This year: “The harvest had a good yield but the volume of straw was down. The lambs have thrived this summer and we have more away for this time of year than usual.

Rotational grazing: “We have been running rotational grazing, shifting sheep every 5-7 days. The parks are between three and eight acres and the system worked well this year. We lamb 230 ewes on the farm and sell all the lambs fat.

Staff: “On the farm it’s my wife and I, plus our son helps out after school.

Cattle grazing: “The cattle seem to be doing well, the rain came at the right time after the dry spell. It was like magic when all the fields went green. We keep cows on a higher braes over summer but due to the dry weather we have to take them off for three weeks when lack of rain bit grass growth. The lack of rain meant we made 700 bales of hay which would usually have been silage.

Cattle growth rates: “We run Limousin Angus cross cows and have started synchronising them to get into a tighter calving pattern. This means we use a lot more AI semen and fewer bulls. We get a 60-70% conception rate with the cows, we have been using some Simmental straws as some of the Limousin offspring have been a bit flighty. Using semen we can pick high-performing bulls and are able to focus on growth rates. We can get our steers finished in 16-17 months which includes creep feeding the calves from three to four months. I don’t like creeping them too young as I don’t think their immune system is there yet.

Quotable quote: “No livestock, no farming for me, they are the most enjoyable part of farming, the best.“