Recently participants of the programme attended a 2-day farm study tour in Ayrshire Scotland as part of their learning experience and to gain more knowledge and understanding.
Their first farm visit was near Stranraer where Robert Parker runs a 220-beef enterprise, consisting of Angus cattle crossed with Hereford. Robert has 570 acres in one block, which he rotationally grazes and 120 acres of rough ground that is split for out wintering his cows. Robert also has a 170 easy care ewe flock and lambing takes place outside from mid-April; ewe replacements are home reared and other lambs are sold off grass.
For the second farm visit the group made their way to Kilmarnock to meet with Wallace Hendrie. Wallace and his brother farm two herds of Holstein Friesian cows; 650 as a spring block/calving herd and a 700 Autumn block calving herd. Cows are milked twice daily producing a herd average of 5800 liters with 4.2 fat and 3.2 protein. Some 84% of cows and heifers calve within the six weeks starting mid-February. Wallace also runs a cull cow collection business averaging 120 cows per week.
On the final morning the group visited Dumfries House, where James Nesbitt farms on a fraction of the 2000 acres of the estate. James has a suckler herd of 450 which run in large groups averaging 130 with five bulls, with a strict eight week serving period. Every year James buys 120 replacement heifers with some of his older stock going to his father’s on-farm butchery. James also has a flock of 1600 sheep being a mixture of Suffolk and Scottish mules, lambing starts mid-February and are sold to other farmers for breeding.
On their way back to the boat the group stopped at Humeston Byre Milk House and Farm Shop, owned by John Gilmore and family. John diversified into this enterprise to utilise the milk coming from his own farm. John runs a 200 red and white Holstein dairy herd, which produces in excess of 10,000 litres on average, milking twice a day. The farm shop sells pasteurised milk, butcher meat, fresh produce and takeaway coffees.
A participant of the group commented: “This trip was excellent, and it really opened our eyes to what other farmers are doing and the challenges they are facing. The Scottish farmers were very open and honest and made us all feel very welcome on their farmers. It was a great learning experience and a great ending to the programme; one I would encourage others to join.”
The Farm Resilience Programme is The Royal Countryside Fund’s programme of support for farmers in Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, offering free training and advice to farming families. The programme delivers significant economic, social, and environmental benefits for farmers, including ongoing benefits to farmers which continue after they’ve completed the programme.
“The Royal Countryside Fund wants to make a positive difference through helping those who live and work in the countryside, particularly the smaller family farms. Their transformational business training, practical workshops on the environment and bespoke support for farmers are needed now more than ever. We are delighted to have facilitated this programme in Northern Ireland since 2017 and look forward to welcoming the next cohort of farmers in weeks to come,” said Gillian Reid, Head of Farm Support at Rural Support.
Expressions of interest for this programme will open in September 2024 and locations for Northern Ireland are Ballyclare and Armagh/Markethill. The programme is open to dairy and livestock family farm businesses and takes a whole-farm and whole-family approach. To find out more information on this programme please contact the Rural Support Farm Support Team on 028 8676 0040 or email [email protected]
