Reece Howells, Farm and Estate Student

My first time crossing the border into Scotland was for my Balcaskie interview, being 6 hours from home, the prospect initially daunted me, but after meeting the team and successfully being offered the job,  this was more than enough to secure my decision.

Throughout the year I completed a wide range of tasks, weekly jobs were varied, from rounding up pigs all the way to driving the combine. Each new day brought new tasks and challenges making the job very entertaining as well as fulfilling, I was constantly learning new things mostly from the help of the ‘auld boys’.

 My day-to-day role usually involved moving the different groups of cattle, which were grazed within a mob-grazing platform, meaning they had to be moved daily. Shifting 100 cows and calves could be challenging with the new born calves sometimes naïve to the electric fences. The intricate electric fence and water pipe system was hard to grasp at first, a memorable moment would be accidentally zapping Iestyn when I initially believed the fence was off …

My first summer turned out to be a wet one, alongside the Autumn and Winter and then most of the Spring! This brought many challenges, the usual daily moves of cattle suddenly became twice or three times a day, to ensure they would not tread the pasture too much and cause damage to the soil.

Calving being wet and cold also brought great challenges, a lack of grass growth in the early Spring along with a limited supply of forage, made that Spring tight, but with a late Spring bloom of grass the cows soon had more than enough food in front of them. For an estate that is farmed organically, I was fascinated at how it managed to successfully grow grass like it did!

A couple of highlights from my year spring to mind; firstly, travelling down to Lincolnshire for 2 days to source future breeding stock for the herd. We met many Lincoln red cattle breeders and saw the fantastic cattle they had to offer.

Another highlight would be the pigs, having never worked with pigs previously I was very unsure what to expect. They were great to work with … at times. A particularly memorable event came when catching up the last two boars which were off to the abattoir in aid of supplying the butchery. This task usually involved shutting off the feeder and returning later where the pigs, now hungry, would want to eat and therefore the gates could be shut around them. However, the last two came as a challenge as apparently, they had become wise to this operation. The two boars weren’t playing ball and it ultimately resulted in Cameron and myself crawling through the long grass up to the feeder so we wouldn’t be spotted. This method eventually worked but definitely wouldn’t be advised on every occasion!

I have come away being a lot more knowledgeable on Scottish geography, travelling to see the unique farming operations in Bute, south to the Kelso Tup Sales and a day at Scotsheep.

I thoroughly enjoyed my 12-month placement with Balcaskie, I saw a whole new side to farming, gaining a unique first-hand experience of organic and regenerative practices. My year was definitely made enjoyable by the fantastic team, with everyone working together whether it be in the running of a successful ‘Grass to Grill’ event or the army style capture of 2 very stubborn pigs. I would like to thank Sam and the team for everything and wish the new students the best of luck for their year ahead!