Pig and arable business has positive outlook despite tumultuous year

A sector in crisis, a conflict-induced volatile market and damaging storms are just a few of the challenges Harriet Ross, Farmers Weekly 2021 Young Farmer of the Year, has overcome.

Alongside partner Ben Lowe, the Aberdeenshire farmer has kept the arable and pig business afloat during a tumultuous time, which she describes as her biggest success in the past few months.

Last year, the pair took over the management of Harriet’s parents’ business, covering 235ha of mainly arable land and growing wheat, oilseed rape, oats and barley.

See also: Farmers Weekly Awards 2021: Young Farmer of the Year

In August, they bought a neighbouring pig farm, taking on a staff of six and 460 sows.

Already the next chapter was set to be testing and Harriet had no plans to rush into any big changes, even before the unexpected difficulties arrived.

Multiple pressures

“It has been the perfect storm for us as new entrants in the pig sector, with the backlog of animals on farm and rising input costs being major issues,” says Harriet.

“To add to this, we have had two large storms over the winter, with tens of thousands of pounds worth of damage done in each one.

Luckily, everyone and every animal was unharmed.”

The increased number of pigs on farm means their barley stock has been used more quickly than forecast, meaning finding and buying sufficient feed barley until this year’s harvest is the current major obstacle.

Fortunately, there is light at the end of the tunnel, with the backlog on farm reducing slightly and pork prices increasing.

Having trusted advisers and fellow pig farmers to consult has helped Harriet adapt and survive the rough period.

“It’s good to be part of such a close-knit sector that is always willing to help each other,” she says.

“Settling into working with the team and getting to know them better and learning all about the pigs has been great and helps give my mind a break from the financial pressures.

“I have been shadowing our pig manager as much as possible to learn as much as I can.”

Progressive plans

Harriet had already done a carbon audit for her arable enterprise and was interested to see how this could be developed with the addition of the pigs.

She has joined a project funded by the Scottish government and red meat levy body Quality Meat Scotland, which aims to build a system to define and manage the carbon footprint of the country’s pork production.

It will provide producers with an individual annual report as well as a sector-wide report that farmers can benchmark themselves against.

Currently, it is being trialled on 15 farms – including Harriet’s – and will be rolled out to the whole sector in the near future.

“Pigs are very efficient at converting feed to meat, so they have a low carbon footprint, and this is part of the reason we were so interested in joining the sector,” says Harriet.

“It allows our business to become more circular and sustainable. We have access to a lot of slurry and farmyard manure, which reduces the amount of nitrogen we have to buy in.”

Consumers want to see more sustainable products on supermarket shelves and the hope is that this project will allow producers to prove how suitable and efficient their pork is, she says.

On a personal level, Harriet would like to be able to market her product as having both low food miles and a low carbon footprint.