Hardiesmill Place is a privately run farm in the Scottish Borders owned by Robin & Alison Tuke. It's a 482 acre mixed farm, traditional at first glance but unusual  in the way it's run. For starters, even though they're more crops than grass, all the focus is on our herd of Hardiesmill pedigree Aberdeen Angus cattle and the beef/beef products that this produces. Consequently we see the 200-odd acres of spring barley that we sow each year as being a source of straw - the barley is only a premium bye-product which is sold to Simpsons (MSP), usually to be made into malt whisky or larger. Then there's our lack of capital equipment: the farm is run with minimal capital equipment (a forklift, a quadbike and a truck), as we prefer to use R Wood & Sons Contractors for all our arable and tractor work as a way of maximising return on net assets. Finally we take the view that experience counts for a very great deal, so it's Jake (our main man, who been heere for 56 years) and Angus (his son, who's a contractor but has worked the farm for 20+ years) who call the shots when  it comes to ploughing, sowing, combining etc.

Our vital statistics: 

• 423 acres arable/temporary grass, 29.40 acres permanent pasture, 28.6 acres of woodland, buildings and roads    
• The land gently rises from 450 feet to 620 feet above sea level         
• The soil comprises of a medium to light loam.
• We grow ~200 acres spring barley and use seed potatoes as a break crop
• We retain the straw from the spring barley and sell the heads for malting
  
• The straw is used for bedding and as a source of ruffage for the cattle
• Fields are ploughed late whilst the stubble is enjoyed by a host of birds & animals
• Our grass fields are high in clover to increase protein and reduce fertiliser requirements
  
• Grass is retained for longer lays to increase its mineral percentage and goodness.
  
• Silage (winter fodder) is grown on the farm and pitted without any additives.
• ~250 head of cattle are brought indoors to save the ground in November and then go back out to grass in the spring.
• The herd is split between autum and spring calving
  

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  Hardiesmill Place is a Scottish Quality Assured farm for cereals and livestock.        
  

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