Three Scottish arable farmers are battling for an award which aims to recognise those businesses making the extra effort in improving soil health and utilising technology.
The Scottish Arable Farm of the Year award winner will be revealed at AgriScot on 9 February, with the shortlist consisting of two farmers from Aberdeenshire and one from Midlothian.
Finalist Jim Reid runs his family farm, Milton of Mathers at St Cyrus near Montrose, with his brother Ron, spanning 80 hectares of seed potatoes, with the rest of the arable land dedicated to barley and oilseed rape.
He has been farming all his life and is constantly looking for new ways to trial agricultural methods to address the key challenges he is faced with.
His goal is to improve the way he farms, and better the health and quality of his crops.
The next finalist is Iain Wilson, who is the farm manager at Tulloch Farms near Laurencekirk, managing around 2,000 acres of land, the majority of which is used for arable cropping.
His two main priorities are the health and safety of his staff, and the health and wellbeing of his soil.
In a bid to improve yields, Iain embarked on a trial project in 2018 that saw 450 blackface ewe lambs graze on 25 acres of oats, 25 acres of wheat and 37 acres of oilseed rape.
The trial proved so successful that it is now in its fourth year of grazing cereals and aims to graze around 400 acres of winter cereals this season, along with 250 acres of over-winter cover crops ahead of veg and spring cereals.
Iain is full of innovative ideas, with a willingness to share these with other farmers. He is also aware of the importance of maintaining good financial records, so he can understand, at any time, what financial position his farm is in.
The last finalist is Bill Gray, who has managed the farm at Preston Hall in Midlothian since 1996. He balances the competing demands of crop production and financial stability, while protecting the environment and enhancing wildlife.
With a highly capable team, modern machinery and a forward-thinking approach, Preston Hall strives to be at the forefront of modern farming practices.
In 2017, the farm took up the challenge of being one of Scotland’s Monitor Farms and was involved in the project until 2019.
The candidates are being assessed by the 2019 title holder, John Weir from Lacesston farm in Fife, and AgriScot Director and arable award convenor, John Kinnaird, together with AHDB as facilitators of the award.
John Kinnaird said: “Once again, we have three exceptional finalists who are all innovative in different ways.
"Forward-thinking, open-minded farmers, such as our finalists, are what the arable sector in Scotland needs to face the undoubted challenges ahead.”
Jim Wilson, managing director of SoilEssentials, said the three finalists were "diverse, dynamic, and devoted to their farming businesses".
"It will not be an easy task for the assessors to whittle them down to the ultimate award recipient.
"We are keen to be getting back to AgriScot in February and will be delighted to meet these advocates of agriculture and find out more about them all."
The winner will be rewarded with a bespoke precision farming package from SoilEssentials.
The package will be tailor-made for the business, following a site visit to the farm to assess the technology being used and the business requirements.
