Up in the hills of Pitlochry, the Barbour family has been grazing sheep and cattle among the woodland for generations.

The farm, Mains of Fincastle, is currently home to Andrew and Shona Barbour as well as their three children, who also help on the farm.

“My family has farmed here in one shape or another for years,” says Andrew Barbour.

“We’ve been rebuilding the farm more recently, but it always had forestry interests.”

Mains of Fincastle

Forming part of the Bonskeid Estate, the farm sits at around 1,000ft above sea level – ranging from 850ft at the bottom of the hill up to 1,400ft.

The family manages a total of 560ha in hand, with around 300ha of woodland areas around the property.

Some of the farm land is also tenanted.

Andrew says: “The family planted forestry here in the 19th century.

“With the bad weather in the 1947 winter, half the UK lost their flocks, but here the sheep were put into the woods and no sheep were lost in Fincastle that winter.

“We have made changes and reduced stocking levels to concentrate on efficiency,” he adds.

“Since 1994 we’ve concentrated on delivering good conservation status and we’ve managed our grazing system to fit the conservation needs of the farm.”

The family switched to an organic system in 2006 and since then the stocking rate has intentionally changed from 0.32 to 0.23LU/ha.

“On organic farms you shut down the land much earlier than conventional farming,” said Andrew. “You rely on the clover for the nitrogen.”

Sheep

Mains of Fincastle Farm is home to a flock of just under 400 Texel crosses which live out on the hills all year round, using the woodland for shelter in the winter.

With the wetter weather throughout winter and the delayed start to spring this year, grass growth was an issue on the farm.

However, there was no increase in the number of fallen stock.

Andrew says: “We are used to the snow, the issue here was we just had no grass growth here at all and we had to buy in extra feed.

“We also had issues with red deer grazing our spring grass.

“We were keeping sheep off the lambing parks and then that becomes a lure for red deer.”

“The losses this year have been the same as other years but it’s going to cost us an extra £4 a head,” he adds. “We’ve not suffered what other people have, but it’s very significant.”

Andrew and his family are currently focusing on spreading more tree shelter around the farm for their flock.

“Shelter does influence land survival and the most important issue is getting the ewe in the right place,” says Andrew.

“Shelter gives you a slightly longer window in which that first successful feeding can take place.”

Cattle

In addition to the flock of Texel crosses, the family also runs a herd of 50 suckler cows. The closed herd is made up of Shorthorn crosses. They forward store cattle and normally will have around 100 in total on the farm.

The cattle also benefit from the woodland, in particular they take advantage of the Scots Pine further up the hill behind the farm.

Andrew says: “We have a shelter belt at the top of the farm and it’s crucial.

“The cattle use those trees in the summer and then the sheep have them in the winter when it snows.”

The cattle are placed on rough grassland throughout the summer, with the young cattle feeding on good grass.

“We’re slowly expanding where we can, our main problem is our rough grazing is all designated.”

Integrating sheep and woodland

With woodland and sheep having been on the hills of Mains of Fincastle throughout the farm’s history, Andrew believes there are still untapped benefits to integrating livestock and woodland.

“In Scotland the debate between sheep and trees has been much more about industry forestry. It’s been a rather one-dimensional debate and that’s a pity I think.

“If people only think of forestry as the enemy it’s a shame as particularly carbon capture can really be beneficial to the farm.”

In terms of managing the forestry, being a more extensive farm is a benefit says Andrew, as it is easier to see where the trees fit in.

“The scales may be different on a smaller farm, but the issues are still relevant, such as the need for shelter.”

With more discussions around the integration of trees on farms ongoing throughout the country, Andrew believes that more help from the Government is needed to encourage farmers to consider planting trees on their land.

“If the Government wants this integration to happen, it can help kickstart it, perhaps with grants or rewards. Particularly from a carbon point of view,” says Andrew.

“If we were in a situation where we were rewarded for carbon, it would be a huge benefit, but we are not and that’s where the Government could play a role.”

The possible reintroduction of lynx is another widely discussed topic just now, with the lynx favouring woodland habitats.

“The badger is our main predator and in past years the fox has been our main issue. It’s interesting, but I think putting more trees onto farms is unlikely to create the right habitat for a lynx and the chances of significant impact are minimal compared with a fox.”

Benefits of woodland on the farm

Discussing the benefits of woodland on his farm, Andrew says: “On top of the main benefit of providing shelter, other benefits we’ve seen are flood management and biodiversity in the land.

“And to a certain degree the trees enhance spring grass growth as it provides protection from frost, however, it can suppress summer grass growth.

“We don’t envisage planting the whole farm with trees. What we’ve tried to do is improve efficiency and shelter is one way of doing that.

“We’re trying to be a low-cost, efficient producer and we’re interested in the agro forestry approach to making a farm work for you.”