Highland Agricultural Contractors

15/11/2025

The best weather we have had scanning possibly all season and what a place to spend the day!

A huge thanks once again to the Macdonald Family at Ardbhan Highland Cattle. The craic, the hospitality and passion for the job is unmatched. Thanks to all the helpers too, many hand make light work! Even if we did have to battle away for a start with the sheep monitor until my replacement headset arrived by plane! (Yes, you read that right! ) 😆

Hope you all have a great night! Until next time 🫡

11/11/2025

Fantastic job with really great people! Lovely healthy stock too! Not a job to look past!

22/10/2025

No problems, only solutions 😎😆 well done to Craigens team, amazing scan!

06/09/2025

Good guys😎

FENCING POSITIONS AVAILABLE

R.Wotherspoon Fencing Ltd are looking for the following positions to join our growing business fencing across the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.

Fencing leader X1

-Drivers license is essential.

-You will need to have a good understanding of domestic, agricultural and forestry fencing.

-Atv, First aid and chainsaw tickets are required.

Pay will vary depending on experience.

Trainee fencers X2

Drivers license is essential.

Tickets and experience are advantageous but not essential as we will be providing the training to become a fully fledged fencer.

For all of the above:
Good degree of physical fitness Good time keeping Be able to work in all weathers Work well with a team and as an individual Be able to work away from home when required from time to time.

We are based in Gairloch please drop a message if you are interested.

22/08/2025

More and more of my clients are seeing the benefits of pelvic scoring.

I have been pelvic scoring for a few clients who I trust to give honest feedback backed with data and they been able to make important decisions off the back of it, I’m now happy to offer this as a service whilst scanning heifers or to make a trip to score heifers pre mating.

Get in touch if you’re intrested!

09/08/2025

As autumn draws closer, it’s time to start thinking about cattle scanning! 🐄🤓

I’m currently coordinating plans around the Island calf sale dates and will be sending out suggested scanning dates shortly (within a week of last years dates) to you all

To give you an idea of what I see in the goggles, I’ve created some simple images that highlight ideal scanning timing.

Key points to consider:
- I aim for scans at least 6 weeks after the bull is removed (around 42 days) to reduce the risk to embryos.
- For farms that often experience twins, it’s beneficial to avoid scanning too late after 120 days. It’s not impossible and twins can sometimes be seen all the way to 200 days but the risk of them being missed increases

The images illustrate calf sizes by age. Scanning between 42-120 days gives us an average age accuracy of 2.5 to 5 days.

80-120 days is best for identifying the sexes of embryos.

Looking forward to see all of you and your cows soon!

Cheers,
Ryan