Farming News - Fife growers come together for new arable monitor farm project

Fife growers come together for new arable monitor farm project

 

Two Fife farms have been selected as the next generation of Arable Monitor Farms in a long standing programme which has evolved into a joint venture between HGCA and Potato Council.

 

Danny and Alison Milne from Demperston Farm, Auchtermuchty, and neighbour John Weir at Lacesston Farm in Gateside, will come together for the next three years in the new Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) Monitor Farm project, starting this autumn.

 

The project is being financed by HGCA, with additional funding being made available through the Scotland Rural Development Programme, which is jointly funded by the Scottish Government and the European Union.

 

Gavin Dick, HGCA Regional Manager Scotland, said the project was a good example of joined-up thinking for levy payers: “The Monitor Farms have proved very successful because they offer real-time pragmatic decision-making and the chance to examine the impacts of those decisions down the line. Potato production has become highly specialised over the years, but in areas such as Fife it is still an integral part of the rotation on many cereal farms, so their inclusion is a natural evolution of the Arable Monitor Farm programme.”

 

A fourth generation farmer, Danny Milne runs a mixed livestock enterprise on Demperston Farm with his wife Alison and his parents Norman and Claire. As well as 70 suckler cows and some sheep, the business focuses on growing 550 acres of cereals including spring barley, winter wheat, oil seed rape, field beans and oats. The Milnes also have a 200 acre unit at Dura Mains with a similar cropping rotation to Demperston.

 

“We are delighted to host Fife’s first Arable Monitor Farm. There are so few opportunities for farmers to get together and it was important to us to change that. The Monitor Farm will allow arable farmers in Fife to share ideas on improving farming practices, and discuss how best we deal with the challenges and opportunities of the future,” said Danny.

 

Project partner John Weir currently runs 150 acres of potatoes in a mixed enterprise on the 800 acre Lacesston family farm five miles away in Gateside. For John, working out how to get the best collaboration between landlord and tenant is one of the reasons he is enthusiastic about the new project.

 

“The ability to rent land for potatoes is vital in a longer-term rotational context, and many growers locally will have struggled to do so following the recent wet weather. I believe this project will help forge better understanding of what’s needed to make this work for both sides.”

 

Claire Hodge, Potato Council Technical Executive, added: “The Monitor Farm community groups are a tried and tested way of encouraging arable growers to explore best practice and consider alternative ways forward. We hope local potato growers – most of whom will also grow cereals – will take the opportunity to join in and see the benefits.”

 

The Monitor Farm project will start its first community meetings in November 2013.

 

Regular blogs from the host farmers and information from the Monitor Farm community groups will be available online this autumn at www.hgca.com and www.potato.org.uk