Improving performance with a better farm balance

Their father, John, also works part-time on the 100ha (250-acre) farm at Blaencwmpridd, Synod Inn, Llandysul, Ceredigion, allowing the brothers to carry out farm contracting and haulage work to bolster their income.

Mr Cowan’s reasons for joining the demonstration network last year include making more money from the farm, finding the best enterprise balance, improving herd and flock health and increasing suckler herd performance by tighter calving, better cow longe-vity and reduced finishing periods.

Another aim is to sell more lambs earlier, without moving lambing time, and cutting costs, especially for fertiliser, feed and rent.

The average scanning rate for the ewes is 153 per cent, with lambs sold and retained running at 134 per cent.

Texel, Suffolk and Charolais terminal sires are used and all lambs are sold deadweight at an average carcase weight of 20kg, mostly classified R and above.

Sucklers

The suckler cows calve in April and May, with all males kept entire and sold finished, while heifers surplus to replacement needs are sold as stores.

The aim is to re-seed grassland after five years, where possible, with 10ha (25 acres) being sown to oats, 2ha (5 acres) to wholecrop peas and oats and 2.5ha (6 acres) to fodder beet.

This cropping regime allows the introduction of new grass leys to help with productivity on the farm.

Input from an agronomist and a nutritionist has already shown the brothers can build on an enterprise which aims to be as self-sufficient as possible, with forage on land that ranges from 700 to 1,000 feet.

A new red clover and ryegrass ley and minor changes to farm practice are already paying dividends.

“We thought we might have to reduce stock numbers, but now we have much better production from our grass the ultimate aim is for self-sufficiency and not having to buy anything in,” says Mr Cowan.

“Access to the best advice would usually cost a lot of money, but by joining the demonstration farm network, this valuable information comes for free.”

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