Grassland Farmer Of The Year
Grassland Farmer Of The Year
Winner’s Farm Walk
Winner’s Farm Walk – Wednesday 22 May 2024
Drochil Castle Farm, near Peebles, Peeblesshire
We joined Robert Black, BGS Grassland Farmer of the Year 2023, to hear about his cattle and sheep systems.
The cattle herd is currently being expanded, with home-bred heifers calving at two years of age. Bull calves are left entire, and finished at 12-14 months of age on a total mixed ration made up of home-grown forage and cereals.
Both the 120 Stabiliser suckler cows and the 1000 Highlander ewes are outwintered on deferred hill grazing. Bales of second cut silage are placed in these areas, and no concentrates are fed. Lower areas of the farm are part of a six-year rotation that includes forage rape and barley.
Topics covered included:
- Deferred grazing and hill pasture improvement
- Cattle and sheep breeding
- Grassland management
- Finishing young bulls.
To view videos of the event, visit the BGS YouTube channel (click here).
Grassland Farmer of the Year Sponsors
Nufarm
Nufarm is the UK’s leading manufacturer of grassland herbicides, insecticides and growth enhancers. Grassland is a core part of Nufarm’s business and we are proud to have weed control solutions for every grassland situation, including clover swards, reseeds, silage and grazing systems. Our herbicides are manufactured in the UK at our “state of the art” global production plant at Wyke in West Yorkshire and supported by a dedicated grassland technical team. The Nufarm range offers best return on investment to maximise profit from grass.
X: @NufarmUK
Visit the Nufarm website
X: @NufarmUK
Visit the Nufarm website
YARA
Yara grows knowledge to responsibly feed the world and protect the planet, to fulfil our vision of a collaborative society, a world without hunger and a planet respected. To meet these commitments, we have taken the lead in developing digital farming tools for precision farming and work closely with partners throughout the whole food value chain to develop more climate-friendly crop nutrition solutions. In addition, we are committed to working towards sustainable mineral fertiliser production. Founded in 1905 to solve the emerging famine in Europe, Yara has a worldwide presence of about 17,000 employees and operations in over 60 countries.X: @Yara_UK
Find more information about grassland nutrition on the Yara website
Find more information about grassland nutrition on the Yara website
Germinal
Germinal are specialists in grass and forage seed, working at ground level to share knowledge and expertise with customers, distributors and partners across agriculture and amenity. Germinal is a privately owned firm that works closely with IBERS at Aberystwyth University, funding near-market work for forage grass, red and white clovers. Germinal also conducts extensive trials via its research facility. The majority of Germinal’s grass seed is produced in the UK via a network of contract growers. However, it also works with international seed breeders to offer a broad range of species (such as chicory, kale and maize) and varieties.
X: @wearegerminal @GerminalUKAgri
Visit the Germinal website
X: @wearegerminal @GerminalUKAgri
Visit the Germinal website