Last night saw Hay Farms third farm tour/ visit in the last six weeks. The place has never looked so tidy!!
On 19th May we had a visit from a group of thirty Arable Nuffield Scholars to Easter Rhynd. We were the first stop on their Scottish tour taking them to many of the big arable, fruit and veg farms in Perthshire. A quick presentation in one of the sheds from David and Fin was then followed by a tour around the farm and a visit down to the repaired flood banks. Unfortunately the weather didn't allow us to show our "neck of the woods" at its best but it was great to have such a knowledgeable and diverse bunch coming from throughout the UK. We would just like to thank them for their hospitality when we were kindly invited to their dinner at the Carnoustie Golf Hotel.
We had our second group of visitors to Easter Rhynd on the 31st May. This time it was a group of students from Askham Bryan College in Yorkshire. This time the weather did play ball and Fin was able to take them out to the field to see some peas being sown in cracking conditions. It was hard to emphasis to them all that it wasn't always like this in Perthshire when the sun was baking down fro a cloudless sky and dust was flying behind the drill. The students were a fantastic bunch full of intrigue and questions keeping Fin on his toes. We all at Hay Farms would like to wish them all the best with their studies and careers (hopefully in the agricultural sector).
Last night saw the first on-farm meeting of the Central Scotland Group of the Scottish Agricultural Arbiters and Valuers Association (SAAVA) at Easter Rhynd. Current membership of SAAVA is around 230 and the organisation in Scotland has recently been split into regional groups. Around 30 members first heard from Fin about the arable enterprise and operation at Hay Farms and also about the flooding which took place in 2014 and how the family dealt with it. Following a farm tour, Andrew Gilchrist, managing director' at Kinross-based Scottish Agronomy spoke about the challenges facing Scottish arable farmers compounded by the uncertainty of the recent Brexit vote.
It is always great to have people come on farm who are interested in what we do and how we do it. Special thanks must go to Erika for making sure everyone was always well feed and watered at all the visits and also Ernie the dog for making an appearance in nearly every photo or presentation. We look forward to welcoming a couple more groups in the winter once harvest and sowing is over.
ONLY ABOUT A MONTH TO GO..........