We sold our own cattle in October 2015. This was a very sad day for Farmer and family. Decisions as big as this take a lot of consideration, and we thought long and hard for many reasons.
With the tendency of Mull winters to be mild stormy and wet, the ground can get water logged and the last thing one wants on the farm is a lot of heavy footed cattle stodging around on the fields causing poaching. Our cattle were in-wintered for this reason - brought in to the big shed when the weather turned and let out again in the spring. They thrived in this system as they had plenty of silage, hay and ration to eat and were sheltered from the worst weather of the year. But it was an expensive way of doing it, and ultimately we had to stop.
So economics coupled with the fact that we knew we would find other cattle to take part in our grazing regime meant we could confidently sell our own cattle but know that the biodiversity wouldn't be affected. And that is what happened.
The magic formula with JL's cows is that he takes them away in the late autumn/early winter when the weather turns, and brings them back in the summer when there is an abundance of grass.
Last winter JL's cattle wintered near Dervaig and on a summer's evening in the middle of July, they left Dervaig and walked over to Treshnish, arriving just before midnight!
Arriving at Treshnish in the dark, they spent the night in the hill park. Next morning JL and Farmer walked them the last mile to Haunn where they were happily left in the field beyond Haunn.
