A NORTH Lancashire farming family are leading the way for farmers around the country by taking part in a monitor farm scheme.

Malcolm Sanderson, his wife Judith, their daughter Laura, 15, and son James, 12, got involved in the programme because they saw it as a way of adding to their knowledge and understanding of beef and sheep farming while improving their business performance to safeguard the farm for future generations.

The Sandersons have allowed their 101-acre lowland farm, Lower Highfield Farm, at Halton, to become the focal point for a group of interested farmers and industry experts to work together and share their knowledge and expertise.

They are being helped by facilitator Michelle Fare and specialists to find out how to improve physical and financial performance with particular reference to animal health and welfare, nutrient management and efficiency.

The Sandersons’ all-grassland farm has 60 Limousin x and Belgian Blue x suckler cows plus 420 breeding ewes, and the team are monitoring the effects of trace elements on lamb growth rates, and grassland improvement.

It is one of six monitor farms in the North West and is all being managed by Myerscough College, near Preston, and supported by Reaseheath College, Cumbria Farmer Network and EFFP, with support from Eblex and DairyCo.

Michelle Fare, who recently became the new facilitator for the farm, said: “Their enthusiasm for what they do is so refreshing.

"They are committed to getting the best out of being a monitor farm by encouraging others to benefit from the experience too.”

The Sandersons and Mrs Fare recently went to a slaughterhouse following recommendations made by sheep specialist Lesley Stubbings that a batch of lambs should be sold deadweight, which can mean farmers earn more money than through an auction mart, to gain additional feedback on lamb quality and carcass classification.

The lambs were selected, as they would be for the live auction, on both weight (42-43kg) and finish when handled, and then the trio watched the process from slaughter to hanging to packaging.

Michelle said it had been a very useful experience: “Although not for the faint-hearted, this process is something that I believe all producers of livestock for human consumption should see.

"The slaughter process is very quick and efficient, but until you have actually been into an abattoir it is hard to imagine the work and labour involved in turning those live lambs into what we see on our supermarket shelves.

“As farmers we often tend to think of the auction as the last part of the journey with all the hard work having been done, but this is certainly not the case.”

An open day is being held at the farm on October 18 from 10.45am.