The farm sits at 100m rising to 400m above sea level, with average annual rainfall of 1000mm.
Andrew manages a herd of 300 spring block calving pedigree Luings. These are bred pure or crossed with Aberdeen Angus and Simmental, producing replacements, breeding heifers and stores.
There is also a flock of 1400 ewes made up of Scottish Blackface. These are also bred pure or crossed with Bluefaced Leicester for replacements, breeding sales, crossing with Texel and producing fat lambs.
Why Trees?
Burnfoot already had over 150 acres of woodland - including riparian woodland by the river, and shelter belts for the animals.
However, this was added to - via new woodland creation of some 50 hectares - planted in two blocks.
The scheme was grant funded with the Sheep and trees Forestry Grant Scheme option. This enables applications for both woodland creation and forest infrastructure.
The scheme has provided multiple benefits to the farm including:
- access to stock for feeding and monitoring
- creating areas for feeding, allowing stock out for longer
- easier livestock management
- providing access to woodland for thinning and felling, opening up a new income stream
- emphasising the value of research - evaluate your land and monitor your farm to find out what areas are under performing for livestock but could still be suitable for planting trees
