” says independent sheep veterinary consultant, Dr Fiona Lovatt. “Treating earlier in the year means a smaller lamb and so potentially a smaller dose, which is a genuine saving.”

“When farmers are looking at treatment options, they need to look for the longest protection with an IGR that binds to the fleece – It is now possible to get 19 weeks blowfly strike prevention. Research has also shown that treatment early in the year will prevent a build up of flies and reduce the devastating impact that blowfly strike can have on flocks2,” advises Kate Heller.

To report a case of blowfly strike on your farm, and further information on blowfly strike, go to https://farmanimalhealth.co.uk/ tracker

LIVESTOCK MARKET REVIEW

Market outlook

By Katrina Macarthur A good, mild spell of weather resulted in a high lamb kill throughout the month of May, with Defra statistics in the week ending June 14, showing that lamb and sheep kill continued to be elevated.

The total sheep meat production stood at 23,600 tonnes for May, which is up 15% on the year but back 10% on the month.

However, the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) suggested that the kill in 2019 is happening at a faster pace than expected, with Defra production and slaughter data stating that 955,400 lambs

came forward in the UK which is 8% more on 2018 levels. Around a third of these lambs are old season lambs and approximately 600,000 are new season lambs.

Although numbers recorded were back on the month, it’s expected at this time of the year that overall kill is elevated and that tighter production will occur during quarter four.

Liveweight prices for lambs continued to fall in the week ending June 12, as the GB liveweight NSL SQQ stood at 211.17p per kg (-9.8p) which continues to stand below the five-year average. Numbers were also back during the week as

available numbers of old season lambs tighten.

During the week ending June 8, the GB deadweight NSL SQQ declined by 6.5p to level at 472.5p per kg, which is also below the five-year average.

Estimated clean sheep slaughter for that week was 231,200 head, which is up on both the week and the year.

In the cattle, slightly heavier prime carcase weights and a higher cow slaughtering saw UK beef and veal production in May at 79,300 head, an increase of 2% on the year.

Prime cattle slaughter numbers have remained relatively steady

throughout the year so far but are largely unchanged at 174,400 head in May, with an average prime cattle carcase weight of 357kg.

Higher heifer slaughter still remains a trend this year however, throughput for both steers and young bulls is back on the year.

Moving forward, AHDB expects that slaughtering will pull back in the second half the year as lower calvings in early 2018 start to impact.

In the week ended June 8, deadweight cattle prices fell back further on the week, with the GB all prime average at 343.9p per kg (-2.1p).

In the week ended June 8, deadweight cattle prices fell back further on the week, with the GB all prime average at 343.9p per kg (-2.1p)

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forestry Teagle launch the “LAND” a new generation of High Capacity Mulcher Teagle Machinery, a family business based in Cornwall, have been distributing high quality Flail Mowers in the UK from Italian manufacturer Berti for over 15 years. Through a policy of reliable performance, continuous improvement and after sales support; Teagle supply a substantial number of flails into agriculture, as well as catering for amenity, horticulture, forestry and other specialist applications with their range of flail mowers and mulchers that boasts over 35 different models.

Efficiency and Output are the main drivers in most business decisions. Teagle have experienced an increasing demand from customers in the UK looking for a mulcher that is robust, versatile

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and able to mulch particularly fibrous material at a high forward speed. The New “Land” has been designed to meet this demand.

There are a number of key features to the machine that has enabled the model to claim a capacity 100% larger than its predecessor the TSB and make it stand out from other mulchers commonly found in the UK: • The “LAND” is a high-body mulcher with CAT II linkage, capable of very high discharge rates, and consequently high forward speeds. It is equally at home mulching grass, reeds, rushes, bracken, maize, brassicas, vegetables, setaside or gorse.

• The double skin chassis incorporates Strenx high

performance, wear resistant steel, as its inner lining for longevity and reliability.

Under the hood there is a single row of bolted counter blades to improve mulching performance.

• The rear of the hood can be hydraulically adjusted to deflect material downwards.

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• The machine features hydraulic side shift (to improve access at field margins) and automatic belt tensioning (to maintain optimum performance) within its standard specification.

• The machine is fitted with ‘T’ type forged and hardened” hammers (pictured) as standard, with an option for ‘Y’ type flails

forestry where less power is available from the tractor.

• The large 194mm diameter rear rotor diameter and extended shaft flails offer a market leading tip speed for outstanding mulching and a fine cut finish.

The long flails also give outstanding protection against stone damage (commonly found in areas growing reeds and gorse).

The “Land” series covers 6 models with working widths from

1.8m to 3.0 metres. The drive line is rated at 60 – 150hpand fitted with a Waltersheid PTO shaft. Models with a working width to 2.3m are fitted with 540rpm Gearbox, 2.5m – 3m fitted with 1000rpm Gearbox.

Prices start at £8,350 for the 1.8 metres model For more information please contact Jim Squires, UK Sales Manager (jim.squires@teagle. co.uk, our sales desk on 01872 560592, or visit www.teagle. co.uk for further information.

Confor urges industry to look ahead as Scottish targets are “smashed” More than 10,000 hectares of new woodland have been planted in Scotland for the first time in almost 20 years, it was announced today.

Confor has welcomed the figures - 11,200 hectares of new planting, up from 7,100 the previous year - and called on the forestry industry to maintain the momentum and drive on to meet the next landmark Scottish Government target of 15,000 hectares by 2025.

Stuart Goodall, Confor’s CEO, said: “I’m delighted that we’ve met and gone well beyond our planting target in Scotland.

This is great news for the sector, but also for all Scotland now that the First Minister has announced a climate emergency.

“Planting trees locks up carbon and by harvesting and replanting them sustainably, we can produce an infinitely renewable supply of wood with which to build homes and to manufacture an array of everyday products - while also reducing carbon in the atmosphere.

“Scotland is leading the way in the UK, with 84 per cent of all new planting happening in Scotland.

“Confor has worked long and hard with the Scottish Government to get to this point and I truly hope the momentum will be maintained in the coming

years. We now need the rest of the UK to move beyond ramped-up rhetoric on a climate emergency and begin to take the positive action that we see in Scotland.”

Confor has set a target of 18,000 hectares of new planting annually in Scotland by 2030 as part of its ambitious but achievable targets to drive up UK-wide planting to help mitigate climate change – part of Confor’s campaign #ThinkGlobalPlantLocal.

“Fergus Ewing supported the 18,000 hectare target when it was announced, although it went beyond existing Scottish Government targets, which is very positive,” said Mr Goodall.

“We look forward to continued constructive partnership with Scottish Government, Scottish Forestry and all stakeholders to keep driving up planting to deliver multiple benefits, including creating jobs, supporting wildlife and tackling climate change.”

Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing said: “This is fantastic news that we’ve smashed the targets. It is testament to the Scottish Government making forestry a priority and investing and helping growing the industry.

The whole tree planting effort has truly been a national endeavour with all forestry interests, both large and small, pulling together.”

By Roo Campbell – Scottish Wildcat Action When I first began working to conserve wildcats, I assumed that these secretive animals were found only in remote forests and moors. Camera traps showed this wasn’t accurate, recording wildcats in and around farmland too.

Recently, in collaboration with the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (www.wildcru. org) and Forestry and Land Scotland, wildcats have been collared with GPS units and the results have been eye-opening: some wildcats use farmland a lot. How? Most obviously, wildcats make extensive use of field edges, travelling around these edges to avoid detection, in addition to hunting for prey such as field voles which are more numerous in rough grassy margins. The GPS collars also show that gorse, scrub and hedgerows provide good hunting and denning sites and small woodland patches and copses are often used.

Perhaps most surprisingly, some wildcats frequently den in barns and outhouses, even with dogs nearby. While wildcats often

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prey on voles, they prefer rabbit where available and wildcat numbers are generally greater where rabbit populations are healthy. So overall, you’re much more likely to have wildcats if you have rabbits on your farm too. How can you help? Disturbing the resting site of a wildcat is illegal (see http://bit.ly/wildcatsnh), so if you farm in areas with wildcats take care when storing or removing hay and silage from barns. Retaining gorse scrub (especially on south-facing slopes) avoids disturbing dens and preserves wildcat habitat, whilst allowing wide field margins and maintaining hedgerows creates habitat and protects wildcat prey. Our GPS data shows wildcat territories can be 1,000 to 7,000 acres in area, so conservation measures need to be done in the context of the wider landscape. Overall, a diverse agricultural landscape with patches of scrub and woodland connected by hedgerows and wide field margins can provide good habitat for wildcats, as well as for much of our other wildlife.

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estate Attractive arable and stock farm for sale in Fife

Galbraith is pleased to bring to the market Clatto Barns, a productive farm in Fife offering over 300 acres of good quality farmland, a three-bedroom cottage, a range of traditional and modern agricultural buildings with potential for the redevelopment of a former farmhouse, subject to planning consents.

Alistair Christie, handling the sale of the property on behalf of Galbraith, said: “This is an excellent mixed farming unit with the farm supporting beef cattle, sheep and spring cropping at present.

The land, which extends to about 126.52 Ha (312.63 acres), has been classified as Grade 3.2 by the James Hutton Institute.

The fields are of a generous size, can easily accommodate modern machinery and are readily accessible from a network of internal farm tracks.

The land is well suited to outwintering cattle and the holding 72

is surrounded by several blocks of woodland, providing amenity and shelter for livestock.

“The sale offers an opportunity for the new owner to continue the established farming business and further improve the value of the asset by renovating the former farmhouse which is currently in a ruinous state. We expect a good level of interest from a range of potential purchasers.”

Clatto Barns Cottage is an attractive single-storey cottage which is located to the south of the farm steading with a private garden and offering an attractive outlook over the surrounding farmland and beyond over the Firth of Forth.

The property also benefits from a range of useful modern and traditional farm buildings, including: three general purpose sheds, a sizeable cattle shed, cattle court and a Nissen Hut. Clatto Barns is situated in a private and secluded position

in rural Fife, surrounded by lovely rolling countryside, with easy access to local A-roads, connecting with the A92. A good range of local amenities can be found in Kennoway, which is three miles distant and Cupar, about eight miles away.

Traditionally this area of Fife is known for its fertile land capable of producing high yields of an extensive range of

crops and being well suited to the rearing of livestock. The surrounding area is well supplied with agricultural merchants and machinery dealers and there is an excellent livestock market at Stirling Agricultural Centre, about an hour’s drive from the farm.

Clatto Barns Farm is for sale through Galbraith for Offers Over £1,500,000.

Community ownership study finds that a mix of funding is needed for success Communities have many options to secure and develop land, but the full range of financing models is often not widely known, and there is more scope to develop innovative finance models to

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support community ownership, a new report says.

The Scottish Land Commission has this week published a report on the issue, entitled The Range, Nature

estate Creating an optimistic future

By David Johnstone, chairman of Scottish Land & Estates

And Applicability Of Funding Models To Support Community Land Ownership. It identifies 13 different approaches that have been used across Scotland to successfully fund community ownership and development.

The mechanisms include well-known approaches such as charitable and philanthropic grants, crowd funding, commercial lending, and corporate social responsibility. The report also notes that individual models are not mutually exclusive and that a mix of models are often used by community organisations to achieve their aims.

The most significant funding to buy land and building assets is provided by the public sector – particularly through the Scottish Land Fund. The Fund is now in its third funding round with an annual budget of £10m per year for the period 2016-21.

However, the Commission advises that while public funding remains important,

with increasing interest from communities, and wider challenges to public finance, the fullest range of potential funding models should be considered.

To help make community land ownership a normal option for communities across Scotland, access to a range of funding models will help meet different circumstances.

Furthermore, information on these should be easily available and community groups should be able to fully explore all options, with expert advice, at the earliest opportunity.

Scottish Land Commission chief executive, Hamish Trench said: “Following our recommendations last year on what is needed to support community land ownership as a normal option across Scotland, we have looked more closely at the range of potential financing models. Community ownership is not an end in itself, but a means to achieving a range of positive outcomes from social

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At a time when little is certain for Scottish agriculture and our land managers, it is understandable that many are looking with a degree of doom and gloom to what the future might hold.

Whether it is the prospect of climate change and the weather conditions which have already looked more difficult in recent years, the reform of subsidies or the decline in farm gate prices, there is no shortage of issues confronting the sector.

Yet, at the Scottish Land & Estates conference held in Edinburgh last month, the event concluded with a sense of optimism for the future of agriculture and land management.

The conference was themed around ‘Maximising the Margins’, covering productivity on marginal land, opportunities for marginal communities, the environmental benefits of field margins or rural business profit margins – and farming businesses are among those at the forefront of challenging these dilemmas head on.

Aberdeenshire Highland Beef is operated by Grace Noble at Leys Estate at Banchory. Started in 2012, Grace approached the estate in September 2016 looking for land to

expand her enterprise and an agreement was quickly reached for the lease of property and land for an initial five years with a longer-term arrangement in the pipeline.

Grace has adopted a three-pronged farming, food and tourism approach to her business which includes a pop-up butchery every weekend and a farm and food experience held on Sundays which provides an insight into farming the iconic cattle as well as the food the business then supplies to restaurants and shops across Scotland. The business’s success has been helped in no small part by the estate and the approach it takes in facilitating a range of local commercial enterprises TO mOURISH Despite an uncertain industry outlook, both Aberdeenshire Highland Beef and Leys Estate are looking to the future with optimism. This willingness to embrace change and constantly look to evolve and improve is something that can be replicated by any business. We shouldn’t wait for government to provide us with the answers –all of us should be using the extensive experience and knowledge in the sector to make changes to what we are doing.

For more information www.scottishlandandestates.co.uk Telephone : 0131 653 5400

estate and economic development to environmental management and restoration.

“This report shows that communities are already tapping into a wide range of funding options and that more can be done to share the awareness, experience and availability of these. It also suggests there is scope to develop new innovative financing models that meet the needs of both communities and investors, drawing on some emerging international practice.”

To stimulate further investigation of these options the Commission will be funding a short-term internship. This will consider two models that are used in Europe for similar purposes (a Founders Fund with Repayment Threshold, and Impact Investing with Social Return on Impact Discount) to research and develop their applicability for a Scottish context.

Land to be marketed for sale on Buccleuch’s Borders estate Buccleuch has announced it intends to sell a substantial landholding the Scottish Borders, including Langholm Moor.

Following a review of land on its estates, 25,000 acres stretching from Auchenrivock in the south to Hartsgarth in the north – are being marketed from Buccleuch’s Borders Estate.

Alongside the Moor, much of the area is currently part of Buccleuch’s farming operation.

There are also a small number of farm tenancies, which will continue as they are under new ownerships and blocks of forestry.

In line with the Scottish Land Commission’s protocol on community engagement, Buccleuch will consult with the

local communities about the proposed sale, inviting responses to a short questionnaire, which will be available online (www. buccleuch.com) or in local community hubs.

Langholm Moor was the site of two major scientific projects relating to moorland management, the latter of which – the Langholm Moor Demonstration Project – was completed two years ago.

Benny Higgins, executive chairman of Buccleuch, said: “The completion of the Langholm Moor project gave us an opportunity to look at what moor’s future should be within the wider Buccleuch portfolio of landholdings. That review led us to the conclusion that marketing

the moor area for sale was our preferred option.

“The decision is very much in line with our business’s stated aim of reducing the Buccleuch footprint while enabling us to invest in priority projects.”

Buccleuch has instructed Savills to handle the proposed sale.

FARMING SCOTLAND MAGAZINE Subscription page 105

Seismic change required to grow Scotland’s rural economy Scotland’s rural businesses need to embrace seismic change and break the barriers that exist between land uses in order to flourish in the next decade and beyond.

David Johnstone, chairman of Scottish Land & Estates, made the comments as he addressed the rural business organisation’s annual conference in Edinburgh today.

With Scottish agriculture facing an uncertain future due to the unknown shape of future subsidy regimes, Mr Johnstone said it was crucial that the rural economy adapted to create new business ventures but also ensure farming was a valuable proposition moving forward.

Mr Johnstone said: “We need to rise to challenges and embrace opportunities if we are going to create an even more prosperous and vibrant rural Scotland delivering an increasing range of benefits to wider society.

“I firmly believe that our core rural industries will continue to 74

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estate thrive, but innovative and outof-the-box thinking is needed for many businesses to diversify and prosper. We must acknowledge that more than 90% of our land is marginal and if agriculture is to flourish, it needs to be part of a mix of land uses that support rather than compete with one another.

“Farming and moorland management is important but so are other land uses such as forestry and tourism. We also continue to see other burgeoning sectors, such as gin production, hospitality and energy. Crucially, Scottish land use is facing global challenges as well as those driven by agendas closer to home. We should be under absolutely no illusion that the countryside has its part to play in reducing our carbon footprint, but it also has an enormous potential to provide some of the solutions to the wider global problem and assist the delivery of public goods.”

Mairi Gougeon, Minister for Rural Affairs and Natural Environment for the Scottish Government, gave the keynote address at the conference exploring the business opportunities that will arise as carbon footprint is reduced.

The willingness to innovate has been at the heart of Laggan Outdoors’ success, an adventure and recreational centre based in Dumfries & Galloway. Owned by the McConchie family, the last decade has witnessed the creation of a thriving tourism and hospitality business sitting alongside their farming enterprise.

Duncan McConchie, owner of Laggan Outdoors, said: “Our family has been farming since 1911 and we’ve had to change and innovate in order to sustain the business and support more people.

“In 2007, we had a farming business and a caravan business and I had to look at new ways to move forward. We had 1,500 acres of farmland, which included 1,000 acres of rough hill terrain. By using just five acres to create an activity centre, that same area of land is now employing 80 people in peak season and has an impact of £2 million into the local economy.

“Change isn’t easy, and it is scary at times, but when it works then the feeling is incredible.”

Watching and helping the waders at Auchnerran

By Dick Playfair There has been a fizz of activity at the Game & Wildlife Scottish Demonstration Farm at Auchnerran as its large population of waders is busy displaying and calling, with another breeding season in full swing. Despite the unseasonal weather, spring has definitely sprung and the first chicks are already running around.

Whatever the weather, fair or foul, now is when our researchers at Auchnerran are spending a lot of time following the fortunes of these birds, lapwing and curlew particularly. That job has been made far easier thanks to a grant from The Marr Area Committee of Aberdeenshire Council enabling the purchase of five pairs of binoculars that are now in use on a daily basis.

GWCT monitors the birds’ abundance and productivity, how many there are and how many young successfully hatch.

The latest figures from the British Trust for Ornithology show that lapwing and curlew have declined in Scotland by 55 per cent and 61 per cent respectively since 1995 and were declining long before this too. GWCT is doing what it can to stave off that decline in NE Scotland.

The big problem is high predation rates on eggs and chicks that prevent most of the birds, in most places, from breeding successfully.

Dr Dave Parish, Head of Research at the farm, says: We want to learn as much as we can from the daily lives

of these birds so we can better manage the farm and advise others on the problems the birds’ face and how to overcome them.

The increase in predation rates in recent times has been recorded by scientists from many institutions at wader breeding grounds across Europe and is in my view unequivocal. This is caused by generalist predators such as foxes and crows which are now more common than ever across this area. The science also shows that where predation rates are low, either because predators are scarce or where people are managing predation rates, wader breeding success is significantly higher and populations can quickly increase.

This problem may be complicated by poor habitats, being less secure for nesting birds and making them easier targets for predators.

Providing good habitats such as damp grasslands and some rough, rushy, areas is a good thing and will

benefit the birds in the longrun, but in many cases nesting waders will need more immediate protection from high predation rates, at least while land managers make the necessary changes to the landscape – which is no easy task.

The role habitats play is a big part of the research at Auchnerran. Also, by tagging birds to track them without impeding their daily lives, GWCT is learning more about the parts of the landscape the waders like and where they forage and breed successfully.

Dave Parish says: Auchnerran is unusual as it supports high densities of several wader species – nationally important populations in some cases, and the research there is of vital importance in increasing our understanding of the birds’ requirements. Our findings are used to try to help others better manage the land so that biodiversity can benefit without significantly impacting on other forms of land use, by improving Government grant-aid schemes and giving general advice to land managers.

GWCT Research students Beth Conway and Katherine Thorne scanning for waders at Auchnerran

Beatha an eilean

Beatha air Eilean is Tìr-mòr!

Tha mi a’ sgrìobhadh an artaigil seo agus mi am broinn an taighe air feasgar fliuch gruamach.

Tha làithean fliuch mar seo math chan ann dìreach airson ùrachadh a thoirt don fheur agus don bhàrr ach cuideachd airson a bhith a’ coileanaidh nan gnìomhan “a-staigh” a thathar a’ cur gu aon taobh nuair a bhios obair a-muigh nas cudromaiche.

Madainn an-diugh ghabh mi measadh air mo fhrasadair os làimh. Rinn mi sin fo “còraichean seanair” nach eil mi air a bhith comasach a chleachdadh gu o chionn ghoirid, ach tha an comas air a bhith air mo sheòrsachadh mar neach-cleachdaidh fadamail, ’s e sin còraichean seanair, a’ ruith a-mach aig deireadh an Ògmhios. Às aonais an teisteanais comasachd seo, bidh e mì-laghail dhòmhsa na h-uireadan beaga de fhrasadh air an fhearann agam fhìn, a ghabhail os làimh. B’ e measadh glè mhionadach a bh’ ann, dìreach mar bu chòir, agus bha mi air mo dhòigh gun d’ ràinig mi an ìre comasachd a bha a dhìth!!!

Tha seo air toirt orm smaoineachadh mu dheidhinn a’ mheasgachaidh de sheòrsaichean riaghailtean ris am feum sinne mar chroitearan cumail, eadar gu bheil thu a’ fuireach air eilean no air tìr-mòr. Tha mi a’ toirt iomradh gu sònraichte air riaghailtean is dleastanasan Coimisean na Croitearachd le 76

Photo by Mairi Mackenzie

Sgrìobhadair, Rod MacCoinnich Neach-gairm agus Coimiseanair Taghte na Gàidhealtachd an Ear, Coimisean na Croitearachd.

Cows on common grazings

bhith ag ràdh seo. Tha sinne mar Bhòrd Choimiseanairean air prìomhachas a thoirt do 3 phrìomh dhleastanasan a dh’fheumas neach-gabhail agus croitear seilbhe cumail ris, agus is e iad sin: • a bhith gu h-àbhaisteach a’ còmhnaidh air no taobh a-staigh 32 cileameatair den chroit • àiteach is cumail suas croit • gun mì-fheum no dearmad a dhèanamh air a’ chroit.

Tha an Coimisean a’ tuigsinn gur e fearann croite aon de na stòrasan as luachmhor ann an Alba airson mòran adhbharan leithid tèarainteachd bìdh agus bunasachd, gleidheadh àireamhsluaigh, cultar agus dualchas, gun ach beagan dhiubh ainmeachadh.

Tha mòran sgìrean cugallach mar thoradh air di-dhaoineachadh, daoine òga a’ fàgail on nach fhaigh iad obair no gu bheil prìsean sa mhargaid taigheadais ro àrd.

A-rithist, tha an sgeul seo fìor

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do na h-eileanan agus tìr-mòr.

Mas urrainn dhuinne an seo sa Choimisean prìomh phàirt de ar dleastanasan obrachadh gus am bi fearann croite air a ghabhail, air àiteach, air a chumail suas agus air a chur gu feum gnothaicheil, tha sinn an dòchas mar sin gum bi seo na mheadhan gu ìre air choreigin air stad a chur air a’ chrìonadh.

Mar sin, ma tha thu a’ smaoineachadh gu bheil thu a’ briseadh do dhleastanasan ann an dòigh sam bith, feuch gun cuir thu fios thugainn an seo aig a’ Choimisean, agus is urrainn dhuinn do chomhairleachadh mu na roghainnean a tha rim faotainn gus an suidheachadh a cheartachadh. Tha fiosrachadh conaltraidh nan Coimiseanairean air an taisbeanadh air an làraichlìn www.crofting.scotland.gov.uk/ contact-faq

If you live in the countryside or are heavily involved in the countryside then you’ll know about the benefits and how good it is for you. I consider myself to be very fortunate to have been brought up appreciating the countryside, and outdoors at every opportunity with our own horses, gundogs and shooting.

We were not privileged, my mum and dad worked hard to provide a great environment for my younger sister and I as we grew up. As adults, I chose shooting and my sister picked horses. We’re now in our fifties (how did that happen so quickly?) and never far away from pairs of wellies. Spending time outdoors benefits our mental and physical health in innumerable ways, it is an invaluable resource for the expansion of knowledge and creation new skills, there are many activities to choose from and probably enough to keep you outdoors 365 days a year. Everyone should have an opportunity to explore the countryside, and the earlier they are exposed to it the better.

In March, I attended a conference at the SNH headquarters, organised by Countryside Learning Scotland (CLS) and called ‘National

by Linda Mellor

SCOTTISH COUNTRY LIFE Rural Learning Centre (NRLC) Stakeholders Conference’. A number of speakers, including Liz Smith MSP, Alastair Dobson, Managing Director Taste of Arran and Rob Wainwright, former Scottish Rugby Captain and Army Doctor, Farmer and Countryman discussed making rural life accessible to everyone in Scotland and highlighted the growing divide between the ‘urban-thinking population and those living and working in Scotland’s rural areas.’

We’re all aware of the disconnect a large number of the population has with the countryside, rural industries, careers and food. The NRLC wants to reconnect humans with the land, with a focus on

children, and to do this, they say Scotland needs its own national rural learning hub NRLC Project Manager, David Ritchie said: ‘The NRLC will be a centre of excellence for those already living and working in the countryside.

But also serve as an interface between Scotland’s urban population and those living in more rural areas, or with a closer link to the land.’

NRLC’s goal is ‘to improve awareness, knowledge of, and access to, Scotland’s rural areas. But also to promote the benefits of being in the countryside to health and longevity, quality of life and social wellbeing.’

I fully support this, and Scotland is crying out for it.

The countryside needs more people to get involved, and this starts with children’s education.

Times have changed, but at school in the 1970s/early 1980s and listening to the careers guidance teachers and talking to friends, I don’t think anyone had heard of a countryside career although I do recall one boy had his future mapped out because he was the eldest son of a diary farmer. The advice given was uninspiring and a complete mis-match, I don’t think the guidance teacher actually liked her job and I’m pretty sure she didn’t have a clue about the countryside. There was no advice or options to get involved and develop interests

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through school. if there was any countryside participation it was all done via families and friends. I lost count the amount of schoolfriends we took out on our horses and ponies, and often it was a dream come true for them because they’d never been riding or so close to big animals. We also went potato picking during the autumn holidays and earned lots of money for a week of backbreaking work. It meant we were outdoors in all weather, got dirty, worked hard, helped each other out, we laughed and had an incredible sense of achievement from earning lots of our own money and getting through a week of physical activity.

The conference was well attended and there were many networking opportunities, I enjoyed chatting with Richard Love from the Dry Stone Walling Association. Dry stone walls are very much part of our countryside. In Britain, dry stone walling can be traced back and provide a natural habitat for many animals, birds, insects and plants. The DSWA, founded in 1968, works to advance education in the craft and heritage of dry stone walling for the public benefit. If you are a Waller or interested in becoming one, or supporting the association or attending their range of events please visit www.dswa.org.uk www.countrysidelearningscotland. org.uk/national-rural-learningcentre 77

BOOK SERIALISATION

A footpath to Fladda Continuing our exclusive serialisation of Roger Hutchinson’s acclaimed book Calum’s Road, we look at how making the path to Fladda was a useful preparation in road-building - and how the island’s depopulation made showed him the road’s necessity in the first place

“Calum and I worked there for three winters,” said his brother Charles. “There had been a rough track going through Torran but we improved that, we widened it a bit, to about three foot wide.

It couldn't take a cart, the actual path being only about three foot wide. But you had a grass verge on each side, probably a foot, so we would have to clear an area about five foot wide.

“We put some hard stuff in the middle and you had a grass

verge of about a foot on each side, where that was possible – in some places it wouldn't work because there were too many rocks. It wasn't too bad when we left it and for years after that was used a lot and was very passable.”

Calum’s former neighbour John Nicolson considered the Torran to Fladda coastal route to be one of the MacLeod family's unsung achievements.

"Everybody's all talking about

‘That track itself was a feat, when you look at the terrain that they were going through. Although they were only making a footpath there, it was even worse than the land he had to cross from Brochel Castle to Arnish’ Calum's road from Brochel to Arnish,' he said, "and what a terrific feat, right enough. But I think something that people have Picture by David Carslaw

Between 1949 and 1952 Calum MacLeod built his first, albeit minor, roadway in the north of Raasay. The track to Fladda, where three families comprising twelve people still lived in 1951, as well as being in the usual sorry condition, had never been more than a side line heading west off the main Torran to Kyle Rona path. The quicker and more obvious route was to run a footway around the mile of coast between Torran and the Fladda narrows.

Footpath to Fladda

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forgotten about is that Calum engineered the road from the schoolhouse in Torran to Fladda.

“The roads engineer in Skye at the time, he went over, and they walked where the path is today between the schoolhouse in Torran and Fladda and his comment to Calum was, ‘If you can make a road there, you're welcome to carry on with it!’

“That track itself was a feat, when you look at the terrain that they were going through.

Although they were only making a footpath there, it was even worse than the land he had to cross from Brochel Castle to Arnish.”

For a short time in the 1950s the situation in this fragile, neglected peninsula seemed once again to stabilise. There were three families totalling twelve people occupying three houses in Fladda. There was Murdo and Jessie Nicolson and their sons in Torran, as well as Murdo's widowed mother and his brother Alec. The schoolhouse there was inhabited by Murdo Nicolson's sister Chrissie, her husband and her brother-in-law. There were three houses in Arnish, one of them occupied by Calum, Lexie and Julia MacLeod, another by Calum's parents, Donald and Julia, and his brother and sister Charles and Bella, and the third, on the brae of North Arnish, by their MacLeod cousins, a family of five.

In 1958 the MacLeod family left North Arnish for Eyre in south Raasay, reducing at a stroke the north’s population to twenty-four people. They had run the small local post office, and after their departure that franchise was passed on to Jessie and Murdo Nicolson in Torran.

Calum MacLeod was by then the only postman serving northern Raasay, collecting the mailbag three times a week from a mail van at Brochel, carrying it on his shoulder along the broken footpath to be sorted at Torran, and then delivering to Fladda and to his family at Arnish.

The administrative and shopping centre of Portree in

Picture by David Carslaw

BOOK SERIALISATION

Fladda Bay - the three cottages shown are now holiday homes but were inhabited all the year round in the 1950s.

Skye was five sea miles from Loch Arnish. Calum MacLeod's job as boatman to the Rona light required him to ferry the keepers to and from Skye and Rona every two weeks to work their staggered, overlapping shifts. He had also to keep them in supplies, which enabled him also to pick up the shopping for the north of Raasay. “We got all our supplies from Portree,” said Jessie Nicolson. “Calum had the lighthouse boat, and we got all our supplies from Portree, we had no dealings with the south end.”

By the time that Calum and Lexie MacLeod's daughter, Julia, reached the age of twelve at Torran School, legislation had changed. The 1945 Education Act (Scotland) had raised the school leaving age to fifteen years, the last three or more years of which were to be served in a specialised secondary school.

That additional tier of tutelage was both free of charge and compulsory.

And so in 1962 Julia MacLeod “got a letter saying, ‘Thou shalt have two skirts, four blouses, one tie, one dressing gown’ … And so when I was twelve all that was packed in a trunk and shipped off to Portree High School, along with me.” Her misery at being wrenched from the small, Gaelic-speaking extended family

of northern Raasay, transferred from part-time to full-time education and tipped into a crowded, suburban, impersonal, rowdy, entirely unfamiliar and often Anglophone school was compounded by the fact that she was hardly ever able to get back to Arnish. The Caledonian MacBrayne steamer timetables did not offer a daily crossing between Skye and Raasay, and nor was one provided on Friday night and Monday morning. Her predicament was complicated further by the absence of a motor road between Brochel and her home.

At the start of their holidays a car would taxi Julia MacLeod and a succession of the Nicolson boys from the ferry pier in southern Raasay up to Brochel, where they would be met by parents and from where they would walk.

Even that arrangement could break down. On one occasion in winter a heavy snowfall blocked the adopted road, and Julia and her schoolmates were left on the high moor south of Glame, some miles from Brochel and even further from South Arnish. The children walked northwards with their suitcases before seeking shelter in the lee of a rock, because the snow had obscured the margins of the open road, and because they understood the mortal danger of losing their

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bearings in a blizzard. They were discovered there some hours later

by Calum MacLeod.

Julia was boarded in the Margaret Carnegie Hostel for Girls in Portree for the whole of her secondary years, except for school holidays and occasional long weekends. She had effectively, at the age of twelve, left home. Julia MacLeod would never return to live in northern Raasay. Calum MacLeod never forgave the state for removing his only child. His life's experience had taught him to cherish what was independent and peripheral and to mistrust centralised authority. That mistrust would in the following years veer towards hatred.

Expressing his ire in the columns of local newspapers was both catharsis and a form of revenge for Calum MacLeod. But it would not bring his daughter or his community home. And this was a restless, physically active man. He needed to do something that was solid and practical and equally shaming to the authorities.

So, at some uncertain point in the 1960s, he decided to build the road from Brochel Castle to South Arnish himself. “I think he started in 1962,” Julia said. “I think it was the sheer frustration of me having to go to Portree that made him begin it.”

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country woman

Wendy Proud

By Linda Mellor

Wendy Proud was brought up on a farm just outside Ballater in Aberdeenshire. The farm kept cattle and sheep, and produced mostly for the meat market.

They also kept a herd of pure Aberdeen Angus cattle. Wendy said, ‘I loved being brought up on a farm, it was lots of hard work but there were also lots of fun times.’

Spending time in the Scottish countryside has been an integral part of Wendy’s life, and she started shooting early on, ‘I was young, probably around 12 years old, when myself and my cousin Liam used to set up old cans and shoot them with his air rifle. I 80

used to spend a couple weeks in the summer holidays with my aunt and uncle in the Cortachy Glen where my uncle Stuart was a gamekeeper, I used to love going out on the hill stalking with him and the pony.’

Wendy, a mum of two daughters, Siobhan and Isla, moved back to Ballater in 2010, ‘I was told that the local butchers H. M. Sheridan were looking for staff, so I went along to see them and got a full time job. I loved it straight away and started my training. Finished my SVQ level 2 in 2012 then continued on to do my Level 3 which I completed a year later.’

In 2017, she left her job at Sheridan’s to move counties to Perthshire to be with her now husband who is a ghillie on Scone Estate. ‘For the first year here I worked for Simon Howie until I saw a great opportunity at Gloagburn Farm Shop. They have built a full butchers shop on to there well-established farm shop. I am head butcher at Gloagburn Butchery. We sell beef reared from Iain Niven’s farm (owner of Gloagburn) which is 21 days matured, we also keep aside some rib roasts, fillets, sirloin and ribeye which is dry aged for 28 days. We buy our lamb at the sterling market

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weekly from Perthshire farms.

Our pork is specially selected Scotch pork but we will be having Berkshire pigs, which are reared on the farm, every few weeks as a special.’

‘We hold a venison licence which enables us to buy direct from the surrounding local estates. As we just opened at the end of January we only have Roe Deer in stock for now but we will be looking to have a full range of game in stock as the year progresses and different game comes into season. I love to work with game and feel sometimes people are a little hesitant to buy it as they are

country woman unsure how to cook it. But with some advice people learn to try and realise how healthy and tasty it is. All our game is wild, none of it farmed so it’s all free from any antibiotic or other injections.

People are more interested in this nowadays and want to know where there food comes from.

Venison is very lean meat, leaner than chicken so very good for anyone keeping a watch on their figure.’

Wendy had an air rifle for years, and used to set up targets for herself and her girls, she said, ‘Siobhan, my eldest daughter, is a good shot with it.’ Over the years, Wendy’s shooting interests had to take a back seat. ‘I started taking an interest in shooting again in 2016, as both my girls were a bit older and I had a bit more time to do things.’ Wendy was invited to a clay pigeon shoot on the Balmoral Estate in April 2016 and that rekindled her passion for shooting. ‘ I applied for my shotgun license not long after, and on 22nd May (2016) went to a mixed shoot shotgun and rifle at Glenmuick Estate and won best female shooter, I was delighted! On 1st June, I went to a rifle shoot at Balmoral Estate and, again, won best female with a score of 82 out of 90!’ Wendy’s shooting skills continued to evolve, ‘I went to my first Scottish Clay Target Association (SCTA) 100 bird shoot with my cousin, Liam, on 3rd September and scored 209 out of 300.’

Shooting was always a family activity, ‘before moving to Perthshire, Isla used to come to my local gun club with me and she would keep the score card for myself and fellow shooters. She was very good at this and loved to come in and have a cup of tea and a chat with everyone.’

Game shooting has a special significance for Wendy, ‘I love a day at the pheasants. I enjoy the social side as much as the shooting, and it is great to meet new people. Myself and my husband always try to get a day once a year as it’s a special day out for us since that’s how we met. During pheasant season I also try to beat as much as I can and my daughter came for her first days beating aged 10 this past season, and she loved it. Both my stepsons also enjoy beating and have been doing it for a few years.’

‘After a busy day at work, I love to come home and grab my gun, take my dog out and have a wander around see if there are any pigeons about.

Myself and husband will walk along riverbank in evening to see if there are any goosander or cormorants around. Due to my husband being a ghillie on Scone estate we have a license to shoot them. One evening last year, we spent the evening walking around the grounds of the stunning Scone Palace shooting pigeons. I am so lucky to live in such a beautiful part of the country.’

FARMING SCOTLAND MAGAZINE Subscription page 105 www.farmingscotlandmagazine.com

Southern Belle Thank you will never be enough..

Sometimes the events of one day, can have such an effect on your life, that they remain with you for ever.

The day of your wedding; the birth of your children; winning The Highland Show. This week a day from 75 years ago, will stay with me always and I hope I never forget the 6th June 1944.

This day in our history, is the reason I was able to go to church this morning, go out for lunch with my family and sit here writing a column which isn’t censored in any way. The 6th June 1944 is the reason I am alive, the reason that we all exist.

I think I have a good handle on our history and appreciate the sacrifice made to defend our way of life against the Nazis but I was gripped by the honesty and humility of the veterans, who shared their experiences of that day with us, some of them for the first time. Their graphic accounts of landing on the

Normandy beaches, under enemy fire and the cover from the Navy and Air Force; landing up to their waist in cold water laden down with kit; for those who were lucky and the death which surrounded them; of those who didn’t make it to the beaches and of those who did and went no further.

Two generations on, it is difficult to imagine such bravery and dedication to allow us to have our life in a free world. A world where we can move freely, speak our minds live in safety and without fear. A world where we moan about what we eat and how it is produced; low wages and the need for more money; the rights of the individual and the rights of animals. The men who landed on D-Day 6th June 1944 gave us these rights, the right to live and to freedom. There will never be enough words to explain our gratitude and thank you will never be enough….

THANK YOU.

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Putting on a show The SWI ladies impress at Gardening Scotland Scottish Women’s Institutes is an important part of Gardening Scotland, with three competitions run exclusively for SWI with entries displayed at the show for 40,000 visitors to see.

For this year’s national gardening and outdoor living show, held at Ingliston Showground on May 31st-June 2nd, the SWI challenged its members to enter competitions

for the best decorated flower pot, three decorated cupcakes, and best window box.

The prizes were awarded for…

Three decorated cupcakes 1st Fiona Blair, Cockburnspath SWI, Berwickshire 2nd Linda McTurk, Lochrutton SWI, Stewartry of Kirkcudbright 3rd Jane Brydon, Whitburn SWI, West Lothian

Decorated flower pot 1st equal Doreen Macrae, Aboyne SWI, Aberdeenshire Cath Close, Uplawmoor SWI, Renfrewshire Edingell Thomson, Ratho SWI, Midlothian Window boxes Ornamental 1st Isabella MacFarlane, Tillicoultry

SWI, Stirling, Clackmannan & West Perth 2nd Dominique Schroeder, Pathhead SWI, Midlothian 3rd Janet Rougvie, Collace & Kinrossie SWI, Perth & Kinross Culinary 1st Elspeth Gibbs, Westfield SWI, West Lothian 2nd Anne Mailer, Collace & Kinrossie SWI, Perth & Kinross

Cupcakes

Winning pot

To find out more about Scottish Women’s Institutes, go to www.theswi.org.uk or search for Scottish Women’s Institutes on Facebook.

Window Box Culinary 1st place

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finance HSBC UK backs young Scottish farmers with trio of funding deals HSBC UK has provided a trio of funding deals worth around £3 million to young Scottish farmers, allowing them to buy farms, make key initial investments in machinery and expand livestock numbers.

HSBC UK enabled William Mathers and Sons to purchase their 537-acre farm from the Tillypronie Estate in Aberdeenshire, at a significant tenants’ discount with a seven-figure loan.

Succession is a key issue facing farming communities throughout the UK so with one generation of the Mathers family approaching retirement, and the

next keen to take on ownership, the banks support also provided a cash pay-out to the retiring partners to exit the partnership.

In addition, Morayshire brothers Craig and Jack Hendry, who are well-known in the young farming community, have purchased Craibstone Farm near Deskford using a six-figure loan from HSBC UK. Keen to establish their own farming business, the farm purchase follows a successful application for a New Entrants Grant from the Scottish Government in 2017.

Craig Hendry said: “We are absolutely thrilled to have been

Groundbreaking crop yield safety net launched Farmers can now protect themselves against poor crop yields with a groundbreaking insurance policy that will compensate them for production shortfalls.

Crop Shortfall Insurance, from rural insurance specialists Lycetts and Farmers & Mercantile Insurance Brokers (FMIB), will automatically trigger pay-outs to farmers if extreme weather causes yields in their region to fall below the historic average. The policy is Britain’s first ever to insure shortfalls in cereal and oilseed rape crops.

“At a time when arable farmers are facing increasing market volatility, unpredictable weather patterns, along with uncertainty over post-Brexit subsidies, there is increasing demand for financial protection against burgeoning risks,” said Rupert Wailes-Fairbairn, Rural Divisional Director, Lycetts.

Crop Shortfall Insurance can cover either a farms’ total crop output or individual crops, such as winter oilseed rape, winter wheat or winter and spring barley.

able to work with HSBC UK to purchase our farm. We’ve since been able to establish a suckler cow herd on the farm, in addition to growing malting barley.”

Finally, Stuart Munro and his partner Louise Joiner have also been supported by HSBC UK, in their purchase of Mossend Farm near Peterhead, with a six-figure loan. Along with a successful New Entrants Grant, the financial backing from the Bank has allowed the couple to establish a herd of stabilizer cattle, with the couple now looking to build new shed facilities on the farm.

John Laughton, Agriculture Relationship Director, HSBC UK, said: “With more than 40 years’ experience in agriculture, we’re passionate about supporting the next generation of farmers and are pleased to be in a position to help

Morayshire brothers Craig Hendry (L) and Jack Hendry (R) at Craibstone Farm, which they purchased using a loan from HSBC UK

young farmers in Scotland achieve their ambitions and grow what is a vital industry for the Scottish Highlands and national economy.”

Underwritten with capacity rated AA (very strong) by Fitch and Aa3 (excellent) by Moody’s, the policy indemnifies farmers for up to a quarter of the shortfall of their projected crop production (sum insured) for the harvest year in question.

The index policy is based on DEFRA data, with a deductible of either 10 or 15 per cent of production. The payout is calculated on the reduction in output volume, based on the fall in regional yield for the harvest year, relative to the regional yield over the last eight years.

Unlike traditional insurance, where insurers must survey the damage, it allows for a quicker, and more objective, claims settlement process.

Will Kendrick, of Farmers & Mercantile Insurance Brokers (FMIB), added: “The feedback we’ve been receiving for some time from our agricultural client base is that sector volatility is having a seriously detrimental impact on long-term planning, investment and business sustainability.

“Crop Shortfall Insurance offers peace of mind, sitting at the www.farmingscotlandmagazine.com

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finance heart of urgently called for risk management solutions to help mitigate the worst excesses of this volatile environment.”

THEMONEYMAN Lycetts and Farmers & Mercantile Insurance Brokers (FMIB) are both part of the Ecclesiastical group of companies.

British Salt announces major £7.2m futureproofing investment in its 50th anniversary year

British Salt has unveiled a series of ground-breaking projects in its 50th anniversary year, including a £7.2m investment in a new, best-inclass energy efficient boiler plant at its Cheshire-based Middlewich site, designed to generate heat and electricity for the company’s 24hour production process.

The new British Salt boiler plant represents the largest single investment in the company since its inception. Scheduled to become operational in March 2020 it will be key to the success of a secure energy supply for British Salt.

Replacing the existing boilers installed back in 1969 when HRH Prince Philip officially opened the Middlewich site, the two new highperformance natural gas boilers will be to state of the art design to deliver the highest possible energy efficiency as well as meet the most stringent environmental standards.

The new boilers will be housed in a purpose-designed building.

The major boiler plant project brings parent company Tata Chemicals Europe’s total investment in British Salt to £25m since 2015. It comes hot on the heels of a series of highprofile investments carried out 84

throughout 2018 at British Salt to ensure that the company offers a comprehensive portfolio of 21st century-relevant high purity salt products for the long term.

Projects delivered in 2018 included the commissioning of British Salt’s first new brine borehole in over 5 years, at its Warmingham brine fields and the replacement of one of British Salt’s 37 tonne evaporation plant heat exchanger that’s key to the plant’s six-stage evaporation process. Replacement of the heat exchangers is carried out every 30 years or so and it is a major and complex project.

Transforming the speed and quality of its packing operations, British Salt installed a new state-of-the-art high-speed pure dried vacuum (PDV) pack line in 2018. Alongside this, it also upgraded the packing facilities for its water treatment products.

The company has recently completed the fourth year in a five-year £5m investment programme designed to upgrade its brine purification plant, which plays a crucial role in ensuring that the salt is of the highest quality.

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When is a loss not a loss

By Charlie Carnegie What sort of loss could possibly be a good loss you may ask yourself because everyone wants to see a nice profit on the bottom of their Profit & Loss Account as a reward and justification for all the hours worked and investment in the business.

The loss I have in mind is not an accounting loss but a tax loss which can be a very useful thing to have.

To work out the taxable profit or loss of a business you must always start with the accounting profit and to that you add back expenses which are not tax deductible like depreciation, private use adjustments etc. and you then make a claim for Capital Allowances on the Plant & Machinery purchased in the year.

The fact we now have 100% Annual Investment Allowances in respect of the purchase of Plant & Machinery currently up to a maximum of £1m means that we can in some cases turn a profit into a loss which for tax purposes is potentially a very good thing to have as it can provide many different options in minimising tax liabilities.

Lets assume a farmer has a profit of £50k before Capital Allowances but he changed his combine during the year at a cost of £100k to change, that he means he has a tax loss of £(50)k. He can then use the loss against his other

income for the same tax year or carry it back against his income for the previous tax year and claim a tax rebate or could simply be carried forward.

If you then consider averaging that opens up more opportunities either for 2 or 5 year averaging and for those purposes the profit figure is zero with the loss still available.

Care has to be taken in claiming the Annual Investment Allowance as in some cases you may not need the full 100% because you would restrict the claim to ensure you utilised your annual personal allowances, currently £12k.

When asked by clients if they should buy a new machine I always ask 2 questions, do you need it and can you fund it?

If the answer to both questions is yes then the tax consequences become very relevant, but if the answer is no then don’t buy it just to save some tax as that is a false economy.

Charlie Carnegie is a partner in the Perth office of Campbell Dallas and can be contacted on 01738 441888 for any further information

rural style

Elementary Dear Watson!

Looking to smarten up your wardrobe with tailoring that will transform your look in an instance? Take the detective work out of looking great with the new Butler Stewart Tweed Men’s Collection. Contemporary design with a beautiful cut and finish courtesy of their Savile Row experienced tailor all in their exquisite range of tweeds.

Butler Stewart Watson Jacket in Harvest Brown RRP: £425 Butler Stewart Christopher Waistcoat RRP: £225 Made To Order Trousers RRP: £255. www.butlerstewart.co.uk

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cars Introducing the 2020 Mitsubishi ASX Reinforcing its important position within the Mitsubishi range, the new Mitsubishi ASX compact crossover has been extensively revised for 2020 with new bodywork, a more powerful new engine, a revamped interior and the reintroduction of key hardware to bring it in line with the rest of the brand’s SUV and 4X4 line-up, including an automatic transmission and four-wheel drive. On sale in

September in the UK, the new Mitsubishi ASX also benefits from new range designations – Design and Dynamic - and high levels of standard equipment across the range.

Refreshed Design: Allnew sheet metal from the windscreen forward with new LED headlamps and bolder, Dynamic Shield styling, New rear bumpers and new LED rear lamp clusters, New design

complimented by new colours – Diamond Red and Oak Brown

and New 18-inch alloy wheels on all versions.

All-new Bentley Flying Spur - sports sedan meets luxury limousine Bentley Motors has announced details of the world’s most advanced luxury Grand Touring sports sedan – the all-new Flying Spur. Whether driving or being driven, the all-new Flying Spur offers a unique combination of limousine luxury and sports sedan performance, blending bold new road presence with world-leading interior quality and design, plus cutting-edge customer-focused technology.

“As with the launch of the Continental GT, the new Flying

Spur is a ground up development that pushes the boundaries of both technology and craftsmanship to deliver segment-defining levels of performance and refinement,” comments Adrian Hallmark, Chairman and Chief Executive of Bentley Motors.

Designed, engineered and handcrafted at the Home of Bentley in Crewe, England, the new Flying Spur showcases Bentley’s unique application of cutting-edge & modern technology, seamlessly integrating the latest British craftsmanship

with innovation features. The latest generation of Flying Spur pushes the existing boundaries

of refinement and attention to detail to create the finest superluxury sports sedan ever built.

Volkswagen T-Cross gains economical 1.6 TDI engine option The newest member of Volkswagen’s extensive SUV family is gaining a frugal new engine option as the T-Cross is now available with a Euro 6 compliant 95 PS, 1.6-litre TDI powerplant.

This extends the T-Cross engine options to three: two turbocharged petrol units and now one turbodiesel, and underscores the car’s mantra “I am more than one thing.”

The already fuel efficient T-Cross achieves 48.9 mpg1 in its most economical petrol form, but this rises to 52.9 mpg1 across both transmissions and all specs when 86

fitted with the 1.6-litre turbodiesel engine – making it the most fuelefficient SUV available in the Volkswagen line-up.

The 95 PS four cylinder 1.6-litre turbocharged diesel also has the highest torque peak yet seen in T-Cross, developing 250 Nm versus the 115 PS 1.0-litre TSI’s 200 Nm, across the same 1500-2500 rpm rev range.

Reflecting the flexibility of the engine, all trim levels bar entrylevel S will benefit from the option of the 1.6-litre turbodiesel – from value-focused and equipmentpacked SE to the sportier and more

luxurious R-Line specification.

Customers can also choose between a five-speed manual gearbox and a seven-speed DSG unit, although the majority are expected to take

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the manual option in the UK. The 0-62 mph time for the manual car is 11.9 seconds while the DSGequipped car takes 12.5 seconds to cover the same sprint.

cars Mercedes delivers more than 195,000 vehicles worldwide in May Despite a challenging market environment, Mercedes-Benz increased its unit sales in May in many markets, including Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, the United States and South Korea.

A new May record for sales of compact cars: more than 58,000 units were delivered last month (+10.0%).

In May, the new CLA Coupé was launched in Europe and

achieved an increase in sales of +8.5% in the region.

“Despite a challenging market environment and ongoing model changes, Mercedes-Benz increased its unit sales in many markets in May. We are very confident that the significant sales momentum from our model offensive will be reflected in the second half of the year, particularly with the SUVs,” said Britta Seeger, Member of

the Board of Management of Daimler AG responsible for

Mercedes-Benz Cars Marketing and Sales.

BBR launches Super 200 / Super 220 packages for 2019 184 PS Mazda MX-5 / Miata, with over 220 BHP Two engine new tuning packages for MY 2019 onwards 2.0-litre Mazda MX-5 ND models – the Super 200 and the Super 220.

Both build upon free revving nature of the new 2.0-litre Skyactiv-G motor, enhancing torque, power and the overall driving experience. OEM Mazda electronic safety features are retained, plus MOT emissions compliance and standard idle characteristics.

On sale now, with prices starting from £1245.00 excluding VAT for self-install versions.

Leading independent Mazda performance specialist BBR is delighted to announce two new engine tuning packages for the latest 2019 184 PS (181 bhp) versions of the ND Mazda MX-5 / Miata sports car. Building on three decades of Mazda tuning experience, BBR’s upgrades are targeted at the MX-5 performance

enthusiasts who demand maximum excitement for fast road and track

driving, without sacrificing driving manners or reliability.

Audi RS 5 Sportback and RS 5 Coupé Audi Sport editions prepare for lift-off Audience participation in the enjoyment of the Audi RS 5’s 450PS of bi-turbo V6 power becomes easier from this month as the new RS 5 Sportback makes its debut. The latest addition to the UK Audi Sport range combines its sub-four-second acceleration capability and highly adhesive quattro-aided handling with fivedoor access to family-friendly five-seat accommodation and impressive luggage capacity, all contained within an elegant coupé silhouette. For keen drivers with a smaller entourage,

the RS 5 Coupé also returns to the fold this month, combining the same blistering pace and handling tenacity in a classically striking two-door coupé format. Both versions will be exclusively available as Audi Sport Edition models offering an exceptional specification, and just 250 examples of each will be produced for the UK this year.

Externally, upgrading to Audi Sport Edition specification in both RS 5 variants entails adding larger 20-inch alloy wheels with an anthracite finish,

fitting privacy glass, replacing aluminium-look exterior fittings such as the grille surround, window cappings and door

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mirror housings with high gloss black elements and installing the Audi Sport exhaust system to amplify the engine’s soundtrack.

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topic

For the Love of Banjo How bottle feeding an orphaned calf, shone the way forward in dealing with an unusual and controversial health condition

By Ann Kelly Last month, I was diagnosed with a health condition that is as controversial as it is unusual.

Electromagnetic Hyper Sensitivity (EHS) is a condition caused by cumulative exposure to everyday things that emit radiation. It’s sometimes referred to as ‘’radiation sickness’’.

Having researched it... it seems that the radiation from mobile phones, SMART meters, overhead electrical pylons, microwaves, wifi, television transmitters, and mobile phone masts contribute in many ways to poor health.

Dr Erica Mallery Blythe was the doctor who identified that these things were an issue for me, and to who I’m deeply grateful as up until now, the symptoms were attributed to ‘’Medically Unexplained Symptoms’’.

After the diagnosis, my natural inclination was to spend more time in the countryside, and when the opportunity came up to bottle feed an orphaned calf on the shores of Loch Fyne, I jumped at the chance.

Banjo was just a year old when I first met him and true to what I’d been told, he was a truly beautiful creature. I’d never really been up close and personal with a beastie like this before.

His coat was light brown and curly, and his face was milky white and smooth.

His eyes were bright dark blue and huge along with the eyelashes that would be the envy of most women.

I was as nervous of him as he was of me, but within a short time, he’d come running towards me and on one occasion, I woke to find he’d jumped a dry stone 88

wall and came into the garden of the nearby holiday cottage that I was staying in. He stuck his big head in the living room window and I convinced myself that he was looking for me specifically.

He really was a delight to be around.

Every feed was a chance to scratch his big face, tickle behind his ears and look into his huge eyes. Within a very short time Banjo had worked his magic on me. Leaving him was getting more difficult as he’d watch my car drive away. Of late, I’ve even booked bed and breakfast for a couple of nights so that I could feed my new friend.

I noticed my symptoms were less severe being around Banjo, and I put this down to the enjoyable distraction of connecting with nature.

I carry a couple of meters that measure electromagnetic activity and when I ran a test, I found that the readings were very low, so it was a combination of bonding with Banjo and the reduction in symptoms that told me the way forward was to find a rural location with a low EMF reading and spend time in and around the land with animals.

There are many people suffering with EHS who like me, would love to spend time helping on a farm with animals, and their only requirement is that the air quality reads good when measured on an EMF meter.

5G is currently being rolled out across Scotland and its thought that many people will feel the effects of it.

The thing about radiation, is that its ubiquitous... its

everywhere and nowhere at the same time. You can’t see, hear, taste, touch or smell it yet it penetrates brick, most metals and every cell in the body.

People have said to me that it really doesn’t affect them.

Truth be told that radiation does what radiation does. They might not be able to feel what the radiation is doing to them, but this doesn’t mean that its not doing something... its just that its not apparent at this time. Where for me... I am now sensitized to what its doing... I’m kind of like the proverbial ‘canary down a mine shaft’’.

I don’t believe our bodies were designed to cope with artificial radiation and it certain won’t pass through peoples’ body any more or less kindly than it will pass through mine.

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While its not possible to completely eliminate all forms of radiation all of the time... it is possible to make many small changes and by doing so, give the body and the central nervous system the chance to heal.

The situation that I find myself in is fraught with challenges and there’s many changes that I still have to make to redefine my life in terms of how I live it but the overriding element that needs changing are to do with simplification.

I want a more straightforward life and a more emotionally and spiritually rewarding life. I want to live in the moment, close to the land and the creatures on it.

Banjo showed me that this could be possible.

So here’s looking at you Banjo!

Cheers big man! Love you loads!

machinery SDF strengthens its position with new Scottish dealer SDF has strengthened its agricultural sales and service capability in the north of Scotland with the appointment of Nairn-based Hodge Plant Ltd, as a full line Deutz-Fahr dealer covering sales/service and parts across the full product range.

Depot sales manager Graham Stuart says the DeutzFahr equipment range, covers small hp groundcare, amenity and agricultural tractors right up to the high hp arable machines and combine harvesters. It is a natural addition to the company’s growing portfolio of top brand franchises, which include Case Construction Machinery,

Jensen Woodchippers, Dynapac Compaction Equipment, TGB atv`s and Kinshofer attachments.

“Deutz-Fahr is a global brand recognised for its build quality and longevity,” he says. “The wide product line up coupled with the manufacturers down to earth and helpful approach made taking on the franchise an easy decision. We can now offer full sales and a 24/7 service and parts support from small compact groundcare tractors right up to the large arable machines and combine harvesters.

“We also plan to run a hire division to satisfy the growing demand for short to long term

hire of machinery and we are actively looking into adding more quality agricultural

machinery names to our line up to compliment the Deutz-Fahr brand.”

Aurock makes UK debut KUHN exhibited its new AUROCK triple disc seed drill, which has the capability to establish crops under cover, in minimum tillage or direct drilling conditions, for the first time in the UK at Cereals 2019.

Targeting the growing conservation agriculture sector, but with the versatility for wider applications, the AUROCK is launched in a six-metre format and will be available from the summer of 2019. With either single or dual metering options,

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it offers great versatility such as dual cropping or sowing one row in two with independently managed sowing depths.

The AUROCK is available with single and dual metering units. The single metering unit version (AUROCK R) has a 3,500 litre capacity hopper and the double metering unit version (AUROCK RC) has a 5,000 litre capacity split hopper. It is designed for a low horsepower requirement, needing a modest 180hp to operate.

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machinery The drill’s ability to work in varying field conditions starts at the front with two rows of opening discs. There is the option of 460mm diameter corrugated discs, for working in prepared soil or soil mixing, or a 430mm diameter embossed disc for cutting residues efficiently and minimising soil ejection.

Seed placement is carried out by the double-disc seeding unit mounted on a parallelogram for optimum delivery accuracy and perfect ground following. Alignment with the opening discs is maintained by a central pivot point between the coulter bar and the chassis. This ensures that seeds drop accurately into the furrow, whether the drill is operating on a slope or around a bend. The opener discs and seeding unit assembly form the triple disc that has underpinned KUHN’s success in drill manufacture for forty years.

Sky launches improved coulter line for the UK’s EasyDrill The first UK showing of the new EasyDrill coulter line will be on the OPICO stand [868] at Cereals.

Designed to ensure more accurate seed placement and consistency, whilst improving the flow of residue and preventing blockages, the key features of the new coulter set-up are a two piece coulter tube and tungsten shoe, alongside maintenancefree disc bearings.

Joe Redman, Sky Drill Specialist at OPICO Ltd said, “The improvements to the coulter line mean wearing parts need replacing less frequently and replacing them is an easier job. Consequently, the overall cost of ownership will come down. The two piece coulter tube

and separate boot means there is no longer any need to replace the whole assembly, simply the tungsten-tipped shoe.’’

The time-proven bogey-type coulter carriages retain the same overall design with depth wheels front and rear, making for uniform seed placement in all conditions.

Sky Agriculture’s EasyDrill is a major player in the seed-drill market, with over 3000 machines working around the world. It has recently become the best-selling no-till drill in France.

The updated EasyDrill coulter continues to deliver versatility – specifically designed

as a no-till drill, the EasyDrill works equally well in min-till, consolidated ploughed land and when drilling into cover crops. Whatever the system, the pressure adjustment system means that up to 250kg of downforce can be transferred towards the front depth wheel or the rear closing wheel dependent on the soil conditions. In wet soil conditions the pressure is transferred to the front depth wheels and in dry conditions the weight is transferred to the disc coulter and rear closing wheels, guaranteeing perfect control of drilling depth in all conditions.

Corvus – the new UTV on the block Corvus is a new name in 4x4 off-road utility vehicles and one to look out for when its UTV’s arrive on our shores. Europe’s first manufacturer of 4x4 Side by Side vehicles has the strongest pedigree and states an aim to offer technologically superior and highly capable, pioneering vehicles. A new British company, BOSS ORV, has been formed to introduce, distribute and support the Corvus brand in the UK. BOSS will officially launch three models at the outset: TerrainDX4 EPS, TerrainDX4 PRO EPS and TerrainDX4 CAB EPS

“When you first look at the Terrain you can see immediately it’s a well-designed and tough, professional UTV.” Says Phil Everett, BOSS ORV’s Managing Director. “Look deeper and it stands out for environmental and technological advancement, a powerhouse engine and a great payload capacity. We’re proud to be able to offer the Corvus range in the UK.” The Corvus main construction facility is in Murcia, Spain with an area of 25,000m dedicated to manufacturing and assembling, using their (continued on page 92)

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machinery own parts and components: gear box, transmission, chassis and technology systems. The company is part of the Tuxton/ Yanmar group so it’s a natural fit to marry up the normally aspirated, inline 3-cylinder 993cc Yanmar Diesel engine which gives excellent fuel efficiency and range. The engine is Euro 6 compliant which puts it right at the forefront of the

market, leading the Corvus programme of designing systems for reducing emission levels. All the above mentioned Terrain models are homologated to T1b tractor regulation.

The LINER 4000, with a working width of 15.50 m, was added to the range in 2009, and in 2011 the highly successful LINER 3000 was replaced with the LINER 3500, followed by the LINER 3600 in 2015. With working widths from 9.90 m to 15.50 m and swath widths from 1.20 m to 2.60 m, these machines adapt easily to different forage materials and all commonly used pick-ups. The silage tines specially developed by CLAAS, in combination with accurate

rotor movement control, ensure clean and complete crop pick-up at all times, while protecting the ground beneath.

For more information about the Corvus Terrain range you can call 01597 810188 E-mail: sales@bossorv.co.uk Web: www.corvus-utv.co.uk

CLAAS four-rotor swather: 20 years of high performance Twenty years ago, CLAAS introduced the world’s first four-rotor swather, the LINER 3000. The design concept was to eliminate the swathing bottleneck, and allow the capacity of the forage harvesting convoy to be fully utilised.

Today’s four-rotor LINER 4000 and 3600 models remain a byword for productivity, forage quality, user convenience and reliability.

Brief harvesting windows call for top-performance harvesting equipment. With the LINER 3000, CLAAS engineers doubled

the productivity of two-rotor swathers in the years following its introduction in 1999, so increasing the capacity of the entire harvesting chain. In just a single pass, the machine could swathe crops over a working width of up to 12.50 m into a single, uniform central swath.

The box shape allowed optimum crop flow for the forage harvester following up behind. Farmers and contractors reported 30 percent higher productivity in the forage harvesting chain, thanks to higher chopping rates and less downtime.

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machinery New V Conveyor for Strautmann Verti-Mix Strautmann has introduced a new design of discharge conveyor for its Verti-Mix feeder wagons.

Specifically adapted to dispense feed over a feed barrier or into a trough, the new V conveyor has been simplified to reduce the number of moving parts to help extend belt longevity, therefore reducing ownership costs.

The V Conveyor has one continuous PVC unloading belt which, in addition to being able to discharge to both to left and right, can be set by the operator to increase discharge height by up to

55cm, as well as providing a side shift of approximately 25cm.

Twin hydraulic motors provide drive for the conveyor and pivoting deflectors at each end ensure material is channelled in the correct direction. These swing into place automatically when the belt changes direction and do not require an additional hydraulic or electric function to operate.

All Strautmann Verti-Mix diet mixers feature the unique Vario2 stepped auger which tumbles the mix, producing a fluffy homogenous mix faster.

Farmers can visit www.strautmann.co.uk or contact their local Strautmann dealer – details of which can be found on the website, or by contacting OPICO on 01778 421111

Massey Ferguson launches MF 3700 AL Series tractors Massey Ferguson is proud to announce the introduction of three new tractors in the MF 3700 AL Series. With a choice of 75hp, 85hp or 95hp these compact models are designed specifically to combine stability and comfort with a high specification for those working in hilly terrains.

“These new tractors are another important step in Massey Ferguson’s continuing full-line strategy,” says Francesco Quaranta Vice President Sales, Marketing

& Product Management Massey Ferguson EME. “Our concentration on the sub-130hp sector came into sharp focus with the launch of the 75hp-130hp Global Series in 2014 and received another major boost with the introduction of the MF 3700 Series in 2017.

These strong, stable tractors, which sit between the existing MF 3700 VSF range and the MF 4700 Series, are built on a longer and wide chassis. Equipped to a high specification as standard, there is also wide range of

options to enable owners to configure and tailor their tractor to their specific needs.

With their compact dimensions, wide, comfortable cab and high standard specification the MF 3700 AL tractors are ideal for loader work and duties around

busy dairy and livestock units.

At the same time their big tractor features in a light, compact frame, make them ideal general workhorses for a wide range of fieldwork from grassland operations to drilling, spraying and spreading.

Tong announced UK distributor for HAWE-KUW 2000 field trailer Leading vegetable handling equipment specialist Tong Engineering has been appointed UK distributor of the HAWEKUW 2000 root crop transfer trailer from renowned German manufacturer HAWE Wester.

The announcement comes as Tong continues to develop its range of advanced handling

equipment to offer the complete handling solution from postharvest to pack.

“Like Tong, HAWE Wester are a family business who are committed to manufacturing robust and reliable solutions,” says Edward Tong, Managing Director at Tong Engineering.

“In line with continued demand (continued on page 96)

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machinery from our customers for effective cleaning and loading equipment that can be used in the field to streamline the transfer of crop from harvester to bulker, our partnership with HAWE Wester has brought a natural addition to our range of post-harvest handling equipment.”

“Manufactured with up to a 30 cubic metre holding capacity, the transfer trailer runs alongside the harvester, receiving crop directly from the harvester for cleaning and loading at the field side; keeping tractors and soil off the road, whilst reducing crop mileage,” explains Richard

Knighton, Sales Manager at Tong Engineering.

Featuring heavy duty construction with a mounted steel hopper and integrated rolling floor, the HAWE-KUW 2000 transfer trailer is suitable for use on multiple root crops including potatoes, carrots, onions, beetroot, parsnips and bulbs. At the outfeed, the transfer trailer is fitted with an adjustable coil cleaning unit for effective removal of soil from crop, feeding a 1200mm wide folding elevator, which allows crop to be gently transferred to bulker lorries at the side of the field, at capacities up to 120 tons per hour.

McCormick X7 Series four-cylinder tractors New additions to the McCormick X7 tractor series made their Scottish public debut at the Royal Highland Show.

These Euro Stage IV / Tier 4 Final versions of the McCormick

X7.4 tractors offer a well-equipped machine capable of handling a wide range of tasks on livestock, arable and mixed enterprise farms.

The three-model line-up covers maximum power outputs from

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We have places for age groups 17 years and over Training can be completed in Perth and Dumfries The funding we have is sourced through the Modern Apprenticeship programme this is a work based, employer led training programme with an SVQ associated to the qualification. The SVQ is assessment based, where an assessor will come out to the workplace to assess the trainee’s competence and knowledge in various units of the SVQ: this includes health and safety in the workplace, driving a company vehicle, loading a company vehicle and customer service for example.

141hp to 166hp for draft work such as ploughing and cultivating, and up to 176hp with ‘power boost’.

This is automatically engaged when travelling on the road or driving pto-powered implements and, unlike their predecessors, all three of the new tractors have this feature as standard.

The McCormick X7.440 has a maximum power output of 141hp for draft work, which automatically increases to 150hp under load in the upper gears – ie for transport applications – and when a pto-driven field implement is being operated.

Similarly, the X7.450’s 155hp output rises almost 6.5% or 10hp to 165hp for these nondraft applications, while power for the X7.460 also goes up 10hp, from 166hp to 176hp.

We have funding for the SVQ and licence acquisition: Jeep and Trailer, 7.5 Tonne vehicle (C1), Rigid (C), Artic (CE) An apprenticeship is a great way to earn money whilst learning new skills, knowledge and experience every day. The candidate would be assigned their own mentor, who you work closely with; you also shadow other people in your workplace which allows you the opportunity to be involved in working with different people on many different tasks.

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The tractors are available from McCormick dealers in Scotland with a choice of Efficient and Premium equipment levels and either a new slickshifting mechanical transmission or seamlessly smooth CVT drive.

The new P6-Drive powershift transmission provides more speeds and powershift steps for greater ground speed control versatility; there are 30 forward and 15 reverse speeds as standard or 54 forward and 27 reverse with the creep option.

Auto shifting can be used in ‘Field’ and ‘Road’ modes, with the latter providing hands-free shifts through all five ranges, which results in easier and often more productive operation in the field, as well as more comfortable road travel.

machinery Harsh opens a second front with a dedicated business unit serving the agricultural sector HARSH is pleased to announce the opening of a dedicated business unit to serve the UK agricultural industry.

Designated HARSH Agri, the new operation offers a wide range of products to all sizes of businesses working in farming, agriculture, forestry and specialised industrial sectors such as power stations. These include the highly successful UniLift IT Runner hooklift trailer, bespoke sheeting systems and a wide range of hydraulic components.

Based at HARSH’s HQ just outside York, HARSH Agri is headed up by Grant Faulkner.

Mark Britton (General Manager) and Max Faulkner (Business Development Manager, Sales) will have joint day to day responsibility for growing the business.

Grant comments “In the last couple of years we have seen a growing opportunity to be directly involved in the agricultural sector. Our first Agri product, the UniLift IT Runner demountable hooklift trailer has proved very successful, with customers then asking us what else we can do. In certain cases, some of our truck operators are also agriculture businesses as well, so it makes absolute sense for us to offer them the widest possible product range.

Of particular significance, the UniLift hooklift trailer has just been Type Approved for additional use in commercial vehicle applications, thereby massively improving its operating flexibility across all types of businesses.

Further demonstrating this versatility, the trailer also works with a huge variety of demountable bodywork options such as containers, tanks, flatbeds or log carriers. In other areas such as sheeting systems and hydraulics, 98

Agri and Truck customer requirements are also very similar - with HARSH already having a proven expertise in these specialist fields.”

In a significant early coup for the new business, HARSH Agri has also just taken on

the UK franchise for RASCO Winter Maintenance Equipment, with products that include tractor and tele handler - mounted snowploughs and rear mount self - loading gritting spreaders.

A particular consideration in setting up HARSH Agri was

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that it should not and would not reduce the company’s ongoing growth in the truck sector. As a result, the establishment of HARSH Agri has also created a stronger, more focused approach to marketing the company’s truck products, which include

machinery not just tipping equipment and hydraulics but also bodywork for skiploaders and hookloaders and a full range of sheeting systems.

In the same way that HARSH’s agricultural products are now branded as HARSH Agri, the company’s truck products will be promoted under the separate and stronger banner of HARSH Truck.

HARSH director Adam Hargreaves notes “The establishment of HARSH Agri as its own business unit marks a significant stage in the growth of our company. Given that our founders themselves had their business roots in agriculture, we are already well versed in the industry and its requirements.

Our Agri and Truck activities complement each other perfectly, enabling us to offer both sectors wider than ever levels of products and expertise.

The whole HARSH UK business has just got significantly stronger.”

Left to right - Mark Britton, Grant Faulkner and Max Faulkner

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99

machinery Haith launches new service department The UK’s leading manufacturer of vegetable handling and processing machinery, Haith Group has introduced a new service and maintenance department.

Customers taking out a service agreement for their Haith machines or needing help to maintain their equipment will be supported by a proactive new team, headed by Service Director, Chris Haith.

The specialist vegetable handling and processing machinery manufacturer has recruited extra people to work in the new department.

Newly appointed Service technicians Andrew Elmhirst, Josh Finelli and Michael Hampshire will work alongside long-term Service engineers, Karl Smith, Chris Walsh and Jonathan Oliver. “Hundreds of farmers, growers ,food producers and processors rely on our machines as part of their operations and ensuring that they

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The Air Compressor and Pressure Washer Specialists

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are running to maximum efficiency is crucial,” says Chris. “While we make our machines as easy as possible for people to use, they are intricate and sophisticated pieces of engineering which need to be looked after correctly. Our new service team members have undergone extensive training so they know each of our machines inside and out and are best placed to ensure that the optimum performance of our graders, washers, polishers and tipplers.”

As well as working to service schedules, Haith’s team will also offer a rapid response service for people needing immediate help with their Haith handling machinery.

The new team will be based at Haith’s Doncaster head office but will look after customers across the UK. Annual service packages start from as little as £900.

People wanting further information about the new team and the service and maintenance packages should email service@ haith.co.uk.

machinery Film binding innovation on tour

New additions to the McCormick X7 tractor series made their Scottish public debut at the Royal Highland Show.

These Euro Stage IV / Tier 4 Final versions of Live demonstrations of KUHN Farm Machinery’s patented film

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binding system are being staged across the country over the summer months, providing many opportunities for farmers to see

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machinery the award-winning technology in action.

Winner of the silver award in the Livestock Innovation category at LAMMA 2019, this system uses wrap instead of net binding, thereby improving bale conservation quality whilst simultaneously reducing the burden of recycling.

Unlike other film binding systems which use wide mantle rolls to perform the bale binding function, the KUHN system uses two standard 750mm stretch film rolls to fully encapsulate the bale. As well as improving silage preservation and making the recycling of waste plastic easier, this system also reduces plastic usage by up to 30% by pre-stretching the wrapping film by 70% prior to application. Film loading is also quicker and easier as each roll weighs just 27kg, compared to the wider rolls which can weigh between 40-90kg.

The film binding system is available on KUHN’s FBP

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3135 BalePack and i-BIO round baler-wrapper combination machines, both of which also use KUHN’s IntelliWrap system which enables the operator to wrap the bale with 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9 layers of film as appropriate.

Both machines can also be used with conventional net binding: switching between film and net binding is quick and simple as the two systems are separate, with enough space available to carry film and net rolls at the same time, therefore making it easy to switch from one system to the other for different crops or between different fields.

Farmers interested in seeing film binding innovation in action can call the relevant KUHN area sales manager for details on their nearest event: David Sharp, Scotland/ Borders:07802 389184 Nigel Donkin, North:07802 389185 John Hulland, central England:07802 389183

David Rose, Wales/ Borders:07802 389186 Paul Gregory, eastern counties:07802 389182 Tim Holliday, South/South West:07802 389181 he road or driving ptopowered implements and, unlike their predecessors, all three of the new tractors have this feature as standard.

The McCormick X7.440 has a maximum power output of 141hp for draft work, which automatically increases to 150hp under load in the upper gears – ie for transport applications – and when a pto-driven field implement is being operated.

Similarly, the X7.450’s 155hp output rises almost 6.5% or 10hp to 165hp for these nondraft applications, while power for the X7.460 also goes up 10hp, from 166hp to 176hp.

The tractors are available from McCormick dealers in Scotland with a choice of Efficient and Premium

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equipment levels and either a new slick-shifting mechanical transmission or seamlessly smooth CVT drive.

The new P6-Drive powershift transmission provides more speeds and powershift steps for greater ground speed control versatility; there are 30 forward and 15 reverse speeds as standard or 54 forward and 27 reverse with the creep option.

Auto shifting can be used in ‘Field’ and ‘Road’ modes, with the latter providing hands-free shifts through all five ranges, which results in easier and often more productive operation in the field, as well as more comfortable road travel.

FARMING SCOTLAND MAGAZINE Subscription page 105

machinery New ROLLANT 540 round baler from Claas New for this season, the ROLLANT 540 fixed chamber round baler features new rollers and a stronger chassis, with the choice of net or film wrapping.

A new drive concept and outstanding ease of maintenance ensure high performance and a long service life.

The redesigned baling chamber on the ROLLANT 540 has 15 rollers and makes bales with a diameter of 1.22m and width of 1.25m. The serrated profile of the rollers maintains optimum bale rotation even under moist conditions. The rollers are fitted with specially hardened 50mm stub shafts, which are bolted to the roller body and can be individually replaced if necessary. The rollers which have the most load are fitted with new double race bearings for a longer service life.

The tailgate closing rams are horizontally mounted, resulting in high baling pressures. For maximum bale density, pressure of up to 180 bar can be applied to the rams.

Options include the MPS II system, where three of the chamber rollers pivot into the chamber for additional bale compression, early bale rotation, and a perfectly uniform bale shape.

The baling rollers are driven from the left side of the machine and each roller has direct drive, resulting in uniform force distribution to the rollers with a lower power requirement.

The rotor and main drive have 1.25-inch drive chains, and the tailgate rollers are driven with a 1-inch chain.

The chains are lubricated via an eccentric pump and all the

lubricating nipples of the MPS and tailgate are combined on the right-

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hand side. A central lubrication option is also available.

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machinery Case IH has decided to rebrand its award-winning 100-130hp tractors with CVXDrive transmission, the new name is Case IH Vestrum CVXDrive “We chose the name Vestrum because it means ‘yours’ in Latin,” says Peter Friis, Case IH Marketing Director Europe. “This tractor is dedicated to our customers who need a powerful and comfortable tractor to accomplish more throughout the varied tasks in their day.”

The rebrand will not affect any other features of the 100-130hp models, which all have the Case IH CVXDrive continuously-variable transmission as standard. The new range was launched at February’s SIMA in Paris, where it won the Machine of the Year 2019 award in the mid-class tractor category.

“We would like to reassure our customers that no other aspect of the tractor will change - all specifications remain the same

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as at the launch - and deliveries within 2019 will not be affected” said Thierry Panadero, Vice-

President Case IH Europe “we will continue our launch activities and look forward to meeting our

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customers in the field and at shows in the coming months and present these fantastic tractors.”

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105

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

Laura Butcher A new Head of Communications has been appointed by rural business organisation, Scottish Land & Estates.

Laura Butcher joins SLE from the Law Society of Scotland, the professional body and regulator of Scottish solicitors, where she was also Head of Communications.

A chartered PR practitioner, Laura has over 15 years’ experience of working in communications in not-for-profit organisations. She has previously held communications roles at environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) following time spent in positions in Australia and the north of England.

Page Turner’s

BOOK REVIEW Ardkinglas

By Christina Noble

Charlie Eaton Claydon Drills has appointed a new Territory Manager to cover the West of England and Scotland.

Charlie Eaton will be wellknown to many Claydon customers, having been the company’s UK Sales Manager for four years before returning to his native West Country in October 2015. During that period the business went through a period of tremendous growth and transitioned from direct sales to operating through a network of dealers. Charlie helped many farmers to benefit from the Claydon System, established the company’s presence in Ireland and helped to develop the product range to suit the needs of customers in all areas of the UK. Andrew Starbuck An important two-way technical communications role between the Argo Tractors factory and independent dealers supplying Landini and McCormick products has been taken on by Andrew Starbuck, a new recruit to the growing team covering the UK and Ireland.

“As product manager, my principal role is to communicate technical information to our dealers about the features and benefits of the tractors so they are fully informed when talking to customers,” he explains.

“But I will also be referring any constructive comments and observations from users back to our team at Harworth and also to the product managers and engineers at the Argo Tractors factory.”

Adrian Winnett, managing director of Argo Tractors operations in the UK and Ireland, says that effective two-way communication is essential to help with Argo’s philosophy of continuous development as current products are refined and improved while new tractors are planned for the future.

He adds: “This is an important role in our expanding team, so I’m delighted to welcome Andrew, whose past experience working for dealers and for Europe’s leading potato and sugar beet equipment manufacturer will be invaluable.”

What is the point of a Highland

tale of life in the Big House.

estate in the 21st century?

Noble tells the stories of the

Author Christina Noble was

people who live and work on

born at Ardkinglas, the estate

the estate, those who came and

at the head of Loch Fyne,

went, those who were born

which was bought by her

there and left, or stayed because

great-grandfather in 1905. Her

it was their home. These people

family have lived there ever

speak in their own words

since, managing the estate

about changing land use, their

through decades of upheaval

employment in the glens as

and transformation. She is

shepherds or stalkers, or with

certainly well placed to answer

the hydroelectric schemes and

this question, and she adds a

the Forestry Commission.

supplementary question, too:

The answer is emphatically that an estate is for the people

who is an estate for?

The book tells the story of

who live there. Full of pictures

the estate’s grand beginnings,

illustrating farm shows, family

when industrialist Sir Andrew

weddings, shoot lunches, and

Noble had Sir Robert Lorimer

the early days of the world-

build him a house in record

famous oyster bar this is a

time.

and

glorious catalogue of estate life

diaries, traces the ins and outs

and the community Ardkinglas

of her family’s life. This is not,

has fostered.

Through

letters

however, a Downton Abbey

Birlinn, £14.99, paperback