Livestock Benchmarking for Remote and Small Farm Businesses

Small farms and family livestock businesses are an important component of farming on Arran and across southwest Scotland. While they may not operate at the same scale as larger mainland enterprises, they play a vital role in producing quality breeding stock, supporting sustainable land management, maintaining traditional livestock systems and contributing to the resilience of rural communities.

Farming on Arran also presents unique opportunities and challenges. From transport costs and market access to making the most of home-grown forage and limited labour, island businesses often operate under very different conditions from those reflected in national averages.

This Scottish Farm Advisory Service (FAS) event, is one of a three-part series taking place across southwest Scotland. The meeting will explore how livestock businesses can use benchmarking to compare performance with similar Less Favoured Area (LFA) enterprises, identify opportunities to improve profitability and build resilience for the future.

The session will include:

• An overview of Scottish beef and sheep benchmarking results for comparable LFA livestock systems.

• Discussion of the key performance indicators that drive profitable and resilient beef and sheep enterprises.

• An opportunity to share experiences of farming in an island environment and discuss the challenges and opportunities unique to Arran.

• A simple, confidential benchmarking exercise to help participants compare their own business with published Scottish benchmark data and identify practical opportunities for improvement.

Whether you keep a small suckler herd, manage a hill flock or run a mixed livestock enterprise, this informal discussion will provide an opportunity to exchange ideas, learn from others and help shape future support for remote and small farm businesses across southwest Scotland.