AN AYRSHIRE farm has been selected as the new monitor farm in the area, which is the fourth of its kind to be announced.

Girtridge Farm, near Dundonald is run by John Howie, 27, and is a partnership which involves John, his mum, Margaret and his sister, Mary.

The family have owned Girtridge since 2000, and, since 2010, Mr Howie has run it with the support of family. The farm has 116-hectares, which sits in an elevated position, with a further 35 hectares of grazing land situated nearby.

Buying in and finishing store cattle for sale direct to local abattoirs is the main enterprise at Girtridge, but they also have a herd of 10 suckler cows, as well as running 140 cross ewes, producing Suffolk and Texel prime lambs that are mainly sold through Ayr market.

Everything grown on the farm is used there, including 56 acres of silage and hay and 28 acres of spring barley.

Due to Girtridge's versatile set-up, the Howies are not restricted to one type of farming policy, and are open to considering a future change in direction during the monitor farm process.

Mr Howie, who studied accountancy at Strathclyde University, is keen to start recording production data on the farm and to benchmark and improve the efficiency of the business with the help of other local farmers.

He said: “Ultimately I would like to grow the business and expand the farm as efficiently as possible, maximising profit and reducing costs.

“I am really looking forward to learning from other farmers and looking at what we could do at Girtridge to strengthen our business. I think it will be a huge learning curve, but one that I will benefit from, as well as the local farmers who get involved.”

Mr Howie is an active member of the Scottish Association of Young Farmers Club and is a past chairman of Ayrshire District Young Farmers, and was a National Member of the Year in 2012.

He has found being in the SAYFC very valuable and hopes that younger farmers will get involved with the monitor farm programme.

The new three-year monitor farm programme is being run jointly by Quality Meat Scotland and AHDB Cereals and Oilseeds. It is establishing a group of farms to serve as monitor farms to help improve the profitability, productivity and sustainability of producers through practical demonstrations, the sharing of best practice and the discussion of up-to-date issues.

The new North Ayrshire Monitor Farm plans to hold its first meeting in the new year. Those interested in getting involved should contact the project facilitators, Raymond Crerar and Carol-Anne Warnock, SAC Consulting, Ayr, on 01292 525148, or email FBSAyr@sac.co.uk