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Rural Business

    Funding for organic farming

    Up to £1200 available for Scottish farmers considering organic farming. Farmers considering organic farming in Scotland are being offered free business support worth up to £1200 from the Farm Advisory…

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    Wind Energy (TN683)

    The wind resource in Scotland is the highest in Europe and in recent years there has seen a huge number of turbines installed; many of them by farmers. A wind turbine can provide low carbon energy for use within a farm business or provide an additional revenue stream from export of electricity. Once installed, farming activity can continue around turbines and land take is minimal. This technical note examines the opportunities for development of new wind power projects by farms and rural businesses.

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    Solar Photovoltaics (TN682)

    Energy from the sun lands on earth at approximately 10,000 times the rate of the worlds energy needs. However, it is a very diffuse energy source and requires capturing, concentrating and converting to a useable form. Solar photovoltaic panels capture a proportion of the sunlight falling on their surface and convert it to electricity for use in homes and businesses.

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    A Simple Feed Budget For All Grass Wintering Ewes

    All Grass Wintering is a way of rationing grass over the winter with electric fencing for in lamb ewes. It is a long rotation – over 100 days from 3 weeks after tupping until 3 weeks before lambing.

    This spreadsheet will help understand whether it would be possible on your farm with using a farm average grass cover in the late autumn. It predicts pasture covers under zero, moderate and high grass growth scenarios. This helps plan for the worst (zero grass growth). Most Scottish farmers will grow an average of 5 kg DM/ha/day grass growth over the winter. The target is to make sure there will be enough grass available at lambing time – aim for 1500 kg DM/ha, if the covers fall below this target under zero grass growth use the back-up feed required calculation.

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