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I have recently had the honour of taking part in the British Grassland Society (BGS) grassland farmer of the year competition.
It wasn’t without hard work and effort, but I was very pleased to finish runner up. I could not have done it without the support of my family, along with farm advisers who went out of their way to help.
I am also involved with two great groups of farmers (Grass Check and the BETTER Farm Beef Challenge) and the knowledge exchanged through these groups is immensely valuable.
So while I am proud of what I have achieved, I’m not going to get carried away. There is so much more that I can do, and will try my best to do.
Wales
The awards ceremony was in Wales, so I took a few days off to have a look around (it was my first time in the country). I was the only farmer at the awards ceremony who was from a beef and sheep background and, at the start I felt out of place.
It wasn’t just the fact that they were all dairy farmers, but quite big ones at that. Anything from 350 to 1,000 cows.
I felt like the very small fish in a very big pond.
After initially wondering what I was doing mixing in such company I pulled myself together and realised I was there on merit just like everyone else.
I articulated my own system and set of circumstances as best I could, and I don’t think any of them will be changing their business to mirror mine.
But I do think that they realised that beef and sheep farmers can also be good grassland farmers.
Visit
The next day we went to visit one of these dairy farmers. I think that he was surprised that a beef and sheep farmer would have any interest in visiting his farm. But I am always keen to learn no matter who it’s from.
He was milking 470 cows and helped his father milk another 270. He was also in involved in a share farming arrangement that involved another 250 cows. So in total, that’s almost 1,000 cows.
We went to the yard and he had cubicle house for 450 cows and was building an extension for another 100.
We then went over to the parlour - 28 cows each side, so 56 in total.
By this stage I was overawed and hadn’t a lot to say.
Next was out to the paddocks to see the cows. The 470 cows were all in the one paddock along with six bulls. It was quite a sight.
In Rosslea I would have to visit ten or fifteen farms to see this many cows.
While it was an impressive farm all round, his grassland management was no better than a lot of farms in NI, and there were question marks over his replacement rate.
It started to make me wonder how much is enough? Is bigger always better? How much can one person look after?
I would like to own a bigger farm with more cows, but would I be fit to manage it to the same standard that I currently do?
My visit to Wales has been very enjoyable and the farmers there are doing a good job.
In summary, my advice for our farmers in NI is to surround yourself with like-minded individuals, and also, make use of the advisory system.
But most of all, don’t be afraid to challenge yourself. There are lots of opportunities to enter competitions, so give them a go. It is interesting to see what level you are at, and how you can make improvements.
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