LEAF
 

Bowhill Farming Ltd

Bowhill Farming Ltd is a 5,463 hectare mixed hill/upland enterprise forming part of the wider Borders Estate located in the South of Scotland. Enterprises include a herd of premium health Aberdeen Angus cows, a flock of Scottish Blackfaced breeding ewes, a large free-range poultry unit, as well as a small amount of arable cropping grown mainly for stock feed. Bowhill is an active partner in a number of research projects with the Agricultural and Horticulture Development Board and Sainsbury’s; it is also an Agri-EPI Satellite Farm.

Home / Bowhill Farming Ltd

Farms Manager: Sion Williams

Address: Bowhill Farming Ltd, Estate Office, Bowhill, Selkirk, TD7 5ES

Website: www.buccleuch.com/estate

Member since 2016 and LEAF Demonstration Farm since 2018

The Farm:

Bowhill Farming Ltd is a 5,463 hectare mixed hill/​upland enterprise forming part of the wider Borders Estates under the umbrella of the Buccleuch Estate, one of lowland Scotland’s largest estates extending to 82,000 hectares. Enterprises include a herd of premium health Aberdeen Angus cows (with stabiliser bulls as meat sires), a flock of Scottish Blackfaced breeding ewes, a large free-range poultry laying unit, as well as a small amount of arable cropping grown mainly for stock feed. A new addition to the business is 116 Breeding hinds producing venison for Dovecote Park.

Activities:

Bowhill operates a 200kW Anaerobic Digester with chicken muck manure utilised by the AD plant as well as livestock manures throughout the arable and grassland enterprises.

EID (Electronic Identification) has been used at Bowhill Farming for 22 years. Precision monitoring techniques are being increasingly used for health and welfare monitoring e.g. electronic boluses for heat and calving detection in cattle and Faecal Egg Counting. Bowhill is also an active partner in a number of research projects with the AHDB and Sainsbury’s and is an Agri-EPI Satellite Farm.


All farming operations are carried out with sensitivity to the environment and Bowhill includes a large area of heather moor which is managed primarily for biodiversity, including black grouse leks. Hedgerows are managed sensitively to provide food and habitat for insects, birds and small mammals. The wider farmland lends itself to a healthy population of biodiversity due to its inherent heterogeneity of habitats.

Bowhill has a long tradition of welcoming visitors onto the Estate and offers open access for walkers. It is an active member of RHET (Royal Highland Education Trust) and hosts a number of visits throughout the year.

Particular interests/farming issues:

  • Further use of technology in farming
  • Supply chains and improving welfare standards on farms
  • Less reliance on subsidies and ensuring quality products.

Visit this farm

Click here to arrange a visit to this LEAF Demonstration Farm.