This year’s live beef demonstration at AgriScot, the UK’s leading farm business event, will focus on the practicalities of calving at two years to reduce emissions.
The interactive demonstration is hosted by Gavin Hill, Senior Beef Specialist at SAC Consulting and Robert Gilchrist of the Aberdeen Angus Cattle Society, and, sponsored by Quality Meat Scotland (QMS), is always a popular and always well attended session at AgriScot.
With a focus on practical advice, it addresses some of the key current talking points for beef farmers and prompts relevant discussion.
“Calving at two years is one of the headline proposals to meet environmental targets from Scottish Government for future support payments, however it’s not for everyone,” explains Gavin. “We’ll be looking at who can get it right, and where it can go wrong, some of the pitfalls, and challenging farmers to think about if it’s right for them. There’s an age old saying that the pencil is far from the plough, and although the theory is good, it’s not always practical to put into practice in the field in every farm situation. There are lots of different ways to drive down emissions, including breeding, health and diet, and we’ll be looking at some of the alternative actions to drive down emissions as well.”
The cattle will be handled in the ring by second-year students from Oatridge College, who are working with the four breeding Angus Cross and Simmental Cross heifers at the college in the lead up to the event to build their experience and confidence with livestock.
The audience will vote on the Voting Pad app to gauge current thinking in the industry and prompt discussion points as well as to bring in some fun competition.
“AgriScot is a great place to have these important industry discussions and for farmers to be able to take away practical steps, advice and conversations that are relevant to their own business, says Bruce McConachie from QMS.
Chair Robert Neil adds:
“We know farmers will be interested in this session as they look at different ways to reduce their emissions and farm profitably. The changes in the agricultural business and policy landscape means constantly thinking differently and sessions like these can be so valuable for sharing ideas and speaking to others. We look forward to welcoming another large audience to the demonstration in November.”
The beef demonstration will take place in the main ring 11.30-12.00 on 13th November.
