For over 50 years Robert Campbell’s family has lived and worked on Low Holehouse Farm in Galston. Robert has helped and worked on the farm from an early age. Throughout his education there was never any doubt in his mind that he would return home to work on the farm. After school Robert studied at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) to attain a degree in agriculture, before returning home and working alongside his parents. He has also visited farms in Canada and Denmark to see different agricultural practices across the world.

Along with his parents, Robert is currently farming just over 550 acres, on which the family has 160 dairy cows, 200 cross ewes and around 350 young stock and finishing cattle.

Currently, they buy in all dairy replacements and put all cows to either a Simmental Aberdeen Angus or Limousin bull, which are then, along with a small number of bought-in store cattle, finished on farm and sold to Dawn Meats.

“We also have just bought a Fleckvieh bull so in the future we can hopefully breed some of our own dairy replacements while still having bull calves which can be finished easily,” Robert says. The milk is sold to First Milk, while the cross ewes or their lambs are finished on-farm and sold at the local auction mart.

“We have been in the habit of growing around 80 acres of spring cereals for both wholecrop and combining. However, after the terrible summer last year and a large amount of crop remaining unharvested for this year, the focus will be on reseeding and getting the grassland back into good health,” Robert reports.

Machinery

Machinery has always been a big attraction for Robert. As a youngster he would spend hours in the tractor with his grandfather, father or anybody who happened to be operating a machine on the farm with, or sometimes without, a passenger seat. As well as operating equipment, Robert enjoys maintaining and repairing it as well as spending a great deal of time on the farm making improvements and modifications to buildings and equipment.

“To this day I still enjoy spending time in machines, although I do prefer the bigger, comfier driver’s seat. At home we have our own equipment for most tasks, with recent investment in an umbilical slurry system as well as a diet mixer and extra tractor this year to help us make the best of the limited amount of lower-quality forage we were able to harvest last year.”

Over the past 12 months the biggest challenge has been the weather. With a system geared towards grazing livestock, it has been a long and expensive winter, with young stock grazing fields which are now badly damaged.

Silage stocks

With a great deal of second-cut silage and whole crop left unharvested, the Campbells were very lucky to have large stocks of silage carried over from previous years. The long winter not only resulted in the winter routine becoming the norm, but the cattle came inside in poorer condition than they would have liked. This means they have taken longer to start performing and there has been a rise in lameness issues this year.

That said, the dairy cows are performing well this year having being brought inside sooner; with the introduction of a total mixed ration (TMR) and revised shed layout, yields are up around 12 % on last year.

“The extra milk has meant that the existing bulk tank was no longer big enough, so on 23 February we cut the lid off and I welded in a new section, giving us more than enough capacity for now,” Robert says.

Brexit uncertainty

Looking into the future the only thing Robert is certain of is uncertainty. Upon the UK leaving the EU farmers will lose their current subsidies and they may or may not be replaced by Government-funded schemes.

“If by tightening up the borders the market improves then we should be able to trade without subsidy or support, but if we lose support and the markets fall then we will be in for a tough time. The one thing we can be sure of is that those who trade most efficiently and adapt to changing markets will survive and prosper.”

Young Farmers

Off the farm, a great deal of Robert’s time is taken up by Young Farmers. He has taken part in a great deal of competitions as well as concerts and talent spots.

“I have just completed my year as chair of Crossroads. I thoroughly enjoyed my year as chair, however, I am looking forward to having a few less meetings to attend this year,” Robert says.

In February he was awarded a space on the agri affairs study tour to California in December.

“I’m looking forward to what should be both an enjoyable and an educational trip, however, finding someone mad enough to take on my work at home while I’m away could be the main challenge,” Robert jokes.

Outside of Young Farmers, he spends his leisure time with clay pigeon shooting: “Although it is a good thing I enjoy the process as the results are not always brilliant.”