Testing Times – Winter Cattle Management (Isle of Lewis) – Event summary

Winter Cattle Management on the Isle of Lewis

13 participants from across Lewis and Harris took up the opportunity to see round the new (and only) dairy on the island, where Gordon Mackay, the host, gave a talk on the set-up and some of the obstacles he is facing in getting production up and running.

Following on from the site visit Gavin Hill, Senior Beef Specialist SAC and Tim Geraghty, SAC’s Aberdeen Vet Centre Manager led a discussion on the importance of high health status and the opportunities for producing animals that are valued for quality.

A discussion then followed focusing on how those present felt health testing should be conducted to ensure it gave maximum benefit to the high health status animals in the Lewis and Harris area.

The evening concluded with an open-floor session which gave the crofters present an opportunity to ask questions relevant to their own situations.

Key take home winter feeding points:

• Know your stock – assess their weight and body condition
• Know your feeds – assess the quality and be aware of the animals requirements

Forward Planning – look to improve home grown forages through new or renewed reseeds and when to crop

Handouts from this meeting are available to download below.

Maximising liveweight output from a carefully managed feeding regime can help reduce your farm carbon footprint.  Having an efficient system can also lead to better profitability.  To read more on how to reduce your carbon outputs or to read what other farmers have done, visit Farming For a Better Climate