Farmer Focus: 10 years on, we’re a proper family farm
Duncan Morrison © Angus Findlay It has been busy here, but definitely a good busy, rather than a bad busy.
We are eight days post due date for our spring-calving suckler cows. So far 40% have calved already, all outdoors at grass.
We have also started lambing outdoors in recent days. Lambing hoggs I’m sure is not for everyone, but it always amazes me how good they are as mothers at a young age and, with a lower lambing percentage, I have found they don’t cause us a great deal of hassle.
See also: How pelvic scoring has helped improve suckler herd health
About the author
It is early on, so perhaps I won’t be so enthusiastic near the end.
In recent weeks, we have pelvic scored our bulling heifers. It is interesting how uncorrelated these scores are to weight.
Our Farm Matters software package adjusts the score relative to their age and we usually don’t keep heifers measuring less than 140sq cm at 12 months of age.
We aren’t necessarily breeding for massive pelvises, only trying to eliminate the smallest and most likely to cause problems.
There are plenty of critics of pelvic scoring, but I can’t see any negatives of a vet checking the heifers for deformities and to help prevent possible issues.
Like any form of data collection, the skill is knowing what to do with the information.
I am not normally one to dwell on the past, but this May is a significant milestone.
Ten years ago, I started a farm business. I had recently been made redundant from my job as a farm manager and had lost my father unexpectedly, within a month.
It was a good way to rebound and something to throw all of my energy into. Since then, it has grown and become something I am proud of.
I brought in my wife as a partner and we are now a proper family farm, which will hopefully be there for the next generation if they wish.
It has been far from plain sailing, but a number of individuals have helped us along the way, and we are hugely grateful for their support.
Becoming a Monitor Farm, as well as the various groups we are part of, has encouraged us to strive to make improvements, and we are going from strength to strength.
Despite the challenges in the industry, I am still very positive about the future.