At Glensaugh calving is in full swing and we are approaching the half way stage. Once again cows are calving without difficulty and milking well, reflecting their body condition and nutritional status. Pregnancy scanning of ewes is now complete. Results indicate that a potential lamb crop of over 200% exists in the crossbred flock, and while this will not be achievable in practice we are satisfied that conception rates have been good and pre-natal losses have been low so far. A year ago we were facing an outbreak of enzootic abortion in this flock; vaccination should have damped this problem down although elimination of this disease will be very difficult to achieve.

The contract for the erection of the wind turbine is presently being negotiated. A series of technical meetings are being held at Glensaugh on 12 March to discuss logistical details and agree a timeline for the works. Delivery of the wind turbine is the largest component of our SRDP grant scheme. The other parts include public access trail and woodland planting, and in both of these areas meetings have been held with specialist contractors to take matters forward.

Planting trees should be an annual event and although we have no big schemes for 2009, we are continuing to in-fill the Birnie Burn native woodland with oak and ash, and are also planting hedges of beech, box and yew in and around the garden at Glensaugh Lodge. Trees are a very important asset in our windswept environment, and we have an on-going commitment to plant more. Photographs from the past indicate substantial shelter belts to the north of the agricultural heart of Glensaugh, almost entirely lost to two world wars; their reinstatement is a worthwhile objective.

Glensaugh is not a family farm and therefore our links with the past are tenuous. We recently had a visit from a lady called Davida Pittendrigh, whose father, the late George Jamieson, was manager at Glensaugh between 1944 and 1951. Davida has sent some photographs of Glensaugh as she knew it in the 1940s, including one of her father, several of Loch Saugh and some general views of the landscape as it was then. She also sent a North of Scotland College of Agriculture publication called “More Food from the Hills”, which is packed with useful knowledge, much of which is still relevant to today’s farming.