Bookings are now open for the Deeside Monitor Farm summer meeting on July 16 which will focus on finishing cattle from forage.
The meeting, which is open to all, takes place at Upper Ingliston Farm, Inverurie, by kind permission of monitor farmers Duncan and Claire Morrison.
July is a key month for finishing beef cattle off grass as grass quality and quantity begins to decline while cattle weights need to increase.
The host farmers will take a close look at their system and costs for finishing bulls, and will discuss “Is finishing bulls at grass better or worse financially than finishing intensively?”
They will be joined by four industry speakers including Gregor Welsh from SoilEssentials who will talk about the SKAi precision spot-spraying system.
This is being demonstrated at Upper Ingliston Farm, where it could help tackle docks while protecting mixed species swards and reducing spray costs
Lanarkshire farmer Michael Shannon will be discussing how he finishes all his cattle off grass and forage crops, plus how he markets his livestock through his shop under the Damn Delicious brand.
Jill Hunter, beef and sheep nutritionist for Harbro, will discuss the options, how finishing cattle can be managed at grass and how best to transition onto feed.
The buyer’s perspective on finished cattle will come from Highland Meats buyer, Stuart Annand.
He will explain what he looks for in finishing cattle, and how farmers can optimise the price they receive.
The meeting starts at 12.30pm, and finishes at 3.30pm, with a BBQ to follow.
Booking is essential at https://www.monitorfarms.co.uk/event/deeside-monitor-farm-summer-24-open-meet/