The three finalists of the AgriScot Scottish Arable Farm of the Year have been revealed.
Farming different types of soil on very different scales, all three finalists hail from Fife and also share a focus on soil health, benchmarking and innovation.
Craig Peddie owns and farms 196 hectares at Cornceres, Anstruther, where he grows winter and spring cereals, oilseed rape and beans and rents land for potatoes.
John Weir owns 300 hectares at Lacesston, Gateside, where the focus is on potatoes, but he also grows cereals and finishes beef cattle.
The 1165-hectare Balbirnie Home Farms at Freuchie, owned by the Balfour family, is managed by David Aglen, who is responsible for all the cereals, vegetables, grass and fodder/cover crops grown on the estate, as well as livestock enterprises.
Precision technology is a key part of all three businesses, with each finding improvements and efficiencies using innovative machinery and technology combined with careful management and attention to detail.
The leading farm of the year, which will be revealed at AgriScot on 20 November, will receive 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.
This year the candidates are being assessed by the 2018 winner, Donald Ross of Rhynie, Tain, and AHDB Cereals and Oilseeds Board Member Andrew Moir, who farms at Thornton Mains, Laurencekirk.
Mr Ross said: “All three finalists are making maximum use of resources while maintaining soil health. The standard of entries was very high.”
Mr Moir added: “We are fortunate to have three very good finalists who are all innovative in different ways.
“Forward-thinking farmers such as our finalists are what the arable sector in Scotland needs now.”
