£20k is helping to boost safety

An Ayrshire farmer who often works alone has invested £20,000 in a new cattle handling system to help improve operator safety and make his business more efficient.

Safety statistics for farmers and farmworkers who work with cattle make grim reading, with an average of two workers killed and more than 100 injured every year – and working in confined spaces poses one of the greatest risks.

Monitor farmer John Howie from Girtridge Farm wanted to improve the financial performance of his stock by regularly monitoring growth rates while working alone in a safe system.

He said: “To do this, investment in a new

“The impact thisishaving on our businessis massive”

handling system was required that allowed handling of cattle efficiently and safely, without extra labour. In addition, new weighing equipment and EID tags were introduced.”

The subsequent £20,000 investment included concrete and the installation of large gates around the steading.

The handling system is located between a straw-bedded shed and a cubicle shed, enabling one person to move cattle through the steading to the handling area.

Other features include holding areas for groups of cattle externally and internally in adjacent sheds, and a race with inspection gate.

Mr Howie says the system has reduced stress on cattle and labour time, equating to savings of £1,200 per year.

He said: “The impact this is having on our business is massive, allowing man and beast to work safely, increasing turnover and improving efficiencies.”

UK shoppers spent an extra £13 million on red meat for special Valentine’s Day meals this year, according to AHDB.

A report from the farm levy body reveals food and drink sales received a £24.3m boost for the romantic celebration in February – its biggest Valentine’s Day, in terms of value, in five years.

“This increased spend is attributed to average price increases and fewer promotions on red meat, but was to the detriment of volumes, which were down 1.1% on the year,” said AHDB.

Sales of beef steaks were up 5.7% in comparison to Valentine’s Day 2019 and an extra 126 tonnes of steaks were sold, with fillet and sirloin cuts enjoying the biggest sales boosts.

Meanwhile, sales of premium sausages helped drive an £8.3m boost in sales of pig meat, while sales of marinades were up £1m in value and 16% in volume.

The dairy sector also enjoyed a boost and sales of cheese were up 5.2% by volume and up 4.2% by value in the two-week period to Valentine’s 2020, compared to last year’s celebration.

Sales of fresh chilled deserts were down 1% to £34m, though sales of fresh cream were up 4.3%.

The potato sector also enjoyed 3% and 4% growth in fresh and chilled ready-made products respectively. However, price drops in both categories were required to drive sales.

AHDB said: “Chilled potato sales have been struggling in recent months. However, price decreases did encourage consumers and there were strong increases in volume sales over Valentine’s Day.”

Looking ahead to the next Valentine’s celebration in 2021, AHDB said February 14 will fall on a Sunday, offering more opportunities for the food and drink sector.

The levy body said: “Advertising around breakfast in bed could do well, as well as the traditional dine-in options.

“This could be especially lucrative for traditional breakfast ingredients, such as sausages, bacon, yoghurts and butter.”