I farm: “200 Angus cows, 1,000 sheep and barley on a rented farm on Islay. We also have an oyster business exporting off the island.”

This week: “We are over in Stirling at the bull sales. I bought three Angus cows and hope to use them to breed our own bull. We are looking for high health cattle for our herd. BVD and IBR free are two key points we are looking for in our cattle. We brought back a bull to and discovered it had IBR. We paid £6,000 and had to sell him to the slaughterhouse.”

Islay livestock: “We have had a wet summer this year like the rest of the country. The cattle are not looking as well as they could do. But the sheep are looking good on the Island.”

Island crops: “There is about 100 acres left to cut of barley out of about 1,000 on the island. We have at least a dozen combines on the island of all vintages. Largest has a 20ft cutting bar.”

Malting barley: “There has been a move by a couple of the local distillers to buy locally grown barley. This has seen a jump in acres planted. They are buying it off the combine at around 20% moisture before sending it up to Inverness for malting. It has really cut down the amount of straw coming onto the island but most farmers work slats of sloping floors.”

Goose damage to crops and grass: “The geese are back and already taking their toll. They are still a massive and ever increasing issue. It is a nightmare. We need a scheme that works.”

Store sales: ”Farmers are moving to selling younger stores on the island. More are being sold off their mothers in the back end and most at the 12-14 month bracket in the Spring. Only real cattle finished on the island is for the local butcher.”