Young farmer's view —

Young farmer's view —

'STRIKING that optimum balance', is one of dad's favourite sayings that is imprinted into my head.

As a young man who returned to work on our home farm of Wooplaw (just outside of Lauder, in the Scottish Borders) I know I had a tendency to want to do everything in a bolder, bigger and better fashion than my father.

However, I've come to realise that bigger isn't always best, and bigger doesn't always mean bigger profits.

Wooplaw is a 700-acre upland farm ranging from 800ft to1300ft at the hill. We run a closed herd of pedigree Luing cattle and a flock of Suffolk cross and Texel cross commercial ewes.

I've been working full time with my dad for five years and have come to appreciate that gradual and steady change is a fundamental feature of running a sustainable business.

After leaving school with some Highers under my belt, I gained a place at the Scottish Agricultural College, in Edinburgh, to study agriculture.

That summer, I had the enormous privilege of working on the Isle of Luing, the home of the Luing cow. It was a great experience being given the responsibility of my own two hill blocks of cows and a 500-acre island, which I had to row across to and walk around to check cows.

For the first time in my life I was on my own - but in what was possibly one of the most beautiful places in the world.

Before that experience I had always thought that Luing cattle were just like any other breed. However, that time on Luing helped me to truly appreciate the amazing qualities of the Luing cow. Not only that, but waking up every morning on that fantastic island I came to realise that being a farmer meant so much more to me than just a 'job'.

After finishing on Luing, I spent a year at college and I enjoyed my time there but came to understand that I am more of a practical individual and instead of spending another three years at university I decided to go and work abroad for a year.

Being half Kiwi, it was an easy choice to head to New Zealand. I left after lambing and calving in 2009 and I did a range of work from fencing and cattle yard building, to working on large stock stations in the Mackenzie Basin and the Maniototo, as well as working on my aunt's Hereford stud.

It was an incredible experience and I saw a totally different side to farming compared to back here in Scotland. The more forgiving climate allowed farmers to run a low cost, low input system and I remember thinking to myself: "Why is the Scottish farming system so labour intensive in comparison?"

I returned home in time for lambing and calving and keen to implement some of the ideas I'd picked up in New Zealand. However, my travels had given me a real insight into how good our own system actually was at Wooplaw.

By using the entire asset of the farm, particularly the hill and matching that with the hardiness, foraging ability, and the maternal traits of the Luing cow, we are able to run a low input system not dissimilar to that whichI had experienced in New Zealand.

This year hasn't been a great year for anyone with costs of production staying high and most sectors suffering from low farm gate prices.

A comparison for us is that our first load of lambs away in 2015 against 2014 was £30 down for the same week and this year's lambs were 1kg heavier. This was a big setback on the overall lamb cheque for the season.

After 15 years, schemes like the Countryside Premium Scheme, Rural Stewardship Scheme and latterly the SRDP Scheme, have allowed us to enhance our farm and provided a contribution to our financial stability.

We went into the SRDP in 2009 and we adjusted our farming system to fit in with the scheme. Having restricted grazing times and stocking densities we ran the according stock numbers to suit.

But looking into future for the new Agri-Environment Scheme we have found the new scheme to be unworkable; with more restrictions and red tape the financial benefits are far outweighed by more traditional farming methods and living off the land, not subsidies.

There is a great Border saying 'it's aye been' which promotes the status quo over any new-fangled ideas. However, I wouldn't want to give you the idea everything on Wooplaw conforms to that way of thinking.

We are constantly exploring different ways of doing things but realise that their successful implementation may take a number of years to see results. With less revenue coming in from subsidy schemes and the uncertainty of what we will actually get from the new CAP payments, we are increasing stock numbers steadily year on year to compensate accordingly.

But dad's saying of 'striking that optimum balance', I used to just let it go over my head but I am learning that there is a lot of wisdom in those few words, especially now as we are increasing stocking numbers gradually.

I wouldn't want to outlay any money for example, to buy in 40 cows and find we don't have enough summer grazing or winter keep for the extra mouths and find out they become more of a cost as an increase in profits.

If I can make the same profit off 80 cows and 600 ewes as 120 cows and 800 ewes, then why have them?

I am starting to really enjoy thinking long- term and where I want to be with the stock and improvements and the stamp I want to make on Wooplaw - in the same way that dad's done up to this point.

The great thing about our current situation is that we work in true partnership where his advice and experience, and my ideas and enthusiasm, combine to help us to take forward the 'Wooplaw Luings' as an example of traditional Luing cattle.

Henry Ford once said: "If you only do what you've always done, you'll only get what you've always got." In the ever changing economic circumstances in which we live and work, the need to look differently and do things differently has never been more important.

We will look at diversification where it would benefit our farming operation and I will think into the future about how I can improve the farm in a slow, sustained and successful manner.