North-east farmers’ co-operative ANM Group has unveiled the details of the six focus farms taking part in its knowledge transfer programme.
The company’s three-year initiative – Farm Profit Programme: Making Livestock Pay – sets out to improve the technical performance and profitability of livestock farmers in the region through dissemination of best practice. It is supported by a £678,000 grant from the Scottish Government.
ANM Group executive director, John Gregor, said: “As one of Scotland’s largest farmer-owned co-operatives, we are proud of our strong history of supporting our members and the agricultural industry for more than a century. We are delighted with the interest received from everyone with the final list of focus farms selected within our group’s trading area.”
The most northerly focus farm taking part in the initiative is Greenvale, near Thurso, which is run by Mark and Shona Mackay, while the most southerly is the Gammie family’s Drumforber Farm, just outside of Laurencekirk.
The other farms are: Mains of Auchriachan, just outside Tomintoul, which is run by Andrew and Debbie Duffus and their sons Ben, Sam and Max; Mains of Cranna, near Aberchirder, Huntly, which is run by Arthur and Muriel Duguid and their children Scott, Gemma and Amy; Mains of Arnage, near Ellon, which is run by Andrew Biffen and his partner Fiona, along with his son Matthew and fiance Lesley; and Ardhuncart Farm, near Kildrummy, Alford, which is run by Charles and Alison Webster.
Over the course of the scheme, all six focus farms will take steps to increase their output by making improvements to technical efficiency and adopting measures such as growing and utilising more grass, increasing daily liveweight gain at grass, and improving soil fertility.