Articles
Honest Conversations, Better Farm Businesses
I’m Kerry, I’ve been a Principal Consultant at SAC Consulting for ten years, and I own and operate a couple of rural tourism businesses with my family outside of my day job. I am no stranger…
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Adding A New Enterprise Through Succession – A Case Study
James MacIver, now 27, has returned to the family business after leaving school at 16. In that time he worked several other mixed livestock and dairy farms, as well as a…
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Managing Heat Stress in Beef Cattle
Hot weather can have a significant impact on cattle health, welfare and performance. Heat stress occurs when a critical combination of humidity and temperature is reached, commonly measured by the…
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Getting Ready for Muirburn Licensing
In 2026, muirburn legislation changed in 3 important ways: Everyone will need a licence to undertake muirburn. To obtain a licence everyone taking part in muirburn will need to undertake…
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Beavers and Water Resilience: A Natural Ally for Arable Systems?
Heatwaves, drought and water scarcity are no longer occasional challenges for arable farmers: they are becoming defining features of the growing season. The UK has already experienced multiple heatwaves in 2026, with drought…
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Business and Policy August 2026 – Sector Focus: Pigs
The pig sector is in the midst of another trough with producers once again selling their pigs at well below the cost of production. With producers facing a perfect storm of rising costs, oversupply and EU…
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Business and Policy August 2026 – Milk
Milk Production Data Milk production continues its seasonal decline, with lower milk prices, volume management schemes and recent heatwaves adding further pressure on output. The latest data from AHDB estimates GB milk production for June 2026 at 1,065…
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Business and Policy August 2026 – Sheep
Seasonal Declines Supported by Slower Supply Prime lamb prices have continued to ease into July following typical seasonal trends although remaining above the 5-year average and ahead of this time last year with deadweight SQQ sitting at 809.2p/kg (w/e 25th July 2026) +55.1p/kg year-on-year (AHDB, 2026). Well fleshed lambs are…
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Business and Policy August 2026 – Beef
Finished Prices Pick Up in July Finished cattle prices in Scotland have slowly but surely improved over the last few weeks. Increased slaughterings, growth in imports and ongoing consumer price pressures all…
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Business and Policy August 2026 – Arable
For much of the past year grain markets have struggled to find any real direction. Large global harvests, comfortable stocks and generally favourable growing conditions across the world’s major exporting regions have kept buyers…
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