Scotland’s Sheep Farm of the Year award has been won by Calum McDiarmid of Mains of Murthly, Aberfeldy, who was presented with the award at AgriScot by Cabinet Secretary Mairi Gougeon.
He was accompanied by shepherd Ed Munt, who has been instrumental in improving the 1,350-strong flock on the 500-acre farm.
Reducing winter costs is a key aim so in order to provide more grass for ewes, half of the lambs were sold store this year, with the remainder finished on home-grown grass.
The Brown family, who farm 750 acres at Auchmaliddie, Peterhead, won Beef Farm of the Year thanks to the way they have maximised their product and taken control of the supply chain, according to one of the judges, Bruce McConachie of QMS.
Harry and Helen Brown run a herd of 200 predominantly Limousin-cross sucker cows and buy in 200 store cattle per annum to finish.
Ardross Farm Shop has been a feature of the east Fife coast for over 15 years and this year the Pollock family won Diversified Farm of the Year.
Claire Pollock and farm foreman Scott Robertson collected the award on behalf of the wider family. Claire’s sister, Nikki Storrar, is responsible for the shop.
Claire and Scott not only farm Ardross, a tenanted mixed farm extending to 360 acres near Elie, but they contract-farm an additional 800 acres and take grass lets of 400 acres.
Arable Farm of the Year went to Colin McGregor’s business at Coldstream, Berwickshire, from where he contract-farms 8,500 acres specialising in cereals, oilseed rape, peas, beans and potatoes. Colin put his success down to a good team with wife Jill and nine employees.
Dairy Farm of the Year went to the Laird family, who run Blythbridge Holsteins from their Peebleshire base. Alister and son Colin milk 540 cows using 10 Lely robots and cow health is high on their list of priorities.
The Business Skills winner had 12 semi-finalists narrowed down to three and Jack Young from Overton, Carluke, coming out top.
Overall dairy champion
The overall champion dairy cow at AgriScot was an eight-year-old Holstein which Danish judge Niels Erik Haahr described as the “kind of cow that makes us money”.
Whinchat Stanleycup Farrah by Gillette Stanleycup is jointly owned by Luke Lancaster, Dennis O’Neill and Evening Holsteins.
She has had six calves and is approaching a lifetime yield of 70,000 litres. As a five-year-old she won her class at Dairy Day and was All Britain champion.
Dairy show entries were back quite a bit on three years ago.
AgriScot chairman and organiser Robert Neil and Martin Dare put the smaller entry down to costs and TB regulations which require 60 days between shows and Dairy Day was less than 60 days ago.
Reserve interbreed was a Jersey from Robert Hunter, West Tarbrax, Shotts.
Entries down on previous years
Clydevalley Casino Marigold, a first calver by Elliots Regency Casino, was brought out by his daughter Alison Lawrie.
The Superheifer, or interbreed heifer award went to a Holstein from Brian and Michael Yates, East Logan, Castle Douglas, with the same family taking the reserve prize with a Red and White heifer.
Eedy Crushabull Acclaim by Oh-River-Syc Crushabull ET was only bought from the County Cork-based Eedy herd in July and was being shown by the Yates for the first time.
She calved in March and is still giving 30 litres per day but is due to be dried off before calving again in January.
Champion heifer in the any other breed section came from Adam Lawson, Fife, with a July 2020-born Friesian, Lismulligan Priscilla by Catlane Muster.
The cow award went to J Lochhead and Son, with a fourth calver Brown Swiss, Kedar Virestar Jodie by Studers BS Vigor Virestar.
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