It’s New Year’s Day as I write this and I find myself looking back over the last 12 years of my farming career here in the UK. Originally I came over to be a herdsman for Steve and Lesley Brandon on their 250 cow spring block calving herd. In this country, the norm is all year round calving herds with little use being made of grazed grass, except as a loafing area next to the farm yard so the cows can have easy access to buffer feeds of silage and meals. The driving force being litres produced per cow.

Partnership

I spent five fantastic years with the Brandons but always wanted to be in business in my own right. In 2007 the opportunity arose when I was introduced to Robert and Janet Bostock who were milking 320 organic dairy cows on a spring block calving system. They had two daughters, but neither were looking to pursue farming as a career.

The Bostocks were planning for the future of their family farming business as they wished to continue farming but wanted to step back gradually from the day to day management of the farm and also release some equity from the farming business. The Bostocks and I struck up an agreement where I would be the contractor for the farm, supplying day to day management in conjunction with Rob, labour, machinery and sub-contractors for silaging, slurry and field cultivations. I invoiced the farm monthly for the above services. In return I would receive a share of the profits.

Livestock

This worked very well so my next step was to purchase some livestock which I did in 2008 and continue to do so to the present where I now own 50% of the livestock on the farm.

The farm ceased to be organic in 2013 due to organic milk prices for spring milk and the challenges sourcing organic feed.

Cow numbers had grown to 530 with 400 spring calvers and 130 summer calvers and we were milking them through a 23/46 parlour which is what you would call sweating an asset but was not sustainable. So we took the decision in 2014 to build another 24/48 milking parlour at the far end of the farm where we had cubicles for 270 cows with some housing alterations. The summer calvers and some spring calvers are now milked at this farm yard called Wetreins Farm and the rest of the spring calvers are milked at the home farm called Grafton Farm.

Expansion

This expansion also saw the completion of a further 2km of tracks, a 1.5 million gallon slurry lagoon in the middle of the farm, the installation of 100 cubicles in the old calving yards and finally a loose housing shed which accommodates 100 calving cows. This also serves as yearling housing until the start of calving when they get moved to out-wintering on silage bales and grass and doubles up as a calf rearing shed when the midpoint of calving has passed. The morale is don’t under-estimate the need for extended and improved facilities that expansion brings.

Leaving the parlour pit this morning I met Rob, my business partner, and wished him a happy new year and a hope that we would have as constructive a year as we had in 2014 to which he added with a smile “… that doesn’t involve spending as much money hopefully!”

I would like to wish you a very happy new year and a very grassy 2015.