Ross Logan, in partnership with his parents James and Anne, farms Hillend which is a 112 ha dairy unit located just outside the village of Clackmannan. The farm is owned by the family and participated in the Climate Change Focus Farm initiative from 2014 - 2019.

The Logan’s milk 110 Holstein cows achieving an average yield of 9000 l/cow/annum. The herd is on an all year round calving pattern with homebred replacements entering the herd. Male calves are finished on-farm and sold live at the Caledonian Mart in Stirling. The cattle are housed through the winter and fed on a silage-based TMR supplemented with home-grown cereals and bought-in feed. Approximately 45 ha of cereals are grown each year with the rest of the land in grass for silage production and summer grazing.

With help from SRUC, SAC Consulting,  industry specialists and neighbouring farmers, Ross and the farm discussion group looked at practical ways to profit from improved farm efficiency which in turn can reduce the farm carbon footprint.  Ross cut the farm carbon footprint by 6% and saved over £16,000 through small tweaks to routine practices.

Ross and his family took a second look at some of the activities around the farm, ranging from his energy use in the parlour to livestock health and nutrition, and calf accommodation.  Ross tested soil pH and has since put a liming plan in place.  It is likely that these actions will improve nutrient use efficiency and translate into better grass growth in the future.