I farm: “183 acres which is predominantly in one block with an out farm consisting of 10 acres. We run a spring calving suckler herd of 45 cows and an autumn calving herd of 35 cows. I would like to have one calving block but we keep 180 ewes too so this prevents us having all spring calving.”

Breeding: “There is a lot of Saler genetics in the cows with Limousin and Simmental sires currently being used. I have been inseminating cows using AI for the past 16 years with a big focus on maternal genetics. The breeding season lasts eight weeks in spring and eight weeks in autumn with cows and heifers only getting serviced twice. This approach has paid dividends for us as only the best get kept which means we have very fertile cows.”

This week: “We are currently four weeks into the breeding season and we have two heifers and three cows left to serve. The recent wet weather has hindered the utilisation of grass as we are not able to clean out paddocks as tight as we would like.”

Beef: “We try and get as much out of grass as possible with the autumn born bulls slaughtered at 15 months of age while the spring born bulls get castrated and finished at 20 months of age. All heifers that are not kept for breeding are sold in-calf off the farm with a massive demand for these heifers due to the focus we put on maternal breeding.”

Brexit: “It is fairly well split up around me. I can see the benefits of both sides but it is going to be very close. If the UK does vote to leave there will be a lot of uncertainty in the short term.”

Family: “There is my wife Elizabeth and our three sons, William, Samuel and Robert who all help out on the farm.”

Quotable quote: “The breed we use is irrelevent; it’s the genetics that are important.”

Farmer writes: Too many horns, bulls and in-calf heifers

Previously on My Farming Week