Lothians Monitor Farm goes digital

Following the success of Lothians Monitor Farm, the former host farmers and facilitators are linking up with AHDB to run an interactive Facebook Live meeting.

Taking place on 22 July from 1pm-2pm, the in-field event’s focus will be on the progress made during trials on soil structure, cover crops, grass sward and crop establishment.

Colin MacPhail, Agricultural Consultant, said: “At the conclusion of the Monitor Farm programme, collaboration between the arable and livestock sectors remained a key theme and we have since seen continued interest in the cattle outwintering project.

“Our farmer-led group are keen to share their learnings from both an arable and livestock perspective. We feel the best way to demonstrate this is with a live virtual and interactive broadcast from the field with the cattle now back in, grazing the Crimson and Balansa clover.”

Using the Facebook Live platform, the session will include live questions to encourage audience engagement. There will also be topical farmer-led discussion on harvest and marketing thoughts.

Chris Leslie, AHDB Arable Knowledge Exchange Manager for Scotland said: “This first meeting will be held in the two fields where livestock and arable farms have combined for mutual benefit.

“There were many good trials started during the Monitor Farm phase that need to be concluded and there’s an appetite among the former hosts to continue their learning. AHDB is supportive in encouraging the farmers to further grow their network and learning.”

The four host farmers Bill Gray, Pete Eccles, Willie Thompson & Graham Lofthouse and two facilitators Colin MacPhail and Fergus Younger will remain socially distant from one another, following coronavirus guidelines.

To join, please visit the Saughland and Rosemains Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/3407217382630737/