We farm: “A total of 1,500ac. We keep a herd of 400 pedigree and commercial cows as well as a flock of about 850 ewes. I would be the sixth generation farming here and the seventh generation is coming through. I have two sons and James, the eldest son, is starting to take on more of the management responsibilities of the farm while Duncan, currently studying law, takes an active interest in the business.

This week: “We are just finishing up harvesting about 80ac of winter barley. It looks like a good straw yield this year at about 5-6 round bales/ac, which will be needed. We were pleasantly surprised with the barley too, with yields of over 3t/ac at moisture of 17-18%. We keep all the barley and straw for our own use. The barley is part of the rotation on the farm but it also helps us to insulate against the market prices.

Breeding: “We keep pedigree herds of 75 Shorthorn cows and 75 Aberdeen Angus cows with a further 250 commercial cows which are a mixture of Shorthorn and Angus breeding. A lower-input cow really suits this farm and is viable for us. We try and keep a low-cost production system, producing about 300t of our own grain. Nearly all of the females bred on the farm would go for further breeding. We are Johnes risk level one which helps sales. Pedigree bulls would generally go for breeding at 15 months, sold off the farm with some presented at the principal sales in Stirling. Steers are finished at 19-20 months. The aim is to not house them for a second winter. Cattle are not pushed too hard here with meal with the majority of the diet coming from grass.

Grass: “It has been a very unusual year, we are getting very tight on grass but these type of breeds can tolerate these conditions. First-cut silage was good but the second cut is looking meagre but we are going to take it now and go for a third cut to bulk up stocks, which would be very unusual for this farm. The second cut is starting to head out now so we will cut it. It won’t be huge but quality should be high. Ninety cast ewes will also be going this week to take some of the pressure off grass.

Quotable quote: “Cow type has got to be become more low-input to withstand this type of adverse weather. If you are feeding big suckler cows it can become difficult to be profitable.”