‘Come to lunch at Boat of Garten’ invite to Cairngorm farmers and crofters
Farmers and crofters across the Cairngorms National Park are being invited to lunch down on the farm in Strathspey.
Boat of Garten’s Tullochgorum Farm will be the base on November 4 for exploring how whole-farm modelling tools can be used to test critical business decisions.
A park spokesperson explained that the free event, hosted by the Miller family, will look at how different management choices - from deferred grazing to young stock sales strategies - stack up financially and environmentally.
The event is part of the Cairngorms 2030 future farming project, supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Duncan Miller, of Tullochgorum Farm, and Daniel Stout of Stout Livestock Consulting Ltd will share how they used the scenario modelling tool, Farmax, to weigh up options for the Tullochgorum farm business.
Discussion on the day will aim to answer questions including:
Does a lower input system with fewer cows pay off?
Does it make more sense to carry more cows with steers sold at weaning or fewer cows with steers carried through for a second summer?
What happens if beef prices drop back to previous levels?
Mr Miller said: “It is a challenging time to be in farming with increasing economic and environmental pressures. The modelling tool that we have been trialling at Tullochgorum has the potential to be a game-changer for farming businesses.
“It uses information totally unique to each farm to come up with different financial and environmental outcomes depending on the ‘what if?’ information we input.
“Essentially it has helped us make business decisions with more confidence, based on data and not just our knowledge and experience.
“I am looking forward to sharing how it has worked for us with other farmers and crofters in the national park.”
Lunch is provided and the afternoon will include a guided walk to the Miller family’s deferred grazing fields to discuss how the system worked for them with this year’s long, dry spell and the plans moving forward.
Farmers and crofters attending the event will also learn about support soon to be available through this project.
Those aiming to attend will need to register on the Eventbrite page here.