FARMER FOCUS: Bob and Kay’s Adam’s wish list for the new year

Calving has been going well with the first born off our Charolais bull Elgin Glenlivet being twins. The boys were delighted, as they were out of their own cow.
We will start our search for Limousin stock bulls this year, as our current lads will be coming back on to their own breeding.
A red and black are wished for, something with good figures, an influential pedigree, high health status and, most of all, pleasing to the eye. This kind of wish list may take a while to find.
We hope that mother nature will behave this spring and slacken off with the snow storms. Feed bills last year were crippling and sadly the lamb prices aren’t quite as buoyant as we’d hope for, but we’re sure they will improve.
This normally happens just as we are about to market all the smaller, poorer quality ones! Our red clover silage has been a great success at 16% protein, allowing us to lower the concentrate costs in the feed rations, and some more seed will be purchased this year.
The letter to Santa for a new fertiliser spreader with weigh cells must have got lost up the chimney, but it was noted. We have recently had 33 hectares GPS mapped for pH levels.
We apply lime every five to six years at about 5t/ha and along with the idea of more accurate mapping and fertiliser application, it will hopefully make the job just a bit easier and more efficient. We intend to map more ground this year.
Also on our wish list is a holiday. We’re having a few days away at The Royal Highland Show as Bob has been asked to judge the beef breeder and junior interbreed this year. It may not be the Caribbean but it’s a start.
Our last two yearnings for 2014 would be for a good exchange rate for the euro, as we need to cash in our single farm payment to help pay for some of the shopping list.
And, finally, we hope our address still has the words United Kingdom in it.
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
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