Monitor Farm Scotland: Lothians

This meeting format will be a mix of indoor interactive discussion in the morning, followed by farm visits in the afternoon. The management group have secured a very experienced and well informed headline speaker for the morning session, Oliver McEntyre (National Agriculture Strategy Director at Barclays). Oliver will lead a session titled ‘Is your business fit to survive’  which will challenge our thinking whilst informing us of the main drivers of agriculture in the future.    

We will also get a quick update from Sharon Flanigan from JHI on her findings from her research project on the Monitor Farms. After lunch we will head along to Rosemains to get a quick overview and demonstration of drone technology and the cost/benefits of using drones in agriculture. Following this, the groups will split and the arable group, with input from Donald Ross (arable farmer of the year), will talk through the Yield Enhancement Network Competition (YEN) and identify suitable plots to enter into the competition. The livestock group will head to Saughland to see the ewes on the fodder beet, discuss the scanning results and discuss the away wintering cattle performance and ongoing decisions to be made with this group of cattle.     

Meeting content

1. Oliver McEntyre (National Agriculture Strategy Director at Barclays) - ‘Is your business fit to survive?’  presentation and interactive group discussion
2. Sharon Flannigan – (James Hutton Institute) – Update on JHI research project on the Monitor Farm programme   
3. Drones in agriculture – Cost/benefits of drone technology in Agriculture
4. Donald Ross (Agriscot Arable Farmer of the Year) – Farming practice and experience of the Yield Enhancement Network competition, the YEN plots
5. Livestock Group – Saughland – Fodder Beet, Scanning Results, Away wintered cattle decisions

Lunch will be provided, therefore to help with catering please let me know if you plan to attend. 

The meeting will finish by 3.30pm