THE word 'learning' reminds me of school days when I used to sit and stare out the window and look up towards the Ochil Hills, writes Ian Cullens, Kinross JAC. 

I would watch dad gathering in sheep or see the tractor going backwards and forwards, wishing that could be me. When I left school, the idea of working on the farm was becoming ever more likely. However, there wasn’t enough work to start full time, so I began enquiring about other aspects of agriculture. 

Whatever job I was doing, whether it was fencing, ploughing or carting grain, I was always taking on board new information and constantly learning new skills. These opportunities were valuable to me and I was hugely grateful for the experience. 

As much as I enjoyed working in the arable sector, I always had a preference for the excitement and satisfaction of working with livestock. 
I wanted to learn about more than just the practical side of farming. I decided the best way to do this was to enrol myself at Edinburgh SAC and study Rural Business Management. 

I gained a lot of knowledge about the fundamental aspects of the industry. Whilst studying this course, my eyes were opened to the fact that there is so much more to running a successful farm than having the greenest fields or the biggest cows! Throughout the course, we covered aspects varying from marketing to human resource management, which can guide you into running a sustainable business. 

College was a great experience that allowed me to meet a bunch of great, like-minded people that wanted to learn that little bit more! 
With an HND in my pocket, I felt as though I was now ready to contribute to the family farm, which is predominantly a hill unit with more than 2000 Blackie ewes and a small flock of cross ewes to try to catch the early lamb market. All lambs are finished either off their mothers or on winter grazings. Alongside the sheep we have 80 suckler cows using Charolais bulls to then sell suckled calves. 

I am now fortunate to have the opportunity to have a say in the day to day running of the business, alongside my parents, James and Jane, and oldest brother, Andrew. My other brother, Ronald, moved to Paris to continue his studies where he now lives and works, taking an entirely different approach to mine and perhaps not a bad one. 

Although having responsibilities can sometimes be daunting; to me, it is where the learning really begins. This, in turn, encourages you to always try to be one step ahead, thinking of new and innovative ways to be as efficient as possible. 

In February, 2015, there was a workforce of five. Two years on it is now just the family running the same enterprise, with additional help when required. Circumstances such as this have increased the workload, ensuring we work smarter, not necessarily harder. 

We have just recently ventured into the thrilling world of Blackie breeding where there is a great passion shared amongst the breeders, with a lot of enthusiasm surrounding the breed. 

Back in 2012, I was asked to become the chairman of Kinross YFC. At the age of 20, I thought that I wouldn’t have enough experience to take on the role. However, I decided to take on the challenge and being part of SAYFC has subsequently given a new dimension to learning. Whether you want to stay closer to home or jump on a plane and travel the world, the option is there. 

There are vast amounts of funding available through many organisations such as the Cameron Trust. The most recent Agri and Rural Affairs conference in Aberdeen gave the group access to innovative farms and allowed us the opportunity to listen to industry leaders. A lot of valuable information can be taken from such events and I now believe that the younger generation are far more willing to share information with each other, mainly down to social media.

One interesting piece of information I heard this year at the agri conference was 'if you write something down you are 10 times more likely to achieve it'. So, setting goals and ambitions makes you work harder to achieve them over time. 

Up and down the country there are always events put on by various farm advisory bodies where like-minded forward thinking farmers attend and share their views and experiences. I know it can be difficult to find the time, but it is always worthwhile and you are guaranteed to go home with new thoughts or ideas. 

Through attending the last QMS monitor farm in the Forth region we decided to really focus on the soil structure of the farm as it is our main crop and try keep our sheep feed bill to a minimum. We have used the Albrecht system for soil sampling which has subsequently saved us money as our soil varies vastly, meaning certain fields require less nutrients and others require more but over the last two years have seen huge improvements. 

In Scottish agriculture we are fully aware that many factors such as weather, market conditions or unexpected events can never be predictable. For this reason it’s essential to keep ‘learning’ or ‘listening’ from others, as well as to keep sharing your own views in order to stay one step ahead of the game.