Andrew and Seonag Barbour, and their family farm Mains of Fincastle, Pitlochry. A 540 hectare (1,334-acre), organic hill farm, sitting at over 1000 feet above sea-level rising to 1300 feet.
It's home to a herd of 50 suckler cows, made up of a small fold of Highlanders crossed with Whitebred Shorthorn to produce the basis for the suckler herd.
These cows are crossed with a Limousin producing 18-month-old store cattle. Along with 400 Texel X producing finished lambs from mainly rough grazing.
The sheep are run on the in-bye through the summer and rough grazing are used by sheep in late summer/autumn and again after tupping through to lambing.
The cows are on the rough grazing through the summer months.
Why trees?
Carbon, shelter, shade, browse early bite of grass, increase in productivity of stock, saving on feed costs, better financial returns, productive timber, working capital and long-term investment.
Key Messages from Andrew and Seonag
- Trees are not an option extra
- Plant trees to improve animal welfare
- Think big scale, not small!
- Have a try – go for it!
- When planting, think about your end market, or how you might use any timber yourself
- Plant today for the livestock welfare needs of tomorrow
- There is a real need to look after our rivers by planting trees