SIMPLE INNOVATIONS can boost the useful yield from grass – and make all the difference to livestock production in low-input systems.

Intercropping and companion planting will be amongst the grass-boosting management techniques explored at the Livestock In Low Input Systems conference, to be held on June 16 at Gordon Whiteford's Lower Mill of Tynet farm, near Fochabers.

The Scottish Organic Producers Association's Livestock has joined forces with Organic Farmers and Growers to host the event, which will include a long lunch, with plenty of time for networking, and a tour of the farm. Tickets went on sale this week online at http://tinyurl.com/krcgdup.

SOPA member and Nuffield Scholar Mr Whiteford was originally brought up on a dairy farm in Ayrshire, and is now a first-generation farmer on Fochabers Estate. He took his first venture into organics in 2005 by renting a field in Ardersier, near Inverness, to establish an organic poultry enterprise. He now has two flocks of 2000 British Black Tails for organic egg production.

In 2012, he gained the tenancy of the 52 hectare unit at Lower Mill of Tynet, where he initially set up a free-range laying hen enterprise. As of 2016, the farm entered conversion to organic production with a mix of enterprises, including the laying hens, as well as the addition of sheep and cattle, along with supporting arable.

Delegates will have the opportunity to view a farm nearing the end of its organic conversion period, and see some of the ideas, such as companion cropping, that Mr Whiteford is implementing, following the completion of his Nuffield scholarship.

SOPA policy manager Debs Roberts said: “We’re really looking forward to this year’s LILIS conference, and to visiting Lower Mill of Tynet Farm. It’s always exciting to meet people from across the farming sector, and the topics and speakers that we’ve got lined up will make for a great event!

“Last year’s conference was a great success, and we believe that it’s important to continue to bring people who work in and around agriculture together to discuss the ever-changing landscape of the industry, especially in the light of last year’s Brexit vote. We’re really interested to explore how farmers are moving away from the subsidy-based culture and adopting simple techniques that improve yield without intensive use of inputs such as fertilisers. LILIS gives us a stage to discuss these ideas.”