Farming
By Alec Ross
With a new round of Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS) grant funding opening for applications next month, farmers considering erecting or upgrading slurry storage next year have been advised to begin preparations now.
Under new rules, cattle slurry producing farms will be required to have twenty-two weeks of storage capacity by the start of 2026. Stores built before September 1991 have until this time to become compliant, but anything constructed after this date should be compliant by 2024.
NFU Scotland’s Sarah Cowie said: "While we have prior notice of the funding returning next year, there is as yet no commitment beyond that so it is important that anyone anticipating investment in slurry storage is reading to apply when the scheme opens."
Round-up
The final sale of OTM cattle for 2023 at Dumfries saw very active buyers and trade easily exceeding expectations, with a peak of 212p/kg for a Limousin cow from Meikleholm and a dairy cow selling to 155p/kg for Branetrigg.
Bullocks at St Boswells yesterday averaged 285p/kg and sold to 318p/kg, while heifers averaged 309p/kg and sold to 340p/kg.
Cast cows averaged 182p/kg and sold to 237p/kg or £2,158/head, and lambs rose slightly on the week to an average of 273p/kg or £123/head and sold to £192 for Texels or 339p/kg for Beltexes. Cast sheep averaged £94/head and sold to £214 for a Texel, while heavy and light ewes sold to £124 and £111 respectively.
Lambs of all types met with stronger than anticipated demand at Ayr yesterday and averaged 269p/kg and 273p/kg SQQ, selling to £176/head or 336p/kg for Beltexes from Dykes.
Quality was lacking in the cast sheep ring, but the best ewes easily matched recent rates and sold to £170 for Back o’ Hill, who also topped the Cheviot Mules at £114. Hill ewes sold to £80 for Cheviots from Dumfries House, while Blackies sold to £74 for Auldmuir.
Prime lambs held up well at Carlisle yesterday, selling to an overall average of 279p/kg, a rise of 2p on the week, but the big moves came from Lowland and Hill ewes which rose by 19p and 21p on the week respectively. Young dairy types met the strongest demand amongst the bulls, averaging 212p/kg (up 18p on the week) and selling to 229p/kg. And prime heifers and beef-bred bullocks fell on the week to average 263p/kg and 261p/kg respectively.
Cast cows held up strongly at Lanark yesterday. Beef cows averaged 162p/kg while dairy cows averaged 141p/kg, both prices representing a modest increase in demand.
As elsewhere, prime lambs continued their robust trade and rose by 5p on the week to average 271p/kg and sold to £167/head. And prime beef-bred heifers were largely unchanged at an average 298p/kg and sold to 340p/kg for a Limousin.
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