Spotlight on profitability and efficiency

Changes to improve profitability and efficiency will be up for discussion at the next Angus Monitor Farm meeting tomorrow.

Host farmers – the Stodart family at Mill of Inverarity Farm near Forfar – will discuss how far they have come in the project, and where they want to be by its end.

Since joining the Monitor Farm Scotland programme in 2016, the family has moved into egg production, increased sheep numbers without taking on any extra land, and significantly improved cattle fertility.

“We’ve been really pleased with our progress this year, we have made some really big changes to how we work and we are starting to see the benefits,” said Rob Stodart.

“At this meeting we’ll talk about what we’ve covered but also discussing what we do in the next 18 months.”

He said future plans included taking a more focused approach to rotational grazing sheep, a focus on soil health, and trials on the use of EID in cattle.

Tomorrow’s meeting starts at 2pm with a tour at the family’s Drowndubbs unit, followed by a charity stockjudging contest at Mill of Inverarity.

The meeting is free to attend, and stockjudging costs £5 to enter.

All proceeds raised at the event will be donated to help research into Crohn’s disease.