Farmer Focus: Easy-calving heifers biggest success of year

It is hard to believe that we are fast approaching the end of yet another year. Last year was quite a challenging one for us as a family.

However, 2025, despite the weather and all the politics that have been imposed on us as an industry, it has been a calmer, more focused year.

This has allowed us to concentrate on moving forwards with the business.

See also: How pelvic scoring has helped improve suckler herd health

About the author

Dan and Catherine Mercer

Dan and Catherine Mercer farm more than 730ha on the edge of the Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, including land rented from the Ministry of Defence. They run 130 native-breed, spring-calving suckler cows on low-input grassland, finish bought-in dairy-beef cattle and grow 263ha of arable and cover crops. 

Read more articles by Dan and Catherine Mercer

One of the biggest positives for us this year has been the success of calving home-bred heifers at two years old.

This has benefited the business in more ways than one.

Pelvic measuring and selecting the ideal heifers for the herd have not only resulted in greater calving ease, but also strong, healthy calves up and feeding within a short time.

In addition, there was little or no interference from us during calving, which was a welcome bonus, saving us both time and money.

Recent pregnancy results were good, with 100% of our home-bred heifers in-calf to an Angus bull, and with an overall herd result of 96% of the herd in-calf.

This was slightly down from last year, but all in all we are pleased, considering the lack of decent grass growth.

Following this, and on advice from our vet, we blood tested some of the herd. A low selenium result seemed to be prevalent, but this was to be expected owing to the dry weather.

Next year, we will continue to build the business where possible.

In light of the recent changes to inheritance tax, we have recently introduced two of our children into our farming partnership, in order to protect the farm as much as we can.

Keeping a close eye on cashflow, we aim to increase suckler numbers and eagerly await any announcements on any new Sustainable Farming Incentive or Countryside Stewardship schemes.

We can say with certainty that this year has been tough for us all. The battle remains constant and it will mean digging deep again in 2026.

The future of farming in this country needs us to continue to remain strong and resilient, and we can only hope that 2026 is a brighter one for us all.