Farmers Guardian - 10 July 2020

Food standards was the hot topic at this week’s virtual Westminster Food and Nutrition Forum event. Abi Kay reports.

FSA ‘ready’ to assess risk of chlorinated chicken

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Funding and staff numbers boosted

THE Food Standards Agency (FSA) ‘stands ready’ to assess the safety risk of chlorinated chicken and hormone-treated beef, its chief executive Emily Miles has said.

According to Ms Miles, the regulator’s capacity to carry out such an assessment has been boosted by Brexit Treasury funding over the past two years, with risk analysis staff doubling from 25 to 50 and

more than 90 new scientists sitting on evidence committees.

Any review of chlorinated chicken and hormone-treated beef would consider how safe the products are to eat, but also look at a wider range of consumer concerns.

Pressure

Though Ministers have copied the EU ban on both products into UK law, some doubt remains about whether the country would be able to maintain this position in the face of renewed pressure from major

agricultural exporters such as the USA.

Speaking at a Westminster Food and Nutrition Forum event this week (July 7), Ms Miles confirmed the FSA was already looking ‘in principle’ at the available science, though a formal request for an assessment had not yet been lodged.

Ms Miles said: “At the moment, if you have got a regulated product, like a treatment for meat such as chlorine wash or a novel food, you have to apply to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) for a risk assessment, which then goes to the commission and the Council of Ministers to decide whether or not it is safe to put on to EU plates.

Poorest households least likely to want lower standard food available in the UK

BRITAIN’S poorest households are the least likely to want low standard food to be available as a result of new trade deals, research by Which? has found. Many top Conservatives, including leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg, have consistently touted cheaper food as one of the key benefits of Brexit.

Last month, one senior Tory MP was reported as saying the ‘once-in-alifetime’ chance to sign an agreement with the USA was being ‘hijacked by a bunch of Waitrose protectionists’. But the consumer group’s latest

It will be the people who cannot afford anything else who will be forced to have the food produced to lower standards

survey, carried out in June, showed only one-in-10 (11 per cent) of people from lower income households wanted access to cheap, low standard food, compared to one-in-six (16 per cent) from more affluent households.

Speaking at the Westminster Food and Nutrition Forum event, Sue Davies, head of consumer protection and food policy at Which?, said: “In this survey, we delved into how [views on standards] varied across different income groups.

“What was particularly interesting, but not surprising, was those in the lowest income groups were the least likely to think lower standard food should be available in the UK.

Ban

“This is interesting, because it is often presented as better-off people who want food standards protected, whereas in reality, it will be the people who cannot afford anything else who will be forced to have the food produced to lower standards.”

Other findings from the survey – the third of its kind carried out by Which? –showed 95 per cent of people wanted existing food production standards to be protected in trade deals, with about

three-quarters believing there should be a ban on imports of low standard food.

“When we asked about some of the production methods which are particularly controversial, such as hormone-treated beef and chlorinated chicken, there is clearly a majority of people – around eight-in-10 – who would be uncomfortable eating those,” Ms Davies said.

“The FSA takes responsibility from EFSA and the commission in January at the end of the transition period, so we are going to be doing risk assessments for any application for things like that.

“We will look at the safety aspects and other legitimate factors, like consumer opinion, price, animal welfare and environmental impact. We will then put a dossier together and make a recommendation to Ministers, because they have the final say, and we would publish our evidence.”

As well as being triggered by an application, a risk assessment can be carried out on the instructions of a Government Minister or the FSA board.

SMALL ABATTOIRS FAILED BY GOVERNMENT

SMALLabattoirsarebeingfailed byalackofjoined-upthinkingfrom differentGovernmentbodies,Emily Miles,chiefexecutiveoftheFood StandardsAgency(FSA),hassaid.

SMALLabattoirsarebeingfailedbya lackofjoined-upthinkingfromdifferent Governmentbodies,EmilyMiles,chief executiveoftheFoodStandardsAgency (FSA),hassaid.

MsMiles,whohasbeenworking withsmallabattoirownerstoaddress theproblemstheyface,saidshehad beenleft‘frustrated’bytheissue.

MsMiles,whohasbeenworkingwith smallabattoirownerstoaddressthe problemstheyface,saidshehadbeen left‘frustrated’bytheissue. Hercommentscameaspeersinthe

Hercommentscameaspeersinthe HouseofLordspreparedtodebate anamendmenttotheAgricultureBill whichwouldensureslaughterhouses wereeligibleforGovernmentsupport.

SpeakingattheWestminsterFood andNutritionForumevent,MsMiles said:“Ifyouareasmallabattoir,you aresubjectedtoregulationsfromthe

FSAonfoodsafety,fromDefraon animalwelfareandthenthereare economicimplicationsforyouas well,coveredbytheTreasuryand DepartmentforBusiness,Energy andIndustrialStrategyandothers.

“Thosewhoaretryingtohelpsmall abattoirsthrivearefindingthemselves passedfrompillartopostbetween differentpartsofGovernment.

“Inthepastinmycareer,Iwasseen asabitofasoftybecauseIthought weshouldlineupandworktogether, butIdonotthinkthisisasoftthing.

“Itisareallydifficultthingtodo, butitisabsolutelyessential.Wehave gottogetoverourselvesandstart workingtogether.”

‘Price wars’ highlight lack of change in retail food market

rTesco pressures suppliers to cut prices

By Hannah Binns

SUPERMARKET giant Tesco has come under fire after it demanded price cuts from suppliers in a bid to compete with budget retailers.

The retailer reportedly told suppliers they had until July 10 to agree to its demands, as part of a move to ‘everyday low pricing’ and fewer promotions.

George Dunn, Tenant Farmers Association (TFA) chief executive, said the industry had been ‘lulled into a false sense of security’ in thinking things had changed in the retail food market.

“While there has been a greater degree of interest in provenance, food standards and food quality from consumers, retail barons are still fixated with driving down prices to unsustainable levels,” said Mr Dunn.

“British farmers produce food to some of the highest standards internationally, but this cannot be done if they are unable to secure a fair margin on that production.

“Retailers like Tesco should be looking at how they can cut costs in their own businesses, rather than trying to bully suppliers into accepting lower prices for high quality products.”

Protection

The TFA also expressed fears some retailers will not hesitate to find ways of offering lower quality food to ‘trumpet their low-price credentials’, with price battles illustrating the need for legislative protection for the UK’s high environmental, animal welfare and food safety standards.

Mr Dunn added: “With the Agriculture Bill entering its House of Lords Committee stage this week, there has never been a better time for Parliament to ensure we have a resilient food system from farm to fork, with high standards and fair rewards for all throughout the food chain.

“We need greater transparency within the supply chain to understand where the value in the chain goes.

“We should not allow those with the biggest influence to cream off an unfair share of value, to the detriment of the rest of the food chain and to wider society.”

The NFU said producers needed fair returns to allow them to invest in their businesses and added any

changes to Tesco suppliers terms and conditions should be in line with the Grocery Suppliers Code of Practice.

Tesco said it was speaking to its suppliers about how they can work together to ‘continue giving our customers great value’.

“We do not believe that our customers should pay more for a brand in Tesco than anywhere else,” a spokesperson added.

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Tesco has come under fire for demanding price cuts from suppliers.

Farmer gets an apology after grazing methods vilified online

rEnvironmental efforts not given enough credit

By Hannah Binns

A TENANT farmer who took to social media to defend his farming practices has received an apology from the campaigner who initially sought to abuse him.

Simon Walton, who farms 500 cattle and 500 breeding ewes in Darlington alongside his mother Gillian and sister Emma, was the subject of a Facebook post which criticised him for cutting a wildflower meadow and grazing livestock.

The campaigner who attacked him on the social media platform had also linked his farming methods to a decline in sand martin numbers and accused him of destroying ‘valuable riverside habitats’.

Mr Walton, who has farmed the 68-hectare council-owned land since 2018, said it was the third time the campaigner had posted negative comments about the farm.

However, they have since apologised to Mr Walton and asked to meet up to learn more about the farm’s environmental work.

Mr Walton said: “The cattle which were grazed for a short period of time were then moved on to another pasture just like they will have been for hundreds of years.

“The wildflowers will grow back during periods of rest.

“I know for a fact there are countless examples along the River Tees, and most likely all rivers, whereby the land is left unmanaged and becomes overrun with non-native invasive plants such as giant hogweed. Surely cattle grazing on small parcels of land is creating a more diverse habitat?”

Walton said sand martins had thrived in other areas where cattle had grazed riverbanks. He criticised dog walkers who often walked through the area, not sticking to footpaths and leaving litter and dog mess.

He added: “She fails to mention the

areas of our farm we are particularly proud of, encouraging wildlife and seeing it flourish – the thousands of metres of hedgerows, the wildflower hay meadows, the ponds designed especially for otters, overwintered brassica crops and low input grasslands, to name but a few.”

Mr

Simon Walton was criticised on Facebook for cutting a wildflower meadow and grazing livestock.

Wildlife Trusts calls for pesticide use to be slashed

THE Wildlife Trusts has called on the Government to introduce a pesticide reduction target which cuts overall use by at least 50 per cent over the next 10 years.

The organisation said the target must be set in the National Action Plan on the sustainable use of pesticides, hitting out at Ministers for failing to live up to their 2018 promise to review the plan.

The call was made in a new report, Reversing the Decline of Insects, which also recommends farmers be given support to adopt ‘insectfriendly’ practices, and says pesticide standards should not be weakened in future trade deals.

Craig Bennett, chief executive of the Wildlife Trusts, said: “In my lifetime, 41 per cent of wildlife species

in the UK have suffered strong or moderate decreases in their numbers and insects have suffered most.

Huge effect

“This has had a huge effect on the rest of the natural world. The vital role insects perform is undermined and everything which depends on them suffers, from hedgehogs to nightingales, wildflowers to wetlands.

“The Agriculture Bill is a golden opportunity to set high standards in

law and make sure insect-friendly farming practices are rewarded.

“We want to see an ambitious pesticide reduction target and at least 30 per cent of land being managed for nature so insects can become abundant once more.”

The Wildlife Trusts’ call comes just one month after the Pesticide Action Network claimed in its own report, Toxic Trade, that new trade deals with the USA and others could drive down UK pesticide standards.

The Government is being urged to introduce a pesticide reduction target which cuts use by at least 50 per cent.

At the time, the report’s co-author Dr Emily Ludgate, senior lecturer in environmental law at the University of Sussex, said: “A clear and central objective of US negotiators is for the UK to lower its pesticide standards.

“The current picture in the UK of intense political pressure coupled with a lack of parliamentary and public scrutiny means the risk of this happening is very high.”

Food production system ‘crying out’ for more diverse cropping

rMove to local and shorter supply chains

By Mollie Leach

BRITAIN’S food production system must transition away from growing ‘oversimplified’ commodities, in order to strengthen food security.

Speaking at an Oxford Farming Conference webinar on self-sufficiency, Essex agro-ecological farmer George Young highlighted the UK’s

food system had pushed farmers ‘down the route of growing simplistic commodities in large scales’.

He said: “Our production system is crying out for diverse cropping, pushing for all parts of a nutritious diet, which means that we need to be massively increasing the production of homegrown vegetables, alongside staples such as wheat and barley.”

Mr Young reinforced the ‘key’ to this transition was incentivising short, local supply chains, which ensured new producers were able to produce

different types of crops in a mixed farming system.

“Crucially, this deviates from the broad agri-cropping system we have now and is, therefore, vital to ensuring a more resilient food system,” he added.

‘Real food’

Prof Tim Lang, who specialises in food policy at City, University of London, echoed this and claimed Britain had the potential to grow a higher percentage of ‘real food’, adding: “Not commodities,

which can then be turned into ultra processed foods, which contribute to the health burden.”

Reinforcing the need to shorten supply chains, Prof Lang claimed any deviation would be ‘impossible’ without the decentralisation of power.

He said: “We need to see the reactivation of a regional push to build a proper food system at a regional level.

“That is why we need a Food Resilience and Security Act, which decentralises this debate and places food at the centre of policy.”

Supermarket stranglehold may be stronger than ever

CHANCELLOR Rishi Sunak appeared to embark on a spot of what could be called ‘Brewers Fayre economics’ in this week’s Budget, as he unveiled a slightly convoluted support scheme for restaurants.

Under the plans you can get 50 per cent off the first £10 you spend on eating out, at participating restaurants, on Monday to Wednesday, much like existing discount schemes at some budget restaurant chains.

It is a nice gesture, but one which may not spark a rush through restaurant doors and bolster hospitality coffers. For a sector so hard hit by the pandemic, the long-term recovery may be torrid.

And finally...

Huge congratulations to FG photographer Marcello Garbagnoli on his International Federation of Agricultural Journalists star prize for his shot of a Salers calf. See p4 for more.

For agriculture this has certain ramifications, as the big winners during lockdown may, inadvertently, have been the supermarkets.

While the world struggles to adapt to a new normal, it might be that the multiples continue to drive home their advantage.

If you went shopping at the peak of lockdown, there was little in the way of two-for-one offers or discounted items at the big retailers.

And why would there be? They had a captive audience they could squeeze, with the discounts only coming as trade returned to a more regular pattern.

That is what makes this week’s warnings of suppliers becoming collateral damage in a renewed retail price war slightly ominous.

With the large retailers having picked up so much trade which would have usually been spent in pubs or restaurants, it is an advantage they will be unwilling to give up.

But their renewed strength and perhaps, therefore, bullishness when it comes to their treatment of suppliers, could not only leave parts of the supply chain open to further pressure on margins, but also raises the spectre of the US and cheap imports, an issue which seems to be lodged in the psyche of many within agriculture at the moment.

While farming may have been largely shielded from the worst effects of the pandemic in the short term, the evolution of new consumer behaviour in the coming months, perhaps years, may drive as yet unforeseen changes in the agricultural supply chain.

YOUNG FARMER FOCUS

‘Ten

years

ago

I bought my first bulling heifer’

Growing up: I was brought up in a farming family and spent the school holidays helping out on my grandparents’ farm. I also worked with their pedigree cattle, preparing them and leading them out in the show ring. I knew from an early age I would enter the farming industry. When I left school I went on to do my national diploma in agriculture. I then attended Gelli Aur College, Carmarthenshire for one day a week and achieved my HND in agriculture. Only being in college one day a week allowed me to work the rest of the week and therefore gain the valuable ‘hands on’ skills which you cannot learn in a classroom.

YFC: I was a late entry into YFC as I only joined three years ago, I wish I had joined sooner because I have loved every minute of it. This year I

am the club chairman for Fishguard YFC. It will definitely be a year to remember as the club won the local county winter fair for the first time. Covid-19: The club raised over £5,000 for seven local charities to help them through the Covid-19 pandemic. This involved me milking in just an apron and a pair of wellies for a week at the end of May. Pedigree: Ten years ago I bought my first bulling heifer from my grandparents’ herd of pedigree Salers and I also bought a few heifers from pedigree sales in the same year.

They made up the foundation cows of my pedigree Salers, from which I went on to grow my own suckler herd. I now farm a business tenancy agreement on 35 hectares (86 acres) of my grandparents’ farm. With the weather drier than

normal for the time of year back in autumn, the calves which were born were weaned a month earlier than normal. They were, therefore, moved on to silage aftermath grazing on young perennial and white clover leys.

This helped to maintain growth rates and the cows could have an extra month dry to save them losing too much body condition.

Hayscastle, Pembrokeshire

Nathan Rogers, 26, is club chairman of Fishguard YFC and manages a herd of 140 British Friesian and Shorthorn cross cows.

Dairy: I started helping out on a neighbouring farm about 10 years ago, relief milking and doing general fieldwork throughout the years. To this very day I love this kind of work. I am now the farm’s current herd manager for an all-year-round calving dairy herd, managing 140 cows, which are made up of British Friesians and Shorthorn crosses. This utilises a low input system maximising milk from forage, with an annual milk yield of 4,900 litres and 700kg cake per cow fed through the parlour on a 365-day calving index.

MORE INFORMATION

If you would like to be featured, email olivia.midgley@fginsight.com

Nathan Rogers.

Nathan Rogers

Education and experience

I WAS sorry to read the letter from your reader Kevin Cavernay, (Letters, FG, June 26) who seemed to believe agricultural colleges were becoming irrelevant.

Newton Rigg runs a wide range of educational, vocational, and apprenticeship courses appropriate for students of varying ages and abilities and could well be described as a community college or resource.

For example, the horticultural department is working with the local orchard group to repeat an experiment done in 1910 to evaluate the best apples for their area, only this time it is modern dessert apples under scrutiny not cooking apples.

Unfortunately, many farmers will understand the comment made in the article by Thomas Carrick (In Your Field, FG, June 12) which Mr Cavernay’s letter refers to, which is that farmers are concerned those who control policy do not value experience and ignore it.

The letter by J. Folder (Letters, FG, June 26) about dredging illustrates this exactly.

Also, I have known several examples of demands for the removal of sheep, and fencing off areas of land to preserve wild flowers only to have them disappear, choked by coarse grass.

Natural England has such a powerful voice that it has convinced everyone that the fells are ‘overgrazed.’ This is actually a subjective not objective assessment and basically no more than an opinion.

The sheep had to come off the fell fit to sell or breed and the fell grazing was the rightful entitlement of the commoners.

In fact the numbers of sheep on the fells was actually never known, only the population in an area.

Most of the increase was on the lower land which was improved at the Government’s recommendation at the time.

If you have a classic picture you would like to share, please email it to

Education and experience should go hand-in-hand, otherwise we are left with the situation described to me as ‘a group of people in charge who do not know, what they do not know’.

Hilary Wilson, Appleby, Cumbria.

Wool price

THE price of wool is an absolute disgrace.

I would like to know what British Wool actually does with its time.

During this time of crisis, knowing the country is facing an economic downturn, which is affecting all industries, I would have thought someone on the board would have

had the initiative to have researched the demand for wool, for example, wool sold as a good insulating material.

Ray Peate, Herefordshire.

Unequal divides

SOME have recently characterised the debate over food standards and trade as being between ‘Waitrose protectionists and Lidl free-traders’.

This belittles the genuine divide between the countryside and cities. Ending this divide starts with sharing, through a food and farming policy that truly supports communities, health and the environment.

Any post-Covid-19 investments in

infrastructure and public services must be shared with the countryside. How is it fair for London to be projected to receive over 50 per cent of England’s transport budget in 2016-2021?

Farming also needs to see ‘public money for public goods’ help end rural age, race and classbased exclusivity.

Only 10 per cent of the countryside is open access, while only 3.5 per cent of the UK’s ethnic minority population live in the countryside (2011 census). We have to overturn this unjust and unequal divide so we can all fight for communities, food, and the environment.

George Richmond, Chedworth, Gloucestershire.

Conditions disclose to us by entering into our competition to win £200 for the Stockjudging Competition or £20 Love2Shop vouchers for the weekly Crossword Competition, referred to throughout this statement as the “Competitions”. How we collect your information: We collect the personal data you have provided to us by filling in the form on our website www.fginsight.com OR printed form when entering the Competitions. If you have entered the Competitions via our site we may also collect some technical information about how you use our site, for example, the type of device you are using, your operating system, IP address, uniform resource locator (URL), clickstream and length of visit. How we use the information you provide: We will use your personal information: • to administer the Competitions, on the basis that the use of your personal data for this purpose will be necessary to enter you into the competitions and, if you are successful, contact you to notify you of your prize; and, • if you are new to AgriBriefing and where you have agreed to this, to provide you with news and updates from time to time about our services; and, if at any point in the future you do not wish to receive any news and updates from us or from, you can unsubscribe from our marketing list at any time by following the steps below. To unsubscribe from any AgriBriefing communications using the link on the email we send you or by emailing us at dataprotection@agribriefing.com. We will not use your information for any purposes except those listed in this policy without letting you know and getting your permission, if necessary, first. Who do we share your information with? We will not disclose your information to any third parties without your consent, except where: • it is necessary to enable any of our staff, employees, agents, contractors, suppliers or commercial partners to provide a service to us or to perform a function on our behalf; • we have a legal obligation to disclose your information (for example, if a court orders us to); or • there is a sale or purchase of any business assets, or where AgriBriefing or any of its group companies are being acquired by a third party. Where we use third parties as described above to process your personal information, we will ensure that they have adequate security measures in place to safeguard your personal information. For how long do we keep your personal information? We keep your personal information for 36 months for the purposes for which it was collected or for any period for which we are required to keep personal information to comply with our legal and regulatory requirements, or until you ask us to delete your personal information. Your rights: You have a number of rights in relation to your personal information. These include the right to: • find out how we process your personal information; • request that your personal information is corrected if you believe it is incorrect or inaccurate; • obtain restriction on our, or object to, processing of your personal information; •

Haymaking at Sabden, near Clitheroe, Lancashire. Pictured left to right: Sheila Towler, Dick Wade, Stanley Jones, Una Towler, Maud Wade and Bobby Wade. Sent in by Bobby Wade.

NI farmers slam Gov over lack of ‘meaningful’ Brexit engagement

HIGHER prices and threats to farm businesses’ viability are ‘significant risks’ for Northern Ireland without the right preparation and approach to post-Brexit protocol.

According to evidence given by Northern Ireland’s agri-food sector representatives during the House of Lords EU Environment sub-committee last month, farmers urged Government must ‘step up’ its engagement with agri-food firms.

It comes after the sector slammed Number 10 over a lack of ‘meaningful engagement’ on the infrastructure of the ‘Northern Ireland Protocol’, despite Government’s assurances that Northern Ireland would continue to have ‘unfettered’ access to Britain’s market.

Responding to these concerns in a letter to Defra Secretary George Eustice, sub-committee chairman Lord Teverson said: “Rushed,

last-minute business engagement will not be enough to create effective solutions, given the urgency, scale and complexity of the task.

Critical

“The protocol is an opportunity for Northern Ireland to have a unique position in trade. A UK-EU free trade agreement is critical to making this possible.”

Witnesses, including farmers, grain

merchants and food processors, also added protocol arrangements must not undermine the reputation of products from Northern Ireland and their recognition as British in the UK’s wider internal market.

READ MORE

A copy of the committee’s main findings can be found at: committees. parliament.uk/publications/1736/ documents/16876/default

AG-TOURISM VAT PLEDGE

■ FARM groups welcomed Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s pledge to reduce VAT by 15 per cent for the tourism sector, which will see agritourism ‘fight back’ post-Covid-19.

VAT will be temporarily slashed from 20 per cent to 5 per cent for the hospitality and tourism sectors, between July 15 and January 12, 2021. With rural tourism businesses expecting revenue losses of up to £17.7 billion this year, CLA president Mark Bridgeman said the cut was a vital step in restarting the rural economy.

Industry ‘not out of woods’ in labour battle

rGrowers have seen a spike in labour costs

By Hannah Binns

THE Government’s ‘Pick for Britain’ campaign has been branded a success by officials, despite criticism from growers in recent weeks.

Launched in April by Defra, the campaign hoped to attract British workers to help harvest crops amid the Covid-19 pandemic and address rising concerns about severe migrant labour shortages.

But growers have warned they are still struggling to attract and retain workers, with a new report by Andersons revealing Covid-19 has seen a spike in labour costs up to 15 per cent.

Speaking to MPs on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee on June 30, Mr Eustice

claimed the initiative had been a ‘great success’ with large companies, such as G’s, Cambridgeshire, reporting one third of pickers were British during the peak month of June.

Success

Mr Eustice said: “The feedback from industry was the campaign had been a success, since they had recruited a third of their labour and did not need a further boost of the campaign”.

David Kennedy, Defra director general for food and farming, added: “Some companies asked to be delisted from the website, stating they had met all of their recruitment labour needs for the season, a sure sign of success.”

Jack Ward, chief executive of the British Growers Association, agreed the campaign had been a success since it had ‘attracted a lot of attention and brought people into

the industry’ as part of a wider multistrand approach.

But he warned the industry was ‘not out of the woods yet’.

He said: “There could be a drop off in numbers as the season progresses, with workers drifting back to their original types of employment as restrictions are lifted.”

While acknowledging average productivity among the British workforce was lower than those ‘with experience’, and the need to maintain some migrant labour, Mr Eustice said British workers can be part of the mix.

Mr Kennedy also called for a balance of domestic and foreign workers within the sector.

He said: “Scaling up the seasonal workers’ pilot scheme next year will be important, but we must think about what the right balance is of domestic and foreign workers. The industry needs both.”

The Countryside Alliance also welcomed the ‘eat out to help out’ support scheme, which will give diners up to £10 a head off meals eaten out during August.

PACKHAM CULL APPEAL

■ ACTIVIST and co-founder of Wild Justice, Chris Packham, has launched a crowdfunding appeal to fund a legal challenge against the Government’s badger cull in England.

Created on June 30, more than £38,000 has been donated to help Wild Justice ‘challenge the legality of free shooting under current circumstances’.

BENEFITS OF ‘PROPORTIONATE’ BPS PENALTIES

■ FARMERSacrossEnglandare settobenefitfromsimplerand moreproportionatepenaltiesfor smallover-claimsoflandunderthe BasicPaymentSchemein2020.

The changes will see Government reduce the penalty applied by the Rural Payments Agency for overclaims on more than two hectares or 3 per cent of the area determined, to 0.75 times the size of the over-claim.

MORE INFORMATION gov.uk/government/publications/ basic-payment-scheme-rulesfor-2020

Defra advocates a balance of domestic and foreign workers within the sector.

Search #Farm24 on social media

Mainstream retailing does not always mean conventional. Morrisons Local Foodmakers Programme is working with producers to make each store reflect the bounty of its local area. Jez Fredenburgh reports.

Local producers offering consumers artisan food

Shopping with a big retailer should not mean consumers miss out on great products produced locally, says Darren Smith, senior local sourcing manager at Morrisons.

He says: “Shoppers should be able to support local food producers, even if they are shopping with a national retailer. We want people to walk into Morrisons and feel they are in a local store serving the local community.”

Driving this is the Local Foodmakers programme, launched back in 2017, which has seen the retailer list 1,167 new products from 240 local suppliers. Darren says: “There are so many products with strong local heritage and provenance that our customers love to see us selling. We also continue to discover the next generation of local foodmakers who are at the forefront of local sourcing, sustainability and innovation in the food and drink they are producing.”

Growing local talent

To find suppliers, Morrisons invites local producers to an event in their community along with 200-300 customers who try their products and provide feedback.

“Our local buying managers are there to talk to producers about their business,” says Darren. “Sometimes they’re not ready to supply a retailer, but that is where we act as mentors, by providing advice such as on accreditation and packaging.”

Since lockdown, Morrisons has reached out to some of these suppliers

About the Nation’s Local Foodmakers campaign

who have lost their hospitality market, providing a lifeline for many.

Darren says: “We have been able to accelerate relationships and offset their losses through listings.

“We have also reduced payment terms for suppliers from 30 days to immediate payment to help them with cashflow.”

Rich local bounty

Farmer-suppliers whose products are now listed as a result of the Local Foodmakers Programme include

JGiel Spierings was just 19 when he diversified his family’s Cornish dairy farm into making Gouda cheese; a move which saved the farm from being sold.

Having come from the Netherlands in the 1990s, his parents faced years of bad milk prices and unaffordable repairs, leading to ongoing challenges and frustrations.

But when he suggested they diversify into Gouda, the family put the farm sale on hold while Giel learned cheesemaking in the Netherlands.

Returning, he experimented in pots and pans, tested out his cheese with local chefs, and formed a business plan.

Eight years later, he’s buying milk at 40ppl from his parents, has won ‘Best Hard Cheese’ at the Great British Cheese Awards and is supplying eight Morrisons stores in the south west of England.

JFarmers and food producers can apply for The Nation’s Local Foodmakers campaign which continues in a digital format since the recent impact of Covid-19 with an invite to have a virtual meeting and send products to a local food panel of Morrisons customers and colleagues.

MORE INFORMATION

To register or find out more, visit my.morrisons.com/foodmakers

Cheshire-based Clotton Hall Farm, from which the clotted cream is outselling national brands it sits alongside, and Norfolk grower Andy Allen’s asparagus, which has outstripped sales of bunches from further afield.

Dartmoor Farmers Association, a co-operative of 95 farmers, supplies beef and lamb into 43 Morrisons stores in the south west of England, with plans to launch pies into stores soon.

But local products in Morrisons stores also include beers, oils, cheeses and other meat and seasonal produce.

Justin Lennox, local solutions buying manager at Morrisons, says local food provenance is more robust than ever and welcomes the quality and variety being developed.

He says: “There are more interesting product innovations from farmers and local foodmakers than I ever saw working with blue-chip companies. That’s where the real innovation is right now. Farm diversifications have always been there to a degree, but I guess it has never been as important as now.”

Giel Spierings is a Morrisons cheese supplier.

But with 60 per cent of his trade normally going to the hospitality sector, his main market closed overnight with lockdown.

Giel says: “The first three weeks I didn’t sell a single bit of cheese. The same time last year I was selling 1.5

tonnes a week and growing at 30 per cent a month.”

Fortunately, he had attended a Morrisons Local Foodmakers Programme two years ago and, although he was not in a position to begin supplying, he went on to

Spotlight: Giel Spierings, cheese supplier, Cornwall

Visit FGinsight.com/24HoursinFarming

secure the necessary accreditation to sell in retail in February this year.

When lockdown hit, Giel was about to call Morrisons to ask if he could supply local stores, but Darren was already a step ahead.

and solar panels supply 100 per cent of the energy used for cheesemaking.

Looking ahead, Giel is practical about the challenges which lie ahead, but is confident in consumer choices and the opportunities it can bring.

How to get involved

JTake the pledge at FGinsight.com/GetInvolved and in return we will send you a pledge pack and lots of tips to get involved, so we collectively raise the voice of agriculture

JSimply tag your social media posts with #Farm24 and include @FarmersGuardian and @Morrisons

JShow your working day

JShow what makes you proud

JShare the benefits of buying British

JShow where food comes from

JShow how you are keeping the nation fed

JAndy Allen’s asparagus, Portwood Asparagus, is sold throughout the UK from Scotland to the Channel Islands.

“It’s the flavour we’re known for,” says Andy. “We grow it on medium loam soil over clay, so it grows slowly, meaning the flavour is more intense.”

Through wholesalers, Andy has supplied asparagus to royal weddings, the BAFTAs, Queen’s tennis championship, Harrods and top London restaurants and hotels.

Giel says: “He called me to say he knew cheesemakers were having a hard time and there was an opportunity to temporarily list some of our stock.”

Within two weeks, he was supplying the retailer with 60-80 wedges, each weighing 200g.

He says: “If we were still selling to hospitality, I would be really happy with the volume we’re selling through Morrisons. But right now, that volume is crucial to our cashflow and keeping the business going.”

The family’s 100-strong Holstein Friesian pedigree herd is fed entirely with home-grown forage on a zerograzing system from 73 hectares (180 acres), while a biomass boiler

He says: “I can see a recession coming, so people might not go to restaurants as much, but they will want good cheese to have at home. I think it will go crazy at Christmas. No-one else makes Gouda in England.”

Farm facts

JDairy farm making England’s only Gouda cheese

JNormally 60 per cent of stock sold to hospitality

JSince lockdown has been supplying eight Morrisons stores

J100 Holstein Friesians on a zero grazing system

JCheese enterprise buys 6,000 litres of milk from dairy business at 40ppl

Take the pledge

Andy began supplying local Morrisons stores after attending a Local Foodmakers event, starting with four stores, which has now grown to 15 across East Anglia.

He says: “Morrisons were incredibly proactive. I was impressed the retailer was keen to source direct and support local growers. Produce managers were good at promoting the product by putting it at the front of store as well as in the vegetable aisle. They listened to my comments and were proactive about them.”

The increased number of stores and addition of selling online helped see sales of Portwood Asparagus increase by 76 per cent year on year. About 130 seasonal pickers harvest his asparagus six days a week, with the picking season running from April until June 21.

From 101 hectares (250 acres), 250 tonnes of asparagus is produced, which is grown alongside 304ha (750 acres) of arable crops.

Asparagus takes three years to

establish and, as a perennial crop, is in the ground for eight to 10 years.

Andy, who started growing asparagus on 1ha (2.5 acres) in 1987, says he would like to continue being part of the Local Foodmakers Programme going forward. He says: “Morrisons pays me a fair price and pays on time. The retailer did what it said it would do.”

Farm facts

JNorfolk asparagus grower W. Allen and Sons produces 250 tonnes/year

J304 hectares (750 acres) of arable, 101ha (250 acres) of asparagus

JStarted supplying four Morrisons stores in 2019, now supplies 15 stores in East Anglia

JSells into wholesale markets across UK and top venues and events

J130 seasonal pickers

JYou don’t have to wait until Thursday, August 6 to get involved in 24 Hours in Farming. Head over to FGinsight.com/24HoursinFarming to let us know you will be taking part and we will send you a pledge pack with a free poster and tips on how to get involved on the day.

We want to see you post your pledges on social media in the run up to the day and are enjoying the pictures we are seeing across social media pictured here. Get involved today and help us showcase British farming to the world in agriculture’s biggest online digital event.

As always, throughout the 24 hours, the Farmers Guardian team will be right here with you, curating the masses of content and sharing it across our platforms during the agricultural industry’s biggest online event.

Spotlight: Andy Allen, asparagus supplier, Norfolk

Asparagus supplier Andy Allen.

Edited by Olivia Midgley

Pig market buoyed by strong demand

rPork sales up 16.1 per cent on 2019

By Cedric Porter

THE pig market continues its run of stability, with sales underpinned by domestic demand, relatively tight supply and export demand. However, producers are facing higher feed costs and uncertainty over the recovery of the foodservice sector.

Retail sales of bacon and sausages have been more than a fifth higher since the beginning of March than the same period last year, according to Kantar figures for AHDB.

Primary pork sales were 16.1 per cent higher last year, with sales of all three categories up 22.6 per cent to 198,300 tonnes. Demand has been higher every week since the middle of March – the week before lockdown happened.

Like other meats, pork sales were hit by the closure of restaurants and other foodservice outlets.

AHDB estimated 171,000t of pork sales or 14 per cent of the total were out of home in the year to June 2019.

If out of home sales were down by 75 per cent during the four months of lockdown, then that would have been nearly 43,000t of lost sales,

THERE was confusion over how much threat a strain of swine flu discovered in China posed.

A report compiled by Chinese agricultural and medical scientists said the G4 virus, which descended from the 2009 H1N1 swine flu strain, ‘showed all the essential hallmarks

which would have been greater than the increase in retail sales.

The reopening of pubs and restaurants will increase out of home pork sales, but it is likely that it will take time before demand returns to preCovid-19 levels.

Figures

In the first five months of 2020, 4.481 million reared clean pigs were slaughtered, according to Defra figures, which was 1 per cent more than the same period last year.

There were 99,000 sows and boars slaughtered during the five months, which was 5.6 per cent less than last year. May pig slaughtering was 12.3 per less at 801,200 head, with sow and boar throughput down 30.9 per cent in the month.

The pork export market held up during Covid-19, the latest figures suggest.

Exports in April were 2 per cent higher at 20,500t, according to HMRC data, with more than half of that trade to China, demonstrating how reliant the UK has become on sales to the country.

Imports during the month were nearly a third lower at 26,600t.

A tight market may support pig prices for the next few months, but producers face higher feed costs because of a smaller UK cereal harvest.

of a candidate pandemic virus.’

The virus evolved in pigs during the 2010s, with 10 per cent of pig farm workers and 4.4 per cent of the general population in Hebei and Shandong provinces in China testing positive for it in a survey. However, there was

PERCENTAGE CHANGE IN WEEKLY YEAR-ON-YEAR RETAIL PORK SALES

no evidence that the flu spreads between people.

The Chinese Government played down the threat of the virus. It said it was not new and has been monitored by it and the World Health Organisation since 2011. It added that the sampling used

in the initial report was small and media coverage had been exaggerated and non-factual.

As Covid-19 originated in China and the country was also hard hit by African swine fever, the light is being shone on how its meat sector operates.

China downplays threat of new swine flu strain

More than half of UK pork exports in April went to China.

Carbon changes may be needed

rNet zero aims may hit profit margins

By Cedric Porter

FARMERS may be required to make significant changes to the way they farm if they are to meet carbon neutral targets, analysis by Savills has found. The land agency and consultancy said while general UK greenhouse emissions have fallen by 30 per cent since 2008, emissions from farming are down by just 16 per cent since 1990. Agriculture accounted for 7 per cent of emissions 30 years ago, but that proportion has risen to 11 per cent and the Government could introduce legislation to force farms to become more carbon efficient as it seeks to meet its carbon neutrality targets.

Savills said a virtual 830-hectare East Midlands arable farm emits 1,335 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent a year (CO2e t/year), with just 5.7 per cent or 77t of this sequestrated by its network of field margins and hedgerows.

Rotational grazing

Carbon neutrality could be achieved by retaining some arable production but introducing a 270-cattle beef herd to provide rotational grazing, along with the planting of Sitka spruce.

However, only 41 per cent of the farm would be cropped and its gross margin would fall by 58 per cent compared to the existing set-up.

Converting the farm to organic arable and forestry would mean the farm was carbon negative to the tune of 816t of CO2 equivalent a year, with an 18.1 per cent drop in gross margin.

Forestry is an effective way of reducing carbon emissions.

An all-livestock scenario would increase net emissions by 120t, with gross margins only 13 per cent of what is currently achieved. The most effective way to reduce

CARBON MODELLING SCENARIOS: ECONOMICS AND EMISSIONS

830-hectare

Source: Savills

emissions would be to turn the whole farm over to forestry, which would mean that the farm sequestrated 5,238t of carbon, but only delivered a gross margin of £73,000 compared to the farm’s current £535,000.

Savills pointed to the dilemma faced by farmers as they seek to reduce their carbon footprint.

A spokesperson said: “Enterprises on land have to be economically viable and are essential in providing food.

“A balance between crop production and forestry could allow a farm to achieve net zero, however a considerable area of the farm would require converting to forestry, which could affect the viability of the remaining farming enterprise.”

Warburtons will cease its milling wheat contract with Openfield from July 2022 after 20 years.

Warburtons announces change to wheat supply chain

WARBURTONS has announced it will cease its milling wheat contract with Openfield from July 2022 and move forward with Frontier Agriculture, following an internal review of its wheat supply chain.

In a joint letter to producers seen by Farmers Guardian, Warburtons revealed it would ‘move its UK wheat supply to Frontier Agriculture from the end of harvest year 2021 (July 2022)’ in order to support ‘changes to its milling supply chain’.

Growers took to social media to

express their disappointment about the news.

David Mathias, cereals director at Warburtons, said: “As our contract with Openfield continues until July 2022, there will be no immediate changes to how we operate.”

The decision means the last crop under the existing relationship will be harvest 2021.

Disappointed with the decision, Openfield, which has supplied Warburtons for 20 years, said there was ‘no enmity’ between the companies and respected their decision

to ‘manage contractual agreements to suit their business needs’.

Committed

Richard Jenner, member services director at Openfield, said: “There are two full seasons ahead before these changes come into effect, [and] together Warburtons and Openfield remain committed to execute and manage all areas of the existing contract in a professional manner.”

Mr Mathias added the change in supply contract did not alter Warburton’s commitment to UK agriculture.

Livestock sales to resume at Builth Wells auction mart

rSite under new ownership

By Hannah Binns

FARMERS have welcomed the news that weekly livestock sales will resume at Builth Wells auction mart under new ownership after months of closure and uncertainty.

From today (July 10) prime lambs and cull ewe sales will resume at the site under Sunderlands ownership.

Sunderlands is set to purchase Brightwells’ livestock business, comprising shares in Hereford Market Auctioneers (HMA) and the lease of Builth Wells market, in the firm’s ‘largest acquisition yet’.

The company already operated HMA in partnership with Brightwells, but the announcement will

see it take sole ownership, with business to continue ‘as usual’.

Builth Wells ceased operation in March when the Covid-19 lockdown came into effect due to Brightwells’ concerns about the site’s town centre location.

More than 100 farmers attended a vehicle protest at the site in June fearing it would remain closed once the virus restrictions were lifted.

Expand

Richard Hyde of Sunderlands said: “Powys has the highest density of sheep anywhere in the world and Sunderlands took the decision to expand further their livestock auctioneering business from Hereford and Talgarth markets to include Builth Wells market.

“The current crisis has underlined the importance of home-grown food production and not to be

reliant upon imports which can stop overnight, as this crisis has blatantly pointed out.

“Sunderlands is pleased to invest further in British agriculture and particularly livestock production in the highest density sheep population in the world.”

The Farmers’ Union of Wales’ Brecon and Radnor county executive officer Catrin Price said: “News that the mart is re-opening is most welcome. Its closure would have had a seriously negative impact on our rural community.

“It is a vital lifeline for our farmers.”

Joint managing directors of Brightwells, Nick Gorst and Richard Binnersley, said the sale of the livestock enterprise would allow the business to ‘focus and redeploy [their] resources in established markets, such as rural processional services’.

He added: “Even after 2022, we will continue to source more than half our wheat from UK farms and UK wheat growing will play a fundamental part of our long-term business plans.”

Olly Harrison, an arable farmer from Lancashire, said: “I am disappointed that a family-run British company [such as] Warburtons, after 20-odd years of buying its wheat through a farmer co-operative, Openfield, has decided [to] ditch them for a US-owned multinational that is all for its shareholders.”

Medina Dairy announces 1.5ppl milk price increase for August

MEDINA Dairy has informed its suppliers of a further 1.5ppl increase in their milk price by August 1, 2020. The average standard litre price will be 24.75ppl and will be paid on 100 per cent of all milk supplied by its farmers.

Covid-19 closure of the food service sector and wholesale market has had a major impact on Medina Dairy’s revenue in recent months, with farmers receiving reduced payments.

Returns

But the dairy processor has begun to increase its returns to farmers, announcing milk price increases for June (1ppl), July (1.5ppl) and August (1.5ppl) consecutively.

Arla remains top of the milk price league table. The processor reduced its July price by 0.63ppl, with a standard litre price of 28.17ppl.

24.75ppl

With the long-awaited launch of the Government’s dairy contracts consultation, Hannah Binns explores industry’s aspirations for reforms and measures dairy processors would like to see in order to achieve a level playing field.

‘Golden opportunity’ for UK dairy sector

rRisk must be shared across supply chain

UK dairy farmers have been urged to speak up for a more effective dairy supply chain, with fairer terms for farmers, in their response to the Government’s consultation on contracts.

Open until September 15, the long-awaited consultation seeks views on whether contract regulations can be introduced to ensure farmers are treated fairly. It follows a 2018 Grocery Code Adjudicator (GCA) review which found there

A headline milk price is of no value whatsoever if a buyer has the sole right to change it at will

MICHAEL OAKES

was an uneven distribution of power within the dairy supply chain, with farmers subject to uncertainty and unfair milk pricing.

The Covid-19 pandemic saw severe milk market turmoil, with farmers bearing a disproportionate amount of the cost in the supply chain due to non-negotiated contract changes, price cuts, unilateral implementation of A/B quotas, and delayed payments.

Unfair

NFU Scotland milk committee chairman, Gary Mitchell, said: “This is the best opportunity since deregulation in 1994 for the dairy sector to evolve the current unfair, inefficient, short-sighted supply chain.

“The experience of Covid-19 merely underlines that risk management, efficient reactive and proactive volume management, logistics and long-term investment cannot be effectively addressed without industry co-ordination and co-operation.”

Branded a ‘golden opportunity for the future of the UK dairy sector’, the UK farming unions have identified five key areas of reform, which will form part of their

consultation responses, to ensure fairness, transparency and trust for buyers and farmers.

An end to discretionary pricing, where a processor can unilaterally vary price and pass risk onto the farmer, in favour of a clear pricing mechanism, is one of the collective asks.

Michael Oakes, NFU dairy board chairman, said: “A headline milk price is of no value whatsoever if a buyer has the sole right to change it at will.

“We need to be able to share risk along the supply chain much more effectively than we currently do.

“At the moment, there is no incentive for a milk buyer to look up the supply chain to manage their risk, as they know much of it can be managed by pushing the risk down to a farm level.”

The unions also called for an improved working relationship between farmers and processors through agreed contract changes and an ability for farmers to choose between exclusive and non-exclusive contracts to adapt and take advantage of different markets.

Also suggested is the elimination of unilateral changes and onesided contract terms along with

What do the dairy processors think?

SPEAKING to Farmers Guardian about what it would like to see from the consultation, dairy processor Muller said: “What we seek from any future contract guidance is market orientation, fairness, consistency, and the latitude to create innovative solutions where it benefits the whole supply chain – our farmers, our business, and our customers.

“It is also clear that if mandatory contracts are to be introduced, they must be applied consistently across our industry with no exceptions, so that the industry can operate on a level playing field.”

Farmer-owned co-operative First Milk said it believed in farmers having ‘robust and fair contracts’, but warned any regulation must not ‘impede the success of our co-operative or the UK dairy industry’.

A spokesperson said: “We will be working with our farmer members, their council and board representatives, to provide a detailed response to each aspect of the consultation.”

an establishment of a structure similar to the GCA to oversee the regulation, with clear consequences for any breaches.

VIEW THE CONSULTATION

Visit consult.defra.gov.uk/agrifood-chain-directorate/contractualrelationships-in-the-uk-dairy-industry

Covid-19 caused severe milk market turmoil with farmers bearing a disproportionate amount of the cost.

PICTURE: TIM SCRIVENER

Food prices climb for first time this year

GLOBAL food prices rose in June for the first time this year, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said.

Dow Jones analysts said the figures showed the sharp declines experienced by food commodities as the coronavirus hit demand could be easing.

The UN FAO’s monthly food price index, which tracks a basket of the most common foodstuffs such as grains, vegetable oils and meat, rose 2.4 per cent in June to 93.2 points.

The increase is the first in four consecutive months of declining food prices, brought about by the Covid-19 crisis.

Rise

The rise in the overall index has largely come from jumps in the price of sugar and vegetable oils.

Dairy prices rose 4 per cent as imports from the Middle East and East Asia were slowly recovering, the FAO said.

Cereal and meat prices both rose by 0.6 per cent. While demand for staple foods such as cereals have been less affected by the virus, harvest this year of many grains are expected to be very strong.

The FAO said strong supplies of poultry and beef also weighed on meat prices.

93.2

The UN FAO’s monthly food price index, which tracks a basket of the most common foodstuffs, rose to 93.2 points last month.

A survey carried out by Copa-Cogeca assessed the rising impact of ‘agribashing’ across the EU.

Attacks on agriculture demotivating farmers

rMedia blamed for ‘agri-bashing’ trend

By Mollie Leach

MORE than 30 per cent of French and German farmers reported escalated media aggression towards agriculture had impacted their motivation to continue farming, a survey has revealed.

Carried out by Copa-Cogeca within the scope of the EU Farmers’ Confidence Barometer, the survey assessed the rising impact of ‘agri-bashing’ across the EU, in an effort to better understand where farmers felt most unfair criticism originated.

With 2,500 participants from

Limit soil compaction at silage-making

Grassland farmers could benefit from adopting an ‘arable mindset’ in controlling the movement of machinery across fields as a means of limiting compaction and maximising grass yields. This is a viable option according to Dr Paul Hargreaves, grassland researcher for SRUC, who completed a threeyear study looking at Controlled Traffic Farming (CTF) on silage fields. His results show grassland farmers could expect a yield increase of 8.5-10.5% by following a CTF system. At the same time nitrogen use efficiency will also be improved.

Rather than driving anywhere on a field, CTF means machines follow the same wheel marks every time. “It’s about trying to control the movements of machinery around a field to limit the area they cover, and running all machinery along similar wheelings. It’s trying to think of grass as an arable

France, Germany, Hungary and Italy, the survey asked farmers if they had observed an increased number of critical comments, which targeted their farming activities in the public discourse, during the first quarter of 2020.

France

The first results showcased France had suffered the most, with 75 per cent of French farmers claiming their farming practices had been attacked by the media.

Germany came second, with 59 per cent of farmers believing their practices had been criticised, while in Hungary (38 per cent) and Italy (12 per cent), criticism in public discourse had proved to have a lesser impact.

Meanwhile, when examining the impact of direct criticism via the use of social media, France came in at number one again, with 26 per cent of farmers agreeing with the statement, followed by Germany with 14 per cent.

The results follow a similar trend within the UK, whereby NFU president Minette Batters warned media misinformation about agriculture had proved ‘number one’ on farmers’ lists of concerns.

When asked if mainstream criticism had dampened farmers’ motivation to continue farming, the survey subsequently demonstrated more than 30 per cent of French (31 per cent) and German (33 per cent) farmers had been directly affected.

with Philip Cosgrave Agronomist, Yara UK Ltd.

crop,” says Dr Hargreaves. SRUC trial work found that about 83% of a field cut three times using a forage harvester, with slurry applied, will be covered in wheelings on a traditional system. These wheelings will suffer from soil compaction and therefore reduced yields. On a CTF system, the area covered in wheelings reduced to about 19%.

To operate CTF, you need to establish the narrowest working width of all your machinery. If it’s nine metres, all equipment needs to work within this. This includes the slurry spreader, tedder, mower etc. GPS is a must on tractors and foragers. The distance between the forage harvester and silage trailers will increase with CTF, so high-sided trailers are essential.

To read more on CTF on grassland, go to www.yara.co.uk

SECTION HERE SECOND BROW FARM PROFILE

Edited by Hannah Park –

Diversification allowed Ian Steele the opportunity to return to the family farm in north Shropshire, where a range of diversification projects have boosted the smaller scale farming operation. Amy Stinton finds out more.

Multiple projects secure family farming future

Returning to Treflach Farm, Oswestry, north Shropshire, was initially a temporary measure for Ian Steele, but his passion for the family farm soon grew.

He had originally planned to be back for 12 months while his father was undertaking medical treatment, but soon decided he wanted to return permanently.

Ian has been working to build his own successes at the 40-hectare (100-acre) farm since 2006, which has been in the family since 1904.

Feeling that a dairy herd, which his father had run for 30 years until 1999, was not a viable option, Ian decided to take the leap

into the food service and community engagement sector which has seen several diversification streams established but allowed the farm to remain at the heart of the business.

Ian says: “Farming is still a key aspect of the business, but diversification has generated essential income a dairy enterprise simply couldn’t provide.

“It’s also allowed us to work with the local community and raise the profile of agriculture and food production, which is something that’s very close to my heart.

“We’re currently running a low input system to enhance our diversification projects. This includes a herd of 20 Hereford cows,

with calves finished off grass, alongside a group of Tamworth pigs. We also grow a small amount of wholecrop barley and peas to feed the pigs, and over-winter sheep on the grazing land for additional income.

Changes

“Due to the significant changes we’ve made to the business, a huge amount of time is required for this to be successful and often the diversification takes our time away from the farm.

“But our focus over the next couple of years is to improve livestock efficiencies, as this is one way we can continue to move the business forward.”

Environmental sustainability is important, says Ian, and to help fund some of the initial improvements on-farm, he took advantage of Severn Trent’s boost for biodiversity grant scheme.

Ian says: “To secure the funding, we submitted a project proposal explaining the work we wanted to undertake to improve biodiversity. After being lucky enough to get it, we then took the opportunity to pitch to a Dragon’s Den- style panel to secure some additional support from the organisations partners.

“We received a total of £29,425, approximately 80 per cent of the project cost, to help us tackle a number of issues relating to the

The Tamworth pigs are fed barley and peas wholecrop which is grown on-farm.

local watercourse which included separating clean and dirty water, nutrient leaching and addressing a lack of water for grazing livestock.

“Further to the grant in 2018, this

FARM PROFILE SHROPSHIRE

Our vision is to increase livestock numbers and boost efficiency to help improve performance and environmental sustainability

IAN STEELE

year we also raised £12,708 through crowdfunding to develop a 0.6ha wetland to hold water in the landscape and prevent flooding, as well as clean water and further

increase biodiversity. This work will be undertaken towards the end of this summer.”

Diversification is now a big part of the operation at Treflach Farm, which includes glamping and camping, a farm shop as well as wholesale of produce to local shops and delis and community work.

“We’ve taken diversification to the full extreme here,” says Ian.

“We have a butchery and bakery on-site where fresh food is baked. Meat produced on-farm goes into products produced in the bakery and is also packed for sale in the farm shop, but we do also source some additional high quality meat from other local farmers.

is generated. We supply a couple of dozen shops and delis with a wide range of both homemade vegetarian and meat pies, pasties and quiche. We’ve even seen demand as far afield as London and are regularly supplying shops out of the county.”

Challenges as a result of the Covid-19 situation are, like for many businesses, still ongoing for Ian.

“The Treflach Farm brand and food service business is certainly growing. We have a small on-site farm shop, but as we’re out in the sticks, the wholesale market is where the lion’s share of our income

“No-one can ignore the current challenges we’re all facing, and for our business, this means the tourism aspect isn’t likely to generate as much income this summer so we’re having to adapt the wholesale and farm shop aspect of the business.

Demand

“Since the middle of March, we’ve been working hard to develop an online store to allow people to place click and collect food orders and we’re also doing doorstep distribution. Covid-19 has increased demand for this area of the business and we’re proud to be able to supply the local community with fresh produce.

“In the current situation, we’re

■ 40-hectare (100-acre) fourth generation family farm

■ Grass-based Hereford suckler herd and outdoor Tamworth sows, finishing about 80 pigs per year

■ Grows barley and peas wholecrop to feed the pigs

■ Several diversification streams established including glamping and camping, a farm shop as well as wholesale of produce to local shops and delis and community work

■ Grant funding obtained to improve biodiversity

Farm Facts

also not able to undertake any of the community work we usually would.”

This aspect of the business, which is close to Ian’s heart, is the work he does to help support and engage with the local community.

“Treflach Tuesdays is a programme we set up where adults can come and get involved with the farm and horticultural activities. We also have volunteer farm stays, where guests can help on-farm,” says Ian.

“We’re really surprised at the positive response we’ve received for this and we’re proud to be able to showcase agriculture to others.”

Training days and alternative provision for young adults with behavioural issues are also offered, whereby individuals are given the opportunity to learn more about food production and agriculture and several schools and community groups have also visited over the years.

Looking ahead, Ian has a clear vision of where he would like to see his business in 10 years’ time.

He wants to be at the centre of the community, have high animal welfare and produce top quality food sustainably, all while taking care of the environment.

“We’re working hard to increase our self-sufficiency, and to achieve this we want grow the farm and food business over the next five years,” he says.

“This is a part of the business we’re passionate about, teaching young people where their food comes from and helping to drive self-sufficiency within the UK,” Ian says.

“Our vision is to increase livestock numbers and boost efficiency to help improve performance and environmental sustainability. It’s also important to us that the business remains socially and economically viable, while providing an aspirational quality of life for us and our staff.

“The success of Treflach Farm has been achieved by capitalising on the opportunities available to allow us to produce a business where economics and the environment go hand-in-hand. We’ve utilised grants and ventured into new areas, which has allowed us to become a key part of our local community.”

SHROPSHIRE FARM PROFILE

The business over-winters sheep on the grazing land for additional income.

Treflach Farm’s farm shop sells items from the on-site butchery and bakery.

Treflach Farm’s grass-based Hereford suckler herd.

Edited by Teresa Rush – 01787

Winter barley and OSR harvest gets off the ground

rYields faring well after tough season

By Alice Dyer

A DRY spell over the last week has meant combines across the southern half of England are rolling into action after a challenging season for many.

Winter barley harvest in Letchworth, Hertfordshire, began around a week earlier than normal on Monday (July 6) for grower and contractor Peter Allen.

The crop of direct drilled Craft winter barley yielded 7.5 tonnes per hectare at 14.6 per cent moisture.

Mr Allen, whose base is in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, says: “For the given season I am quite pleased. All the crops sat in wet conditions all winter, had a very late spring and it stayed wet for a long time.

“When it did dry up, we had no rain for months, so April and May were dry as a bone. All things considered, and the fact it is not on the strongest of ground, I am pleased.”

Despite the very wet autumn and winter, Mr Allen, whose base is in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, managed to get around 85 per cent of intended crops in across 1,200ha of ground. He puts this down to having the flexibility of a variety of different drill options.

In Cambridgeshire, James Peck of P.X. Farms near Cambridge started on a 66ha field of Belfry hybrid winter barley on Monday.

Mr Peck says: “We have so far harvested 14.5ha.

“We are on a headland, but only

getting 7.7t/ha so nothing fantastic. I am hoping it gets better as we go through the field.

“This about the average time to start harvest here in Cambridgeshire for winter barley.

“The straw is a bit green at the bottom, but we are getting 14.2 per cent moisture and 68-69kg/hl bushel weight.”

Conditions

At Burgess and Walker, also in Cambridgeshire, oilseed rape harvest is underway.

Grower Paul Wilson says: “This is early for us, but it was drilled on

about August 10 which is three weeks earlier than normal.

“We saw a perfect window with ground conditions great to drill early on, so we pushed on to get it in before a big chunk of rain was due.”

The crop of Elgar is yielding 2.7t/ha at 7.6 per cent moisture.

“So far we are pleased with how it is yielding,” Mr Wilson adds.

“It could be better, but also could be a lot worse.

“This year we seemed to get away with a big attack from flea beetle and suffered a lot less damage unlike last year where we had

to write a lot off due to moisture and flea beetle.

“We are still undecided on the amount to drill next year and think we have to drill to the right conditions at the time.

“We will plan to drill early like this year if conditions are there, as it is certainly becoming harder and harder to grow.”

Oilseed rape is also being harvested at Burden Bros in Kent.

Farm manager Ryan McCormack says: “Yield is a little early to say, but it is looking at about 3.5t/ha at 7 per cent moisture and 43-44 per cent oil content.”

Potato area down 1 per cent on last year

AHDB’s first estimate for the total GB potato area for 2020/21 is 119,000 hectares, a fall of 1 per cent year-on-year.

Early planting was severely delayed across GB due to the wet winter.

However, by the time maincrop

planting came round, conditions had changed.

For many, planting conditions were near ideal, but for some it was edging on too dry, according to AHDB.

There is talk of some slightly reduced yields in the early crops being lifted, but maincrop on the

whole is looking okay. It is still early to judge, but current expectation is for an average crop, although dryness could still cause some problems, says AHDB.

If average yields of 45 tonnes/ha are achieved, the crop could amount to 5.4 million tonnes for the 2020/21

season. This would be a rise in production from 2019/20 despite a drop in the planted area. However, a significant proportion of the 2019 planted crop was unable to be lifted in optimum conditions and this estimate assumes the entire planted area is lifted, says AHDB.

Winter barley harvest in Hertfordshire started a week ahead of normal for grower Peter Allen.

The downward trend in P applications for arable crops over the longer term is of concern, says Prof Sylvester-Bradley.

Nitrogen use rates fall

r

Total N application on OSR drops 8kg/hectare

By Marianne Curtis

OVERALL nitrogen rates applied to arable crops saw a 5kg/hectare decrease in 2019 compared with the previous year. The total nitrogen use of 137kg/ha on these crops remained near the typical 140-150kg/ha range seen over most of the previous 30 years of the recently published British Survey of Fertiliser Practice.

The overall nitrogen rate for winter wheat and spring barley fell by 1kg/ha (to 185kg/ha) and 6kg/ha (to 95kg/ha), respectively. The overall rate for winter barley was unchanged at 143kg/ha, whereas the overall application rate for total nitrogen on oilseed rape decreased 8kg/ha to 180kg/ha, compared with 2018.

Commenting on the drop in N use on spring barley and oilseed rape, Prof Roger Sylvester-Bradley, ADAS head of crop performance,

Growers should be complimented for taking the conditions into account and saving costs

PROF ROGER

SYLVESTER-BRADLEY

OVERALL NITROGEN USE GB 2015-2019

Source: British Survey of Fertiliser Practice

says: “Possibly the most logical explanation is that the winter [2018/19] was dry and warm, so there was less leaching of N before spring barley crops and better overwinter growth and N capture by OSR crops.

“If so, growers should be complimented for taking the conditions into account and saving costs to themselves and the environment.”

Little variation

Overall, fertiliser phosphate and potash use on all crops and grass has varied little over the last five years, with rates on arable crops about three times higher than those used on grassland. For arable crops in 2019, P use was 26kg/ha compared with a five-year average of 28.2kg/ha. K use in 2019 was 34kg/ ha compared with a five-year average of 36.6kg/ha.

But Prof Sylvester-Bradley says it is important to take account of longterm trends. According to the survey, overall phosphate usage on arable crops declined gradually between 1984 and 1996. Thereafter the decline in rates became more marked until 2009, after which there was some recovery and relative stability until 2018, when a 3kg/ha decrease to 27kg/ha was recorded.

Prof Sylvester-Bradley says: “The

downward trend in P applications for arable crops is of some concern, given that we are finding P deficiencies are quite common. However, this may be mitigated somewhat by the increasing use of organic manures.”

In 2019, 62 per cent of arable crops received a dressing of sulphur, unchanged from 2018. Overall applications of sulphur on arable crops remained at 35kg/ha in 2019, the same as for 2018 and 2kg/ha above the five-year average.

In 2019, organic manure was applied to 26 per cent of the area of arable crops compared to 35 per cent for grass of five years old and over and 47 per cent for grass under five years old.

FERTILISER AIDS

THE Defra Farm Business Survey 2018/19, also recently published, revealed that 24 per cent of farm businesses carried out precision farming techniques to guide fertiliser application. Usage was more likely on cereal and general cropping farms and on farms with at least some of their land within a Nitrate Vulnerable Zone (NVZ). Just more than a quarter (27 per cent) of farms used soil nutrient software packages to help determine fertiliser applications. Again, usage was most common on cereal and general cropping farms and on farms with at least some of their land within an NVZ.

Nurtrient planning

Nearly half of farm businesses (46 per cent) relied on their own non-FACTS qualified advice for nutrient planning, 26 per cent relied on independently supplied FACTS advice, and 23 per cent received advice from their FACTS-qualified fertiliser supplier.

Leading plant disease control scientist appointed by NIAB

DR Bart Fraaije has been appointed by crop science organisation NIAB to lead its research programme on disease control.

He will be expanding NIAB’s research on new crop protection tools, fungicide resistance monitoring and developing optimal disease control programmes for fungal

pathogens on cereals and other crops.

Dr Fraaije joins NIAB from Rothamsted Research where he led the Fungicide Research Group. At NIAB, he is working on fungicide sensitivity testing and resistance monitoring as part of projects funded by AHDB and the agrochemical industry.

New markets, alternative crops and sustainability were key themes at the virtual Arable Scotland event, organised by the James Hutton Institute. Alice Dyer and Marianne Curtis report.

Timing sales tricky with smaller crops expected

rTrading volumes may be 20 per cent down

BUDGETING and cashflow management will be key for next season with UK cereal trading volumes looking set to be down.

Speaking at an Arable Scotland webinar, David Eudall, AHDB head of market specialists (arable), said: “We are looking at smaller crops.

“Trading volumes could be down 20 per cent. And if already sold, cashflow could dry up in the second half of the season.

“If sold, 40 per cent could suddenly turn into 60 per cent of trading volume

and growers must decide at what point the remaining 40 per cent has to be moved to generate cashflow.”

Alison Milne, director of Crafty Maltsters, a business which is malting home grown barley in Fife for niche brewing and distilling markets, believes there will be somewhat of a glut of malting barley overall.

“Covid-19 has slowed production,” she said.

Concerning

“Scottish malting is ticking away, but there will be carry-over into harvest, which is concerning.”

Julian Bell, senior rural business consultant Scotland’s Rural College,

said some co-operatives were taking steps to secure more storage in anticipation of carry-over.

“Some stores are not as empty as they should have been,” he said.

“Whisky distilling is less affected than brewing, as it is a long-term business. Whether there will be a longer term impact on the global economy which will slow sales, we do not know.

“We import a lot of malting barley from England. It may be that we use our own and bring in a bit less from further south.”

Rethinking varieties in move towards net zero

AS a country committed to reaching net zero by 2045, a webinar discussed the challenges and opportunities this presented for Scottish farmers.

John Stirling, who farms 800 hectares on Scotland’s east coast, said the introduction of the farm’s Arbikie Distillery in 2015 had changed their business philosophy to a focus on the environment.

He said: “Sustainability now encompasses the whole company.

“Demand for crops is changing and people are looking more into what is going into crops and the end product.”

The farm has changed its rotation by looking into heritage varieties and introducing peas which are also used to make spirits.

The distillery has reduced farm waste by turning ‘wonky’ potatoes

into high value vodka and boasts short supply chain miles from crop to bottle.

Mr Stirling said the farm had encountered major challenges on its journey to net zero, including how to record the fall in the businesses’ carbon footprint.

“However, if you have got the philosophy it is actually relatively straight forward to take large steps quickly and still have a commercial farm,” he said.

Barriers

Scotland’s Rural College’s Dr Gemma Miller identified three key barriers to reaching net zero.

These were poor communication and translation of research into practice; capital investment into technologies that can increase efficiency; and the media fuelling

scepticism through negative press on agriculture.

Prof Wendy Russell, professor of molecular nutrition at the University of Aberdeen’s Rowett Institute, added that the introduction of more novel crops and heritage varieties such as the ones being grown by Mr Stirling could also help Scotland move to being climate neutral, while producing healthier food.

She said: “Landrace and heritage [barley] varieties are much higher in compounds we think are beneficial to health, such as beta glucan.

“Hemp also has an interesting nutritional profile – it is high in protein, fibre, micronutrients and minerals and it is very low input.

“Hemp can be extensively utilised. I do not think there is a part of the plant that cannot be used.”

BARLEY VARIETY RESPONSE TO TILLAGE METHOD

TRIALS carried out at the James Hutton Institute (JHI) have revealed differences in how barley varieties respond to various tillage methods.

Prof Adrian Newton of JHI said many barley varieties were bred in inversion tillage situations.

He said: “On farm we do not always grow in these conditions, but do not have the information on which varieties work well.”

Prof Newton cited trials he had been involved in looking at responses to tillage method in different barley varieties.

“Laureate did well in inversion situations, whereas Sassy was the opposite,” he said.

“Sassy never topped yield in an inversion till situation but in most cases topped yield in non-inversion situations.”

He said rooting and ‘some other characteristics’ could be responsible for the difference.

On other aspects of barley breeding,ProfNewtonsaidheritage landraces had valuable traits for low input systems such as nutrient use efficiency, early harvest and quality, which could be transferred into elite or advanced lines by understanding genetic markers.

“Also, old heritage lines do not suffer from manganese deficiency,” he said.

Carry-over of Scottish malting barley into harvest is expected.

LOW LEVELS OF BROAD-LEAVED WEEDS COULD BE BENEFICIAL

STUDIES at James Hutton Institute (JHI) are looking at how integrating broad-leaved weeds into arable fields could enhance biodiversity without robbing yield.

JHI research scientist Dr Cathy Hawes told the virtual plot tours webinar that as well as increasing plant diversity in wildflower margins to boost pollinators

The tricky thing is to not allow so much competition from the weeds that crop yield is reduced

DR CATHY HAWES

and other beneficial insects, the institute was looking at increasing diversity of weeds further into the field, by allowing broad-leaved weeds populations to increase to 5-10 per cent ground cover.

She said: “This is to encourage pollinators into the crop from field margins.

“The tricky thing is to not allow so much competition from the weeds that crop yield is reduced.”

Improvements

During the six-year rotation which consisted of winter wheat, barley, oilseed rape, beans, spring barley and potatoes, winter wheat saw a yield drop of 1 tonne/hectare, but all other crops maintained their yield, Dr Hawes said.

“The way to do this is good soil management and efficiency of nutrient use in the crops so you are compensating for any competition by making improvements elsewhere,” she said.

ARABLE

Waste from the metalworking industry could play a key role in helping farmers remove chemical residues from the water that leaves their fields. Jonathan Wheeler reports.

Metal waste solution to water quality issue

rAdding metal may help extract pollutants

A MASTERS research project looking into the use of bioreactors to remove pollutants from farmland drainage water is being conducted at the University of Lincoln’s Riseholme campus, in collaboration with Anglian Water.

Bioreactors are normally filled with organic materials such as woodchip.

This project will examine whether other types of waste

products (such as from metal) can be used in conjunction with the organic materials to improve their performance.

Benefit

Bioreactors have the benefit of not removing any land from production or interfering with existing drainage, while also needing little or no maintenance other than occasional replacement of the woodchips, says University of Lincoln Masters student Phil Johnson.

“Studies in other countries show they could be effective in

SOIL HEALTH ROLE IN WATER QUALITY

A SECOND project is being funded by Anglian Water to examine the role soil health might play in helping to reduce pesticides and nutrients reaching waters destined for drinking.

The metrics of soil health, biological, physical and chemical, will be looked at in terms of what role they play in degrading pesticides and retaining nutrients to reduce diffuse pollution.

The trials for this project are being run by taking substantial soil cores from ‘paired fields’ spread across Lincolnshire and testing how well they intercept pollutants.

The fields chosen are each typical of a soil type which is widespread across Lincolnshire,

and include clays, limestone brash, silts, light soils and loams, says Isobel Wright, senior lecturer in agriculture at the University of Lincoln.

“We are trying to understand what contributes to a soil’s ability to retain certain residues, which will benefit crop production as well as reducing the risk of pollution.

“We are examining the contrasts between the paired cores, taking into account their past cropping, water infiltration rate, cultivations and general management practices.

“This includes aspects like whether cover crops have been grown.

“We hope to unpick what influence these different chemical, physical

We aim to work with farmers to prevent pesticides being lost from spillages in the farmyard, and reduce in-field losses too

KELLY HEWSON-FISHER

removing up to 90 per cent of the nitrates in water leaving the field.

“We are keen to expand the concept to a two-stage reactor which could extract both nitrates and phosphates, and we will also be testing whether the system can remove specific herbicides; we will be testing with clopyralid.”

Adding metal may help extract pollutants because some materials, such as phosphates, are known to bind to metals like iron and aluminium.

“In my trial the metal will be in the form of locally sourced machine

and biological factors might have on the soil’s ability to retain chemical residues and break them down.”

The cores themselves are being collected from different zones of each field, such as productive parts, obviously compacted areas, and locations where soil biology is different to the main part of the field such as field buffer strips and margins.

Motivation

Anglian Water’s prime motivation for involvement in the research is because the presence of some pesticides and nitrates at levels above the drinking water standard limit mean the company cannot use the water without treating it or blending it.

In some cases, water is unusable and an alternative source needs to be found.

In one recent survey completed in north Lincolnshire the company found nine different pesticides in the water, all at levels which broke permissible drinking water limits (0.1ug/litre).

That causes the water company severe problems, says Kelly HewsonFisher, Anglian Water catchment adviser for the county.

“0.1ug/litre is an incredibly low level – equivalent to a single stem of straw in 111,000 bales; one grain of wheat in 390 tonnes; or a single second in 320 years.

“Anglian Water cannot treat some of these chemicals like metaldehyde,

A University of Lincoln project is looking at soil health metrics to establish the role they play in degrading pesticides and retaining nutrients.

shop waste, which presents a very large surface area relative to the weight. The metal would be added

so when levels exceed these limits we have to blend water containing it with supplies from other sources

“That, in turn, can put more pressure on those sources. It is a situation we have to try and avoid.

“We aim to work with farmers to prevent pesticides being lost from spillages in the farmyard, and reduce in-field losses too.”

The company has teamed up with the Environment Agency and University of Lincoln’s Riseholme Campus to establish a demonstration site showcasing the various options farmers can consider using in the farmyard for pesticide handling.

The site hosts three options: a biofilter; a biobed; and a Heliosec, as well as demonstrating a closed transfer system.

The project is being co-ordinated by Mrs Wright.

She says: “Our aim is to showcase a range of potential solutions to the problem of pesticide losses from farmsteads and farmland in one place.”

Growers are reminded if they are installing such features they must register them with the Environment Agency, which is free of charge, and ensure they have the correct exemptions for operating a system and disposing of spent biomix.

For many farmers, the auction mart is an integral part of their business: a trusted place where they can buy and sell livestock, knowing it will be done in a fair and transparent way. But livestock markets are so much more than just a place to do business.

They are often the thriving heart of rural communities, providing a social structure and support network for like-minded people, and can be a lifeline for many who otherwise have little or no social contact with others.

Market chaplain Andy Jerrard, who attends several markets every week in the south west of England, says: “I think the livestock business is almost secondary to the social contact aspect of markets which is fundamental and I think something which those outside agriculture can find difficult to understand.

“I have been there when closures have been mooted and at the time a closure happened and some parties, for example councillors, do not always realise what the loss of a livestock market can mean to a rural community.

Friends

“Many people who attend markets are not there to buy or sell, but because they are interested in what is happening. They want to keep abreast of events and talk to friends.”

Many, particularly semi-retired

AUCTIONS STANDING THE

While trading livestock is the key function of livestock marts, in the latest in our series supported by the Livestock Auctioneers Association and Shearwell Data, we look at how they bring many other benefits to rural communities. Angela Calvert reports.

No market ever succeeded without good food, says Alastair Sneddon.

Auction marts combine business with pleasure

or retired farmers, or those who have worked in the ancillary industries, may visit a market two or three times a week, but it might be the only place they do visit.

Mr Jerrard says: “I also suspect some market visitors, especially if they live alone, do not cook for themselves and the market is the only place where they get a really good cooked meal.”

Economic contribution of auction marts

■ Auction marts bring economic benefits to the wider rural community and have a total annual turnover of £1.8 billion

■ In England and Wales, livestock markets generate a total expenditure of £3.42bn, much of it in rural areas where they are located

■ They create the equivalent

of 3,095 full-time jobs, excluding those generated by other businesses on or close to the market site

■ Visitors to markets also generate revenue for businesses in the local area, particularly those close to town centres

Source: LAA report 2019

Even for working farmers it can be a lonely and isolated life. At one time, there may have been a

Other parties, for example councillors, do not always realise what the loss of a livestock market can mean to a rural community ANDY JERRARD

number of members of staff working on farms, now many are one-person operations and, especially when things are not going well, this can be a difficult.

Mr Jerrard says: “Markets are great places for knowledge transfer. Often just chatting to other farmers can help solve a problem or find a solution.

“Working alone can bring many challenges, especially mentally if things are not going well, for example at lambing time, and even the most self-confident of people can start to doubt themselves and become very fragile.

“A visit to market to hear other people are experiencing similar problems can make them realise they are not ‘bad farmers’ and help them feel better about themselves.”

The Covid-19 pandemic and

TEST OF TIME

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the whole dynamic of attending markets with scenes like this no longer allowed.

subsequent restrictions imposed on markets have changed the whole dynamic of attending markets with ‘drop and go’ systems in place and only those doing business allowed to attend.

Mr Jerrard says: “We owe a great debt of gratitude to those who have kept markets open,

[Lockdown] has sadly taken away the very important social aspect of markets for both existing and retired farmers

ALASTAIR SNEDDON

particularly the staff who have been running them, many of whom I know have been very apprehensive.

“In the south west, and I am sure many other places, the memory of foot-and-mouth is still very strong. Markets were closed then and farmers became very isolated

and, psychologically, this situation could have been very similar.

“That said, some farmers are finding the ‘drop and go’ system very difficult. Initially, many were lambing or calving and very busy, but as time has gone on, they are really missing meeting up with others. I am pleased to hear, however, that many are now keeping in touch by phone.

“Restrictions are starting to ease, with cafes open for takeaways and vendors being allowed to stay in some cases, so there is now more opportunity to meet others, even if it is from a distance.”

Services

Increasingly, as well as being the place to buy and sell livestock, marts are able to offer any number of other services, with many now operating as agricultural hubs.

Agricultural and feed merchants, machinery dealerships, veterinary practices and businesses providing insurance, property and professional rural

services can often be found on the same site.

This not only brings in additional rental income for the auction business, giving it more long-term sustainability, but enables farmers to combine a trip to market with other business.

On a more personal level, rural chaplains, barber’s shops and drop-in health clinics are a valued service many markets provide.

The health clinic at Bakewell market is run by the local health trust and has proved to be extremely well supported.

Alastair Sneddon, senior partner at Bagshaws, Bakewell, says: “The clinic is a great success and, with no appointment required, market visitors find it much less hassle than to try to get an appointment with their doctor and it is a good first point of contact.

“Nurses and health professionals there can offer simple tests, such as blood pressure and cholesterol, as well as podiatry and physiotherapy, but will also highlight the need for further investigation and point people in the right direction.

Spiritual side

“Our agricultural chaplain Alan Griggs provides help on the spiritual side and also works closely with other rural relief organisations without anyone else knowing and, of course, the cafe is a vital part of the market. No market ever succeeded without good food.

“Lockdown has shown us markets can operate with the bare minimum of people and it is right they have been able to stay open, but this regime has sadly taken away the very important social aspect of markets for both existing and retired farmers.

“These people rely on a visit to market to maintain contacts with others and hopefully things can return to normal before too long.”

Edited by Angela Calvert –

Spotlight sale peaks at £7,100

rHolstein prices see high of £5,600

THIS year the Spotlight sale of elite pedigree dairy cattle took the form of an online auction hosted by Greenslade Taylor Hunt.

The sale peaked at £7,100 for Layward Cosmo Starry Fizz, a Jersey bred from three generations of world renowned show winners, consigned by A. Harvey and T. Wake, Kettering.

The only daughter of Elliotts Cosmo Starry Fizz in the UK, its third dam was Huronia Centurion Veronica Ex97 which was supreme champion at the World Dairy Expo. The final bid was from the Fleming family, Northern Ireland, for their Potterswalls herd.

Topping the Holsteins at £5,600 was Withamvale Chief Rae bred from 10 generations of EX dams from O. Coombes, Co Antrim. The buyer was Conor Mcaufield, Co Antrim, for his Lissue herd.

David and Claire Jones, Wiltor herd, Magor, took the next two top prices. At £5,000 was a red calf from the Jodie family and at

£4,900 was a King Doc from the same family as Jacobs Goldwyn Britany. They were both purchased by Kevin Norman for his Hillvale herd, Wiltshire.

They also sold Wiltor Jordy Rae Red for £4,100 to Larchwood Holsteins, Monmouthshire.

John and Mary Hill, Devon, sold December-born Stowey Tatoo Sara which was purchased as an embryo and bred from an Ex95 dam for £4,200 to Steven Robinson, Co Down.

Chief daughter

Taking £4,000 were Mathew and Ruth Harper, Cumbria, for a Chief daughter which had potential to be bred from 17 generations of excellent dams. It sold to Kirsty Yates, Kirkcudbirght.

AVERAGES

Jerseys – 2 maiden heifers, £4,750; Holsteins – 2 milking heifers, £3,100; 6 in-calf heifers, £3,250; 25 maiden heifers, £2,620; 10 heifer calves, £2,350; 15 embryos, £464; Brown Swiss – heifer calf, £1,600; overall£2,734.

Auctioneers: Greenslade Taylor Hunt.

Strong store cattle trade at Darlington tops £1,440

THE store cattle sale at Darlington on Monday (July 6) saw 91 animals sell for more than £1,100, with steers averaging £931, heifers £944 and young bulls £822.

The 227 stores from Fristling Hall, Essex, averaged £1,002 and peaked at £1,440 for a 25-monthold Simmental steer which sold to J. Bowling and Son, York.

The leading heifer at £1,330 was also a Simmental from Fristling Hall.

Messrs Dresser, Greatham, sold six 15-month-old Limousin steers to average £1,277 and M.W. Cook

and Son, Kildale, sold a run of eight-month-old Limousins to average £875.

Cull cows averaged 138p/kg with five cows from E. Howell and Sons, Bintree, Norfolk, averaging 196p/kg (£1,232) and selling to 210p/kg (£1,329) for a five-year-old British Blue which went to J.A. Jewitt, Spennymoor.

Stock bulls sold to £1,399 for a Stabiliser from I. Crane, Guisborough.

Auctioneers: Darlington Farmers Auction Mart.

Prizes on offer in Skipton prime ring

PRIZES for top prices were again awarded at the monthly Monday primestock sales at Skipton.

Francis and Andrew Smith, Masongill, had the top price steer, a 565kg Limousin-cross, while Charles and Richard Kitching, Threshfield, presented the top price heifer, a 550kg British Bluecross. Both made 258.5p/kg, or £1,466 and £1,422 when selling to retail butcher, Phil Gregory, of D.A. Gregory and Sons, Bacup.

Heading the gross prices at

Market Drayton sees red and white heifer

A RED and white calved heifer from Richard Lewis, Carmarthen, topped the weekly dairy sale at Market Drayton, selling for £2,500, with a black and white heifer from the same home making £2,100.

The entry of 50 heifers and 10

cows were all sold, with the best 10 heifers averaging £2,162.

A.A. Winstanley and Partners, Audlem, sold to £2,200 twice, £2,050 and £2,000, averaging £2,112.50 for four heifers.

Stuart Wood, Norbury, sold two

for £2,200 and £2,020, and Malcolm Trevor-Jones, Oswestry, for £2,200 and £2,050. Cows sold to £1,920 for a third calver from J. Lomax and Son, Baldwins Gate, with a fifth calver at £1,880 and a sixth calver at £1,700 from Paul Abell, Crewe.

£1,466 and also sharing 258.5p top price per kilo was another Smith family steer, a 590kg Limousin-cross claimed by Keelham Farm Shop, Skipton.

In the prime lamb sale ring, picking up the prize for the top price pen of 10 or more lambs were continentals making 260p/kg, or £117/head, from Anthony and Heather Hewetson, Bank Newton. The 2,552 spring lambs on offer averaged of 228.7p/kg, or £94.08/head.

Auctioneers: CCM.

sell to £2,500

AVERAGES

Heifers - first quality, £1,984; second quality, £1,535; third quality, £1,300; cows – first quality £1,900; second quality, £1,600.

Auctioneers: Gwilym Richards with Barbers.

Jersey Layward Cosmo Starry Fizz, from A. Harvey and T. Wake, Kettering, which sold for the top price of £7,100.

High of £2,400 at Carlisle dairy sale

rMore than 300 head were forward online

THERE were more than 300 animals forward for the dairy sale at Carlisle where trade topped at £2,400, with 82 buyers recorded and 100 animals bought online.

Sale leader was a Holstein heifer by Attempt Red consigned by the Wilson family, Wreay, whose four heifers averaged £2,137.

The Shanks family, Hawick, sold six Holstein heifers to average £2,141, topping at £2,300 for a daughter of Alta Painter. Three heifers consigned from the Parkinson family’s Liscabank herd, Lancashire, topped at £2,150 for a young Chamber daughter from the Barb cow family.

British Friesians sold to £2,100 for a second lactation cow from the Williamson family, Appleby.

The Adamson family from the Swaites Ayrshire herd, Lanark, sold three heifers to average £1,833 topping at £1,850 twice for heifers by Swaites Dallas.

An entry of 37 Holstein Friesian dry cows from H. and J. Wilson, Stranraer, topped at £1,950 to average £1,456.

In-calf heifers topped at £2,000 for a non-registered heifer consigned by Messrs Wilson, Stranraer. Ayrshire in-calf heifers from the Bell family, Aspatria, topped at £1,650 to average £1,600.

Newhouse Farms, Holywood, Dumfries, consigned 35 Jersey

COCKERMOUTH

STORE cattle sold to £1,265 for an Aberdeen-Angus steer from R.S. and E. Gate, Branthwaite Edge, whose consignment averaged £1,192.50. Heifers sold to £1,145 for a Limousin from B.W. Noble, Gibbtarn. Young bulls topped at £1,025 for a Limousin from E.J. and R.J. Wear, Howe Green.

CALEDONIAN MARTS (STIRLING)

THE 564 spring lambs sold well ahead of this time last year, with the overall average of 228.3ppkg being 2.3p/kg dearer on the week and 42.2p/kg dearer on the year.

heifers in-calf to sexed semen which topped at £1,550.

The 63 Holstein bulling heifers topped at £1,120 several times and British Friesian bulling heifers sold to £1,200.

AVERAGES

57 Holstein heifers in-milk, £1,900; 4 Holstein cows in-milk, £1,780; 6 British Friesian cows and heifers, £1,699.31; 3 Ayrshire heifers in-milk,

Top price went to Doune Farms, West Lundie, Argaty, with a 51kg Beltex lamb at £129. Top price per kilo went to R. Kenny, Blairdrummond, with a Texel at 276p/kg.

CARLISLE

CALVES sold to £640 for a Limousin bull calf from Messrs Bowness and Spedding. Dairy-bred bull calves were in demand, with a run of 12 three-month-old Friesian calves from Messrs Maxwell, North Doddington, averaging £377.50. The 127 heifer calves averaged £311,50 and the 293 bull calves £260.

Buoyant prime lamb trade

THE sale of prime sheep at Kirkby Stephen on Tuesday topped at £122.30/head for a pen of 11 47kg Texel cross lambs from Messrs Richardson, Darlington. They were bought by Vivers Scotlamb, Annan, which also paid the top price per kilo of 321.6p/kg (£119/head) for three 37kg Beltex cross lambs from Messrs Sowerby, Ormside.

A pair of 43kg Texel cross lambs and a pen of 49kg lambs from the same vendor all made £120/head to Dowdings Butchers, Appleby.

Messrs Bainbridge, Soulby, sold three 44kg Beltex cross lambs at £120/head to Vivers Scotlamb.

Lightweight lambs were also in demand, with a pen of 36kg Beltex cross lambs selling for £106.80 (296.7p/kg) from Messrs Walton, Great Asby. Mule lambs sold to 216.2p/kg (£84.30) for a pen of 10 39kg lambs from Messrs Cornthwaite, Lockerbie. Cast sheep topped at £130/head twice. Firstly, for three Texel cross ewes from Messrs Pedley, Sedbergh, and then for a pair of Texel cross ewes from Messrs Chester, Soulby.

Swaledale ewes topped at £69 for a pen of 10 from Messrs Smith, Workington.

Auctioneers: Harrison and Hetherington.

£1,833.33; 3 Jersey cows in-milk, £1,000; 9 faulted/three-quartered/ slow milkers, £897.77; 1 Holstein bull, £2,100; 37 dry cows, £1,456.75; 66 Holstein in-calf heifers, £1,634.82; 10 Ayrshire in-calf heifers, £1,600; 35 Jersey in-calf heifers, £1,301.71; 63 Holstein bulling heifers, £901.56; 15 British Friesian bulling heifers, £1,178.33.

Auctioneers: Harrison and Hetherington.

LEEK

THE dairy sale topped at £2,220 for a Norwegian Red cross heifer from the Howe family, Litton. Cows peaked at £1,840 for a Friesian second calver from Messrs Wilson, Fradswell, Stafford. Many more commercial heifers, including a number of Shorthorn crosses, were in the £1,700-£1,900 bracket. The dispersal of the loose housed herd on behalf of Messrs Combridge, Creeton, Lincolnshire, peaked at £1,960 for a dry cow by De-Su Gillespy. Others were £1,700-plus, with in-calf heifers due September onwards reaching £1,540 and yearlings to £900.

Steventon dam and daughter sell for £2,830

THE dispersal of the Steventon allyear-round calving dairy herd on behalf of Jeremy and Anita Bown, Basingstoke, at Sedgemoor, set a new centre record average for straw yarded cows of £1,659. The sale peaked at 2,250gns for the second calver, Steventon Baloo Tinkerbell 4, which calved in January and was giving 45.7kg. It was followed by its Bestday heifer calf which sold for 580gns.

A further two fresh cows and two spring calvers back in-calf sold at 2,200gns each. A run of three Maycalved heifers all sold for 2,000gns. In-calf heifers due in September by Jethro sold to 1,850gns and heifers due in November sold to 1,500gns. Ten A-lot heifer calves sold after their dams sold to 580gns and 520gns four times.

AVERAGES

Dairy cows, £1,659; calved heifers, £1,792.50; in-calf heifers due September to December, £1,548; heifer calves, £523.

Auctioneers: Greenslade Taylor Hunt.

Holstein heifer from the Wilson family, Wreay, which sold for the top price of £2,400.

Around the marts

Test your skills and you could win £250 plus a £250 ram voucher

The Farmers Guardian stockjudging competition is back for 2020, sponsored by the Blue Texel Sheep Society.

To enter the competition, simply place the four sheep in the same order as the professional judge, fill in the entry form and return it to us by August 21, 2020.

Alternately, you can enter by going online at FGinsight.com/ sheepstockjudging.

The sender of the first correct entry selected at random will receive £250 plus a £250 ram voucher. Second and third prize winners will receive ram vouchers for £150 and £100, respectively. The ram vouchers can be redeemed at any of the society sales.

History

The Blue Texel breed was first recognised and recorded in Holland in the 1970s, with blue lambs being born to white Texel parents.

About the sponsor

The Blue Texel was then established to create a breed independent from its original source. The Blue Texel has been bred in the UK for more than 20 years, but it was quickly discovered from the early days that the attributes this relatively new breed possesses would make it appealing to both pedigree and commercial farmers. The demand for Blue Texels is soaring, with Blue Texel rams rapidly gaining popularity with the commercial farmer.

The society says Blue Texel rams are the terminal sire which ticks all the boxes:

● Easy lambing: The breed is noted for its easy lambing capabilities due to its finer bone and smaller heads. Resulting lambs are strong, vigorous and up and sucking soon after birth. These aspects ensure a decrease in labour and therefore cost of production at lambing time, making the breed an ideal replacement from conventional sires

● Carcase quality: Blue Texel sheep have excellent conformation, higher

lean meat yield, limited fat coverage, higher killing out percentage, and lambs regularly achieve premium U and E grade carcases, leading to increased liveweight and deadweight returns

● More than 90 per cent of Blue Texel-sired lambs to commercial ewes are born white

● Growth rates: Capable of producing fast-growing heavy lambs from a grass-based diet

● Replacements: High percentage of Blue Texel-sired ewe lambs can be retained for replacements

Source: Blue Texel Sheep Society

SPONSORED COMPETITION

competition. Pit your skills against a professional livestock judge and be third prize winners will receive ram vouchers for £150 and £100.

Title: First name:

Surname:

Address:

Postcode:

Telephone number:

Email:

Are you the main decision-maker on farm? Yes No N/A

Primary occupation (tick one box only):

Farm

Contractor Agronomist/Adviser

Student Other

Secondary occupation: (tick one box only):

Farm

Contractor Agronomist/Adviser

Student

Other

Privacy statement: Your personal data will be collected and processed in accordance with our Privacy Statement which can be viewed (see page 11). From time to time AgriBriefing would like to use the personal data that you have provided in this form to contact you via email, post, phone and text about AgriBriefing goods and services that we think will be of interest to you. If you would like to receive this communication, please confirm this by ticking this box.

PR2 9NZ.

Terms and conditions: 1. The competition (prize draw) is open to UK residents (aged 18 years or over), with the exception of ‘employees’ or ‘relatives of employees’ of AgriBriefing or Holstein UK. 2. Inclusion in the prize draw is subject to registration. 3. Entry to the draw will close August 21, 2020. 4. Only one entry per person is permitted. 5. Winners will be selected at random from all valid and correctly answered entries. 6. The judge’s decision is final. No correspondence or discussion shall be entered into. 7. Prize is non-refundable and no prize alternative available. 8. Completion of the entry form implies acceptance of these terms and conditions. Data Protection: Information you supply to AgriBriefing may be used for publication (where you provide details for inclusion in our directories or catalogues and on our websites) and also to provide you with information about our products or services in the form of direct marketing activity by phone, fax or post. If at any time you no longer wish to receive anything from AgriBriefing, or to have your data made available to third parties, please write to the Data Protection Co-ordinator, AgriBriefing, Farmers Guardian, Unit 4, Fulwood Business Park, Caxton Road, Fulwood, Preston, Lancashire, PR2 9NZ, or email fgsupport@fginsight.com.

BENTHAM AUCTION MART

Tuesday 14th July at 12noon

Opening Sale of

3420 STORE LAMBS

Wednesday 15th July

11am Weekly Sale of 100 Rearing Calves 3.30pm 2000 Feeding/Cast Ewes, Hoggs followed by 3000 Spring Lambs

Tuesday 21st July

Feeding & Cast Cows & OTM Cattle FARMERS STIRKS & YOUNG STORES

Entries for catalogue by Monday 13th July

Wednesday 22nd July FORTNIGHTLY DAIRY SALE

Tuesday 28th July

EARLY BREEDING EWES & SHEARLINGS

Second Sale of Store Lambs Early entries requested

Claiming Date- Tuesday 1st September

Annual Production Sale of Beltex, Texel & Dutch Texel Breeding Females & Rams For Beautry, Rathbone, Wannops & Procters

RTS Richard Turner & Son

HAWES, NORTH YORKSHIRE, DL8 3NP

Tuesday 14th July

1000 Prime Lambs & Hoggs at 10am

300 Cast Ewes & Rams

20 Calves at 10.30am.

Everyone must abide by social distancing rules

Telephone: 01969 667207, 015396 20895, 07974 126397 or 01833 622240

www.hawesmart.co.uk

GISBURN

Saturday 11 July

9.30am CAST EWES & PRIME LAMBS

Thursday 16 July

10.30am 80 YOUNG BULLS, STEERS & HEIFERS, CULL CATTLE

10.30am 200 REARING CALVES

12.30pm 200 STIRKS & YOUNG STORES

12.30pm approx PRIME LAMBS & CAST EWES 11.30am 80 DAIRY & SEMEX PEDIGREE CATALOGUE & DAIRY YOUNGSTOCK inc 4 Pedigree Bulling Heifers

Catalogue entries by 12noon Tue 14 July

Buyer registration in operation, viewing from 11am

Saturday 18 July

9.30am CAST EWES & PRIME LAMBS

9.30am BREEDING & STORE PIGS

10.00am BREEDING & FEEDING CATTLE, COWS WITH CALVES AT FOOT 10.30am FARMERS’ STORE CATTLE

Thursday 23 July

Regular sales inc special sale of Dairy In-calf Cows & Heifers inc 12 imports on UK pports

Saturday 25 July

9.30am CAST EWES & PRIME LAMBS 500 EARLY BREEDING EWES & OPENING SALE OF 1000 STORE LAMBS

Further entries by 12noon Tue 21 July

Thursday 30 July

DISPERSAL SALE OF THE SEMERDALE HERD of 100 Holsteins for M Bell & Son, Leyburn in conjunction with Norton & Brooksbank

Brockholes Arms Auction Mart

Claughton On Brock, Preston PR3 0PH 01995 640280 www.brockholesauction.co.uk

Tuesday 14th July, 2020

8.45am Spring Lambs to £119/hd

Followed by Cast Ewes to £129/hd

Followed by Prime Cattle to 220p/kg

Followed by Store Cattle to £1,170/hd

11.30am Rearing Calves to £445/hd

PLEASE TELEPHONE THE OFFICE WITH ENTRIES BY 4PM THE DAY BEFORE

Wednesday 15th July, 2020

10.30am OTM Cattle Sale

Followed by TB Exempt Cattle PLEASE TELEPHONE THE OFFICE WITH ENTRIES

PLEASE NOTE VENDORS MUST REMAIN IN THEIR VEHICLES AT ALL TIMES BUYERS MUST REGISTER BEFORE ATTENDANCE ALL SALES ARE CONDUCTED UNDER STRICT GOVERNMENT RULES AND MUST BE ADHERED TO AT ALL TIMES

...Yorkshire’s Friendly Mart

SATURDAY 11th JULY

120 STORE CATTLE of all classes inc

6 Conx Str Hfr, 18mth, J Hannath

5 ContX Str, 16mth, Mr Morgan

4 Lim Hfr, 18mth, T Thomas & son

3 Limx Strs, Mr Hirst,

4 Lim Bulls, 10mth, R Wilkinson

2 Lim Bulls, 13mth N Shaw

Store Sheep Inc Ewe & Lambs, Goats

150 Store Pigs & Sows Pigs 9.15am Sheep 9.45am Cattle 10.45am

WEDNESDAY 15TH JULY

Dedicated Slaughter Market

420 Prime Cattle 550 Sheep 400 Pigs Pigs 9am Sheep 9.45am Cattle 10.30am

01757 703347 (Market Office) Richard Haigh: 07768 594535 www.selbymart.co.uk

Market Results

231 Dairies to £2200 (Nor X Hfr) , Cull

Monday 20th July

Sale of Store Cattle and Feeding Bulls of all classes - entries close noon Monday 13th July Monday 20th July @ 1pm

Sale of 190 Beef Breeding Cattle comprising of 3 exceptional genuine consignments from the local area well worthy of buyers attention

- 60 Young British Blue X Cows with 60 Strong Spring Born calves at foot running back to the Limousin Bull; 1 Pure Limousin Stock Bull & 5 BB & Sim X Normande Heifers running with the Bull and a Pedigree British Blue stock bull TB4 on behalf of Messrs J K Stamper, Long Meadows, Blencarn Hall. - 20 Pure Bred Limousin Heifers and Young Cows with 20 Young Spring Born British Blue X Calves at Foot; 5 Pure Bred Autumn Calving Heifers & Pedigree British Blue Bull; TB 4 on behalf of Messrs R Hall & Son, Inglewood Edge

- 12 Lim & BB Heifers & Cows with 12 BB X Spring Born Calves at Foot; TB4 on behalf of Mr D H Holme Weasdale, Newbiggin On Lune.

Please see facebook and internet for pictures www.penrithauction.com Leek Smithfield

Strong prices seen in auction rings

Meg Elliott on the activity at Leek mart

Like all markets around the UK, at Leek we have had to adapt to new regulations as a result of Covid-19 to continue trading.

We are, to all intents and purposes, an old-fashioned market and a busy one. A great deal of thought and initiative has had to be used to make us compliant, which I know has resulted in a few sleepless nights by the directors.

However, with the help of good staff and the willingness of customers to comply to new regulations, we have made it work. Numbers in all sections have been exceeding last year’s levels for the same period, no doubt helped by the public’s welcome shift to using local businesses for food, which we all hope will continue. The sheep and calf sections have seen numbers considerably increase through June.

My personal experience of lockdown began with a blip when the dairy cow was not included in the

initial food chain umbrella, so sales by auction stopped. For a few weeks private treaty was the way forward.

While we do deal with many private sales of dairies, my heart is and always will be in a rostrum and it is my absolute belief that, in most situations, this is the best method of sale for achieving the best results.

This is never more true now where the prices for all dairy stock have risen to levels beyond all expectations. Defying what could be argued as absolute logic when suppliers such as Meadow Foods,

whose milk is predominantly sold to the catering industry, slashed the milk price and others dictated a 10 per cent reduction in supply to producers, the value of the dairy cow has held and continued to rise to amazing levels.

Pedigree

In our June pedigree sale we saw a third-calver make £2,600, many British Friesians cows and heifers sell to more than £2,000 and in-calf heifers exceed £2,000, with the entire entry averaging over £1,700. A special entry of in-calf heifers and youngstock last week saw yearlings to £850 and this week’s herd sale from Lincolnshire saw the same to £900.

Why is this the case, is the obvious question. Numbers of cows nationally through June have been harder to come by, so demand was exceeding supply. We also saw in a matter of weeks the spot price for milk rise to 30p and the value of cream almost doubling, with milk buyers predicting a shortfall in production in autumn.

This, rightly or wrongly, has fuelled some optimism. Many farmers have also been taking advantage of

Government funding that has been provided as a result of Covid-19.

Cow numbers over the last few weeks have seen a big jump in the commercial section, consistently touching 70. A total of 354 dairy stock have been traded at Leek in the last fortnight to include a special entry and a herd sale.

Trade has eased only slightly, with the best this week still to £2,220 for a Norwegian Red cross commercial heifer. However, common sense would suggest these levels cannot be maintained indefinitely. While it is great for vendors, and indeed for us as auctioneers, there has to be sense in it for the buyer as well and with margins as they are, the bubble will no doubt burst, it is just when.

The facts are there has never been a better time to sell livestock by auction, so please support your local markets, they are essential to maintain a transparent value for all livestock and a fair price.

Meg Elliott is an auctioneer at Bagshaws and Leek. Call 07967 007 049, or email meg.elliott@bagshaws.com

Meg Elliott

BORDERWAY MART, CARLISLE

T: 01228 406200

190 PEDIGREE DAIRY CATTLE

Friday 17th July - 11.30am

95 Freshly Calved Cows/Heifers, 41 Dry Cows, 31 In-Calf Heifers & 23 Bulling Heifers

The July Border & Lakeland Sale has a top-class consignment of freshly calved Pedigree dairy cattle. The best Pedigree herds are represented in this special event with early consignments from Balcurvie, Bankview, Espland, Evening, Nerewater, Warnelview, Wormanby on offer.

Special Offering Of Brown Swiss 3 outstanding Brown Swiss animals sell from Lillyhall from the Snickerdoodle & Elaine cow families.

Jersey Bulling Heifers this is a cracking group of Jersey bulling heifers from Newhouse Farms near Dumfries.

Dry Cows & In-Calf Heifers there is a special entry of 80 cows and heifers from Little Float Farm, near Stranraer comprising 18 freshly calved Holstein Friesian cows, 41 dry cows due August and 21 in-calf heifers. These animals are well bred Irish Holstein Friesians with high EBI values and mostly are coming with their second and third calves to the Angus. They are all BVD tested clear.

140 BEEF BREEDING CATTLE

Friday 17th July – 10.30am

Beef breeding cows and heifers in calf or with calves also bulling heifers and breeding bulls

Sale of MV accredited PEDIGREE SUFFOLK SHEEP

On behalf of Carlisle & Northern Counties Society

Friday 7th August

Entries close Monday 13th July

Sales of MV accredited PEDIGREE ROUGE SHEEP & PEDIGREE BLEU DU MAINE SHEEP

Friday 14th August

Entries close Friday 10th July

Friday 28th August

Annual Sale of MV Accredited BLUE TEXEL SHEEP

DUTCH SPOTTED SHEEP (UK SOCIETY)

BADGERFACE TEXEL SHEEP

Entries close Friday 24th July

Saturday 29th August

Annual Sale of MV Accredited DORSET HORN & POLLED DORSET SHEEP, DORPER SHEEP

Entries close Friday 24th July

BERRICHON SHEEP, CHAROLLAIS SHEEP

Entries close direct with Society

ONLINE TIMED

AUCTIONS

SALE OF FROZEN EMBRYOS AND SEMEN of Pedigree Beef, Dairy & Sheep Genetics

Sale bidding starts Wednesday 15th July 12noon until Thursday 16th July 12 noon

BERRICHON SHEEP SOCIETY PREMIER SALE

Sale bidding starts Tuesday 21st July 12noon until Thursday 23rd July 12 noon

SALE OF MACHINERY, IMPLEMENTS & HEAVY PLANT items

Scheduled to take place Wednesday 22nd July until Thursday 23rd July

Entries close Friday 17th July - online entry form available on website or contact David Holliday 07710 189804, Andrew Templeton 07778 808464 or Iain Dick 07713 599791

RESCHEDULED KELSO

RAM SALE DATES

Due to the cancellation of the Kelso Ram Sale 2020, we have re-scheduled the H&H Rings to the following Marts and Dates

ST BOSWELLS MART

Saturday 5th September

Ring 14 Suffolks (Non MV)

Ring 16 - Crosses (Non MV)

Ring 19 - Texels (Non MV)

BORDERWAY MART

Thursday 10th September

Ring 8 - Suffolk shearling & lamb rams (MV)

Saturday 12th September

Ring 2 - Beltex & Dutch Texel (MV)

Ring 3 - Crosses (MV)

Ring 1 Border Leicesters, Lleyns & Berrichons (MV) - To be confirmed

ST BOSWELLS MART

Tel: 01835 822214

JACOB SHEEP SOCIETY

Official Scottish Regional Sale

Saturday 8th August

Entries close Friday 10th July FOR SALE BY PRIVATE TREATY

EVENING HOLSTEIN YOUNG STOCK SALE

For Evening Hill Farm Ltd., Thursby, Carlisle CA5 6PU

The prize-winning Evening Pedigree Holstein herd are selling 73 in-calf heifers, bulling heifers & heifer calves following the cancellation of their sale due to Covid-19. (The sale has been rescheduled for July 2021). This is an exceptional Holstein herd with a massive emphasis on breeding Robot Ready cows with excellent legs and feet.

The heifers can be viewed in groups on the farm on Monday 20th & Tuesday 21st July and will be offered in the following lots:

LOT 1- 73 Heifers (lots 2,3, 4 & 5)

LOT 2 – 16 In-Calf heifers due September/October

LOT 3 – 17 In-Calf heifers due November/December

LOT 4 – 20 Bulling heifers 12-14 months old

LOT 5 – 20 Heifer calves 6-12 months

Offers for the 73 heifers or for an individual group should be submitted in writing to Harrison and Hetherington, Rosehill, Borderway Mart, Carlisle by 12 noon on Wednesday 22nd July 2020 or can be emailed to info@borderway.com All offers will be treated in the strictest confidence.

Herd Details

• Current average 11756Kgs 4.02%BF 3.34%P SCC70

• Heifers sired by Mogul, King Doc, Jordy & Mardi Gras

• In-Calf heifers due to sexed semen

• Many exceptional pedigrees on offer

• All the heifers are cubicle trained

• The in-calf heifers & bulling heifers are vaccinated for IBR, BVD & Lepto & tested BVD free

• The herd is Johnes tested clear

• The herd is in a four-year testing area and is TB free (there has never been a case of TB in the herd) the last TB test was February 2020

For full details on the herd please visit www.harrisonandhetherington.co.uk There is a video of the heifers and a full list of each heifer and their pedigrees on the website & on our social media platforms. Viewing the herd is by appointment only to arrange a visit please make an appointment with Glyn Lucas 07711 610255 glyn.lucas@borderway.com

Pedigree Office 01228406230

North West Auctions

Pedigree & Commercial Livestock Auctioneers & Valuers nwauctions.co.uk info@nwauctions.co.uk Lancaster Auction Mart Tel: 01524 63308

***IMPORTANT NOTICE***

Before bringing stock to our market or intending to buy stock please consult our website or contact staff on any of the numbers below

Monday 13th July

11am 1000 SPRING LAMBS, PRIME HOGGS & CAST SHEEP

Friday 17th July

10.15am 100 REARING CALVES 10.15am 125 OTM CATTLE 11.15am 300 STORE CATTLE

Tuesday 21st July at 11.15am

Monthly Sale of DAIRY CATTLE Last sale heifers sold to £2400 Entries close Tuesday 14th July at 12noon Contact Matthew on 07540 446667

Monday 27th July at 1pm

Special Sale of BREEDING EWES & GIMMER SHEARLINGS to include Sale of BREEDING RAMS

Entries close Tuesday 21st July

J36 Rural Auction Centre Tel: 015395 66200

Tuesday 14th July

10.30am Fortnightly Sale of all classes of PIGS 1pm 1500 SPRING LAMBS, PRIME HOGGS & CAST SHEEP

Thursday 16th July at 11am

Opening Fortnightly Sale of STORE LAMBS

Thursday 23rd July

Fortnightly Sale of CALVES, STIRKS, CAST COWS & STORE CATTLE

Thursday 30th July

Special Sale of BREEDING EWES & GIMMER SHEARLINGS Entries close Wednesday 22nd July

North West Texel Breeders Club Sale

Sunday 9th August

NORTH WEST TEXEL BREEDERS CLUB

Annual Sale of Pedigree Texel Rams & Females Entries close Friday 10th July

On Farm Sale - Saturday 11th

July

On Behalf of AV Lord & Co, Ulverston

at 11am

Entries include John Deere 5080M 4 WD Tractor, John Deere 6330 TL5 4 WD Tractor, 1983 John Deere 1040 2 WD Tractor, 1992 JCB 2CX Digger & Back Actor & Bucket, Kawasaki Mule 3010 Diesel, 2003 Green Honda Fourtrax Quadbike, 2017 Ride on Lawn Mower, 14’ IW TA510 G3-14 Livestock Trailer

Please see website for full list of entries. All buyers MUST pre-register with the office by 5pm Friday 10th July. Contact Ian Atkinson on 07766 521472

July Online Timed Machinery Sale Farm Machinery & Equipment Concluding Monday 13th July. Visit our website for the sale or contact Matthew Probert on 07540 446667 for more information

Contact Details

Ian Atkinson 07766 521472, Matthew Probert 07540 446667

Gary Capstick 07970 830518 Bradley Thompson 07867 000244 Andrew Butler Fieldsman 07966 556592

Serving the rural community for over 140 years

Bakewell Market Results - Monday 6th July

544 Cattle, 1,233 Sheep - Full report available on our website

To enter your store cattle to the “Early warning” list for Monday 13th July please call the Bakewell office on 01629 812777. ‘Drop & Go’ for vendors. Any queries please call the Bakewell office.

Store Cattle sales now Livestreaming on streaming.auctionmarts.com

Ewes and Lambs and Store Sheep every Thursday, enquiries and entries to Peter Oven Email: peter.oven@bagshaws.com

Breeding Cattle Sale - Next sale on Thurs 16th July. Entries and enquires to Bakewell Office on 01629 812777 and Oliver Hiles on 07801 530899. Further information on our website and Facebook.

Already Entered: 18 Lim x and Her x cows (1st Calves to aged cows) with 19 Lim x calves at foot (3-4 mths) BVD Tag & Tested (by Ashford Hall Bull) Cows been back to bull since calving. 1 Ped Limousin Bull “ Seven Gun Nero”

On Farm Dispersal Sales - We currently have 9 farm sales in the pipeline: 25th July - Sale of Slate & Stone Roofing Items - Bakewell DE45 1GS 5th August - Reserved for sale in Derbyshire 7th August - Abbotts Bromley, Genuine dispersal sale

DISPERSAL SALE - 23rd July at 10.30am

LONGSHAW FARM, Bradnop, Staffordshire, ST13 7NQ

2 Case Puma 220 & 150 Tractors (50KPH - 2018 & 2016)

Claas 830 Self Propelled Forager (2002-2WD- 2380 work hours)

Takeuchi 4 Ton Excavator (2017 - Only 1160 Hrs)

Case MXM 190 (40KPH), Ford 3930 2WD

2019 Hi Spec K36 Compactor Trailer

Pottinger Triple Mower Conditioners (Front Mount & Butterfly)

Joskin & Redrock Tankers

Joskin And Slurry Kat Umbilical Equipment

Keenan 360 Feeder, Grassland Equipment, Livestock Items

DISPERSAL SALE - 31st July at 10.30am

MEADOW FARM, Trowell, Nottinghamshire NG9 3NZ

7 Ford & Massey Ferguson Tractors, JCB Telehandler, 3 Land Rover Discoveries, New Holland TX34 Combine, MF50 Mark II

McHale Round Baler and Wrapper, Trailer Machinery, Workshop Items, Livestock Equipment Hay, Straw, Silage, Sundries

Email: bakewell@bagshaws.com

SEDGEMOOR AUCTION CENTRE

NORTH PETHERTON, SOMERSET, TA6 6DF (M5, J24)

Tuesday 14th July at 11.00am with the Heifer Calves

The July Collective Dairy Sale of

292 DAIRY CATTLE

✰ 118 Freshly Calved Cows & Heifers from Ashlea, Birchwood (x10, Dispersal), Dinderleat (x19), Greenway, Lotmead Partnership (x56), Moorshard, Newmead, Vanswood (x18) & Walkabout

✰ 39 Incalf Cows from Sutton Hall Farms

✰ 3 Bulls from Gowell, Greenway (British Friesian) & Walkabout (Holstein)

✰ 38 Incalf Heifers from PT & JC Hinds (Clenchers & Daniels prefix), PJ Searle & Son, Sutton Hall Farms & Tyrywen

✰ 15 Bulling Heifers from Kingspool & Tyrywen

✰ 39 Yearling & Younger Heifers from JF Cobb & Sons & Greenway

✰ 40 Heifer Calves from Holmead & JF Cobb & Sons

SEDGEMOOR

mark@nortonandbrooksbank.com

• Mark Lee: 07980 924179

• Simon Lamb: 07815 188125

• Tom Brooksbank: 07836 592501

• Chris Norton: 07836 592500

TUESDAY JULY 14TH (10:45am)

ABBEY COURT FARM, WIGMORE, LEOMINSTER, HEREFORD, HR6 9UF

300 HIGH YIELDING, ROBOT TRAINED HOLSTEINS

Comprising the complete herd dispersal sale on behalf of Gurney & Sons. Featuring 200 cows in milk together with 100 youngstock. NMR showing 11000kg herd average 3.80% F. 3.30 P SCC179. Herd currently averaging 36.8kg including thirty cows giving +50kg daily! All cows cubicle trained and milked through Lely A4 Robots. Semi TMR with cake in robots to yield, emphasis on forage consumption. Medium sized, strong, capacious cows in super condition. All-year calving with many carrying service & calves to the Belgian Blue. Almost 100 milkers in their 1st & 2nd lactation! Sale also includes some super, well grown youngstock from Summer calving heifers to calves at foot, all by top AI sires. Follow us on Facebook for further details, pictures & online catalogues.

WEDNESDAY July 22nd (11am)

REDDINGS FARM, TINTERN, CHEPSTOW, MONMOUTHSHIRE. NP16 6SF

LIVOX HERD 160 HOLSTEINS

Also equipment - see below

The dispersal of the entire “ Master Breeder” LIVOX herd, the property of Mr R.H Shewell. 87 cows (8 Excellent and 37 VG) 15 served heifers due Dec >, 49 maiden heifers & calves at foot. Approx. 12 have PLI £400+. 10 older cows will be offered as well and 21 x-bred bull calves. CIS avg 8,834kg 3.61%f, 3.19%p – latest test milkers avg 28.6kg SCC 178. The herd calves all year round with 24 calved since January, 28 due April – August. Cubicle housed & commercial feeding. Top AI sires incl, Azure, Dreamer, Cruise, Dolmio, Baloo, Goodwhone & Metalic with youngstock by Brody, Supershot & LAMBDA who is the main service bull (sexed). Klutch & Ball Wax also used. Excellent health record – no Digi, Lepto free, Johnnes tested ( no red markers). Also 8/16 parlour, 7700litre Dari-Kool tank, 88 cubicle divs +mats, Foster Feeder Wagon, silage grab, muck grab, OOP feeders, silage sheets & 20 calf hutches.

PLEASE NOTE – CATALOGUE BY APPLICATION ONLY. CALL, TEXT, EMAIL FOR YOURS. Forthcoming sales-

TUESDAY JULY 28th - Warrenscross Dispersal (350 Holsteins) , Marlborough

THURSDAY JULY 30th - Semerdale Dispersal (100 Holsteins), Gisburn Auction Mart

Full details next week. Follow us on Facebook for regular sale updates, photos & catalogues

Suffolk National Ram Breeding Sale

Shrewsbury Livestock Mart, Bowman Way, Battlefield, Shrewsbury SY4 3DR

Saturday 18th July at 10:30am

Viewing from 8:00am

BUYERS ARE REQUIRED TO REGISTER WITH THE MART IN ADVANCE

TEL: 01743 462620

Covid-19 Restrictions will apply, details on the Society Website www.suffolksheep.org

SKIPTON AUCTION MART

Tel: 01756 792375

www.ccmauctions.com

Auctioneers:

Jeremy Eaton - 07747 780481

Ted Ogden - 07855 958211

Kyle Hawksworth - 07538 539077

Saturday 11th July

140 STIRKS WEANED CALVES, BREEDING & CULL GOATS - Sale 10.00am Main Ring

Monday 13th July

CROP & PRODUCE - Suspended REARING CALVES Sale 10.45am

WEEKLY PRIMESTOCK SALE (6 day rule)

CLEAN CATTLE Sale 12.00noon followed by CAST & FEEDING COWS (4 Year and Pre Test) followed by TB EXEMPT CATTLE (pre enter)

PRIME LAMBS, HOGGS & CAST EWES Sale 1.00pm (PLEASE PRE ENTER)

DELIVERY OF STOCK IS STRICTLY

7.00AM TO 11.00AM

Wednesday 15th July

Opening Sale of 4,666 STORE LAMBS Sale 10.30am Main Ring

Wednesday 22nd July

FEEDING BULLS, BEEF FEEDING COWS

SUMMER FAIR OF BREEDING CATTLE

(inc 22 Cont Cows + Autumn/Spring Calves at Foot from JR Sykes Farnley Tyas)

STORE HEIFERS & BULLOCKS

(entries close Wednesday 15th July)

Wednesday 29th July

2nd Store Lamb Sale & Sale of Early Breeding Ewes & Rams (entries close Monday 20th July)

Working Sheepdogs

Online Timed Auction of 47 Working Sheepdogs

Sale commences Wednesday 15th July –

Thursday 16th July 2020

For more information please go to Working Sheepdog page on www.ccmauctions.com

If you wish to join the pre sale Zoom conference please contact the Office with your email address

Dairy Cattle

Monday 27th July

Sale of Dairy Cattle – (catalogue entries close Tuesday 21st July)

Monday 10th August

Pedigree Holstein Dispersal – details to follow

Please contact Sarah Liddle 07710 795585 with all enquiries

IMPORTANT NOTICE TO ADVERTISERS

Although every advertisement is carefully checked,occasionally mistakes do occur.We therefore ask advertisers to assist by checking their advertisements carefully and advise us immediately should an error occur.

We regret that we cannot accept responsibility for more than ONE INCORRECT insertion and that no re-publication will be granted in the case of typographical or minor changes which do not affect the value of the advertisement. While every endeavour will be made to meet the wishes of the advertisers, the publisher does not guarantee insertion of any particular advert.

MART LTD SHEARWELL THAME SUMMER SHEEP SALE 5-7TH AUGUST 2020

18,915 BREEDING SHEEP

WEDNESDAY 5TH – 4212 CONTINENTAL & CHEVIOT, EWES, THEAVES & EWE LAMBS

THURSDAY 6TH – 5432 SUFFOLK X EWES, THEAVES & EWE LAMBS

FRIDAY 7TH – 9271 NORTH OF ENGLAND MULE

EWES & THEAVES

SALE TO COMMENCE AT 10.30 AM EACH DAY

ENTRANCE STRICTLY BY CATALOGUE ONLY. NEW BUYERS MUST PRE-REGISTER WITH THE AUCTIONEERS. NO CATALOGUE, NO ENTRY. PLEASE COME ALONE.

CURRENT COVID-19 REGULATIONS APPLY AT ALL TIMES. SALE RESULTS WILL BE UPLOADED ONTO THE WEBSITE EACH EVENING.

SALE OF RAMS & STORE LAMBS WILL BE HELD ON 14TH-21ST AUGUST WITHIN THAME MARKET.

www.thame-market.co.uk

FURTHER DETAILS FROM THE AUCTIONEERS, CATALOGUES AVAILABLE FROM MONDAY 20TH JULY.

ASHLEY WALLER AUCTIONEERS

Entries to all sales requires a face mask Next Tuesday 14th July

Monthly machinery sale outside lots only. All photographs available on our website. Bomford winged Topper, Buck Rake, DAF and Merc Horseboxes. Back Actor, Marshall Spreader, Beet Cleaner, MF 228 Baler, 09 DAF LF Cattle Wagon, Cattle Troughs, Barriers. Maschio Corn Drill, Fella + Kevenland mowers. N.C Forager, Crop Sprayer, old tipping Trailer.

Thursday 16th July 2020

Outside Machinery Auctionon behalf of Anthony Bloor. Hulme Barns Farm,Mere, Knutsford. JD 7530, JD 6210R, Einbock Harrows, Land Roller, Kuhn FC313 Rear Mower, Kuhn FC313F Front Mower, Kuhn GA7301 Rower, Kuhn GF6502 and Fransgard SV-250-09 3Mtr. Tedders, Spaldings Flat Lift (little used),Kuhn 6F Rev. Plough, Compact 1230 Rollers, Kuhn 3004 NC Power Harrow /3000 Air Drill Combination, Howard Rotovator, two Warwick 25’ Bale Trailers, Marshall 25ft Bale Trailer, 2009 Baily 16T Grain Trailer, 2012 Mecmar D20/153T HP Grain Drier, two Warwick 14T Grain Trailers, Two 24’. Tandem Axle Bale Trailers, Star 850 Tanker, Photographs and details available via email. Also with online bidding

Saturday 25th July

Pursa Farm, Shocklach. Nr Malpas. SY14 7BT

Upon instructions from the Exors of Jim Hough, Ford 4600 & 7610 Tractors, JCB3c, Full Range of Machinery. Antique and other Furniture.

Saturday 1st August

Little Budworth, Tarporley to include 135, TE 20’s, 4/65, Minneapolis Moline G 705 LP, JCB 805b, JCB 1001, Cockshutt Plough, Climax FLT. etc. NO VAT (10% BP)

The Livestock Auctioneers Association

DRAYTON MARKET

MARKET DRAYTON MARKET

MARKET DRAYTON MARKET

DISPERSAL SALE

On Behalf of Tollemache Farms Ltd At Castleside Farm, Beeston, Tarporley, CW6 9UA

On Friday 24 July 2020 at 10.30am prompt Range of Arable, Grassland, Yard Machinery & Equipment Viz. Tractors New Holland TM155 (DK04 SFX), Ford 4100 (XEH 5835). Grassland Kuhn FC313F Front Mower, Kuhn FC314 Back Mower, Joskin Komfort 14000TS 12m Dribble Assistant, Kuhn Fert Spreader B1210, Einbock Grass Harrows 12m & Seeder, JF FCT 900 Trailed Forager, Sulky DPX Twin Disc Fert Spreader, Samson RD Rear Muck Spreader, John Deere 331 Mounted Mower, Major 2600 Slurry Tanker, Amazone ZAM 2500 Fert Spreader, 4 Rotor Fella Tedder, Breviglieri 2.8m Flail Topper, JF FCT 900 Trailed Forager, Sulky DPX Twin Disc Fert Spreader, Samson RD Rear Discharge Muckspreader. Yard Abbey VF2850 Feeder Wagon, BVL Block Cutter 1.7m Mega Star, Kuhn Primor 3570m Swivel Chute Straw Chopper, Redrock Shear Grab, McHale Shear Grab. Trailers Richard Western SF14 Grain Trailer, McConnell 14T Grain Trailer, 32ft Marshall Bale Trailer, AS 8T Trailer, 10T AS Trailer, Dual Axle 4 Wheel Dolly, Bailey 16T 33ft Flat Bed Trailer. Arable Kuhn 153 Van Master Plough, Kuhn Combi Venta NC3000 3m, Standen 6-Row Fodder Beet Cultivator, 3.6m

The Agricultural Centre, Market Drayton Livestock Market, Adderley Road, Market Drayton TF9 3SW

barbers-auctions.co.uk

YORK MACHINERY SALE TIMED ONLINE AUCTION

STARTS: 10 JULY CLOSES: 14 JULY

: JD 6420 c/w 633 loader (07); Case MX110 c/w loader (510; MF 5455 (54); MF 6485 (52); Int 895; JD6100; JD 3130; Kubota L3250 & STA35; JCB TM300 (05); JCB 535-95 (59); JCB 520-50; Daewoo 13T digger; Hanix N120U & Terex HR11 mini diggers (03); JD 855 Gator (11); JD HPX Gator (07); Honda Pioneer UTV (19); Kawasaki KVF650; honda TRX250 (14) COMBINES: NH TF78 (00); JD 1075

W A G O N S & V E H I C L E S : Leyland 7.5T horse box (93); MAN 7.5t (56); Ford Transit 115 (60); Range Rover 3.7 Sport (07); Toyota Hilux 2.4TD; Mitsubishi L200 (06) TRAILERS: Easterby 16T & 14T; Triffitt 12T root; Herbst 14T dump; AS 14T; Griffiths 8T; Portequip 24ft; Wootton 26ft; IW HB511 & 505 horse; GE ATV sheep; IW TB4621 15ft tilt; GE 16ft triaxle; Western fast tow bowsers; containers MANURE: Agri Hire 16T (09); Wootton 2500 tanker; Triffitt 9T BALERS: Welger RPC445 Tornado (13); Welger RP520 & 435 Farmer; NH BR7060 (08); Claas 46 Rotocut; JD 550 M O W E R S : KV 2428 disc; Krone ECR280CV; Lely Splendimo 320F (14); Vicon Extra 332T mo/co; KRM TLF200 Verge (demo); Teagle Dual Xpro 285 (17) TURNER: Claas Volto 1320T 8 rotor; NH Pro Rotor 290 rake (new); Kuhn GF6502 6 rotor; Pottinger HIT 58 4 rotor; Lely Lotus 300

C U L T I V A T O R S : KV LM85 5F; Opico 3m Vari discs; Amazone Catros 4000 discs; Kong. Delta 3m;Kong. Vibroflex 4.5m; Cousins 4m press; Vaderstad NZ Aggressive 700; Kuhn HR302B p/harrow DRILLS: Lemken Solitaire 9 3 & 4m; Amazone AD403 comb. SPRAYERS: Chaviot 24m self prop; Knight 24m; Blaney 450 weed wipe R O O T : Grimme GLZ 1700DL (01); Amac G2 pot/ carrot harvester; Swiftlift conveyor; 2 Russell 90 elevators HEDGERS, BUCKETS: Rytec KA 550 & McConnel PA 47E hedgers; Suton bucket brushes; Foster digger; Strimech X form bucket STOCK REQU I S I T E S : Teagle 9090 shredder; Spread-a-Bale midi; Binns mobile cattle race; Squeeze cattle crush (15); Gehl mobile 170 mixer; Quantoc & Clough post knockers; Teagle 7100 straw blower (15) GRAIN: Ozsu TKM18 12T mobile drier (18); Opico 380S drier; cooling pedestals GROUNDCARE: Toro Reelmaster 6500D gang; Kubota G21 diesel; Toro XL320; MISCELLANEOUS: Atlas Copco 70KVA generator; Clipper site saw bench; Terex & Liner cement mixer

The Agricultural Centre, Market Drayton Livestock Market, Adderley Road, Market Drayton TF9 3SW

The Agricultural Centre, Market Drayton Livestock Market, Adderley Road, Market Drayton TF9 3SW

Cultivator/Chisel Plough, Flat Lift Cultivator 3 Leg, Bomford Dyna Drive 3m, Opico Disc’s 3m, Furrow Press, Spring Tine Cultivator 5m Folding, Folding Cambridge Rollers 6m, 40ft Astwell Auger, 30ft Fyson Yeoman Grain Elevator, 40ft Fyson Grain Elevator, Rutherfords Grain Cleaner, Hoover & Elevators, 4m Kuhn Power Harrow, 6 Prong Bale Spike, Amazon KG603-2 6m Folding Power Harrow, Fertiliser Loading Attachment with Q Fit, Amazon KG603-2 6m Folding Power Harrow, Misc Molasses Tank 20L, Collinson 20T Corn Bin, 2 x EZ Guide 250 GPS Systems etc….. More In-depth Catalogue c/w. Photo’s Available From Market Office 01630 652926 or Jonty Cliffe

KELSALL COLLECTIVE MACHINERY SALE

Friday 4 September 2020 at 10.30am prompt at Churches View Farm, Kelsall Entries Required As Soon As Possible Jonty 07595 453306 or Simon Lamb 07815 188125

‘SELL LIVE & THRIVE AT MARKET DRAYTON MARKET’ Market Drayton Agriculture Centre 01630 652926 Bernie Hutchinson 07778 164274, Mark Jones 07813 625787 Ben Baggott 07791 791356 & Jonty Cliffe 07595 453306 or Register & bid on

RARE FIND awaits, a genuine, sincere, single, Midlands Country bachelor, 58-68. Lovely, respectable fairlady, agnostic, O.H.A.C., homemaker, smallholder, deserves 5ft 10+, slim, C/Shaven, solvent, loyal, decent chap. Swap tel, photos. PO BOX 1016 Farmers Guardian, Unit 4, Preston, PR2 9NZ

ARE YOU facing the prospect of not passing your farm onto any children because you haven’t found your partner yet? Let ‘Friends1st’ introduce you to many people and get this part of your life sorted. Call us today on 0121 405 0941.

MURTON, YORK, YO19 5GF Tel: 01904 489731 or online at www.ylc.co.uk

TUESDAY 21ST JULY – 11AM

MEADWELL FARM, KELLY, LIFTON, DEVON PL16 0HJ **(to the sale signs will be posted locally)**

Dispersal Sale of JCB Telehandler, 3 John Deere Tractors, Krone Baler & Wrapper, Machinery & Equipment on behalf of Messrs PC & Cox

Comprising; JD 2140 2WD Tractor (1980), JD 6820 Tractor with front linkage (2006 – 11,082 hours), JD 6150R with front linkage (2014 – 4091 hours). JCB Loadall 536-60 AGI Plus (2019 – 1212 hours). Krone Comprima CV 150 XC Baler & Wrapper (2019), Krone 900 Swadro Rake, Krone 6 Star Tedder, Krone R320 3.2 M Easy Cut Mower, Amazone ZA-M Fertiliser Spinner (2014), West 2000 Dual Spreader and many other excellent lots. Full details & Catalogues available 01392 251261 or www.kivells.com J.P

FGBuyandSell.com

INSTRUCTOR - ENGINEERING

Permanent - Barony Campus

£25,254 - £26,374 per annum

Ref: ASWF/ILM/004/20

SRUC (Scotland’s Rural College) is a widely respected higher education and further education institute dedicated to producing specialist research, delivering high quality education and providing comprehensive consultancy services in the rural sector within the UK and beyond. We are seeking a highly motivated individual to join our Land-Based Engineering team at SRUC’s Barony Campus. He/She will have experience of working to deadlines within the agricultural or forestry engineering industries. The role of Instructor involves contributing to the development and delivery of an industry-led, vibrant programme of growth for SRUC’s land-based engineering education and training capability in the South and West Faculty. For further information and to apply, www.sruc.ac.uk/jobs

Closing date: 24th July 2020

SRUC Leading the way in Agricultural and Rural Research, Education & Consultancy.

SRUC. A Charitable company limited by guarantee, SC003712. Registered in Scotland No SC103046

GYPSUM

SULPHUR 43% CALCIUM 29%

From £5.00 per tonne - delivered the alternative to expensive sulphur & calcium fertilizer

• Helps improve soils structure and increases nutrients after flooding.

• Reduce water runoff and erosion.

• Improve Calcium and Sulphur nutritional elements

Tel 01724 841945 | Tel 07776-100974 Email info@mineralgrow.co.uk

PURECLAD Hygienic

LIVESTOCK AUCTIONEER

An exciting opportunity has arisen for the position of Livestock Auctioneer at a leading, modern livestock centre, renowned for selling quality stock from Cumbria and across the North of England. Rostrum experience is vital, as is the ability to source livestock and talk to farmers and buyers.

All enquiries will be treated in the strictest confidence, in the first instance to David Bowman, Mart Manager on 07721 616786 or alternatively please call John Peile in his role as a Director for an informal discussion on 07896 336203

CARRON LODGE CHEESE

Requires ASSISTANT HERDSPERSON for large pedigree cow herd & small buffalo herd. Previous experience needed.

Salary: Circa £40K

Location: North Preston area.

To apply please call: 07585 962609 or Email: Colette.magee@carronlodge.com

Tractor and Harvester Drivers, Sprayer Operators, Livestock People, Fencers - all rural jobs. British, Irish, Kiwis, Aussies and Europeans

Delaval 8,000 Litres

Serap 8,000 Litres Vaccar 8,000 Litres

Serap 9,000 Litres Mueller 9,000 Litres Ro-Ka 9,000 Litres

Kirstal 14,000 Litres

We are the best weekly title at farms of all sizes in the UK

or call: 07788 233608

Portable Milking Machine

Complete with Honda engine and Electric motor. This unit is

for

and can be

anywhere in the

Part exchange considered This is only a selection of the tanks currently in

Class 1 Fire Rated PVC wall linings and ceiling systems. Milking parlours, dairies, food prep areas. All trims, colours, different thicknesses available. Fitting service. Trade enq welcome. Tel: 01282 779472 or 07710 934133. FEEDERS

Nedap CowControl Systems New and used Nedap Heat Detection systems & spares. Lactivator/Rescounter devices and Plastic Straps Tel 07860 663842

Livestock Supplies LTD Call Ashley on: 07831 887531 or 01829 260328 www.livestocksupplies.co.uk

Dairymaster out of parlour feeders. 5 stall, 3 plus 2. Tel: 07923

638661 Cumbria (P)

NEW & REFURBISHED BULK MILK TANKS FOR SALE

New Roka Silos and Tanks available

25,000 Ltr Silo – Instant Cooling

22,000 Ltr Roka 2018

19,000 Ltr Roka ***Special Offer***

9,000 Ltr Roka

8,000 Ltr Fabdec

8,000 Ltr Delaval

7,000 Ltr Mueller

7,000 Ltr Fabdec + new cleaner

6,000 Ltr Mueller

6,000 Ltr Fabdec

5,000 Ltr Surge + new cleaner

4,000 Ltr Fabdec

3,700 Ltr Vaccar DX

3,500 Ltr Delaval

3,400 Ltr Fullwood Packo – open top instant cooling

3,300 Ltr Mueller

3,200 Ltr Delaval

2 Ton factory refurbished I/Builder suitable for up to 12,000 Ltrs every day / 24,000 Ltrs every other day

1 Ton Ice Builder, suitable for up to 11,000 Ltrs every other day.

1 x 720kg refurbished Ice Builder suitable for up to 8,000 Ltrs every other day

650kg Ice Builder – suitable for up to 8,000 Ltrs every other day CUSTOM BUILT HEAT RECOVERY SYSTEMS, TAYLORED TO YOUR REQUIREMENTS SMALLER BULK TANKS AVAILABLE REFURBISHED ICE BUILDERS IN STOCK EMERGENCY OPEN & ENCLOSED LOAN TANKS AVAILABLE TO RENT *WATER SOFTENERS AVAILABLE * SOLE UK IMPORTER FOR NEW RO-KA MILK COOLING SYSTEMS & SPARE PARTS

INDOOR & OUTDOOR TANKS & SILOS ALSO AVAILABLE Tanks wanted - 6,000 Ltr and above.

For further details please call S.W Refrigeration specialising in “On Farm cooling Equipment” 01392 210344 or Paul on 07974 140949

All Tanks can be fitted anywhere in the country or ex-yard and all come with a 12 month warranty. Talk to us about our “Green Machine” Heat Recovery System. With almost all installations returning a 30-50% return on investment, can you afford not to install it on your Dairy Farm?

Please see www.southwestrefrigeration.co.uk for more info.

BRITMILK

Bed and Breakfast Pig Rearing and Finishing Accommodation Required

Due to current expansion plans Wold Farms Ltd are looking for good quality straw based pig rearing and finishing accommodation in the Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire regions.

Our pigs are produced to Red Tractor and Freedom Food standards with very competitive rates and long-term, processor aligned contracts being available.

We would also like to hear from anyone who would be interested in discussing the provision of Fully Slatted Pig Finishing Accommodation, whether that is for either Existing Accommodation or Potential New Build.

Wold Farms Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cranswick Plc and Interested parties should contact Lucy Jones or Angel Galtrey for more information. Telephone: (01482) 895949 | Email: wold.farms@cranswick.co.uk

CREAG- MHOR POULTRY Point of lay pullets, day old chicks. Commercial Brown Hybrids, Copper Comets, dark brown egg layers, Blackrocks, Light Sussex and other coloured hybrids. Ducklings. Cheshire Blue, Blue Egg layers. - Tel: 07946 761435 Cheshire www.creagmhorpoultry.co.uk

Dogs & Pets

TURKEY GROWERS available for Christmas Trade. July, August and September. White or Black sexed Hens. Baron Turkeys: 01928 716416 or 07768 603825 www. baronturkeys.co.uk

Livestock Equipment

Clean Comfort

Charlie Sutcliffe 07703 679023

ASTROTURF FOR COW TRACKS & STANDING AREAS

Tired of muddy walk ways? We supply AstroTurf for cow tracks & standing areas. Ideal solution for poached areas! Our washed silica sand is perfect for use as cow bedding. AstroTurf comes in different types and can also be used for cubicle matting.

ROWE FARM LIMITED CALL IAN FOR DETAILS ON: 07973 704 182

V12 Shearing and crutching machine

£345, Super Crook from NZ £30, Yoke for stand up dagging £190, Cordless sheep & cattle clipper £220. The sheep shearing equipment specialist. George Mudge & Co - Tel: 01822 615456 www. georgemudgeshearing. co.uk

STARTER RACE SYSTEM

RRP INCLUDES: • 12FT RACE • 6FT HOSKING FORCING PEN • 12FT X 6FT

ONLY £1600 + V.A.T. WITH THIS ADVERT DAGGING CRATE UNIT ONLY £775 + V.A.T. WITH THIS ADVERT FREE DELIVERY ENGLAND, WALES & LOWLAND SCOTLAND ON THE ABOVE ITEMS POST THIS ADVERT WITH YOUR CHEQUE TO:- MODULAMB LTD, PETER HALL FARM, COOMBEFIELDS, COVENTRY, CV2 2DR OR CONTACT US FOR PAYMENT DETAILS AT: TEL: 02476 611647 MOB: 07847 145589 EMAIL: sales@modulamb.com www.modulamb.com OFFERS END 31st AUGUST 2020

CUBICLES

10 mushroom precast cubicles. 7ft 4 by 4ft. Good condition. £150 each. Tel: 07809 399858 North Wales (P)

CORDLESS SHEARER with 2 strong LI-ION batteries. £228.95+vat. Tel: 01200 427419 www. hornershearing.com

Livestock Equipment

IMPORTED PEDIGREE DAIRY CATTLE

From Holland, Denmark, Germany, France & Ireland. Available now for immediate delivery - 34 pedigree in calf heifers. Due to calf July, Aug & Sept. Ready to import from Holland. All the above livestock are of the highest quality and all paperwork and testing meet our stringent regulations. Also available a weekly selection of 8-10 UK sourced fresh calved heifers and cows. All

&

anywhere in the

Telephone: 07831

or 01829 260328

SEAFIELD PEDIGREE ABERDEEN ANGUS BULLS

FRESH REARING CALVES

Available in suitable batches delivered to most parts of the country Continental Bull and Heifer calves 3-5 weeks old available now. Quality store cattle sourced directly from Welsh/Shropshire Borders Farms, delivered to your

PEDIGREE ABERDEEN ANGUS BULLS

14 Months old, 4 year TB area. Grand Sire: Netherallen Peter Pershowe. Easy calving & ready for work. Tel: 07985 634630 South Yorkshire (P)

Ready to work, delivered direct to your farm, very quiet, easy calving.

Also females avaliable. Health monitored, closed herd, full pedigree with each animal, Red tractor.

Tel: 077157 64351

Quality, home-bred Limousin cross British Blue young cows and heifers, with Lim x and BB x calves at foot. Also two excellent Lim x British Blue bulls. Eager for work, all quiet, TB tested and ready to go. ALWAYS NEGATIVE FOR TB Wilf Lomas - 01606 832142 or 07769704628

12-18 Months old. Well grown. Hi-Health. Dark coloured. Easy to handle. Can deliver. Tel: 01538 300331 or 07968 622950 Staffs (P)

For sale, a selection of pedigree Shorthorn Bulls. Hi-Health Status. Females Available.

Tel: 01845 537932

Email: turtongerald@hotmail.com or visit: www.upsallshorthorn.co.uk

PEDIGREE CHAROLAIS BULLS

PEDIGREE CHAROLAIS BULLS, GREAT SHAPE AND LENGTH, VERY QUIET, EASY CALVING, GOOD FIGURES, OXFORDSHIRE INKERMAN CHAROLAIS 07957 471718

SHEEP SPECIAL

PEDIGREE FOCUS - JULY 31

This not-to-be-missed Farmers Guardian Sheep Supplement is perfect if you want to reach the people right at the heart of the sheep industry.

Jam-packed with key pedigree and commercial sheep sales from auction marts across the UK, it is ideal for anyone involved in sheep farming and beyond.

It will comprise of private stock for sale, feeding, housing equipment and much, much more.

There will also be editorial features on:

• Pedigree sheep flocks

• A look ahead to the breeding season

• Technical and veterinary advice

This is your chance to advertise alongside top-quality journalism and reach over 80,000 people across the farming industry.

Key benefits to you:

• A reach of over 80,000 readers

• Increased brand awareness and recognition

• More credibility for your company by advertising in a respected magazine

Call Gemma Thorpe or Katie Robinson on 01772 799500 to find out more about our advertising opportunities or email fgclassified@farmersguardian.com

FGBuyandSell.com

TOP QUALITY

Texel X Beltex and Beltex Shearling Rams

Very well grown, Bred for shape, tight skins & easy lambing. Outstanding stock, must be seen. Large selection available - £400 each. Call Philip Langton @ MOORPOOL BELTEX on 07815 123783 Holbrook, Derby (P)

Rams For Sale

High index Texel Shearling and Suffolks Shearlings For Sale. 07788 133921 Scarborough

Excellent conformation, tight skins, ready for work. Heptavac P

Lleyn - MV Signet Flock 1448

Enhancing profitability through Performance Recording.

200 registered shearling ewes. Can be purchased by EBVs. High EBV tups registered & commercial. Culland Hall Farm, Derbyshire Tel: 01335 361 322 or 07802 887814 www.culland-farm.co.uk

Farm assured quality cattle & sheep feeds available for Nationwide Delivery Dry cereal rations suitable for all breeding and fattening stock at very competitive prices. Available in bulk or 1 tonne bags delivered

available for Nationwide Delivery.

• 16% & 14% Pro • Ideal for feeding • Cost effective • UFAS ASSURED

Dry cereal rations suitable for all breeding and fattening stock at very competitive prices. Available in bulk or 1 tonne bags delivered or collected A VARIETY OF HIGH ENERGY FEEDS - NEW PRODUCT AVAILABLE

• Biscon Meal (approx. 13% protein/13 ME) from £150 per tonne ex store

• Cereal Mixture (approx. 14% protein/12.5 ME) from £150 per tonne ex store

• Cereal Mixture (approx 14% protein/13 ME) from £160 per tonne ex store

• Cereal Blend (approx. 16% protein/13.2 ME) from £165 per tonne ex store

• Cereal Blend (approx. 16% protein/13 ME) from £170 per tonne ex store

• 180 Mixed Pellets (approx 18% protein/14 ME) from £ per tonne ex store

• Mixed Pellets (approx. 18% protein/14 ME) from £185 per tonne ex store

1 tonne bags delivered anywhere in England & Wales:

• Mixture Cereal £210 delivered • Mixed Pellets £230 delivered

• Cereal Mixture £200 delivered • Mixed Pellets £235 delivered

• Blend Cereal £220 delivered • Biscon Meal £200 delivered CALL

• Cereal Blend £215 delivered CALL NOW: 01949 844700 www.midlandfeeds.co.uk

Contact Mr Brocklehurst on 07764 196462 or 01260 223338 Nr Congleton AK SHARPE & SONS ALL TYPES OF HAY AND STRAW FOR SALE & WANTED Competitively Priced Andrew 07970 052 419 Phillip 07973 208 384 LANCS (T)

35 early tupping ewes. Correct mouth and udder.

Tel: 07815 819777 Midlands (P)

VALAIS BLACKNOSE Ram lambs. From the 6,500gn ewe purchased from Raymond Irvine. Tel Seafield Pedigrees: 07715 764351 (P)

CHEVIOT SHEARLING 115 ewes. Willing to split. On hept p system Attwell Farm: 07715 764351 (P)

Harvest 2020 good quality, delivered in large square bales to YO7 4SB Weighbridge on site prompt payment Tel:07801 687565 or 07712 451374

Cereal Meal 14% protein ration consisting of Wheat, Barley, Micronised Cereals, Peas & Beans, Maize Gluten and Confectionary products. Ideal for fattening Cattle & Sheep. Available for delivery in bulk and collection in bags or bulk from £145 per tonne ex store CALL NOW: 01949 844700

Both very good quality Both in 4 ft round bales. Tel 07792300868 Manchester (P)

We are currently aware of a number of fraudulent advertisers attempting to sell items within the classified section. Whilst we endeavour to protect our readers and pull these adverts before going to press, sometimes they may unfortunately appear in print.

Your one stop shop for all agricultural sales

Search by sale type, mart, auctioneer or region

PENNANT FINANCE

Specialist Agricultural Finance Broker

ARE YOU PAYING MORE THAN 1.5% OVER BASE RATE INTEREST ON YOUR FARM MORTGAGE, LOAN OR OVERDRAFT?

SECURED AND UNSECURED LOAN FACILITIES AVAILABLE FOR ANY BUSINESS PURPOSE INCLUDING LIVESTOCK FINANCE

CONTACT HAYDN JONES 01492 580202 / 07768 025440

Haydn Vaughan Jones T/A Pennant Finance

Authorised & Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority

The ‘farmer’ is the landowner who engages the services of another, referred to as the ‘contractor’ who undertakes farming operations over a fixed period. Its success is achieved through the contractor providing the experience, expertise, technology, and machinery, while the landowner provides the land and buildings. It is a flexible agreement determined by the needs of the respective parties, the main principals being that:

n The ‘farmer’ receives a first charge for the provision of the land.

n The ‘contractor’ receives a guaranteed fixed charge for the

working capital can be redirected into other areas of their business to increase profitability as well as mitigate risk.

It is essential that CFAs are managed correctly to ensure the landowner is able to satisfy the requirements for both personal and capital taxation benefits.

While CFAs provide benefits, it is strongly advised that professional advice is sought before any agreement begins.

Katie Proctor is a chartered surveyor at H&H Land and Estates. Call 01228 406 260, or email info@hhlandestates.co.uk

Chartered Surveyors • Land & Estate Agents • Valuers Greenways Farm, Hollins Lane, Forton Preston, PR3 0AH

Well located livestock farm extending to 60.73 acres, range of portal farm buildings, 3 bedroom Farmhouse. For sale as a whole or upto 4 lots.

Guide Price £930,000

Home Farm, Hall Lane Lathom, Ormskirk L40 5UQ

An excellent well-equipped dairy farm, modern facilities and capacity for 250+ cows, productive Grade 2 land extending to 227.43 acres with an attractive 3 bedroom farmhouse. Available as a whole or upto 3 lots.

Guide Price £2,880,000

Sandbeds Farm, Gressingham, Lancaster LA2 8LY

Superbly located livestock farm in the sought-after Lune Valley, Grade II 4 bedroom farmhouse, 3 bedroom cottage and range of traditional buildings and land extending to 185.59 acres OTA. Available as a whole or in 2 lots.

Guide Price £2,500,00

Scale House Farm, Conder Green, Lancaster LA2 0BQ

Sought-after Livestock Farm with Development potential, 5-bedroomed Farmhouse, range of Traditional and more Modern Farm Buildings with Planning Permission for 4 Residential dwellings, 74.25 acres in a ring fence.

Guide Price £1,350,000

Clough Bottom & Old Laund Farm, Broad Oak Road, Accrington, BB5 2DG

Exciting redevelopment opportunities. Smallholdings in total extending to 60.47 acres (24.46 hectares).

Lot 1: Clough Bottom – Farmhouse, Buildings and 41.35 acres OTA – OIEO £500,000

Lot 2: Old Laund – Farmhouse, Former Derelict Cottages, Barn and 19.12 acres OTA – OIEO - £450,000

Tel: 01995 603180 • garstang@abarnett.co.uk | Tel: 01200 411 155 • clitheroe@abarnett.co.uk

Tel: 01704 895 995 • burscough@abarnett.co.uk | Tel: 01539 751 993 • kendal@abarnett.co.uk

Stodhart Farm

Hayfield Road, Chapel-en-le-Frith, High Peak, Derbyshire, SK23 0QE

planning consent), productive meadow & pasture land and offered for sale in Four Lots.

In all About 63.70 Acres (25.79 hectares)

CLOSING DATE FOR OFFERS TO BE RECEIVED FRIDAY 14TH AUGUST AT 4 PM

For more information please contact Peter Kirton-Darling or Simon Lewis Whittaker & Biggs Leek Office 01538 372006 www.whittakerandbiggs.co.uk

266.57 ACRES (107.88 HECTARES) OF LAND AT CROSTON

of Grade 2 land situated at Croston in the heart of Central Lancashire for the purposes of growing grass or maize. To Let by Informal Tender Tender Date: 12 noon Thursday, 30th July 2020

www.pwcsurveyors.co.uk t. 01772 882277

at afaplanningconsultants.co.uk 01480 218211 (T) Regulated by RICS

Land to let in Leicestershire

Farm tenancy – price on application

Burton on the Wolds, Barrow upon Soar and Seagrave, LE12

Approximately 375 acres of arable land to be let by informal tender on a 2 year initial term farm business tenancy from 29 September 2020.

Please email tithefarm160@gmail.com by 17 July 2020 for further details.

RTS Richard Turner & Son

AUCTIONEERS VALUERS & ESTATE AGENTS Est 1803 FOR SALE BY INFORMAL TENDER 12.46 ACRES PASTURELAND

Lower House Lane, CALDER VALE, Preston PR3 1SR

Tenders to be received no later than 12pm Monday 20th July 2020 to the Agents’ Bentham Office clearly marked ’Land at Calder Vale’ (Ref JCP) Bentham Office Tel: 015242 61444

Email: sawley@rturner.co.uk

LAND WANTED DEER STALKING, ROUGH SHOOTING, PIGEON LAND TO LEASE CONTROL ON ALL VERMIN UNDERTAKEN TELEPHONE: 01690 733859

2015 Isuzu Double cab

www.cheshirebreakers.co.uk

FORD RANGER SPARES

Most parts in stock From 2002 - 2012 RANGERS WANTED

Running or Non-Runners & MOT Failures Call 01260 278528 or 07974 083537

ALL 4X4S WANTED

Any make or model, any year, any value, running or not. Will collect UK wide

Top prices paid

Tel: 07770 686052 01383 511787 or 07771 982404

LANDROVER DEFENDERS WANTED Any condition Same day payment All areas

Tel 01706 872182 Mob 07779 011061 Lancs (T)

Parts & Tyres

ATV

Tup and calf

and sheep feeders- Tel: Swaledale ATV 01282 614321 or 07836 315254 Nationwide

Vicon / Kubota grass machinery @ 0% finance Fantastic “out of season deals” on now! NEW TRACTORS & MACHINERY

Kubota MGX 125, Powershift & 6.1 litre engine

Kubota M5111 (113 hp) A handy stockman tractor

Kubota RTV X1110 c/w heated cab, book a demo

Vicon mowers and mower conditioners in stock

British pasture toppers, Standard & Offset in stock

Browns Post Drivers, log chop and splitters in stock

Fleming MS 700 & MS 1000 Muck Spreaders, in stock

Major galvanised slurry tankers, strong by design British made Chain Harrows, Various sizes

ATV Sprayers c/w Lance & Boom, “On Special Offer” Husqvarna chainsaws large range in stock

Full range of new Suzuki ATV’s in stock now

NEW KUBOTA TRACTORS WITH 3 YEARS 0% FINANCE & 5 YEARS EXTENDED WARRANTY* USED MACHINERY

2018 Bobcat S530, 5’6” wide, c/w bucket, very tidy

2012 Bobcat S70, 3ft wide, c/w bucket, straight Hackett 16ft hyd folding, mounted chain harrows

Vicon Extra 122, 7ft cut, disc mower, Excellent

Vicon 228 disc mower, 9’4” cut, serviced & ready

Vicon Extra 624, 8ft, mower conditioner, immaculate Vicon 763, 6 rotor tedder, farmer owned, excellent

2017 kubota X900 RTV full cab & heater, excellent 2010 kubota RTV 900, straight & tidy

2018 Suzuki 500 KQ, power steering, choice of 2

2017 Suzuki 500 KQ, Power steering, choice of 2 2017 Suzuki 500 KQ, very clean, straight & tidy

2017 Suzuki 400A KQ, very handy ATV, due in See website for more machinery + s/hand quad www.pigney.co.uk

TELEPHONE H. PIGNEY & SON: 017683 51240 ANDREW WOOF: 07771 360316

DAVID DENT: 07889 288902 /017683 53823 EVENINGS

DAVID PIGNEY: 017683 53459 EVENINGS

MARSHALL ST3000

We are currently aware of a number of fraudulent advertisers attempting to sell items within the classified section. Whilst we endeavour to protect our readers and pull these adverts before going to press, sometimes they may unfortunately appear in print.

Please be mindful before entering into any deals you PROCEED WITH CAUTION with the seller and do not part with money until goods are received.

Farmers Guardian are NOT responsible for any part of the transaction that takes place with the seller and the buyer.

PAUL WHITTINGHAM

19 MF 7718S 50k, A/B front link & pto, 4 spools, £73,750

61 NH T7030 50K A/B side winder, 4 spools, f/links, good spec.. £POA

65 JOHN DEERE 6125R 4WD, C/W Power Loader, 1,400hrs only, very tidy......................................................................................................... £56,750

11 CASE 140 MAXXUM, Front links, 4 spools, eco PTO, tidy ........£22,450

13 MF 7618 Dyna6 50K, air brakes.....................................................£29,750

08 MF 5460 Dyna4 2wd, 3 spools, v tidy ............................................. £POA

07 MF 5465 4WD DYNA 4, 2800hrs only, v tidy, £POA

06 MF 410 2WD c/w power loader, 467 hours only..

£POA

Y MF 290, 2WD, Duncan cab, cast wheels, ex college, choice of 2 £POA

R MF 4245 2wd, hi-vis, tidy

M MF 390 12x12, 2 wheel drive 5,700hrs, exceptional

K MF 390 4wd hi-line cab, 12 speed shuttle, tidy

F REG MF 365 2WD 4,550hrs

£POA

£POA

£POA

£9,750

F MF 3060 2WD straight tractor ..........................................................£8,750

E MF 230 C/W cab, PUH, v tidy, 2752 hrs only ....................................

£POA

E MF 399 2wd 12 speed, low hours, tidy .............................................

£POA

MF 135 Choice of 3, tidy tractors From................................................£5750

66 MANITOU MLT735 Elite, 2,100hrs, v tidy

£46,750

15 MANITOU MLT629 ELITE, 320hrs, v tidy £POA

13 MANITOU MLT627T, tidy £27,500

08 MANITOU MLT627 T, V.tidy

08 MANITOU MLT627 compact low cab, low hours

£18,750

£POA

13 BAILEY 15 Ton, Silage trailer, 560x60x22.5 floatations, tidy £12,950

11 MARSHALL 90 Rota spreader, Tidy

BROUGHAN 18 ton silage trailers, full spec

£3,450

1404 MINI DIGGER 480hrs only .........................................£8,750 KUHN MASTER 120, 5 furrow plough, good metal, rear disc..........£4,750

16 SAMSON FLEX16 rear discharge manure spreader, tidy ...........

15 CLAAS VOLTO 1300T TEDDER, v tidy, .......................................£14,750 13 TRIFFIT 16TON MUCK TRAILER, choice of 2

•

•

•

• BODY MADE OF GRADE 420 HIGH TENSILE STEEL

SPRUNG DRAWBAR • HYDRAULIC DOOR

• JOSKIN ROLL-OVER BOGGIE • AIR BRAKES

• HYDRAULIC JACK • REAR BUMPER • WHEELS

560/60R22.5 BKT FL 630 • EUROPEAN CERTIFICATION (COC) • MUDGUARDS

• BOLTED EYELET

MACHINERY & TRACTOR

On July 17th, Farmers Guardian’s popular Machinery & Tractor magazine is back. It's the perfect platform to reach over 80,000 agricultural professionals in print and online!

With a focus on tractors and loaders, this special will feature user stories, top tips, the latest kit updates and buyer’s guides. Filled with unrivalled journalism, you could reach thousands of decision-makers while being cost-effective.

What's more, we can help raise your brand awareness, launch new products, increase sales and much more using multi-platforms!

Place your products and services in a trusted, market-leading title which gives you direct access to the heart of farming.

Call Ewa Bailey on 01772 799500 to find out more about our advertising opportunities or email ewa.bailey@farmersguardian.com

• Reinforced credibility of your

by

McConnel PA7070T

McConnel PA5565

McConnel PA6577T

SN:61034775

£16,000

McConnel PA6570T, Revolution EDS, 1.5m Head with Hyd Roller, 2014

McConnel PA7700T

SN:51034330

£12,500

McConnel PA7700T, 2008, evolution controls with joystick, 1.6m multicut flail head, axle bracket mounting, mid cut pack LH cut, oil cooler and hydraulic roller

McConnel PA55E

SN:PA55E

£10,750

McConnel PA55E Hy Reach , 2004, Switch Box Controls, 1.2m

McConnel PA5455

SN:31035115

£9,500

McConnel PA5455, Motion Controls, 2013, very tidy

McConnel PA7070T ,Revolution control & EDS 1.2M multicut flail head c/w HD front & rear flaps.T Flails, Debris blower (integral) warning arrow SN:31032058

Shelbourne Reynolds 450 2016, c/w 1.2m head and drop forged flails, LED lights, power slew, twin pump, 3pt stabiliser and standard spec plus oil remote joystick

£10,500

McConnel PA500

SN:41031440

£13,950

McConnel PA5565, 2016, 1.2m Head

Sprearhead Twiga 500

SN:41031809

£4,850

McConnel PA500 Hedgecutter c/w 1.5m head and competition flails , 1997

McConnel PA58

SN:31029837

£9,500

McConnel PA58 Hedge Cutter , 2011, Cable Control, 1.2M Multicut Head, Front and Rear Flaps

SN:41035083

£9,950

Sprearhead Twiga 500, 2015, Low Pressure Joystick Control

McConnel PA5360

SN:31035103

£8,950

McConnel PA5360 XTC Controls c/w 1.2m Head, 2012

SN:61030633

£14,750

McConnel PA6577T Hedgecutter,2015, T flails, Revolution Controls

McConnel PA6585T

SN:41035093

£12,350

McConnel PA6585T Motion, 2013, 1.5m direct drive head c/w F10 comp flails head s/n M1330967 axle bracket only

McConnel PA65T XTC

SN:41033307

£9,750

McConnel PA65T XTC, 2008, 3pt linkage mounted Hedge Cutter c/w a 1.5m head xtc controls and power slew

McConnel Swingtrim

SN:41035070

£5,250

McConnel Swingtrim XL, 2019, Mini Motion Controls

MACHINERY

Edited by James Rickard

There has been much hype around the development of the Grenadier, which many see as a suitable replacement for Land Rover’s old Defender, with Ineos recently revealing the exterior design of the new vehicle. Alex Heath reports.

Will Grenadier fill the void left by iconic Defender?

rModern 4X4 has traditional look

FOR the last three years, Ineos Automotive has made no apologies in its quest to design and build a rugged and capable 4x4, filling a gap it sees in the automotive market place.

Following a six-month feasibility study focusing on the demands required by various industries and after much speculation as to the form of the vehicle, the company has recently revealed the exterior design of the Grenadier.

It will come as no surprise that one of the most popular off-roaders , the Land Rover Defender, a firm

favourite of company chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe, has provided several styling prompts in the new vehicle’s design. This includes square front fenders and raised bonnet, boxy tin work and round headlights, sure to strike a chord with those still mourning the loss of the old utilitarian Defender.

Capable

Ineos says the Grenadier has been built from the ground up on a new platform to meet the demands of its future owners for a rugged, capable and comfortable go-anywhere working vehicle. It has sourced parts from numerous manufacturers which will be familiar in the farming community.

Toby Ecuyer, the company’s head of design, says: “The brief was simple. We set out to design a modern, functional and highly capable 4x4 vehicle with utility at its core. A design that is ‘easy-to-read’, with no ambiguity about the Grenadier’s role in life.”

Mobility technology specialist Magna has been instrumental in the design of the vehicle’s undercarriage, from the inception of the project, through its subsidiary Magna Powertrain.

However, for series production, Magna Steyr has also been brought on board. The company was responsible for series production of Mercedes’ G-Class, with hints of

EXTERIOR BUILD

EXTERNALLY, Ineos has designed the vehicle to be ‘open-source’, meaning both its accessories and those from other manufacturers can be fitted.

Belt lines around the doors act as bump strips but can be used as a ‘utility belt’, fixing jerry cans as an example to the waist of the vehicle, the company says. It has also added wiring exit ports in the roof, both front and rear, to facilitate auxiliary lighting and power outlets.

Access

The Grenadier has a vertical split rear door; a smaller section on the left for quick access when loading small items and a larger on the right, which also supports the spare tyre.

When both doors are open, a euro size pallet can be accommodated, making use of its one-tonne payload.

that iconic vehicle also evident throughout.

A box section ladder chassis is found under the bodywork. Chosen for its structural rigidity and strength, the company says it has multi-layer corrosion protection. It

The Grenadier will be a utilitarian, hard-working 4x4, combining British spirit with German rigour, says Ineos chairman Jim Ratcliffe.

will also enable the truck to have a 3,500kg towing capacity.

Supporting the chassis, beam axles from Carraro are used, offering better ground clearance, articulation and load carrying ability than independent suspension, says the

company, as well as being simpler and easier to attach and fix.

Four-wheel drive

A coil and damper multi-link suspension arrangement is used, with coils sourced from Eibach and dampers from ZF offering a simple but robust system, the manufacturer says. Permanent four-wheel drive features, with locking differentials. The front-end of the drive train

PRODUCTION

PRODUCTION of the new four-wheel drive vehicle will start in the second half of 2021, at a newly constructed factory in Bridgend, Wales creating up to 500 jobs.

To start with, the manufacturer is focusing on the five-door station wagon version, but a twin cab pickup version is also in the pipeline, and there may be a short wheelbase version on the cards too.

Dirk Heilmann, Ineos Automotive chief executive, says: “We are delighted to be able to share the design of the Grenadier so early in the process.

“Most manufacturers would hold back, but we are a new business building a new brand

is from BMW, with straight-six diesel and petrol engine variants expected.

Power ratings for the modular three-litre units are expected to be between 216 and 400hp, if the tuning stays the same as the parent company’s cars. ZF is also providing an eight-speed automatic transmission, complete with low range. It is not yet known if a manual gearbox will feature.

and we want to take people with us on this exciting journey.

“Showing the design now allows us to focus on the critical next phase of the vehicle’s development; testing its capability and durability.

Prototypes

“We have a challenging programme ahead, as we put prototypes through their paces in all conditions on the way to accumulating some 1.8 million test kilometres over the coming year. From today, the covers are off.

“Testing ‘in plain sight’ without the need for camouflage wrapping, foam blocks or fake panels is an added benefit.”

INEOS Automotive is a subsidiary of Ineos Group, a leading manufacturer of petrochemicals, speciality chemicals and oil products. It employs 22,000 people across 34 businesses, with a production network spanning 183 manufacturing facilities in 26 countries.

From paints to plastics, textiles to technology, medicines to mobile phones, materials manufactured by the company can be found in almost every aspect of modern life.

In 2018, Ineos had sales in the region of £48.3 billion ($60bn).

Utilitarian

The year before, Ineos’ Jim Ratcliffe, a car enthusiast and experienced adventurer, identified a gap in the market for a stripped back, utilitarian, hard-working 4x4 engineered for modern day compliance and reliability, combining rugged British spirit with German engineering rigour. He says: “I am a great admirer of the old Land Rover Defender and have enormous respect for its off-road capability and our new 4x4 has been inspired by it. But while our off-roader might share its spirit, our new vehicle will be a major improvement on previous models.”

MACHINERY USER STORY

Looking to future-proof its latest sprayer purchase, one Dorset grower has opted for a Raven Hawkeye pulse width modulation system on its 5,000-litre, 36-metre Chafer Interceptor. Geoff Ashcroft finds out more.

Farm prioritises sprayer technology

Given the cost of sprays being applied to crops, new technology to improve application accuracy is never far from the top of a sprayer operator’s wish-list when looking at replacement machines.

But for Andy Meecham, farms manager and sprayer operator at the 1,500-hectare St Giles Farms, Wimborne St Giles in Dorset, it had become a priority for the businesses’ next self-propelled sprayer purchase.

Mr Meecham says: “We aim to buy the best application technology that is available at the time of buying.

“And I liked the technology behind pulse width modulation

[PWM]. It has a lot to offer, and the benefits seem better suited to wider booms.”

He adds that sprayers are one of few long-term purchases, and recognises the importance of choosing the right tech to add value to the farm business.

“You have to be mindful of getting a return on investment, where possible,” he adds.

“For example, I cannot see the need for real time kinematic [RTK] accuracy with tractors and auto-steering systems for cereal cropping, but when it comes to application accuracy, I know there is money to be saved on managing overlaps and improving how we apply our sprays.”

Rather than just opt for an

individual nozzle control system, he chose PWM for its ability to maintain droplet size across the boom within a given speed range.

Scenarios

“With 36-metre tramline spacings, turn compensation was one of those must-haves, to ensure we apply sprays to the best of our ability in all our field scenarios,” he says.

“Those scenarios could be curved headlands, working around pylons and poles, or simply managing overlaps in every circumstance.”

are kept open, and is influenced by a change in forward speed. This provides instant rate control at each nozzle, with the pressure being fixed at all times to give a consistent droplet size across the boom width.

Droplet size can be specified from the cab, which means nozzle choice is no longer a compromise. Hawkeye uses gyroscopes to sense boom movement while spraying. This data allows the application rate to be varied proportionally across the boom, as the sprayer makes a turn while applying sprays.

Raven’s Hawkeye system uses nozzle bodies equipped with an electric solenoid that pulses the spray on and off multiple times a second. Rate changes are achieved by varying the duration that nozzles

An IsoBus compatible system, Raven Hawkeye also connects seamlessly through any universal terminal, avoiding the need for another control box in the cab. Chafer Machinery says the system’s

Andy Meecham believes turn compensation will bring huge improvements to application accuracy on wider booms.

intelligence will let you vary the application rate on individual nozzles, for example, increasing the rate to desiccate unripe rows at tramlines.

Chafer’s marketing manager Joe Allen says: “It is clever enough to alert the operator to a blocked nozzle on-screen, and the LED on the blocked nozzle body will illuminate in a different colour to simplify identification for cleaning."

Integrated

The system was integrated into Chafer’s Interceptor self-propelled sprayer at its Gainsborough factory, and arrived on-farm in the autumn of 2019 to replace a nine-year-old Bateman RB35.

The 4,000-litre Bateman offered 3m sections across its variable geometry boom, and had performed well, but the farm accepted it was time to move forward.

Mr Meecham says: “We looked at a wide variety of sprayers, taking into account cab comfort, convenience and controllability, while also thinking about overall weight.

“But a visit to the CropTec Show provided the opportunity to make that final decision.

“I really wanted to continue to support British manufacturing too, which narrowed my choices,” he says.

We looked at a wide variety of sprayers, taking into account cab comfort, convenience and controllability, while also thinking about overall weight ANDY MEECHAM

“I thought that if we started with a sprayer that was not excessively heavy, there was an opportunity to push the tank size too, helping to boost output and cut-down on time

lost coming back to the chemical store to refill.”

The 5,000-litre tank means 60ha/load, and just three fill-ups per day to cover 180ha.

As part of Shaftesbury Estates, St Giles Farms grows a range of crops on a wide variety of soil types, and carries out a further 150ha of contract farming. Combinable crops include winter wheat for feed and milling markets, winter oilseed rape, winter and spring barley both for malting markets, spring-sown naked oats and peas.

With 1,200ha under combinable crops, and with the exception of

140ha of contract spraying, all land is ring-fenced. Soils are mostly light, but random clay caps and a 120ha block of heavy land on one side of the farm continues to pose challenges when it comes to seedbed preparation and cultivations.

“We are in Higher Level Stewardship and Entry Level Stewardship schemes, and also have contract spraying to carry out, plus a

commercial shoot with maize game strips, a stud and paddocks, so boom criteria had to provide 12m, 24m and 36m functionality,” says Mr Meecham.

“And Chafer’s in-house approach and its ability to integrate technology at the factory, really appealed to me.

“There is nothing worse than add-ons that just do not

communicate with the rest of a machine.”

With 147 fields ranging from 2.4ha up to 79ha, there are plenty of opportunities to improve on application accuracy.

The farm operates with autosteering systems on its latest tractors and machinery, but without the expense of RTK, it relies on Egnos for satellite signal.

“It is good enough if you are not in a field for hours,” says Mr Meecham.

Nozzle

“I can spray most of our fields in about 30 minutes, so satellite drift is not a problem. Drilling is done with a 6m unit and makes the most of Starfire to put down a mark that defines a starting point. Individual nozzle control then irons out any discrepancies.

“Individual nozzle switching is giving us a cost saving. But it is not just the financial savings that are important – with Hawkeye, I know that we are doing a far better job by maintaining droplet size across the full width, at every nozzle.

“We have clumps of trees and woodland areas that need to be sprayed around, and the boom tip speed changes enormously from one side of the sprayer to the other,” says Mr Meecham.

MACHINERY USER STORY

It is not just the financial savings that are important – with Hawkeye, I know that we are doing a far better job by maintaining droplet size across the full width, at every nozzle ANDY MEECHAM

“PWM compensates through its duty cycle, by opening and closing faster or slower, to maintain droplet size and rate control on every single nozzle. So we are no l onger

Specifications

over-dosing when cornering and one side of the boom slows down.

“It is the same when one side of the boom speeds up – we are no longer under-applying, so the crop canopy gets dosed exactly the same, in all of our fields, regardless of shape.”

He says Hawkeye displays a tolerance on the in-cab Topcon X35 screen, according to the PWM’s frequency and duty cycle.

“As long as I stay within that speed range, changes in boom tip speed are now inconsequential,” he says.

“Though gentle curves are easier to manage than sharp turns. And the system will switch off nozzles if the boom moves backwards during a turn.

■ Model: Chafer Interceptor

■ Power: 240hp, 6.1-litre, Deutz TCD

■ Transmission: Hydrostatic, 50kph

■ Spray tank: 5,000 litres

■ Boom: 36 metres, with PWM

■ Unladen weight: 9.5 tonnes

“You soon learn to reduce your forward speed enough, so that boom tip speeds are within tolerance for the PWM system to manage,” he says.

“We are also saving about 3-4 per cent by reducing overlaps too, so this technology should easily pay for itself in less than three years.”

The variable geometry boom has positive and negative movement and the Norac UC-7 auto-levelling simplifies wide-boom management on rolling land.

The ePlumbing control system has improved operational efficiency with filling and emptying.

Hawkeye’s status is displayed through the in-cab Topcon terminal.

Each pulse width modulation unit controls nozzle switching, with an LED indicating operational status.

Online auction attracts bidders from far and wide

rQuality used machinery in-demand

A YORKSHIRE farm sale of secondhand farm machinery produced record-breaking prices, according to auction house Stephensons Rural, attracting interest and competition from throughout the UK.

The recent sale on behalf of G. E. Cornforth and Sons, Rigton Farm, Bardsey, was originally planned as a traditional on-farm auction in spring, but had to be postponed due to Covid-19 and lockdown restrictions.

As a result, the decision was made to run an online auction which saw a larger number of bids from further afield, including Sussex, Devon, Scotland and Ireland.

Demand

Richard Tasker, senior partner at Stephensons Rural, said: “Many auction sales planned for the spring and summer have been cancelled or postponed until autumn, which has compounded a shortage of supply.

“However, demand for younger, better quality equipment has remained strong, particularly with the increasing costs of buying new.

“We had the ability to adapt to meet this demand by holding the sale on a timed online auction, as it would have been impossible to comply with the social distancing rules at the farm.

“The high quality machinery coupled with the high demand saw 673 registered bidders take part.”

Among the highlights was a successful bid of £108,000 for a John Deere T560i Hillside combine from East Sussex, while £50,000 took a John Deere 6150R tractor to Doncaster.

A JCB TM310 telehandler went

for £40,000 to the West Midlands, while a Massey Ferguson 2150 baler was sold for £32,500 to a bidder from Essex.

Supplies

Mr Tasker, who also heads up the machinery sales at York Auction Centre, said: “This was a record- breaking online auction and

A John Deere T560i made £108,000.

indicates that with delivery delays on new machinery due to the pandemic, the high price of new machinery and a slowdown in trade-ins, the second-hand market is short of supplies.

“The big question going forward is whether this lockdown period has introduced a different future for auction sales.”

Success for Skipton Auction Mart’s first online machinery sale

SKIPTON Auction Mart’s first online timed machinery auction, staged over two days, proved a runaway success, creating keen interest and high sales levels, complemented by solid prices.

Held on June 30 and July 1, bidding for the 113 lots of machinery, vehicles, implements, stone and reclamation took place via the mart’s website. Sales manager Ted Ogden said: “While this medium is new to all of us, the CCM Auction site proved an ideal place to receive and store items for photographing, cataloguing and viewing by potential customers in one central location prior to bidding.

“With more than 500 customers registered and approved to bid, the sale was swiftly conducted, with

some furious late bidding received on many lots.”

Leading the prices at £9,500 was one of several Land Rover Defenders in the sale. On a 2006-plate, the TD5 Truck Cab had 72,000 miles on the clock.

The next best lot was a 2005

McHale 991BE bale wrapper at £6,600, while of a number of second-hand tractors on offer included a Massey Ferguson 165 two-wheel drive, which sold at £3,200.

There was also lots of interest in trailers, said the mart, with a 6.1-metre

Marshall BC21 bale trailer leading the section at £2,500, followed by a Marshall 4.9m bale trailer at £1,325.

Livestock trailers peaked at £1,025 for a 3m Ifor Williams.

Grassland machinery included two drum mowers, which sold to £720, along with a McCormick baler at £600 and grass toppers peaking at £450.

This McHale bale wrapper fetched £6,600.

A double bale carrier also sold well at £480.

Skipton’s next online timed auction for all classes of machinery, implements, vehicles, plant equipment, ATVs, building and architectural stonework, landscape gardening, reclamation items and small implements is scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, August 6 and 7.

MACHINERY WORKSHOP

Speeding up tasks on his dairy farm, Alan Winstanley has built several attachments designed to withstand the rigours of everyday use, with minimal risk of breakdowns. Alex Heath reports.

Ensemble of homemade attachments

Milking 900 cows, completing simple operations in a timely and comfortable manner has been a priority for Alan Winstanley, who farms near Audlem, Cheshire.

As a result, over the years he has built a number of attachments to fit the farm’s range of handlers.

Begrudgingly having to scrape the farm’s passages in the late 1990s with a cab-less Ford 4000, Mr Winstanley set about thinking how the job could be done in a quicker and more efficient way.

At the time, the farm was running 180 cows and had a Sanderson telehandler, which would prove the basis for his newly-designed scraper.

“Tractor scrapers were great in their day, however, as loaders have evolved, they have become a better place to be when doing jobs such as scraping, as you have a better view and they are more manoeuvrable,” says Mr Winstanley.

The scraper, which is now in

commercial production through Harbrook Engineering, is adjustable in width, from 2,100-4,400mm, affording plenty of scope to scrape a variety of passage widths.

The base of the project was a telescopic section made of 180mm square box section, giving the scraper its width adjustment.

Attached to the moving end of the arrangement are a pair of bushed trailer hitch-type rings, allowing the scraper to tip when lifted.

Working

This also allows the scraper to be pushed or pulled depending on the passageway it is working in.

A large section of rubber is used as the blade – 50mm thick by 380mm tall.

Due to the strength of the rubber, Mr Winstanley negated the need for a mechanical hinge, instead bolting the steel used to control the width directly to the rubber strip.

Width adjustment is controlled from the cab, with a pair of hydraulic

The adjustable-width scraper is now in commercial production.

rams of different sizes used to prevent the scraper from opening or closing, depending on the resistance from the ground.

SILAGE RAKE DEVELOPMENT

AFTER a trip to the US and seeing a similar design, Mr Winstanley designed a rake to make silage removal from the farm’s pits easier.

With four-metre-high walls and a good 2m on top of that in the centre of this year’s maize clamp, using a pivot steer and shear grab could not tidily remove to top layers without lifting and introducing air into the face of the pit.

Designed and built in November 2017, the rake is coming into its own this year due to the inclusion in the feeding fleet of a self-propelled mixer wagon.

“The Siloking 2215 leaves an

The farm has now run the scrapers for more than 20 years, with three now employed.

Two are used every day, with the third as backup if one does go wrong, which is a rare occurrence

“The sheer weight of the design keeps it on the floor,  removing all but the hardest dried-on muck. I made sure it had plenty of steel in as I do not want them breaking or bending and having to be re-welded,” he says.

immaculate finish on the face of the clamp,” says Mr Winstanley.

“However, it will only reach around five meters high, leaving an overhang, which could become dangerous.”

Routine

The rake is used on the farm’s JCB TM420 with its lift height of 5.4m, before the self-propelled feeder starts its mixing routine. The top couple of metres are bought down to ground level, leaving an even and tight finish, Mr Winstanley says.

“It works well on grass, but comes into its own on maize due

Alan Winstanley’s scraper fully folded.

WORKSHOP MACHINERY

FEED PUSHER PROJECT

ALTHOUGH the farm has recently shifted to twice-a-day feeding, keeping feed in front of the cattle was an important but time-consuming job, says Mr Winstanley.

With rubber floors in some of the farm’s sheds, his attention once again turned to building a sturdy and capable unit to speed up the job while protecting the floors.

“There was nothing on the market that I thought would be up to the task,” says Mr Winstanley.

Using rubber from a defunct slurry scraper, the unit has a floating headstock, relying on its own weight to move feed closer

and generally hydraulic pipe related, says Mr Winstanley. Both are attached to Kramer wheel loaders.

“These are a vast improvement in terms of operator comfort, as everything is in front of you. You are no longer looking over a shoulder like a tractor-mounted scraper,” he says.

to the smaller material size. Since using it, I think the silage quality has improved,” he says.

Nine claws spaced 300mm apart are coupled to heavy-duty box section, with reinforcing struts keeping the outer edges of the rake taut when pushing into the clamp face.

Claws are mild steel and were cut out on Harbrook’s plasma table. The rest was cut and assembled by Mr Winstanley.

Parking stands underneath the frame stop the teeth from becoming dull, from contact with concrete.

to the feed fence without downward pressure from the loader.

Measuring 2.5 metres long and about the same in width, it juts out just under half-a-metre either side of for the loader.

Headstock

The floating element of the headstock sees a heavy gauge tube sit between two cut out sections of box.

A chain is used to pick the front end up at the end of a run.

A neat addition on the pusher is the inclusion of both the Kramer loader’s and the JCB’s respective headstocks.

Edited by Katie Jones – 07786

Variety of wormers key to tackling resistance

rWebinar highlighted drivers of resistance

By Hannah Park

WHILE use of the two newer wormer groups, 4-AD [orange] and 5-SI [purple] has more than doubled in the last three years, the Sustainable Control of Parasites in Sheep (SCOPS) says sheep farmers could still harness their potential more.

In an open letter to industry, the National Sheep Association (NSA), SCOPS, Moredun and the Sheep Veterinary Society (SVS) is urging more sheep farmers to follow SCOPS advice and integrate the two newer groups into their worm control programmes.

SCOPS advises that the group 4-AD and 5-SI wormers should be used as quarantine treatments for all incoming sheep and as a one-off treatment for lambs, in the latter part of the grazing season. The idea being that the two newer wormer groups are not left underutilised

If new or returning animals are not effectively treated when returning on-farm, the danger is bringing in resistance or other parasites

DR DAVID BARTLEY

until other groups, 1-BZ [white], 2-LV [yellow] and 3-ML [clear], are no longer effective.

Speaking as part of a webinar hosted by NSA, Moredun and Elanco, Dr David Bartley of Moredun highlighted a lack of effective quarantine treatment among drivers of resistance.

Dr Bartley said: “If new or returning animals are not effectively treated when returning on-farm, the danger is bringing in resistance or other parasites which were not there before.

“The current advice for returning stock [when it comes to wormers] is to treat with a 4-AD and 5-SI separately, ideally then hold these animals off pasture for 24-48 hours and, if possible, to then turn out on to higher challenge pasture to avoid any potential contamination of lower challenge areas.”

Control plan

Matt Colston of Elanco later reiterated SCOPS advice, saying that group 4-AD and 5-SI wormers should be included in the worm control plan for all farms now, before there is an obvious failure of the other three groups available.

Mr Colston said: “Groups 1-BZ, 2-LV, and 3-ML have been around for many years and for most sheep farms have been the mainstay of worm control. This has led to a growing, widespread issue of resistance to these actives, but it does not mean they do not have any use on farms now.

“Groups 4-AD and 5-SI should be used, but only at specific times, one being as a quarantine treatment and the other as a mid-late season break dose for lambs. This would include all lambs on the farm in the latter part of the grazing season, the idea being to remove the worms that have been

left behind by previous treatments.”

Other measures to improve worm control highlighted by Mr Colston included grazing management, carrying out worm egg counts and monitoring growth rates to identify underperformers for potential targeted treatment.

The mid-late season break dose for

lambs and as part of the quarantine treatments are the only generally recommended times to use these newer products. To avoid the risk of resistance developing to the two newer groups, industry bodies said they should not be used at other times without detailed advice from a consultant or farm vet.

Extension to Wales’ BVD eradication scheme

ADDITIONAL funding is now available to support youngstock screenings and persistent infection (PI) hunting as part of the Gwaredu BVD programme in Wales, which is being extended.

The scheme, which launched in 2017 and aims to eradicate BVD from all cattle herds in Wales, is being extended to give those involved time to prepare for possible legislation changes in 2021.

Funding for youngstock screening has been extended from August 31, 2020 to March 31, 2021, with financial support available to search out PIs until the end of 2022.

More than 8,300 herds in Wales are part of the programme and 78 per cent of farms are now free from BVD.

The additional funding will allow vets to conduct further testing, if needed, to protect this rate.

The two newer wormer groups, orange and purple, should be integrated into worm control programmes.

Cross-species transmission of Johne’s disease evident

rBacteria can survive on pasture for one year

THERE is growing evidence to suggest that Johne’s disease can spread between different livestock species.

Farm vet Laura Taylor is carrying out a PhD into Johne’s disease at the University of Liverpool.

She explains there are several different strains of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP), the bacteria that causes the chronic wasting disease.

She says: “It used to be thought that each individual strain only infected one type of livestock species.

“However, recent evidence indicates this is not the case and different strains can infect a range of farmed species.”

Bacteria

She adds there is also ‘growing evidence’ that transmission of MAP between farmed species does occur, both from sheep to cattle and cattle to sheep.

“How commonly and how easily this happens remains to be determined,” she says.

“Bearing in mind that MAP bacteria can survive on pasture for about one year, this risk is particularly relevant to the UK, where co-grazing, or sequential grazing of cattle and sheep is commonly practiced, as is winter grazing of sheep on dairy farm pastures which have been treated with farmyard manure.”

She says potential risk factors which increase the risk of infection spreading between two different species include high stocking densities and exposure of young (under six months old) susceptible animals to the other species.

“There are definitely benefits to be gained by co-grazing sheep and cattle, such as reducing worm

MV-monitored free scheme

A LOW-COST scheme which monitors for Maedi Visna (MV) has been designed and launched with commercial sheep flocks in mind.

The MV Monitored-Free Sheep Health Scheme has been designed by Axiom Veterinary Laboratories. It will involve blood sampling carried out on a proportion of the flock, to give a ‘95 per cent confidence’ that the flock is either free from MV or it is at less than a 5 per cent level.

Catriona Ritchie, a farm vet at Axiom Veterinary Laboratories, says: “Scheme membership is likely to appeal to commercial type flocks that are selling breeding female replacements as well as those who

wish to monitor their flock to detect any early incursion of infection so that control measures can be put in place before the economic impact occurs.”

Flocks will be given MV-monitored free status following a clear screen test. Testing will be required on an annual basis and the number of years that the flock has tested as clear will be shown on the flock health declaration.

It is a lower tier scheme than the MV accreditation scheme so sheep with MV-monitored free status cannot enter MV-accredited sections at shows or sales.

The annual membership fee is £45 plus VAT and the cost of each MV test is £3.50 plus VAT.

burdens and maintaining better sward quality, despite it potentially posing a risk for Johne’s transmission between the two species,” Ms Taylor says.

Advantages

“Farmers and vets can work together to consider various other management options, such as testing for Johne’s, rotational grazing and vaccination to tailor a plan best suited to individual farms, which balances these risks and advantages for their own system.”

Ms Taylor adds that more work needs to be done, specifically on UK

farms to better understand how common the disease is on mixed sheep and beef farms and what the risk factors are for the disease to spill over from one species to another.

THE University of Liverpool is conducting a research project on this subject and is inviting beef, sheep and mixed farms to take part in the study. Contact Laura Taylor at L.Taylor11@liverpool.ac.uk for further information.

Register of rams launched online

AN online register of rams has been launched by the NSA Wales and Border ram sales following the decision to cancel this year’s early and main sales due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Executive director of the sales, Jane Smith, says NSA members can submit details of sheep that would have been entered at the ram sales.

“There is no charge for this. Photos and a short video can be added to the

post. Entries are invited from NSA members, but anyone can purchase direct from the sellers.”

The register includes a map and drop down menu to allow select a chosen breed. Transactions will be directly between vendors and buyers.

MORE INFORMATION nationalsheep.org.uk/nsa-ram-sales/ online-sales-register

High stocking density is a potential risk factor for Johne’s disease to transfer between animals.

Rhidian Glyn, North Wales

More and more UK sheep producers are taking action to stamp out lameness in their flocks, and the summer months are great time to implement the Five Point Plan to reduce sheep lameness.

Sheep flocks often suffer from a spike in lameness at this time of year, so it’s the ideal opportunity to stamp out any problems before disease becomes more established.

Olly Matthews, North Somerset

Alan and Richard Fairbairn, Worcestershire

It was as a Farming Connect demonstration farm that Rhidian became more aware of the Five-Point Plan to reduce sheep lameness.

Rhidian started by gathering all the sheep and anything that was even slightly lame was put into an isolation group. “They were all treated appropriately immediately before being sent back out to grass, albeit still in isolation. Two weeks later they were brought back in and any that were still lame were re-treated. After another two weeks those that had recovered were returned to the main flock, those that were still lame were earmarked for culling.”

To help build immunity Rhidian also vaccinated all the ewes against footrot.

“After vaccination the improvement was quite startling. Before we vaccinated about 13% of the ewes were lame, but shortly after the first injection when I gathered the sheep again just before tupping time, incidence was down to only 3%. It seems the initial vaccination really did boost their immunity. I was pretty impressed. We now vaccinate routinely about four weeks before the peak disease risk periods.”

“During the spring and summer 2018 we were definitely caught in a vicious circle. Having lambed inside, there were lame ewes and lame lambs perpetually, no matter what we did. It was really soul destroying and incredibly time consuming, especially when it came to treating lambs. We were basically fire-fighting; using lots of antibiotics – an unsustainable amount in my view – and foot bathing everything.

“It was clear that the industry-accepted Five Point Plan was working on many farms. We decided to vaccinate sheep prior to tupping in 2018 to build their immunity to the bacteria known to cause footrot.”

As a result, there has been a dramatic transformation. “I’ve hardly seen a lame sheep on the farm since and we rarely have to turn anything over to examine feet. What’s more, we hardly use any antibiotics for lame sheep now. We used to spend at least £1,500 on antibiotic treatment, so the investment in vaccination has already paid for itself many times over. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that it’s the best return on investment we have ever had with the flock.”

It is in managing lame sheep that the Fairbairns have really seen a demonstrable difference to their day-today working lives following a vaccination policy.

“We were buying in some Suffolk cross ewes and when we quarantined them for three to four weeks we were taken aback over how badly affected their feet were with footrot. We knew immediately that we had to tighten up our lameness control programme.

“We worked hard to make sure we were implementing all the measures set out in the Five-Point Plan to reduce sheep lameness. But our first steps were prompt antibiotic treatment of any affected ewes and culling any persistently lame sheep. We also decided to vaccinate all the ewes, with one dose in the summer and a second dose six months later pre-housing for lambing. Our culling policy and use of the vaccine in that first year made a massive difference to our ewes’ feet during the lambing season. We now vaccinate prior to peak disease risk periods.”

Bedding straw mycotoxins increasing risk to pig health

rRooting increases risk of ingestion

THE negative effects of mycotoxins on pig performance, health and fertility are frequently seen across the UK.

Yet despite this, the risk of mycotoxin exposure continues to be underestimated, with new data showing mycotoxins in bedding straw are adding to those found in many feeds.

Dr Gustavo Cordero, AB Vista’s global swine technical manager, says that initial studies have shown that pigs in straw-based systems can consume substantial amounts of bedding straw during rooting behaviour.

He says: “With the moulds and fungi that infect cereal crops producing over 300 different mycotoxins, it is no surprise that mouldy bedding straw can heighten mycotoxin exposure.”

Moulds produce mycotoxins as a defence mechanism when exposed to stress, such as pressure and heat.

Rooting behaviour is, therefore, likely to disperse any clusters of mycotoxins within the straw and increase the risk of ingestion by penmates.

“Of all the production livestock species, pigs are considered to be the most susceptible to the negative effects of mycotoxins,” Dr Cordero adds.

“The fusarium-derived mycotoxins fumonisin [FUM] and zearalenone [ZON], for example, are acutely toxic to pigs, but are much less damaging for poultry.”

The risk to the pig depends heavily on the level of contamination, the types of mycotoxins present and the age of the animal.

The cumulative combination of mycotoxins is also important, as low levels of several can act additively.

Dr Cordero says the effects of mycotoxicosis in breeding herds can be ‘disastrous’, with the impact of reduced fertility, still births and low piglet viability having significant implications for herd profitability.

Output

“If the problem extends to the growing and finishing herds, then poor feed intakes and the subsequent drop in growth rates will further reduce output,” he says.

One of the biggest challenges is the non-specific nature of mycotoxicosis symptoms, making it difficult to diagnose and resulting in treatment often being delayed.

Adding to this is the susceptibility of pigs to many of the common mycotoxins, so at a minimum any mycotoxin strategy needs to provide

protection from the most toxic, which for pigs are ZON, FUM and Deoxynivalenol (DON).

“Both the breeding herd and growing pigs are commonly housed on bedding straw,” Dr Cordero says.

“And with recent dry sow studies showing bedding straw can contribute up to 25 per cent of the pig’s daily feed intake, it is worrying that the mycotoxin risk is not always considered.”

Analysis of 71 straw samples by Micron Biosystems in 2019 showed that 80.3 per cent contained one or more mycotoxins, with 14.1 per cent being contaminated with three or more.

Of particular concern was the high prevalence of DON (63.4 per cent), HT2 toxin (32.4 per cent) and T2 toxin (22.5 per cent).

“Of the different straw types, barley had higher levels of contamination –85.7 per cent of samples versus 66.7 per cent for wheat straw – suggesting that it may be the higher risk overall,” Dr Cordero adds.

Studies

“When you then consider the risk presented by common pig feeds, the mycotoxin load can be substantial.

It is important to have the right management and remediation strategies in place if herd health and performance is to be optimised

DR GUSTAVO CORDERO

moisture comes from high humidity, leaking roofs or yard run-off.

“Check straw regularly and remove any that is damp or discoloured,” says Dr Cordero

“As with feeds, some batches will be more susceptible to mycotoxin contamination, so it can be worth testing multiple samples to get an indication of the level of risk.

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“For example, previous studies have shown that over 50 per cent of common pig feed ingredients in the UK present a high mycotoxin risk.

“It is so important to have the right management and remediation strategies in place if herd health and performance are to be optimised.”

A key component in managing mycotoxin risk is to ensure feedstuffs and bedding straw are not exposed to moisture, which creates ideal conditions for mould growth.

Having suitable storage facilities capable of keeping both straw and feed dry is essential, whether the

“And if the use of poor quality straw is unavoidable, then you should definitely be using mycotoxin remediation measures,” he adds.

According to Dr Cordero, more and more pig units are now including a mycotoxin remediator as routine protection against potential lost production from mycotoxin contamination.

One option when looking to diagnose a suspected mycotoxin problem is to add a mycotoxin remediator to the feed and monitor the results.

A clear performance response within three weeks is indicative that mycotoxins are present in significant volumes.

Damp or discoloured straw should be removed immediately.

LIVESTOCK

GRASSCHECK GB BULLETIN

18: WEEK BEGINNING JULY 6

GRASS GROWTH ACROSS THE UK

Scotland

73.8kg dry matter per hectare per day (29.9kg DM/acre/day) 29.8

The North

67.2kg DM/ha/day (27.2kg DM/acre/day)

Wales

58.3kg DM/ha/day (23.6kg DM/acre/day)

The South 73.1kg DM/ha/day (29.6kg DM/acre/day) 6.9 56.4

Grass growth Rainfall (mm per week) Soil moisture (cb)

WEEKLY GRASS GROWTH

Dairy farms 73.8kg DM/ha/day (29.9kg DM/acre/day)

Beef and sheep farms 50.2kg DM/ha/day (20.3kg DM/acre/day)

GRASS QUALITY

Dry matter 17.4 per cent

Metabolisable energy 11.6 MJ/kg DM Crude protein 22.4 per cent Water soluble sugars 12.3 per cent

GROWTH RATES

MANAGEMENT NOTES

■ Theimpactofaverywet starttothisyear’sgrazingseason, followedbysomeexceptionallydry conditionsthroughApril,Mayand earlyJunehavehadasignificant impactongrassDMproductionon GrassCheckGBfarmssofarin2020.

■ AveragefarmyieldsforgrassDM productionfromMarchtoJunearejust 4.5tonnesDMperhectare(1.8tDM/ acre),1.3t/ha(0.5t/acre)belowthe long-termGBaverageforthatperiod. Regionalaveragesrangefrom-0.7t/ha

Summer weather continues to be variable across the country, but with hot spells and heavy showers hitting most areas over the last month, the conditions could be ideal for both internal and external parasites.

(-0.3t/acre)inthesoutheastto -2t/ha(0.8t/acre)inthenortheast.

■ Withareturntomore typical(andwetter)weather inrecentweeks,thesignificant soilmoisturedeficitsofMay andearlyJunehavenowbeen rectifiedandmosthaveseena verygoodrecoveryofgrassgrowth rates.However,coolerconditions withhighcloudcoverarelikely holdingbackgrowthslightlyfor someatpresent.

GrassCheckGB is a collaboration between the Centre for Innovation Excellence in Livestock, Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute, Rothamsted Research, AHDB, Quality Meat Scotland,HybuCigCymru,Germinal,HandleyEnterprises,Sciantec Analytical,WaitroseandPartnersandDatamarsLivestock.Regularupdateswill appearin Farmers Guardian.

Although, at the time of writing, the NADIS Blowfly risk report is still showing medium risk for most of the country, the Elanco Blowfly tracker has had new cases of strike reported almost daily throughout the month of June (see https://farmanimalhealth.co.uk/blowfly-tracker). The latest update on the NADIS Blowfly alert states:

“Warm wet weather is ideal for blowfly strike so at this time of year, even though fly numbers have yet to peak, strike risk is increasing rapidly. Heavy summer rain makes ewes and lambs highly susceptible because fly eggs and maggots survive better in wet wool and a wet animal may be struck sometimes even though treated with the best of preventative products, so vigilance is needed to spot struck animals quickly.”

The recent rains and warm weather have brought a much needed flush of grass, but these warm, damp conditions are also ideal for the environmental stages of gut worms to develop. Eggs that had been dormant and survived the dry spell will have been able to hatch, and can reach the infective 3rd larval stage within a few weeks in these ideal conditions. We should be on the lookout for rising worm burdens in lambs from 3-4 weeks after the grass starts to grow again. Checking worm egg counts (a pooled worm egg count will give a good indication of the worm burden in the group) will let you know when the time is right to treat, and can pick this up before lambs suffer a significant decrease in growth rate. Go to https://www.scops.org.uk/internalparasites/worms/using-worm-egg-counts/ for more information, or watch the webinar from NSA, Moredun and Elanco on Sustainable Worm Control: Test Don’t Guess: Worms at www.farmanimalhealth.co.uk/webinars

For further seasonal parasite updates direct to your inbox, sign up to receive the Elanco Parasite Matters Bulletins and Alerts at www.farmanimalhealth.co.uk/ subscribe

Matthew Colston Ruminant Technical Consultant, Elanco

New research from the US suggests there are still a number of improvements to be made when it comes to colostrum management. Hannah Noble reports.

US review reveals new colostrum findings

rMonitoring of passive immunity updated

THE success of a colostrum feeding programme can be easily measured. And it is generally agreed that successful passive transfer has been achieved when a calf is bled between one and seven days old and the serum immunoglobulin (IgG) level is at least 10g/litre.

Calves with serum IgG levels of more than 10g/litre are usually classed as a ‘pass’ in the US. Research shows that calves with IgG levels of below 10g/litre will usually have higher treatment and mortality rates and are classed as a ‘fail’.

However, Sandra Godden, of the University of Minnesota, says a review of recent research suggests there is an opportunity to aim for even higher values, and the pass or fail categorisation is therefore too simplistic.

A national study in 1991 showed that the incidence of calves with less than 10g/litre serum IgG, and classed as a fail, was 41 per cent.

A similar study in 2014 showed this figure was 13.7 per cent. This suggests

Instead of just a pass or fail they were split into four groups. The pass zone is now broken into a fair, good and excellent range

SANDRA GODDEN

farmers have improved their colostrum management over time.

However, Ms Godden adds that when research into the topic over the last 10 years is reviewed it shows higher serum IgG levels incrementally improved calf performance.

This led to a review of the 2014 study with calves split into four groups, rather than two, based on their serum IgG g/litre.

Highest risk

It concluded, as before, that calves with a serum IgG of less than 10g/litre were at the highest risk of mortality, and 10 per cent of those calves died before weaning. However the study also recognised that serum IgG levels above 10g/litre were not all equal.

Ms Godden says: “There was a further reduction in mortality with

each of the groups of IgG levels. And above or equal to 18g/litre was the best.

“The result was the same for the probability of being treated for some disease prior to weaning. Of the calves with a serum IgG of less than 10g/litre, 65 per cent were treated and the lowest morbidity risk was again for calves with a serum IgG greater than or equal to 25g/litre.”

Based on the findings, the research group have come up with new consensus on recommendations for monitoring levels of passive immunity in dairy calves in the USA.

“Instead of just a pass or fail they are split into four groups. The pass zone is now broken into a fair, good and excellent range,” she says.

They proposed a new target for the number of calves in each

COLOSTRUM AND EPIGENETICS

EPIGENETIC programming looks at the exposure to specific conditions during critical periods of early life, and how this influences development and performance into adulthood.

Ms Godden says: “An example of this is the effect of heat stress on pregnant dams, in the last trimester.

“A study compared heat stress dams versus non-heat stressed dams. It showed that calves born to heat stressed dams had lower absorption of IgG from colostrum. In the longer term they had poorer reproductive performance as yearlings and further on they also had reduced first and second lactation milk yield.”

category. More than 40 per cent should fall into the excellent category, about 30 per cent should be good, about 20 per cent fair and less than 10 per cent should be poor.

Ms Godden says those farmers who are doing well using the pass or fail method should begin to classify calves further into the fair, good and excellent zones to see what proportion of calves are falling into each of the ranges to measure the success of their colostrum programme.

A review of research into colostrum management shows higher serum immunoglobulin levels incrementally improve calf performance.

Entries now open for 100th Gold Cup dairy competition

ENTRIES are now open for the 2020 National Milk Records Royal Association Of British Dairy Farmers Gold Cup competition, which this year celebrates its 100th year.

The award recognises dairy business efficiency and businesses are eligible for entry through four routes: two routes give automatic qualification based on official milk recording data and meeting either

criteria for all-year-round calving herds or for spring or autumn block calving herds.

Or herds can be nominated by their discussion or grazing group, or through a designated nominat-

ing company where a set of benchmarks should be achieved.

MORE INFORMATION

For details about entry criteria, visit rabdf.co.uk/gold-cup-comp

Summer teat health challenges

r

Pre- and post-milking practices are crucial

FAILING to maintain strict teat hygiene management in summer conditions can lead to deteriorating skin condition, as well as high bacteria loading and increased risk of mastitis.

Alison Cox, technical manager with hygiene specialist Deosan, urges dairy farmers to address summer challenges and adapt hygiene processes to support the production of high-quality milk and animal health.

Flies

She says: “One of the biggest summer challenges is the control of flies and knowing what product to use. As legislation has changed, some raw materials have become unacceptable for use for food-producing animals and food production. This could be because they lack data to meet the new requirements for safe use or that they have simply been banned from use in products associated with food production due to residue concern.

“This has been observed in recent years with the removal of post-milking teat disinfectants containing fly repellents, to a point

now where there are no proven, VMD-licensed products available to the market.”

As a result of this, Ms Cox says to successfully navigate the summer months it is important to focus on a number of issues. These include hygiene at housing, fly management, and teat health whether cattle are grazed or summer housed.

She adds: “To ensure this, both pre-milking and post-milking practices should be maintained. Tempting as it may be to replace a pre-milking disinfectant with a dry paper towel, given that the teats may look clean, this will not remove the dust and soil layer on the skin and, as a result, bacteria loading can remain high, particularly associated with coliform and thermoduric organisms.

Residue

“The problem is then compounded for animals outside on wet days when paper towelling simply wipes the dirt around the teat and teat end. This can leave a residue that can be pulled into the milk supply or massaged into the skin, gradually reducing the skin condition over time or, worse still, lay challenge to an outbreak of mastitis.”

Ms Cox says post-milking teat disinfecting should also be considered. She advises a product which promotes hydration and teat conditioning.

Tips for managing summer teat health challenges

MS Cox suggests considering six key areas in your farm management to reduce fly populations and maximise summer hygiene:

1

Reduce the areas around the farm where flies can populate and breed

2

Use proven licensed fly control pour-on, eartags and topical spray products, starting early in the season, and apply at regular intervals as recommended

3

Consider measures to discourage flies coming into the parlour with the cows; entrance misting/air movement fans in the collection yard and parlour for example

4 Increase housekeeping in the parlour and dairy: ■ Keep the parlour clean during milking and remove all

visible soiling at the end of milking from all external surfaces including teat cups and claw pieces

■ Remove any leftover feed from feeder troughs

■ Empty rubbish bins

■ Clean and store milk buckets and dump buckets

■ Keep windows and doors and shutters closed where possible

5 Maintain an effective teat hygiene pre-milking routine throughout the summer grazed/housed months to keep cows’ teats clean and healthy and reduce influence of bacteria on the milk quality

6

Choose a post-milking teat disinfectant which has added skin conditioning/skin soothing properties to avoid the development of dry, peeling or chapped skin which could potentially attract fly attention and further damage

A high emollient teat disinfectant should be high priority for those exposed to the varied weather challenges at grass

“A high emollient teat disinfectant may not be required for summer housed animals but should be high priority for those exposed to the varied weather challenges at grass. The slightest abrasion or roughness can begin to attract fly nuisance and further damage, which a topical high-odour teat application at milking is not going to deter for much longer than it takes to dry.

“There are some suggestions that the inclusion of mineral oils in products have value in fly control, but it should never be considered as an effective fly repellent between milkings.”

Adapt hygiene processes to help support animal health.

MARKET PRICES PRIMESTOCK

SCOTLAND

SHEEP

MARKET PRICES STORE CATTLE

ENGLAND

SCOTLAND

Source: AHDB/LAA

Source: IAAS/ScotEID

Figures show livestock numbers first, then average price per head.

Source: AHDB/LAA

LIVESTOCK AVERAGES MARKET COMMENT

Primestock throughput, price and price change (p/kg). Week ending July 7, 2020.

LAMB prices fell significantly this week, with new season lamb down 7.39p/kg to 223.18p/kg and old season lamb down 8.2p/kg to 149.32p/kg.

Cull ewes stood at £67.31/head, a slight decrease of £1.55/head on the week.

Beef prices for steers remained strong, up 1.99p/kg to 195.15p/kg, but heifers declined by 1.03p/kg to 203.69p/kg, and young bulls were down 0.47p/kg to 181.29p/kg.

Cull cow prices increased slightly by 0.38p/kg to 124.34p/kg but cull bulls were down 1.97p/kg to 145.62p/kg.

Pig prices were up 0.99p/kg to 117.01p/kg, but cull sows continued to decline by 4.26p/kg to 37.62p/kg.

As Farmers Guardian went to print on Wednesday (July 8), UK LIFFE wheat prices for Nov 20 were trading at £168.25/tonne, an increase of £2.25/t on the week.

Source: AHDB/LAA/IAAS

MARKET PRICES

STORE SHEEP ENGLAND

DEADWEIGHT CATTLE

DEADWEIGHT SHEEP

PIGS

WALES SCOTLAND

Source: AHDB/LAA

DEADWEIGHT PIGS

SLAUGHTERINGS

HAY AND STRAW

Week ending July 8, 2020

■ GOOSTREY: Mon, straw, wheat, square bales to £74/tonne; barley, square bales to £80/t; oat, round bales to £48/t; 2020 hay, round bales to £64/t; 2019 hay, square bales to £66/t; round bales to £52/t; haylage, round bales to £60/t; silage, round bales to £36/t.

LIVEWEIGHT HEIFERS

SOURCE: AHDB/LAA/IAAS

LIVEWEIGHT SQQ LAMBS

DEADWEIGHT HEIFERS

SOURCE: AHDB/LAA/IAAS

SOURCE: AHDB/LAA/IAAS

DEADWEIGHT SQQ LAMBS

SOURCE:

CULL COWS

SOURCE: AHDB/LAA/IAAS

PIG PRICE INDICATOR

MARKET PRICES

UK DELIVERED

PRICES – SUMMARY

Source: AHDB

ENTITLEMENTS 2020

May 26, 2020 (annual summary data)

UK DELIVERED RAPESEED PRICES

FUTURES MARKETS (WHEAT)

Source:

Ratevaluesfor2020.NorthernIrelandhasdifferent historicvaluesmovingtoFlatRateby2021/22.All transferswithoutlandsubjecttoVATif transferoris VATregistered.

PREDICTED 2020 PAYMENT RATES (sameas 2019)inc.greening/ha(SubjecttoFDM,payment adjustmentsandchanges): Non-SDA=£230; SDA=£228;Moorland=£63.Welsh=£84(excluding extraredistributivepaymentonfirst54ha£87). ScottishR1=£218;R2=£43;R3=£12.50 SubjecttoFDM,paymentadjustmentsandchanges. Basedon14.01.20exchrateof€1=£0.86and 2019values

◆ FaceValuemultipliersincludinghistoricandgreeningelements. ● Plusconvergencepayment

Source: Townsend Chartered Surveyors

CORN RETURNS EX-FARM PRICES

UK DELIVERED WHEAT PRICES

Thursday, July 2, 2020.

1. FEED WHEAT

Avonrange

London North Humberside

Northamptonshire

Oxfordshire

South Humberside

Southampton Tyne & Wear

West Midlands

East Midlands

2. FULL SPEC. BREAD WHEAT North-West Northamptonshire

South London / Essex Yorkshire

3. FULL SPEC. BISCUIT WHEAT North-West Northamptonshire South London / Essex Yorkshire Scotland

NOTES: 1. Feed Wheat. Any variety meeting <15% H2O, 72kg/hl, 2% Admix 2. Full Specification Bread Wheat, nabim group 1 variety, meeting >250 Hag, 13% Protein, 76kg/hl. 3. Full Specification Biscuit Wheat, nabim group 3 variety, meeting >180 Hagberg, >10.7% Protein, >74kg/hl. Source: AHDB

POTATO PRICES

MaincropGBspotprice.WeekendingJuly3,2020.

Source: AHDB

NATIONAL STRAIGHTS PRICES

MILK PRICE LEAGUE TABLE

HAY AND STRAW: REGIONS

UK MONTHLY MILK

FARMING: THE BACKBONE OF

After relocating from Canada to the UK in pursuit of the sheepdog trialling scene in 2007, Angie Driscoll and partner Kelvin Broad have been busy making their mark in the trialling community.

Hannah Binns finds out more.

From never owning a dog as a child to developing Wales’ first grassroots young handlers’ initiative to attract and retain young people into the sport, Angie Driscoll is now a well-known face in sheepdog circles.

Angie and her partner Kelvin Broad farm 28 hectares (70 acres) near Llanllawddog, Carmarthenshire, where they run a flock of 265 Brecknock Cheviots and Welsh Mules, train and compete with sheepdogs and, most recently, operate their Welsh Young Handler Academy initiative.

Despite being born in the UK, Angie grew up in Christchurch, New Zealand, from the age of eight. She completed her undergraduate and masters degrees at the University of Otago, Dunedin, before being awarded a Canadian Commonwealth Scholarship to complete a doctorate in marketing at the University of Calgary, Alberta.

After moving there with Kelvin, the desire to train a border collie to be a working sheepdog came to Angie several years later, while she was running her own consulting company in Canada.

“I hatched a plan to have a holiday in the UK and buy a dog,” she says. “Kelvin and I bought Jet and Blade, one each, and headed back to Canada full of enthusiasm. Not long afterwards, I also bought an eight-week-old pup called Meg from Northern California.”

It was Angie’s first trial at Scott Glen’s farm in Alberta which she says taught her the most valuable life lesson.

“I was pretty shy and worried the sport would not be for me. At the trial, Jet shot off like a speed demon and I overheard the handlers’ behind me saying ‘she’s going fast’ and felt overcome with panic about whether I would be able to stop her at the top of the course.

“I managed, but it was a train wreck after that. During the trial, I realised it doesn’t matter what is happening behind you as

It is so important to keep the working dog traditions going for future generations ANGIE DRISCOLL

you must focus on what’s in front. I think about that every time I’m at the post.”

Despite their enthusiasm, the couple soon found the Canadian trialling scene challenging, offering few trials and significant travel to get to any which were on offer.

“We had also bought dogs from the UK and the USA, rather than locals, so it was a little difficult to get access to sheep on which to train. Scott Glen was an exception to this,” Angie says.

Scene

Refusing to fall at the first hurdle, Angie and Kelvin bought their own 65ha (160-acre) farm in North West Calgary in 2006, but after a year, decided to sell everything and move to the UK in pursuit of the sheepdog trialling scene here.

After living on a large-scale hill farm near Dumfriesshire for the first year, the pair relocated to Llanfynydd, Carmarthenshire, finding lodgings with Mike and Nora Hemmings.

Angie says: “I loved our time with them, they were such a lovely couple and taught us an awful lot about Welsh culture. Kelvin and I stayed with them, in an apartment at the top of their farmhouse, for almost a year before getting our place in Llanllawddog.”

Dedicated young sheepdog handlers

Then, in 2008, Angie competed in her first open trial at Llangadog, Carmarthenshire.

“When I turned up, I was blown away by the level of competition. There were at least eight Welsh champions and supreme champions there, and I was utterly rubbish.”

and I are the only couple to have both captained Welsh teams, Kelvin at the World Trials and me at the international. Wales is our adopted country which we have chosen to call home, so it is a tremendous honour to have represented such a magnificent country.”

But it did not take Angie long to secure her first open trial win later the same year, and she has since gone on to achieve a set of female firsts in the trialling world.

She was the first woman to win Defaidty Hill trial in 2015, with ‘pocket rocket’ Kinloch Sioux; the first woman to win the Welsh National in 2017, with Kinloch Pippi; and the first woman to captain a winning Welsh team at the international in 2017.

Strategy

“It may be a breakthrough for other women, but I see trialling as a gender-neutral sport,” Angie says.

“I am prouder of the fact Kelvin

For Angie, trialling is an unpredictable ‘game of strategy’, but also teaches individuals how to handle failure with a positive mindset.

“It’s about seeing if you can master the course and get sheep under control, as well as train a dog to compete at the highest levels. But you also learn a lot about how to handle failure and come back stronger.

“In 2017, I qualified to compete in the International Supreme only to be disqualified not long into the run. It was major disappointment and embarrassment at the highest level. But it gave me the motivation

BRITAIN

to helping sheepdog

MORE INFORMATION visit FGinsight.com/proudtofarm

Edited by Hannah Park 01772 799450 hannah.park@agribriefing.com

to continue improving and that is the beauty of the sport.”

In a bid to keep the heritage and craft of shepherding with dogs alive, Angie and Kelvin have developed the Welsh Young Handler Academy, a grassroots young handlers’ initiative to attract and retain young people into the sport.

“It is well known that our sport is in decline, with registration numbers down and an ageing population,” says Angie.

“It is so important to keep the working dog traditions going for future generations.”

Unfortunately, Covid-19 has derailed the programme in its infancy, with only one junior session taking place in early 2020, but it has not stopped the couple’s enthusiasm.

“The junior day, for Welsh children aged five to 13, taught children what a dog should do and the skills needed to manage sheep. Rob Ellis, who led the first training

day, has a dog who will work for anyone, so they got to practise with him before getting the chance to run their dog and learn tips from industry experts.

Demonstration

“The senior day, for Welsh young handlers up to the age of 25, has been postponed until next year.

Scott Glen will be coming from Canada to do a demonstration and work with the 20 young people who have already signed up.

“We have designed the programme to make children feel special when running dogs, develop their skill set and encourage them to keep going in the sport.”

Because of the academy fund set up by the couple, the junior training days are completely free for any Welsh children to attend, while the seniors pay a nominal fee.

Angie and Kelvin also welcome more than 200 visitors each year to

Angie Driscoll and Kelvin Broad (inset) run a grassroots young handlers’ initiative from their farm in Llanllawddog.

the farm, operating a facility where fellow triallists and sheepdog enthusiasts can come and train their dogs.

“We have guest accommodation for visitors who come from the UK and abroad, with free access to train their dogs on the hill and have lessons, but people can also call in for a day’s session,” says Angie.

“We found access to sheep for training dogs a major block for us in Canada so wanted to create a place with a relaxed atmosphere where people can come and run their dogs without fear of making mistakes.”

After retiring from full-time teaching, Kelvin now also works as a full-time potter, hand-building and painting one-off designs.

“Most of his work is caricatures depicting life, often sheep and border collies,” says Angie.

“His biggest market is Japan, but he exports pottery globally. We thought

Covid-19 would see people lose income and cancel orders, but Kelvin has been inundated with requests.”

Ultimately, the pair’s love for their dogs is evident.

“I cannot imagine my life without the dogs. I have been lucky from the start with Meg, my foundation bitch of the Kinloch line. She is the lineage of nine dogs that have been on Welsh teams, as well as placed me on four Welsh teams. She is the best dog I will ever own.

“Kelvin and I have eight working dogs at the farm but retired dogs, such as Meg, will stay with us for life. We owe it to them to give them a lovely retirement, especially after all they do for us.”

MORE INFORMATION

Additional details on what Angie and Kelvin offer can be found at kinlochsheepdogs.com

IN YOUR FIELD

Every week

we

follow the ups and downs of farmers around the UK

THOMAS

Cumbria

Thomas Carrick is part of a family-run upland beef and sheep farm in the North Pennines, near Alston. With pure-bred Swaledales to produce Mules, they also run Salers cross cattle with Aberdeen-Angus calves and finish them at home. Before returning to the farm, Thomas studied genetics at university and trained in clinical genetics with the NHS. He is currently National Sheep Association northern region chairman.

Idon’t know what it is about writing these articles, but it seems to make time fly at an even greater rate than usual.

Four weeks ago we were hoping for some better growing conditions and I’m glad to report the countryside is looking far healthier than it was back then, with silage crops now looking like they have bulked up nicely. However, they still may be a fair bit short of last year.

We are about halfway through shearing and I can’t remember sheep as good to clip. Ewes are fit and lambs have done well. It seems they have enjoyed the grass growing to them, rather than it getting away in front.

We’ve also been fencing for our new round of Countryside Stewardship. The total area to be fenced isn’t huge, but the length of fencing is as we weave up river sides and bank edges.

Looking to the future, Defra has produced the Environmental Land Management (ELM) policy discussion document, which is available on the gov.uk website, and is looking for feedback from farmers.

‘We have been fencing on weaving river sides and the edge of banks’

This is a must read for anyone who currently claims the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) as it details what Defra has in mind after BPS is withdrawn.

ELM is complex. There is a team of smart people at Defra who are dedicated to its design and it seems every idea regarding farming and the environment they have ever had has been thrown into the mix.

The key will surely be to boil this down to something every farmer can access so the agriculture budget is delivered to the right places.

There is a risk this all becomes so complex and off-putting that, like we have seen with Countryside Stewardship, uptake will be low among

farmers and cashflow into the countryside will shrink.

Without a decent level of support we will see a significant contraction of traditional family farming and an increase in intensive methods, backed by an economies of scale approach, something Defra says it wants to avoid.

The three-tiers approach is somewhat vague at the moment, with the first two tiers seemingly targeted at farmers and land managers, and the third at large-scale landscape change.

This will no doubt appeal to nongovernmental organisations and rewilding groups which, to be fair, have the environment at heart but whose priorities are at odds with the

Hunting down the weather windows

AS we head into mid-summer (meteorologically speaking), I think we can safely say our growing season so far has been distinctly split into two halves; the dry, warmth of spring, followed by the cool, mixed weather of summer so far.

And this mixed pattern of weather is not showing any signs of waning, according to the latest guidance from longer range models. Chasing weather windows is something we thought we would have to get used to this summer, and that is certainly how things are turning out to be just at the moment.

The brief weather windows,

followed by the more mixed weather, are being caused by meanderings along the jet stream. As one of these meanderings passes through we get rain and showers, but then as they clear we see drier weather for a day or three. Which side of the jet stream we are on is also critical to the temperatures we receive. When the jet stream passes south of us the weather is cooler, and when it is to the north it is warmer. That is why we have seen such sharp temperature contrasts this week, ranging from 9degC in Scotland to 24degC in southern England.

Because the meanderings are so short lived, models struggle with forecasting them. You may have noticed your weather apps changing from morning to night; dry becomes wet and warm becomes cold? Unfortunately that is a major failing of the apps, they look at one location for a specific time and miss the nuances in the forecasts.

So, what you see is what you get for the time being, and us forecasters will have to get used to hunting weather windows.

I’ll keep you updated in my twice-weekly video forecasts for the week ahead at weatherweb.net

farming community. These organisations, which I have previously described as lacking the practical land skills that are gained from a life onfarm, would therefore see the cost of these landscape changes become over inflated as work is contracted out and swallowed up in administration. I am assured the budget won’t be increasing to accommodate these changes and so the dilution continues. BPS, for all its flaws, was simple and easy to deliver and achieved the Common Agricultural Policy’s original objectives of making cheap and plentiful food, which is national security at its most basic level. It’s our job to make sure that point isn’t missed.

For location specific forecasts visit farmersweather.co.uk and for video updates go to weatherweb.net or call the number below. Call Farmers

Farmers Weather by Dr Simon Keeling

CARRICK

NEXT WEEK

Aberdeenshire Charles Bruce

Kent Marie Prebble

‘Farmers’ markets need a shop, don’t stop slogan’

RACHEL COATES

West Yorkshire

Rachel and husband Stephen farm 66ha (163 acres), mainly tenanted, at Baildon, West Yorkshire, with his parents, Geoffrey and Margaret. They milk 85 Holsteins and Jerseys, calving all year round. Selling to Meadow Foods, they also have a milk vending machine. Their son Ben works full-time on-farm. Youngest daughter Zoe helps out and leads on marketing, while their other daughter Felicity helps with social media promotion from her home in the South West.

Be careful what you wish for. After weeks of dry weather and wishing we could have just a bit of rain after first cut, the weather broke with a vengeance

and we seemed to be instantly transported into autumn.

Thankfully warmer days returned for a while, and second cut is imminent, though, as I write, shorts have been replaced by waterproof leggings.

Before the weather broke in early June, we had cut a field for haylage. However, it was making hay faster than you could say bale, so we had the bright idea of making it into little bales. Really useful to have round the farm and for shows, if they ever happen, we thought. After a day of traditional haymaking we had all remembered why they were called idiot cubes.

Wearing my Yorkshire Holstein Club secretary hat, I organised an online meeting for the committee to discuss items of business which seemed to be getting bounced about via email but not reaching a conclusion. It proved a useful exercise, one that certainly cannot replace all meetings but possibly an alternative to us all turning out on a rotten night in winter.

The meeting also highlighted the

problem with rural internet as some members were unable to connect.

This was brought home to us when our service dropped out days later. The problem was exacerbated because we recently signed up for a fibre optic contract and the out-ofdate wiring couldn’t cope.

It’s not like we are in the back of beyond, we are only five miles as the crow flies from a city centre. The situation was resolved by a young engineer, herself from a farming background and knowing only too well the issues with rural broadband.

I am also the director of the community interest company that operates our local farmers’ market.

We were excited to run our first market of 2020 at the end of June. Much planning, multiple emails and

CROSSWORD 1042

online meetings went into the layout, one-way system and hygiene measures so the market could go ahead.

We felt it was important to support the local businesses which trade with us, although throughout lockdown we have tried to help them by advertising delivery options.

Many of the producers were keen to get back on track and we had a well-attended market, plenty of shoppers and several stalls sold out.

In recent times our market has become a somewhat social occasion, with live music and children’s activities. Now different attitudes are required and, to make sure the flow of people kept moving, we adopted the slogan ‘Shop don’t stop’ or, as Stephen put it in his Yorkshire parlance, ‘Buy it and beggar off’, or words to that effect.

The first correct entry received by next Friday will receive £20 worth of Love2shop vouchers. Send to: Crossword No. 1042, Farmers Guardian, Unit 4, Fulwood Business Park, Caxton Road, Fulwood, Preston, PR2 9NZ.

ACROSS

1 Gave animals food and drink, fen-water added in confusion (3,3,7)

8 Liberally shower the Beatles’ sergeant? (6)

9 Sounds like something to wear at four-o’clock (1-5)

12 Some Terran ultimately going west, belonging to the moon (5)

13 Somewhat precipitous; a lot to ask maybe (1,3,5)

14 Not initially tedious time for loss by evaporation (6)

15 Concerned with a high-backed bench to relocate (8)

18 Conceal fencing problems in mountain slope (8)

20 Reptile wandering in Switzerland when newts wrongly removed (6)

23 This UK region curiously went short (5-4)

25 Lad mostly star foreman of navy crew (5)

26 Convert coins of low value (6)

27 Casually in an alarming way losing head (6)

28 Herdwicks and Cheviots might, in a fashion, be posh feeders (6,2,5)

DOWN

2 Narrow road climbing round territory, going on and on (7)

3 A watering place returned sweetener for edible shoots (9)

4 Dung beetles all mostly relating to back (6)

5 Reached a dry area in heart of Shoreditch (8)

6 Distinctive disposition of those in a muddle (5)

7 In play it was important to be so solemn (7)

10 Furrowing soft meadow round Irish lake (9)

11 Special Berkshire town extending widely (9)

16 English racket over hot food turning up in northern city (9)

17 Well-organised isle ends unemployment (8)

19 Cross-bred dog, one who walks unsteadily (7)

21 Clear a second-rate settle (7)

22 Personnel maintaining right to rake with machine-gun fire (6)

24 Something else hides joint (5)

Due tothe Farmers Guardian teamworkingfromhomebecauseofcoronavirusrestrictions, crosswordwinnerswillbeannouncedinabatchassoonaspossible.Butworrynot,aslong as FG isabletogotoprintandbedelivered,yourcrosswordwillbehereasnormal.

Answers to crossword 1040: Across: 6 A month of Sundays, 9 Plates, 10 Satsuma, 11 Semifreddo, 13 Keep, 14 Herbs, 15 Reins, 19 Nabs, 20 Impassable, 21 Nurofen, 22 Splash, 23 A bowl of cherries. Down: 1 Smelled, 2 Ohms, 3 Offside, 4 Dust covers, 5 Aye-ayes, 7 Not give a straw, 8 Drunken sailor, 12 Rabbit food, 16 Wannabe, 17 Spinach, 18 Ill seen, 22 Spec.