Stock Talk

Welcome to Stock Talk. In this episode James is joined by SRUC Veterinary Investigation Officer Kythe Mackenzie, and farmers Ewan Runciman and Scott Fraser. Today we're looking at one of the most important management practices carried out on sheep farms every spring - lamb marking. For many sheep producers, this includes procedures such as castration and tail docking. These are routine husbandry p...

Welcome to Stock Talk. In this episode James is joined by David Speller from OptiFarm. David is a poultry farmer who had lots of data and not enough time to analyse it. David will tell us about the AI tool he developed to help him make better informed decisions, which attracted the eyes of investors leading to his company OptiFarm. David explains how the tool works and the benefits of using AI in...

Welcome to Stock Talk. On today’s episode we hear from James Orr who will be taking over from Kirsten Williams’s role as the host on Stock Talk. James talks about his career highlights as an agricultural consultant at SAC Consulting, his key areas of expertise and Kirsten reflects of some of her favourite projects from the past 20 years. James looks to continue Stock Talk with more interesting far...

Welcome to Stock Talk. On today’s episode Kirsten is joined by Gordon Whiteford who farms at Lower Mill of Tynet in Banffshire. In 2012, Gordon and June Whiteford began Lower Mill of Tynet Farm. They built an egg business, then a micro-dairy in 2020, selling milk and now ice cream directly from their 24-hour farm shop. They have brought together traditional farming practices with innovative direct...

Welcome to Stock Talk hosted by Kirsten Williams.  On today’s episode Kirsten is joined by Dr Basil Lowman who has been a beef specialist with SAC Consulting for 55 years. Kirsten describes Basil as a legend in the beef industry. We hear about Basil’s varied career, his passion for the industry, how he thrives on challenge ...

Welcome to Stock Talk hosted by Kirsten Williams.  On today’s episode Kirsten is joined by two industry experts to discuss the beef industry. It’s a lively discussion covering many topics, including: replacement strategies, where the market is it at just now, sustainability and the future of the Scottish herd.   Gavin Hill is a Senior Beef Specialist with SAC Consulting and Robet Gi...

Welcome to Stock Talk hosted by Kirsten Williams.  On today’s episode, Kirsten is joined by Ross Robertson, a Farm Technology Specialist at the UK Agri-Tech Centre. Ross collaborates with a network of farms to create practical solutions and demonstrate use of technology on farm to increase productivity. Ross draws on his practical farming experience and knowledge gained through visiting syste...

Welcome to Stock Talk hosted by Kirsten Williams.  On today’s episode Kirsten is joined by Jilly Duncan Grant, Founder & CEO of Herd Advance Ltd.  Jilly has a real love for agriculture and her varied career led to a focus on data driven decision making and developing Herd Advance with her husband to improve herd performance, profitability and wellbeing.    Episode Timestamp...

Welcome to Stock Talk hosted by Kirsten Williams.  On today’s episode Kirsten is joined by Turkey Farmer Paul Kelly. In 1971, Paul’s parents started the family business, known today as ‘Kelly Turkeys’ and ‘Farmgate Hatcheries’. The cycle starts with eggs going into incubators in April for 28 days. When they hatch, they go into brooding sheds, then by 5 weeks of age they are ready to go to the...

Welcome to Stock Talk hosted by Principal Consultant Kirsten Williams.  On today’s episode Kirsten is joined by Colin Mason (Veterinary Centre Manager, SRUC). This episode focuses on livestock health and covers BVD eradication, show biosecurity, dairy beef calves, TB, Bluetongue and Schmallenberg virus.     Episode Timestamps    00.44 BVD eradication (phase 6)&nb...

Welcome to Stock Talk hosted by Principal Consultant Kirsten Williams.  On today’s episode Kirsten is joined by farmers Ben and Harriet Lowe. HB Farms in Aberdeenshire consists of Newseat of Dumbreck, an arable farm on tenancy and Pitmillan Farm which is home to 450 breeding sows and a finishing unit. In addition to grass, forestry and land for environmental schemes, they grow 397ha of crops,...

Welcome to Stock Talk hosted by Beef and Sheep Consultant Kirsten Williams.  On today’s episode Kirsten is joined by farmers Craig and Claire Grant who run a mixed farming enterprise across 1,300 acres arable and 400 acres grass (owned and rented) along with their team of 20 full and part time employees. The business has poultry across five sites with a total of 225,000 laying hens, in additi...

In this podcast we hear from Kirsten Williams who will be taking over Robert Ramsay’s role as the host on Stock Talk. Kirsten talks about her farming system at home as well as her interests at work. Robert mentions some of his favourite Stock Talk podcasts and how they can develop into something bigger (e.g. the deer farming podcast has now turned into a FAS Deer Farming Group). Kirsten wishes to...

In this podcast we hear from Sam Parsons from Balcaskie. He talks about the organic farming system and the use of regenerative agriculture practices at Balcaskie and how it has helped reduce costs. He also talks about meat eating quality in their choice of cattle as they sell their beef direct to customers through the butchery. They are using Lincoln Red bulls across the herd.  Sam talks abou...

In this podcast we hear from Jock Gibson who is a farmer and butcher. He talks about his farming system at home and how his cattle are certified with Pasture for Life. This means they are on a grassland and forage diet and are therefore slower to reach finished weights than conventional finishing systems which feed concentrate feed. Jock has native breeds of cattle to suit this system. Jock also t...

In this podcast we hear from Jan Vos, Agronomist from Agrovista & Lorna Galloway SAC Consultant from SAC Stranraer Office. They talk about soil health, agronomy, and sustainable practices to get the desired outcome – healthy crops and effective weed management. They also talk about the best way to establish and keep clover in the sward and a clover-safe herbicide that is undergoing trials and...

In this podcast we hear from Bruce Wyper, Stockperson at SRUC Easter Howgate. He talks about some of the projects have been going on at Easter Howgate including GreenCow and Green Shed. He also discusses the move to running the herd more commercially than it has been previously although it is still a farm used for research projects. He talks about the challenges the herd has faced including Johnes...

In this podcast we hear from Vic and Jason Ballantyne, who are tenant farmers on the edge of Brora. They talk about their forage based farming system and the importance of their low input system to achieve a good a work-life balance. Vic and Jason are continually trying to improve the genetics in their livestock through a strict culling policy. They currently run 100 suckler cows and 400 ewes of t...

In this episode, host Robert Ramsay speaks to Graham Lofthouse, beef and sheep farmer from Bankhouse Farm, in the Scottish Borders, and winner of the AgriScot Scottish Sheep Farmer of the Year award 2016. Robert and Graham discuss the strategies and challenges of rotational grazing systems, lamb growth, flock efficiency, genetics and how Graham established his wool-shedding flock. kglofthouse@tisc...

In this podcast we hear from Andrew Marchant. He started on his tenanted farm, Clonhie Farm, with 12 ewes and worked off-farm in order to maximise income for the farm in the initial years to allow him to purchase stock and build up numbers on the farm quicker. As well as building up stock numbers he explored different enterprises, now having a herd of 65 pure Luing and Aberdeen Angus cross Luing c...

In this podcast we hear from David Kerr, ScotEID’s Technical Manager. He speaks about cattle EID tags and their importance in the future for traceability for food safety and disease control. David tells us about the technology and the differences between Ultra High Frequency (UHF) tags which will be used for cattle tags, and Low Frequency (LF) tags which are used in sheep tags. David explains the...

In this podcast we hear from James Biggar who has drastically changed his farming system in recent years. His main aim is to reduce the cost of production with his beef herd which includes the use of forage crops and deferred grazing with bales to outwinter cows. 120 of his cows are kept outside 365 days a year. James talks about the importance of options and having a Plan B in case of a crop fail...

In this podcast we hear from SRUC Veterinary Investigation Officers Megan Fergusson and Tim Geraghty. They talk about the importance of good husbandry and top tips to save time and to prevent disease spreading at lambing and calving time. They also talk about health planning and how recording lamb and calf losses can help when reviewing these losses and how to improve survival rates in the future....

In this podcast we hear from Sascha Grierson, SAC Consultant and Economist, and Colin Mason, SAC Veterinary Investigation Officer. They talk to Robert Ramsay about improving productivity and efficiency in beef herds and also talk about grant support to aid this improvement.  Related FAS Resources Cattle resources for farmers from Farm Advisory Service | FAS Agribusiness News February 2024 - I...

In this podcast we hear from Sean Cursiter who has featured on BBC’s ‘This Farming Life’ program. Sean Cursiter farms at Laga Farm, Orkney with his dad and his uncle. Due to his dad and uncle still being relatively young and fit to farm Laga, Sean decided to buy a farm for himself and his family’s future; Arwick Farm, Orkney. Sean tells us about his story and strong work-ethic which led to him bei...