Farmer focus: Scotland’s Beef Event a great success

We spent an enjoyable day at Scotland’s Beef Event, organised by the Scottish Beef Association and hosted by the Alexander family of Mains of Mause, Blairgowrie. It was a well-attended event and showcased a suckler herd of 1,000 Limousin cows and a flock of 2,000 blackface and Mule ewes.

The theme for the day was beef from the hills, and impressive displays of cattle were on view including some of our own breeding. Many people were enjoying a day out after spring work and there was an endless queue for the fascinating farm tour.

The IACS form has been submitted and the extra under-sown grass was all that was needed to comply with the greening requirements. We submitted our form through the Scottish Agricultural College. Sadly our adviser Ewan has just left but we wish him well with his new job.

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Grass is catching up with the cows and we have had to shut off some areas for silage as it was going to waste. It’s been a bit of a famine or feast situation.

All sheds have been mucked out, washed, disinfected and whitewashed, just in time for our QMS inspection. Whitewash used to take days to put on with a brush, but a few hours with well-mixed-up lime in the knapsack sprayer and the job’s done in no time.

Silage contractors have been booked. The grass is a decent crop and hopefully by the time you read this it will be in the pit. The boys have prepared the tractors for night work with LED lights fitted on every possible space available, and a Dukes of Hazzard air horn just to warn dad on the pit. No longer does a furry dice qualify as pimping up your tractor.

We have some hill Cheviots heading to the Highland Show – shepherd Brian may slowly be converting from his beloved Blackies. Kay will be spending the week stewarding in the beef cattle rings. Hopefully the sun will be shining and a great show will be had by all.


Bob and Kay Adam run 100 pedigree Limousin and Charolais cows on their 222ha family farm in Angus and rent a 728ha hill farm running 640 ewes and 30 suckler cows