Alan Cowan

Alan and his wife, Esther, have a grass farm near Newcastle with suckler cattle and sheep. After reading about New Zealand-based systems, in 2006 they started rotational grazing and outwintered their cows on kale. 2012 was the year they started grass wintering breeding ewes. The result: improved grass growth in spring which allowed for outdoor lambing and the use of very little supplementary feed. Ultimately reducing costs. Having established a long-term, flexible system that works, Alan reassures farmers he talks to that investment in fencing and water infrastructure without doubt provides the biggest payback.