KEY STEPS to develop a modern suckler beef business include investing in genetics and EID technology, both of which will be showcased at the next Lochaber Monitor Farm meeting on Thursday, January 31.

The free meeting, which will be held at the Nevis centre in Fort William, will focus on selecting the correct stock genetics, bull management and how EID technology can help to monitor stock performance and aid management decisions.

Alison Glasgow, technical manager and geneticist from the British Limousin Cattle Society, will help the monitor group explore the genetics best suited to west coast store cattle producers, outlining new developments on the horizon, and how best to manage breeding bulls after purchase.

Also at the meeting, Jane Thomson from Shearwell Data, will provide an update on proposals to bring in compulsory cattle EID from January 2020 and show how EID technology can improve the management of suckler herds in the west.

“Performance recording is a really effective way for cattle farmers to identify the best, and the worse, performing animals and make informed choices about which animals to retain in the herd,” said Ms Thomson.

“The technology behind EID tags, data collectors and the associated software programmes ensures that production data can be stored quickly and accurately and is a huge benefit to farmers looking to performance-manage their herd more effectively.”

Lochaber’s monitor unit is Strone farm, near Fort William, which is run by father and son team Malcolm and Chris Cameron, who are passionate about their herd of 50 pure Limousin cows, and have carefully selected bulls on their maternal traits such as ease of calving and milk.

“We find the pure Limousin cow is very adaptable – she calves easily and even if not grazed on the best of grass will maintain her condition and get back in calf,” commented Malcolm.

In 2018, the Camerons took on a tenancy of an extra 42 hectares of grazing land and some sheds just 11 miles from the home farm. After discussion with the management group they decided to trial finishing all their own male lambs indoors on ad-lib creep feeding. The weights of the lambs were also monitored regularly. The final costs and income from these lambs have been collected and the final results and conclusions from this trial will be presented at this meeting.

To book a place at the free meeting, contact facilitators Niall Campbell or George Gauley on 01631 563093 or email fbsoban@sac.co.uk.