Blog
Managing Costs and Protecting Financial Health in the Dairy Herd: Where to make savings?
The biggest expense on the dairy farm is by far feed, followed by labour, depreciation and supplies (in no particular order as this may vary from farm to farm). Many…
Read More >
Managing Costs & Protecting Financial Health in the Dairy Herd: Improving efficiency in the dairy herd
Whilst milk price is seen as the biggest influencer on profitability, the range in milk prices is sometimes not as wide as the difference in cost of production and the…
Read More >
Winter Barley: Disease risk – May 2020
Planning for booting sprays in barley will need to factor in that not all crops will have reached GS45-55 by the 20th May cut off for chlorothalonil use. The most…
Read More >
Maximising The Power Of Culling As A Management Tool
Culling cattle out the system is a powerful tool, not only to improve herd performance but also reduce the risk of any animal welfare breakdowns in your herd. There are many reasons for culling cattle, these may vary from farm to farm. However, the time to make culling decisions for breeding animals is restricted.
Read More >
Modern apprenticeships branch out into trees and timber
It’s an exciting time for the world of trees and timber, with increasing interest in the role that trees can play in mitigating climate change and environmental issues. More than…
Read More >
Providing welfare facilities for forestry operations
Forestry workers often work in isolated and challenging locations and are expected to undertake difficult tasks to a professional standard. The provision of facilities for their general welfare has been…
Read More >
Large Pine Weevil: The small pest causing a big problem for restocking
Hylobius abietis, commonly referred to as the large pine weevil, is regarded as one of the biggest threats to newly planted trees on restock sites. Conservative estimates suggest that the…
Read More >
Dealing With A Lack Of Water
While many areas of Scotland have now had some much required rain, there are still areas that are extremely dry. There has been low levels of rainwater this year, which have resulted in low water levels. We have heard from numerous people, that water supplies are low with some private supplies being dry already.
Read More >
Is Mineral Supplementation Necessary For Cattle At Grass?
The need to supplement growing cattle at grass with minerals is often questioned. Many farmers do, many do not, and some may bolus to provide certain trace elements. Unless there is a known deficiency on the farm or clinical signs then it is very difficult to know whether a specific mineral deficiency is impacting on growth performance in cattle or fertility in replacement heifers.
Read More >
Bracken Control
Emergency authorisation of Asulam for bracken control this summer has been confirmed by CRD with applications permitted from 1 July 2020. However, authorisation is by helicopter only with a 90m…
Read More >Sign up to the FAS newsletter
Receive updates on news, events and publications from Scotland’s Farm Advisory Service