Articles
Business and Policy June 2025 – Beef
Young bull numbers impacting on prices Deadweight steers in Scotland averaged 715p/kg in mid-May, up by £2.20p/kg compared with the same week last year. However, as predicted, slaughter availability has…
Read More >
Business and Policy June 2025 – Sector Focus: Diversification
Diversification continues to strengthen farm business profitability The Scottish Government has recently published the Scottish Farm Business Income: Annual Estimates for 2023-2024 which gives valuable insights into the profitability of…
Read More >
Business and Policy June 2025 – Policy Brief
Programme for Government 2025-2026 The First Minister, John Swinney has set out his Programme for Government for 2025 to 2026. It will focus on: growing the economy eradicating child poverty …
Read More >
Bulling at Grass – Nutritional Management in a Hot & Dry Period
Pasture growth has slowed dramatically across much of the country as a result of the May dry spell. With bulls shortly heading out to spring calving herds, it is important…
Read More >
Managing Grass Swards Through Dry Conditions
When compared to the frequency of days in which it rained in 2024 it has been a very different year and it poses very different challenges. The rainfall across the…
Read More >
Monitoring Flock Performance Case Study (South)
Owen Gray, Saughland Farm, Midlothian Using flock and ewe-level data to improve profitability, reduce labour requirement, and lower lamb losses The team at Saughland Farm has made major strides in…
Read More >
Monitoring Flock Performance Case Study (Central)
John & Alix Ritchie, Montalt Farm, Forgandenny, Perthshire Keeping performance monitoring simple in a grass-based system For the Ritchies at Montalt monitoring body condition of their flock is essential to…
Read More >
Blowfly Risk and How to Reduce It
The blowfly season is lengthening, with an earlier emergence of flies, largely due to the changing climate. For this reason, producers should be very cautious of fly strike occurring earlier…
Read More >
Journey To Net Zero Emissions in Dairying
The business C Murchie & Sons is located outside the village of Blackwaterfoot on the island of Arran, and is owned and operated by John Murchie, who farms at Tigheanfroach…
Read More >
Spotlight on Manganese Deficiency in Spring Cereals
Manganese (Mn) deficiency is particularly common in spring barley and can lead to yield losses if left untreated. Soil applications of Mn are generally ineffective, as the applied Mn rapidly…
Read More >Sign up to the FAS newsletter
Receive updates on news, events and publications from Scotland’s Farm Advisory Service