At Glensaugh we are bringing our winter routine to a close as sheds are emptied of ewe hoggs and set up again for lambing ewes.

At Glensaugh we have started calving our suckler cows, the setting up of our biomass enterprise has reached its final stage and, having cleared away a lot of last years timber, we are now ready to fell more.

Winter at Glensaugh is on hold for the time being, slowing down the alarming depletion of our fodder stocks and allowing us to undertake some value-added work alongside our routine chores.

Glensaugh has endured the third period of ice and snow of the winter. This time the cold has been less severe and the quantity of snow much less than in December. The winter routine of feeding and bedding dominates our lives and there is little time for value added work. [continue reading ... ]

Heavy snow began to fall on 25 November since when we have been storm feeding all of our sheep, a task that is occupying virtually the whole working day.

At Glensaugh we are hard at work on our Scottish Rural Development Programme (SRDP)works.

At Glensaugh the season’s livestock work is almost complete as we sell remaining lambs and calves and begin housing stock for the winter. The last of our spring born suckled calves will be sold at Forfar on Saturday.

At Glensaugh we are continuing to market our livestock. The last of the deer calves (2009 crop) have been sold to John Fletcher for £122 per head. Sheep marketing also continues and the majority of the 2010 lamb crop has now been sold. At our annual outing to Forfar’s store Blackface sale we took second prize for our top wedder lambs (which sold for £54 per head) while our ewe lambs sold for a respectable £52. While being “in the limelight” is satisfying it was a hollow victory because many well managed hill flocks have been dispersed in recent years, significantly reducing the competition. [continue reading ... ]

At Glensaugh we are continuing to sell finished lambs from grass, always reducing overall stocking density as we move towards autumn.

The first of Glensaugh’s 2010 lamb crop were sold on 18 August and averaged £69 per head. The market remains strong.