The Duguids at Cranna have made a number of decisions to change their farm, which Arthur Duguid says would not have happened without the Farm Profit Programme.
They have managed to increase the amount of beef and lamb being produced from the farm while keeping a close eye on the costs.
Cranna farm looks on to the village of Aberchirder.
Plus they have made changes like moving to all winter crop which helps to make farming simpler in the spring.
Replacements came from a combination of herd retentions and bought-in heifers to put to the bull
At the outset of the project, there were 100 cows calving in the spring, starting around the middle of March. Calves were then sold store at around 12 months old through Thainstone.
Replacements came from a combination of herd retentions and bought-in heifers to put to the bull.
The Duguids have increase the number of ewes per acre from 6.5 to 8.9.
In the initial benchmark, the spring herd had a weaning rate of 78% with a calf sale value of £985/calf, combining to give and output per cow to the bull of £725/cow.
In the 2018-2019 season, the farm had a weaning rate of 84% with a calf sale value of £993/calf, combining to give an output per cow to the bull of £828.
Unfortunately, the fall in the beef price last year took its toll on the output
However, this does not tell the full story of the output evolution over the project. Firstly, while calf sale value has risen by only £8/calf, calf sale weights were up by 38kg/calf, with calves being sold at a slightly younger average age. Unfortunately, the fall in the beef price last year took its toll on the output.
The average sale weight for the Duguids calves has risen 38kg.
Calf sale weights
Secondly, the weaning rate is back on 2017 (91%) and 2018 (88%) as there were several calves lost at housing with histophilus somni.
The herd health plan has since been updated and the spring-born calves will all be vaccinated with Hippra Bovis Somni prior to housing this year. This costs £9/cow, with each animal getting two doses three weeks apart, ideally before housing.
Total feed and bedding costs are up by £203/cow over the benchmark period
Looking at the variable costs, Cranna, like the rest of the farms in the project, had a hard time with feed costs in the 2018-2019 season.
Total feed and bedding costs are up by £203/cow over the benchmark period. This is partly driven by a move from silage-based diets for some of the dry cows to a straw and urea syrup-based diet for the calves.
It was also driven by both a £40/t increase in concentrate prices (home-grown barley has been valued into the cattle enterprise at market rate) and an increase in the amount fed.
Reducing vet costs £79/cow
One of the real highlights in the numbers is a significant reduction in the vet bill across the farm.
This has been spread through the enterprises and accounts for a £79/cow reduction in the spring herd. Much of this can be put down to a reduction in calving difficulties and thus caesareans.
While they increased the forage costs by £33/cow, their contribution has reduced the overall forage costs
Forage costs have also been reduced. There are three factors driving this. Firstly, the already mentioned straw and syrup diet for the dry cows, and secondly, a reduction in fertiliser.
The third factor here is the use of forage crops to winter the cows. While they increased the forage costs by £33/cow, their contribution has reduced the overall forage costs.
With longer-term improvements being bedded in now, they are calving down 103 cows this spring
Putting this all together, the spring herd has seen a reduction in gross margin of £16 to £297 on the benchmark year.
However, with an increase in the stocking rate due to better grass utilisation, the spring herd has increased its gross margin per hectare by £23/ha.
The Duguids have reduced the cost of vets by £79/cow through easier calving.
With longer-term improvements being bedded in now, they are calving down 103 cows this spring. This is only fractionally up on 2016. However, it is up on 2017 and 2018 as the Duguids culled hard through those years.
Autumn calvers
The autumn-calving herd is run on a similar basis to the spring herd, with the main difference being that the calves are sold as stores at 15 months, rather than 12.
At the outset of the project, there were 65 cows in this herd, with a weaning rate of 82%. Since then, this group has undergone significant expansion, to calving 89 cows in the autumn of 2019.
Calf sale weights have remained relatively static. However, sale values have fallen by £17/calf to £987, reflecting a reduction in the price per kilo realised.
The improvement in the weaning rate to 92% has offset this and the output per cow has risen by £113 to £911/cow.
Identifying disease risks at housing
One of the key changes to improving the weaning rate was a change in housing strategy. It was identified that each year, several stores were being lost when housed for the second winter, all in one area of one shed.
They were getting pneumonia which was more prevalent due to poor airflow in the shed. This has since been changed and the stores are housed in another shed, meaning none were lost while housed in 2019.
Pulling all of the variable costs together, this group has seen an increase in the gross margin before forage of £112/cow to £574
Again, feed and bedding costs have risen from the benchmark year, coming to £275/cow, a £105 rise. The reduction in the vet bill amounts to £92 in the autumn calvers.
Pulling all of the variable costs together, this group has seen an increase in the gross margin before forage of £112/cow to £574.
Coupling this with a fall in the forage costs of £73/cow, the total gross margin per cow has risen by £185/cow to £478.
Coupling this with a rise in the stocking rate of 0.52 cows/ha, the gross margin per hectare has risen from £386/ha in 2016 to £869/ha in 2019, more than doubling.
Sheep
The sheep enterprise has also expanded since the start of the programme. Initially, Cranna was running a flock of 230 ewes, lambing from around 20 March.
This year, 330 ewes went to the tup and lambing was due to start on 1 April. While this is not a big change in lambing date, it is still enough to reduce the feed costs of the ewes as there is more grass available.
However, the real change to the sheep enterprise has been the adoption of paddock grazing.
Lambs are being sold earlier at an average of 3kg lighter, with more being within SQQ weight specifications
This has allowed the Duguids to increase the stocking rate of the sheep enterprise from 16.3 ewes/ha (6.5/ac) to 22.4 ewes/ha (8.9/ac), an increase of 37%.
At the same time, lambs are being sold earlier at an average of 3kg lighter, with more being within SQQ weight specifications.
While this does slightly reduce the output value of the lamb, it allows the farm to preserve more feed over winter for tupping and earlier turnout of cattle.
Weaning rate has also improved in the flock, up by 14% to 140%. Putting this all together, the farm has gone from producing 925kg of lamb per hectare to 1,327kg of lamb per hectare, a 44% increase.
With a £6/lamb drop in sale price and a £13/ewe increase in feed costs, this brings the sheep enterprise at Cranna to a gross margin per ewe of £44 and a gross margin per hectare of £980.
The improvements in sheep have been a real highlight for us. With a small investment in portable fencing kit, we have achieved a massive increase in productivity from the same land.
Over the project, we have seen fair reduction in the price for lamb and yet we are still getting a good gross margin per hectare thanks to the increase in the stocking rate.
We are finding a huge benefit in wintering some of them outside on Swift
Not only that, but with better targeting of fertiliser, we are managing this all with less fertiliser applied and this year, we carried 12t of nitrogen over from last year.
The benefits from the changes to the spring calvers are still to be fully realised. We are finding a huge benefit in wintering some of them outside on Swift.
The altered vaccination strategy will return weaning rate to a better level
This has reduced the winter feed requirements and has allowed us to freshen up grass in fields that would never otherwise be in the rotation.
The altered vaccination strategy will return weaning rate to a better level. This coupled with feed and bedding costs being back more in line with the long-term average, they will show a much improved gross margin this year.
The autumn herd results are also very pleasing, with the increase in weaning rate being a real highlight.
The Duguids at Cranna have made a number of decisions to change their farm, which Arthur Duguid says would not have happened without the Farm Profit Programme.
They have managed to increase the amount of beef and lamb being produced from the farm while keeping a close eye on the costs.
Cranna farm looks on to the village of Aberchirder.
Plus they have made changes like moving to all winter crop which helps to make farming simpler in the spring.
Replacements came from a combination of herd retentions and bought-in heifers to put to the bull
At the outset of the project, there were 100 cows calving in the spring, starting around the middle of March. Calves were then sold store at around 12 months old through Thainstone.
Replacements came from a combination of herd retentions and bought-in heifers to put to the bull.
The Duguids have increase the number of ewes per acre from 6.5 to 8.9.
In the initial benchmark, the spring herd had a weaning rate of 78% with a calf sale value of £985/calf, combining to give and output per cow to the bull of £725/cow.
In the 2018-2019 season, the farm had a weaning rate of 84% with a calf sale value of £993/calf, combining to give an output per cow to the bull of £828.
Unfortunately, the fall in the beef price last year took its toll on the output
However, this does not tell the full story of the output evolution over the project. Firstly, while calf sale value has risen by only £8/calf, calf sale weights were up by 38kg/calf, with calves being sold at a slightly younger average age. Unfortunately, the fall in the beef price last year took its toll on the output.
The average sale weight for the Duguids calves has risen 38kg.
Calf sale weights
Secondly, the weaning rate is back on 2017 (91%) and 2018 (88%) as there were several calves lost at housing with histophilus somni.
The herd health plan has since been updated and the spring-born calves will all be vaccinated with Hippra Bovis Somni prior to housing this year. This costs £9/cow, with each animal getting two doses three weeks apart, ideally before housing.
Total feed and bedding costs are up by £203/cow over the benchmark period
Looking at the variable costs, Cranna, like the rest of the farms in the project, had a hard time with feed costs in the 2018-2019 season.
Total feed and bedding costs are up by £203/cow over the benchmark period. This is partly driven by a move from silage-based diets for some of the dry cows to a straw and urea syrup-based diet for the calves.
It was also driven by both a £40/t increase in concentrate prices (home-grown barley has been valued into the cattle enterprise at market rate) and an increase in the amount fed.
Reducing vet costs £79/cow
One of the real highlights in the numbers is a significant reduction in the vet bill across the farm.
This has been spread through the enterprises and accounts for a £79/cow reduction in the spring herd. Much of this can be put down to a reduction in calving difficulties and thus caesareans.
While they increased the forage costs by £33/cow, their contribution has reduced the overall forage costs
Forage costs have also been reduced. There are three factors driving this. Firstly, the already mentioned straw and syrup diet for the dry cows, and secondly, a reduction in fertiliser.
The third factor here is the use of forage crops to winter the cows. While they increased the forage costs by £33/cow, their contribution has reduced the overall forage costs.
With longer-term improvements being bedded in now, they are calving down 103 cows this spring
Putting this all together, the spring herd has seen a reduction in gross margin of £16 to £297 on the benchmark year.
However, with an increase in the stocking rate due to better grass utilisation, the spring herd has increased its gross margin per hectare by £23/ha.
The Duguids have reduced the cost of vets by £79/cow through easier calving.
With longer-term improvements being bedded in now, they are calving down 103 cows this spring. This is only fractionally up on 2016. However, it is up on 2017 and 2018 as the Duguids culled hard through those years.
Autumn calvers
The autumn-calving herd is run on a similar basis to the spring herd, with the main difference being that the calves are sold as stores at 15 months, rather than 12.
At the outset of the project, there were 65 cows in this herd, with a weaning rate of 82%. Since then, this group has undergone significant expansion, to calving 89 cows in the autumn of 2019.
Calf sale weights have remained relatively static. However, sale values have fallen by £17/calf to £987, reflecting a reduction in the price per kilo realised.
The improvement in the weaning rate to 92% has offset this and the output per cow has risen by £113 to £911/cow.
Identifying disease risks at housing
One of the key changes to improving the weaning rate was a change in housing strategy. It was identified that each year, several stores were being lost when housed for the second winter, all in one area of one shed.
They were getting pneumonia which was more prevalent due to poor airflow in the shed. This has since been changed and the stores are housed in another shed, meaning none were lost while housed in 2019.
Pulling all of the variable costs together, this group has seen an increase in the gross margin before forage of £112/cow to £574
Again, feed and bedding costs have risen from the benchmark year, coming to £275/cow, a £105 rise. The reduction in the vet bill amounts to £92 in the autumn calvers.
Pulling all of the variable costs together, this group has seen an increase in the gross margin before forage of £112/cow to £574.
Coupling this with a fall in the forage costs of £73/cow, the total gross margin per cow has risen by £185/cow to £478.
Coupling this with a rise in the stocking rate of 0.52 cows/ha, the gross margin per hectare has risen from £386/ha in 2016 to £869/ha in 2019, more than doubling.
Sheep
The sheep enterprise has also expanded since the start of the programme. Initially, Cranna was running a flock of 230 ewes, lambing from around 20 March.
This year, 330 ewes went to the tup and lambing was due to start on 1 April. While this is not a big change in lambing date, it is still enough to reduce the feed costs of the ewes as there is more grass available.
However, the real change to the sheep enterprise has been the adoption of paddock grazing.
Lambs are being sold earlier at an average of 3kg lighter, with more being within SQQ weight specifications
This has allowed the Duguids to increase the stocking rate of the sheep enterprise from 16.3 ewes/ha (6.5/ac) to 22.4 ewes/ha (8.9/ac), an increase of 37%.
At the same time, lambs are being sold earlier at an average of 3kg lighter, with more being within SQQ weight specifications.
While this does slightly reduce the output value of the lamb, it allows the farm to preserve more feed over winter for tupping and earlier turnout of cattle.
Weaning rate has also improved in the flock, up by 14% to 140%. Putting this all together, the farm has gone from producing 925kg of lamb per hectare to 1,327kg of lamb per hectare, a 44% increase.
With a £6/lamb drop in sale price and a £13/ewe increase in feed costs, this brings the sheep enterprise at Cranna to a gross margin per ewe of £44 and a gross margin per hectare of £980.
The improvements in sheep have been a real highlight for us. With a small investment in portable fencing kit, we have achieved a massive increase in productivity from the same land.
Over the project, we have seen fair reduction in the price for lamb and yet we are still getting a good gross margin per hectare thanks to the increase in the stocking rate.
We are finding a huge benefit in wintering some of them outside on Swift
Not only that, but with better targeting of fertiliser, we are managing this all with less fertiliser applied and this year, we carried 12t of nitrogen over from last year.
The benefits from the changes to the spring calvers are still to be fully realised. We are finding a huge benefit in wintering some of them outside on Swift.
The altered vaccination strategy will return weaning rate to a better level
This has reduced the winter feed requirements and has allowed us to freshen up grass in fields that would never otherwise be in the rotation.
The altered vaccination strategy will return weaning rate to a better level. This coupled with feed and bedding costs being back more in line with the long-term average, they will show a much improved gross margin this year.
The autumn herd results are also very pleasing, with the increase in weaning rate being a real highlight.
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