Shropshire Farming Talk: British Grassland Society

The event at the Cliff Hotel and Spa, near Cardigan, is kindly sponsored by Germinal, Nufarm and Yara.

The event was hosted by Cardigan and District Grassland Society, the local grassland society of the 2022 winners Aled and Owain Rees.

Eighty guests joined us on the evening, and after an introduction from Mr Berywn Lloyd, Chair of the local grassland society, we were treated to music from harpist Leia Burge and the Criw Harmo-ni choir.

BGS President, Philip Cosgrave announced Robert Black from Drochil Castle Farm, West Linton, Peebleshire as the winner of the BGS Grassland Farmer of the Year competition for 2023.

Robert farms alongside his father David, running a herd of 120 Stabiliser suckler cows and a flock of 1000 Highlander ewes on just over 500 hectares (1250 acres), with both replacement heifers and ewe lambs being home-bred.

The farm extends up to 445 metres (1460 feet) with almost half the land being permanent pasture.

Forage rape, barley and Italian ryegrass with red clover are grown in a six-year rotation on the flatter, lower areas of the farm.

The cows and the ewes are outwintered on deferred hill grazing with silage bales that are placed there in the summer, and no concentrates are fed to either.

During the summer months, large mobs are paddock grazed on 4 hectare breaks with ewes and lambs grazing ahead of the cattle. Lambing takes place outdoors in April, and all lambs are finished off forage crops, usually before the end of the year.

Cows calve in May, and the bull calves are left entire and finished at 12-14 months of age on a mix of forage and home-grown barley. Heifers not required for breeding are sold at 18 months of age.

Head judge Hugh McClymont said that Robert was on an upwards trajectory having increased both the technical and the financial performance of the farm. He also said that Robert had his head firmly on his shoulders and his feet on the ground.

It was a very close competition again this year, and the runners-up were Gordon Mitchell from Ulster Grassland Society and Richard Morris from Cleddau Grassland Society.

In summarising, Hugh McClymont stated that the judges had visited three fantastic farms in three very different locations. All the judges were in agreement that the three farms were a credit to the grassland industry, showing what could be done from a technical, financial and environmental perspective.

Tom Goatman, British Grassland Society