Iain Green is looking forward to Scotland’s Beef Event

Grazing grass is disappearing rapidly, but as I write this the rain has finally arrived. I only wish the rain had come earlier which would have allowed the grass to keep growing in front of the cattle.

The dry, warm sunny weather has given the lambs a tremendous start and they are growing well, although the ewe hoggs are too fit and have already decided to lie on their backs with their feet in the air awaiting assistance to right them.

By the time you read this article we will have finished first-cut silage at home. These newly cleared fields will play host to the outdoor trade stand exhibitors and form part of the farm tours for Scotland’s Beef Event which is being held here on 1 June.

Not only will there be outdoor trade stands, but all of our buildings will be full of stands, cattle EID demonstrations and seminars. The Scottish Simmental club will be hosting an open stock judging competition.

I recently selected a batch of 18 month old home-bred Simmental cross heifers for bulling and sold the remaining animals at our local auction market to a top price of £1,300 and an average of £1,154. I also selected my yearling Simmental cross heifers for grazing and sold the remainder to a top price of £950 (average £932).

The pig price is continuing to rise at a slow pace and at 1p a kilo a week it seems as though it is going to take forever to reach the breakeven point, although finally soya prices are starting to fall so this will help reduce some of the pain.

Pigs are growing exceptionally well in our new building and the simple natural ventilation system appears to be working well. With numbers born a sow exceeding 12.3 – a record for our unit – I am glad we took the decision to build.