South East Farmer October 2021

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Est 1982

October 2021

“NO HESITATION” DOVER FARMER PLEDGES TO CARRY GUN WHEN CHECKING LIVESTOCK IN FUTURE

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www.southeastfarmer.net SOUTH EAST FARMER Kelsey Media, The Granary, Downs Court Yalding Hill, Yalding, Maidstone, Kent, ME18 6AL 01959 541444 EDITORIAL Editor: Malcolm Triggs Email: sef.ed@kelsey.co.uk Photography: Martin Apps, Countrywide Photographic

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CONTENTS NEWS & REPORTS

REGULARS

MONICA AKEHURST

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SARAH CALCUTT

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54 56 59

NICK ADAMES

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STEPHEN CARR

Local farmers are taking on the Environment Agency over the state of river drainage in a corner of West Sussex.

ANITA HEAD

Vitifruit Equipment Sales and Hire

& WINERY SHOW 24th November 2021: Kent Event Centre, Detling, Maidstone, Kent ME14 3JF

ADVICE FROM THE VET

Preventative foot trimming.

LEGAL

LAND AND FARMS

FEATURES

CRAWFORDS

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LOGS FOR ALL

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WEST GRINSTEAD & DISTRICT PLOUGHING & AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY

NIGEL AKEHURST VISITS...

Nigel Akehurst visits small-scale poultry farmers at a 165-acre National Trust tenanted farm situated at the foot of Leith Hill, an area of outstanding natural beauty.

ALAN WEST

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Is TB testing flawed?

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48

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Dog owners must act responsibly.

New milking parlour for Brinsbury.

“Another nail in the coffin” for the dairy sector.

New tree health pilot launched.

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www.kelsey.co.uk Cover picture: Longhorn cattle at Samphire Hoe ©Clive Rabson

OC TOB ER 2021

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OP IN IO N

A simple instruction – keep your dog on a lead

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It seems strange to me that some (but by no means all) ‘dog lovers’, at least within the non-farming community, seem not to extend their affections to other animals.

I am drawn to this conclusion by the fact that their narrowly focused ‘love’ clearly doesn’t include the animals grazing in the fields through which they stroll with Rex or Fido (or Colin, given the increasing need of some to give their four-legged friend a two-legged name).

It is surely a privilege to be able to walk on the Dame Vera-immor talised white cliffs of Dover and enjoy a view not just of the English Channel and perhaps the coast of France but of pedigree Longhorn cattle, a sight worth savouring in this part of the world.

That privilege comes with a simple caveat, and one that is spelled out (literally) on signs posted on the footpaths that cross the meadow grazed by these beautiful, placid animals. Keep your dog on a lead. Nothing complicated, stressful, costly or difficult. A simple instruction that keeps sheep and cattle free from harm.

Too complicated, though, for several owners challenged by the Kent farmer who warns in this edition that he plans to carry – and use, if necessary – a gun when he walks the fields in future. The excuses are lamentable, often a claim that the cattle (in this case) were at the other end of the field; the idea that the dog can’t get from one end of a field to the other surely negates the whole idea of taking it for a walk in the first place.

Along with the tougher rules due to be introduced through the Kept Animals Bill, we perhaps need better education. It seems odd to have to point out to dog lovers that cattle and sheep need a little love, too, and don’t like being chased, bitten (or worse) by Colin, but it seems people need to be reminded of the impact of their actions.

No-one wants to see a dog shot in a field, but the cost to farmers of attacks on livestock are crippling, not just in financial terms but emotionally, too. There is, incidentally, a breed of dog walker that continues to claim farmers can’t shoot dogs that are running loose; they perhaps need educating on that score, too.

As playgroups, nurseries, primary schools and family settings have demonstrated throughout the centuries, education is at its most effective when it is fun-based, and that’s where events like the upcoming 150th anniversary West Grinstead ploughing match come into their own.

The popular show, with an audience split 50-50 between the agricultural community and local ‘townies’, offers fun for all, but with plenty of opportunity to learn about how farming works. Visitors to the show, featured in this edition of South East Farmer, will find themselves educated with minimum effort on their part; let’s hope some of the dog walkers learn that farmers love their animals as much MALCOLM TRIGGS - EDITOR as they love their dogs.

EMAIL YOUR VIEWS, LETTERS OR OPINIONS TO: sef.ed@kelsey.co.uk or write to the address on page 3 ®

OLYMPIC GOLD INSPIRES NAME

A Kent farmer and contractor has named his new Fendt Rogator 665 sprayer Tokyo to commemorate his daughter’s gold medal success at this year’s Olympics.

The self-propelled sprayer was delivered to M & M F French, based at Meopham, near Gravesend on Friday 6 August, within an hour of Kate winning gold in the modern pentathlon, prompting dad Fred to name his new purchase in her honour.

“Because of the Covid-19 restrictions we couldn’t be in Japan to support Kate, so we watched at home,” he explained. “The sprayer arrived within an hour of Kate’s win. It’s the most important machine on our farm and a significant investment, so it seemed appropriate to name it Tokyo after the Olympics host city on such a momentous day.”

The sprayer was supplied by main dealer RW Crawford Agricultural Machinery Ltd, and is the fourth Rogator to be operated by the farming and contracting business since 2010. The new 665, which has a 6,300-litre tank and 36m boom, has replaced a Challenger Rogator 655D. Fred commented. “The front-mounted cab is excellent, the ride quality is second-tonone and the boom stability and spray accuracy are superb, but a major factor in our loyalty to the brand is the back-up from Crawfords. We operate three combines but only one sprayer, which covers a lot of ground, so if the Rogator has a problem it has to be rectified quickly.”

The Modern Pentathlon includes fencing, freestyle swimming, equestrian show jumping, pistol shooting and cross-country running. “I was very lucky,” explained Kate.

“Growing up on the farm meant I spent a lot of time outside. We had horses, and I was always horse riding and running around the fields. I live in Bath now with my husband Leo as the training base is there, but love coming back to the farm.”

> Kate French – Pictured with the ‘Tokyo’ name plate

NEWS

DOG OWNERS MUST

ACT RESPONSIBLY A frustrated cattle farmer whose Longhorn herd has been plagued by dogs running loose now carries a gun when checking on the animals – and has warned that he will use it if necessary.

Kent Police have already spoken to one woman following a recent incident and have reminded dog owners to “act responsibly and keep their pets on a lead around livestock and wildlife”.

But for Matthew Cullen, who grazes his 20 cows and calves at foot at Shakespeare Cliff, just outside Dover, in support of the Samphire Hoe conservation grazing scheme, the time may soon come for action rather than words.

“Some of the people walking their dogs on the cliffs are stupid and ignorant. I’ve confronted three people with dogs off the lead even though there are signs on every footpath pointing out that there are animals grazing. I now carry a gun when checking on the herd and I will have no hesitation in putting a dog down if it is chasing my livestock,” he said.

While obviously worried about the impact of another dog attack on his cattle, Matthew is also keen to point out the wider dangers. “The field they are in slopes steeply down to the main A20,” he said.

“If frightened cattle ran down the hill, the fence at the bottom would have no chance of stopping them and they would be in the road.”

Local Ranger Paul Holt said that while “99.9%” of local walkers were “great people who respect the local environment, behave really well and love the cattle”, it was odd individuals who caused an issue

by allowing their dogs to run free.

“The Longhorn cattle are amazing to see. They are placid, lovely creatures that are really enjoyed by the people who see them. It’s just sad that a few people are less aware of the danger their animals can cause,” he added.

A spokesman from Kent Police said the force had “received a report at 12.41pm on Tuesday 17 August 2021 that a dog had been seen worrying cattle in the Samphire Hoe area of Dover earlier in the day.

Officers spoke to the livestock owner and enquiries are ongoing into the incident”. The force later said enquiries were “ongoing” into the identity of the dog owner.

Matthew Cullen said he had earlier had a problem with children chasing Longhorn calves, which currently make up just under half of the 37-strong herd.

He later suffered at least two incidents of off-lead dogs chasing his animals, though none has yet been bitten. One cow went lame after being chased but has now fully recovered, and Matthew is worried that it’s only a matter of time before a serious attack harms one of his animals, perhaps fatally.

“A lot of townies just don’t understand the value of livestock,” he said. “There is a bull with the herd and so the cows can be in calf and can abort if they are frightened.

“There are five or six footpaths across the meadow and I don’t have a problem with walkers using those or with dogs on a lead. And it’s certainly

not the dogs’ fault – it’s their instinct to play or chase something if it’s running away. It’s just the owners’ stupidity and downright ignorance that causes the issue.”

Matthew, who farms at Animal Farm, Staple, believes the dog walker spoken to recently had also been confronted two months earlier but had claimed that it didn’t matter as the cattle “were at the other end of the field”.

He said that after the police had “read her the riot act”, she told them that he couldn’t shoot her dog, but that they had confirmed that if it was worrying livestock he could do so. “And I won’t hesitate if it happens again,” he said. “Sometimes the only way to learn is the hard way.”

Livestock worrying is a criminal offence and comes under the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953. It is defined as a situation in which a dog attacks or chases livestock causing injury or suffering.

Kent Police’s own website points out: “This isn’t just a threat to a farmer or landowner’s livelihood, it’s also a dangerous situation for the animals involved, and could lead to more risk if the animals get onto the road” and adds: “A farmer is allowed to kill the dog if it’s worrying their livestock.”

DEFRA has announced that new measures to crack down on livestock worrying will be introduced in England and Wales through the Kept Animals Bill that began its journey through the legislative process in June.

Photo ©Clive Rabson

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NEWS

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COLLEGE INVESTS IN

MILKING PARLOUR As one South East agricultural college auctions off its dairy herd and parlour equipment, another has opened a new, state-of-the-art facility boasting all the latest technology.

Brinsbury College in Pulborough, West Sussex, now has a milking parlour that would be the envy of many dairy farmers around the country – and that, as farm manager Alex Hollands explained, is the point.

“The dairy industry may be going through a tough time, but the successful businesses are generally those that have modernised and are using the latest equipment. We want our students to find jobs with those dairies, so we need them to have studied the kind of technology that they will be working with when they leave Brinsbury,” he said.

The decision to install the new, British designed and manufactured, dairy is in stark contrast to the situation at Hadlow College in Kent, which has sold its dairy herd and plans to move into beef. Students there will learn about dairying through a partnership with an organic dairy farm near Edenbridge.

Brinsbury’s new facility, based around ATL dairy equipment and refrigeration by MMT Services, will not only be used to teach agricultural students but will help the self-supporting farm business continue to improve its efficiency.

The parlour uses auto identification and milk yield monitoring to allow individual cows to be fed and managed according to their stage of lactation and uses high-tech collars to store and provide live information on the cow’s health.

Mr Hollands explained that hands-on experience was important for Brinsbury’s students, particularly since 80% were from a non-farming background and would be “driving tractors and milking cattle for the first time”. He stressed that the college was not critical of Hadlow’s decision as each institution faced different pressures.

He said he felt students without access to a dairy would “miss out” on valuable skills at a time when the industry was struggling to recruit herdspeople.

“It’s taken us six months to replace an assistant herdsperson and I know of a number of businesses that are struggling to recruit. The industry may be moving towards fewer, more efficient outlets, but I believe dairy is still an important area of agriculture and we want our students to benefit from those opportunities.”

Brinsbury operates what Mr Hollands described as “an extensive New Zealand-based system based on grass and some whole crop, with the herd outside for nine months of the year”.

The farm’s philosophy focuses on quality of

OCTOBER 2021 | WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET

milk and longevity rather than on yield, with cattle normally reaching an impressive seven lactations.

The “relaxed” approach has been producing 6,000 litres a year, but the technology now being used has already seen that rise to close to 7,000 – and an annual total of more than a million litres.

“It’s important for the students to see the improvements that can be made to yield using a variety of different approaches, including using technology. The farm enjoys great support from the college but runs as a commercial entity and makes a profit,” Mr Hollands explained. The herd is now stable at 150 head of cattle, having proved overstocked at 180 a few years back.

Mr Hollands added that the team was “over the moon with the new dairy and milking parlour”, which he said had dramatically improved conditions for the cows and provided “a fantastic working environment for our students and staff”.

The new dairy, which attracted a government grant towards part of the cost, replaced a manual parlour built in the 1980s, which Mr Hollands said “is not what the industry looks like any more”. He went on: “Now our students are learning in a hightech environment so that when they leave they will be able to get a job and know not just what they are doing but why they are doing it.”

NEWS

DAIRY HERD AUCTIONED Hadlow College’s dairy herd is no more, following a successful sale at Sedgemoor Auction Centre in Somerset on the last day of August.

South East Farmer revealed last month that the dairy herd was to be axed following a review of the college’s farm enterprises. Students will instead be taught about dairying at Bore Place, an organic dairy farm at Chiddingstone, near Edenbridge.

South East Farmer columnist Alan West, who lectured at the college for many years and expressed his disappointment with the decision, saw the cattle being moved while doing his sheep rounds in the early hours of the morning of the sale.

He said it was “very sad” to see Gloucestershirebased livestock hauliers heading towards the dairy unit to pick up the stock ahead of the sale at

Sedgemoor. “I must admit it did bring a bit of a lump to my throat – the end of an era,” he added.

The sale itself was very successful, according to auctioneer Derek Biss, who praised the unusually high quality of the herd and said the animals had sold well, with pedigree third calvers reaching as much as 2,500 guineas and most of the milkers fetching 2,000gns a head. Calves at foot made 400gns, with yearlings up to 780gns and served heifers around the 1,480gns mark.

While there were no bids on the old dairy parlour, the 10,000 litre bulk tank made £3,000. The Hadlow herd totalled 185 Holstein Friesians and the sale attracted 30 buyers.

The college team would have enjoyed reading the auctioneers’ comments, which pointed out: “The older cows in the herd are testament to the

attention to detail they have had and the quality and longevity of this very fine relatively small herd of Holstein Friesians, which includes some attractive red and whites.”

News that the college planned to switch to a beef herd prompted Alan West to voice concern in September’s South East Farmer at the idea of suckler cows being put in dairy cubicles that would be too large for them.

College Principal Lindsay Pamphilon has since pointed out: “We have a few straw yards available to keep cattle housed indoors (not in cubicles) which will be used as we establish the herd.

“In the mid-term, with our ambitions to grow the herd, we will remove the cubicles. We have an existing young stock shed and this will enable us to separate stock as required.”

SUPPORTING LOCAL CHARITIES

Generous donations from NFU Mutual agents and their staff at three Kent offices have made a big difference to local charities helping people facing homelessness, food poverty and mental health issues.

Teams at the Ashford, Tenterden and Whitfield offices nominated three charities – Warming Up The Homeless, Dandelion Time and The Family Food Bank – to receive donations of more than £6,450 each from a national £2million fund launched by NFU Mutual.

Doug Jackson, NFU Mutual Senior Partner, explained: “We asked our team to nominate and vote on the charities they most wanted to support. Delivering the charitable funds via the agency network means we can support charities local to us that are making a difference in our communities.

“The charities we selected cover mental health, homelessness and food poverty, three areas that have been particularly affected by the pandemic.”

The Tenterden agency donated to Warming Up The Homeless, a charity helping the homeless of Hastings, St Leonards, Bexhill and Eastbourne. Their goal is to ensure those on the street have enough food, clothing, support and essential information to survive.

NFU Mutual’s Ashford office chose Dandelion Time, a charity focused on transforming the lives of vulnerable children. The charity is one of Kent’s top children’s mental health charities and helps support children with challenging

7 > Left: Darren Smith, partner (corporate and commercial) with Trudy Hampton, CEO at Warming up the Homeless. Right: George Ashby, partner (farming) and NFU group secretary, with Emma White, warehouse shift manager at Family Food Bank emotional issues, often brought on by trauma, violence or serious health difficulties.

Anyès Reading, from Dandelion Time, explained that children spent time on the Dandelion Time farm “feeding and caring for the animals to overcome emotional difficulties, grow in confidence and begin to love and trust again”.

The Whitfield agency decided to donate to The Family Food Bank, which operates across Kent, because of their ongoing efforts to feed children and families across the county.

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NEWS

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New journey time restrictions for England and Wales have been described as “another nail in the coffin for the dairy sector” by East Sussex Farmer Frank Langrish.

He believes new restrictions being introduced

by DEFRA and the Welsh Government alongside legislation that will also ban live animal exports for slaughter will make it impossible for UK farmers to import replacement dairy heifers from Holland, seen as the only guaranteed way to find bovine TB-free animals.

And he dismissed the new rules – welcomed as a “victory” and a “cause for celebration” by animal activists and the RSPCA – as “a political gesture only and one that does nothing at all for animal welfare”.

In fact, Mr Langrish claimed, it could have the opposite effect on welfare by excluding journeys of less than 65km from the new legislation, something he believes was included to “divide and rule” the UK’s farmers.

“This strange decision to exempt journeys under 65k seems to have given many farmers the idea that it wouldn’t affect them and so there was no need to complain about a proposal that was dressed up as being about banning live exports,” said Mr Langrish, who keeps 5,000 Romney ewes and 400 head of cattle at farms around Rye. “That is probably why the number of farmers and related businesses contributing to the consultation was so woefully small, with 87% of the responses coming from supporters of the proposals like the RSPCA and Compassion in World Farming.” Figures show that of the 11,000 responses received during the 12-week consultation, more than 7,400 were from the RSPCA or its supporters.

“Farmers need to be careful, though, as while they may personally have a journey of less than 65km to market or a collection centre, the total journey is likely to be a lot longer, which means they will presumably need to start the journey in compliance with the regulations.

“More importantly, should we accept lower standards of animal welfare for journeys under 65km? In my experience more animals are harmed on short journeys because farmers don’t take the right precautions for trips that are ‘just down the road’ – for instance moving animals without keeping them off food and water for the previous 12 hours. Animals being moved locally deserve the same welfare standards, surely?

“What people also don’t seem to realise is that when animals are worth thousands of pounds apiece, it is in the farmers’ interests to look after them properly. We don’t need this kind of political gesture.

“It is very sad that a Conservative government is restricting trade and adding unnecessary expense just to satisfy a misinformed minority.”

Mr Langrish said the NFU had devised an alternative live export assurance scheme that would have allowed livestock to be moved in one

Photo: Photoagriculture / Shutterstock.com

“ANOTHER NAIL IN THE COFFIN” single journey to one destination, with the UK’s welfare standards applying throughout, but that the Government had not considered the proposal.

Instead, the proposed new rules – which have yet to be given a legislative timetable – will introduce a 21-hour maximum journey time for cattle and sheep, 18 hours for pigs and nine hours for calves.

“Calves include those up to nine months of age, which will mean weaned calves coming out of remote areas will not be able to reach the market in the time allowed. Currently, many high value weanlings travel to finishing units many miles from where they are born.”

The ban on exporting live animals for slaughter or fattening is already going through parliament as part of the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill. “It’s not good news for farmers in the South East, who have many European customers within an eight hour trip who would be happy to pay significantly higher prices for our live animals,” Mr Langrish commented.

Not surprisingly, DEFRA’s announcement was welcomed by the RSPCA, with Chief Executive Chris Sherwood declaring: “We are absolutely thrilled that the live export of animals is finally coming to an end after campaigning on this issue for more than 50 years. There is absolutely no reasonable justification to subject an animal to an unnecessarily stressful journey abroad simply for it to be fattened for slaughter.”

DEFRA also plans to introduce new requirements

OCTOBER 2021 | WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET

on headroom for animals, which Mr Langrish described as “totally bonkers” and said would make use of the UK’s most popular make of trailer “completely uneconomical”.

He went on: “They want farmers to allow 20cm above ‘normal head height’, which is ridiculous.

What is a cow’s normal head height? If they had used the shoulder as a reference point it would have at least made more sense – although I’ve no idea who they will be expecting to jump into a trailer full of cattle or sheep to measure the gap.

“If they can find a way to enforce the regulations it will mean using one deck of the trailer only, unless you are moving particularly short sheep, and cattle may not be able to travel at all.”

The Government has rowed back on its proposals to ban the movement of animals in temperatures of more than 30°C or less than 5°C, with the lower limit now set at zero degrees – although again the restrictions will not apply to journeys of less than 65km.

Again, Mr Langrish is unimpressed. “There are pigs living outside in East Anglia all year round, but if you want to move them in winter you will have to wait until the temperature rises above zero,” he commented.

“These new regulations won’t achieve anything.

They are just a sop to animal rights groups that will restrict trade, and they ignore the fact that UK farmers already maintain incredibly high standards when it comes to animal welfare.”

HEALTH PILOT

Landowners, managers and farmers in the South East are being invited to take part in a new tree health pilot focused initially on ash, sweet chestnut, larch and spruce.

The three-year pilot will be delivered by the Forestry Commission and aims to establish 100 agreements with interested landowners and managers to help deal with trees affected by a pest or disease outbreak.

The commission will support the felling and restocking of trees and provide maintenance payments for restocked sites. The pilot, which will inform the future tree health scheme being rolled out in 2024, will in the meantime work alongside the existing Countryside Stewardship Woodland Tree Health grants.

DEFRA has said that as the pilot will trial new elements of the future scheme only, payments will differ from those made under the existing Countryside Stewardship Tree Health scheme.

Incentives being tested will include support for diseased and infested trees outside woodland, such as roadside ash with ash dieback, and for trees affected by the spruce bark beetle and sweet chestnut blight.

CLA South East Regional Director Tim Bamford urged the region’s landowners to get involved and said his organisation had helped to shape the pilot.

“The support currently available through schemes like Countryside Stewardship is only good for woodland situations, not hedgerows or roadside trees affected by ash dieback, which can cost significant amounts of money to put right, whereas this new pilot scheme should provide a wider range of support in helping farmers and landowners tackle the ever-increasing threat of pests and diseases within trees,” he said.

Forestry Commission Chair Sir William Worsley said the commission envisaged “a genuine partnership with landowners and managers whose trees are affected by certain pests and pathogens – one that will strengthen the health of our iconic natural environment”.

He added: “Together we will carefully test and refine new elements of the future tree health scheme, to the benefit of our precious trees and woodlands and the wildlife which relies upon them.”

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TIME TO MAKE A STAND

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Dear sir, I have concluded it’s time to make a stand. A stand against the creeping takeover of every aspect of life in the countryside by environmental extremists; the ones who want to see thousands of acres of farmed countryside abandoned so they can become scrubby wastelands harbouring huge populations of vermin.

The ones who want to put a tax on meat to reduce the impact of livestock farming – a demand that overlooks the fact that that it will inevitably mean less well-off families will be left reliant on poorer quality products, the only ones they can afford.

The ones who think, also to cut back on livestock numbers, that we can produce entirely palatable milk in a laboratory. Which raises the question (even if it does turn out to be drinkable) of what happens to all the jobs currently supported by the genuine dairy industry.

All these people want to turn conventional wisdom and traditional practices on their heads in pursuit of some green utopia.

Two instances have sparked my anger in recent days. The first was the announcement that dredging on two Somerset rivers is to be suspended after pressure from environmentalists.

I thought the message from 2014 had got through: that dredging is absolutely necessary if we are to keep the area functioning as at present - wildlife-rich yet supporting productive farming. And where the greatest threat to its international status comes not from agriculture but from the increased volumes of sewage effluent the local water company has been discharging into local rivers because of the massive boom in housebuilding in surrounding areas.

But let’s suppose we stop the dredging and allow nature to decide what happens next. What plans do the environmentalists have for the hundreds of homes that have been allowed to be lawfully built on floodplains? How do they plan to compensate and relocate their occupants? I do not intend holding my breath for an answer.

The second issue was the matter of the Stonehenge tunnel on the A303, a project now in jeopardy again thanks to successful legal action by its environmental opponents, The stretch of the A303 running past Stonehenge would have been dualled, like the rest of the road, 50 years ago if the green lobby had not thrown a spanner in the works. The result of its intervention has been to send tons of emissions into the atmosphere from the millions of vehicles that have been left idling, sometimes for hours, in traffic jams; jams that are not only continuing but are becoming ever longer.

Putting the road underground to speed traffic on its way is the only solution to this problem; you cannot ask drivers to avoid this section or to thread their way around it on minor roads.

But, as always, the obvious common sense idea is the one the opponents reject - though naturally without offering an alternative. Hence the improvement is again on the back burner and we can look forward to a few more years of drivers sitting in choking clouds of fumes.

How much longer are we going to allow environmental campaigners to dictate to us, to stand in the way of desirable change and progress while forcing their own undesirable and unacceptable minority agenda on the majority? If politicians lack the guts to stand up to these people and tell them: “Enough is enough”, then it’s up to the rest of us. ALL OF US. And we should start fighting back before it’s too late.

John Lillywhite, Farmers for Action

OCTOBER 2021 | WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET

© Telegraph Media Group Limited 2021

twitter NO CHILDREN?

Am I the only farmer that has a strict no children on agricultural equipment rule across the business? Am I being too strict or sensible here?

Steven Lear @farmerbiff

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With shearing done, now is a good time to have a sort through the flock and do some body condition sorting to ensure the flock are in optimum condition prior to #tupping.

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QUALIFYING STATISTICS

Dear Sir, I do not mean to undermine the message concerning farm safety so eloquently and worthily made by Michael Valenzia in your September issue (“Farm Safety’s Sobering Statistics”), but I do think that qualifying the statistics he uses is worthwhile to provide context to the points he makes so well.

The HSE’s document Fatal Injuries in Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing in Great Britain for 2020 /21 makes the point that 41 people were killed in this period.

The highest number of fatalities were recorded in Scotland, Wales and north east, north west and south west England. The South East remained consistent with its five-year average of two fatalities. While any fatality is one too many, I would have hoped for a small pat on the back for the excellent farmers and growers in this region who have maintained such a clean bill of health.

Analysis of the figures published by the HSE indicates that the largest proportion of fatal injury claims in agriculture occur on smaller livestock farms in the more mixed farming/livestock areas of the country.

prod and Larger farming businesses with a predominantly arable and growing focus in the eastern and central parts of the country are more likely to have rigorous health and safety policies in place and rarely, thankfully, suffer these types of fatalities. I am not sure that we should be tarred with the same brush as those areas with less positive reports.

Growing and horticultural businesses with larger workforces and higher levels of risk, and which are also audited by a broad range of inspecting authorities as well as various supermarkets, operate to such high standards that they often can teach so called specialists a thing or two.

I well remember a client of mine purchasing a health and safety advisory service at considerable cost from my former masters. Some way into the annual subscription, the client terminated the service because their own systems were so comprehensive that they were actually educating our adviser, and it was costing them time.

While we need to promote safe working practices, I feel that in the South East especially we should be shouting about the excellent standards our industry has attained. When you think about the density of the population in our region and the degree of industrial mechanisation we have, this is yet more remarkable.

We need to promote the fact that our industry is forward thinking, at the cutting edge of modern technological practices, well managed, well rewarded and a good place to work for determined, well-educated young people.

Banging the doom and gloom drum without adequate qualification rather compounds the misplaced and poorly educated (in my opinion at least) view of the industry held by some people as low-skilled, low-paid and dangerous work in unappealing conditions.

I apologise to Mr Valenzia if I am being unfair, or unhelpful to his cause, but in a region that has recorded only two industrial fatalities of the 41 across the country in the past year (as far as I can determine), there is a more positive message for South East Farmer to get out. I think that a little honey is needed to offset the rather bitter diet of vinegar to which we have become far too used.

Rollo Parsons, Insurance Broker

GOOD BUSINESS SENSE TO KEEP CROP NUTRIENTS OUT OF WATER Dear Sir, I write in response to the letter headlined React to farmers, don’t ignore them in the September issue of South East Farmer.

Here at the Whitfield office, which has been serving Thanet members for the past 20 years and continues to do so, I have not been contacted by any of our NFU members about this historic nitrates issue, nor indeed the Southern Water case.

Fully paid-up members of the NFU know that, with the support of their local group secretary, they’re entitled to specialist advice starting with their county adviser, their regional environment and land use adviser and our team at headquarters who are, incidentally, in the picture on this matter.

All farmers recognise that it makes good business sense to keep crop nutrients out of water. On catchment matters, the Catchment Sensitive Farming Partnership between DEFRA, the Environment Agency and Natural England is another vital port of call for farmers who wish to seek free advice and grant funding geared to supporting farming operations while improving water quality.

Incidentally, the NFU is encouraging its members to lobby MPs on the new Farming Rules For Water, calling for the suspension of Rule 1 this autumn.

Please follow this link to support our campaign: www.nfuonline.com/news/ latest-news/farming-rules-for-water-read-our-latest-guidance/ George Ashby, NFU group secretary, Whitfield

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& WINERY SHOW

For viticulturists in Great Britain 24th November 2021

Kent Event Centre, Detling, Maidstone, Kent ME14 3JF

In association with

Vitifruit Equipment Sales and Hire

12

The Vineyard & Winery show is proud to announce Urban Bar as the show’s glassware sponsor, providing an exclusive branded glass for every visitor.

Urban Bar have been designing market leading bar and glassware for the drinks industry for over 40 years. “Our aim is to produce shapes that enhance the pleasure and enjoyment of the drinking experience.

“We offer machine and handmade glasses and a comprehensive range of our own barware. All of our items have been designed with purpose, practicality and longevity in mind. We believe that the effort put into producing or making a drink should be reflected in what it is served in,” commented Nick Andrews, Director.

“We work with the world’s leading spirits and drinks brands to develop glass and barware to suit their brand characteristics, decoration requirements, budget, route to market and ultimate use. We offer a complete design service so suppliers can develop their own style of glass, working with them through to production to develop a bespoke design which perfectly matches the demands of their brand,” he added.

Jamie McGrorty, Publisher, Vineyard, commented: “Providing every visitor to the show with a complimentary branded glass in a box is a really nice touch by Urban Bar – and each glass is a gift for the visitor to keep, and a lovely reminder of our first show.

“During these Covid-19 sensitive times it will also ensure that everyone will feel safe with their own personal glass, which is important for us. We will also provide individual disposable spittoons. We are absolutely delighted to be working with Urban Bar for our first Vineyard & Winery Show.”

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OCTOBER 2021 | WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET

EXCITING SEMINAR PROGRAMME The seminar programme on 24 November, has an exciting line up of presentations with speakers, all experts in their field who will share their experiences, communicate their ideas, and encourage discussion and networking.

Seminar sessions, in affiliation with WineGB and chaired by Simon Thorpe MW, chief executive will take place throughout the day on a first come basis.

Speakers will provide top level advice on topics that are current and pertinent to the industry and its sustainable future – in viticulture, winemaking and marketing

Venturing into viticulture in a changing climate Dr Alistair Nesbitt, VineScapes: The future climate for grape growing in the UK Simon Thorpe MW, WineGB: What can WineGB do for you?

James Dodson, Vine Works Ltd: The costs and practical considerations of setting up a vineyard Mitchel Fowler, Ferovinum Ltd: Innovative inventory finance to fuel the next chapter of growth for UK Wine

Malolactic fermentation: why, when and how

High achievers: yield and quality

Emma Rice, Hattingley Valley Vineyard: Why do MLF: The benefits and risks

Dr Greg Dunn, Plumpton College: Securing sustainable yields in a UK vineyard

Nick Lane, Defined Wine Ltd: When to do MLF: Sequential or co-inoculation

Matt Strugnell, Ridgeview Wine Estate: Quality vs yield vs style

David Cowderoy, BevTech Ltd: How to do MLF: Inoculated or spontaneous

Alex Valsecchi, Albury Organic Vineyard: Yield management for organic vineyard

13

Building a sustainable business through wine tourism Julia Trustram Eve, WineGB: WineGB Best Practice Guidelines Paul Harley, Plumpton College: Who is the wine tourist?

Jo Smith, Wine Garden of England: Best practice in action – working collaboratively to develop regional presence

GET YOUR FREE

TICKET TO THE SHOW

&

The Vineyard & Winery show will be an unmissable event for anyone working in viticulture and wine production in the UK. The show will take place on 24 November 2021 at the Kent County Showground.

Organised by Vineyard magazine and supported by WineGB, it will be an invaluable opportunity for all viticulturalists, winemakers, suppliers and the trade to come together. There will be a packed programme including a seminar programme from WineGB, tastings of the UK’s top wines, lots of machinery and equipment to see – as well the opportunity to network with peers.

To register for your free ticket go to Eventbrite via the Vineyard & Winery show website www.vineyardshow.com W

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– along with a dedicated session aimed at new entrants to the industry.

The seminar programme is sponsored by Ferovinum Ltd, a working capital platform that enables wine producers and wholesalers to release capital against their inventory during ageing and marketing periods.

Mitchel Fowler, Founder, Ferovinum Ltd commented: We’re thrilled to be sponsoring the seminar programme this year. It’s an opportunity for the industry to come together and cultivate ideas, innovation and strategic discussion at a crucial moment for the flourishing UK wine producing industry.

Don’t miss out ◆ Network with the key players in the UK wine industry ◆ Meet with industry experts ◆ Learn the cutting-edge technology and see demonstrations of the latest machinery ◆ Take part in the Matthew Jukes tutored wine tasting. The world-renowned wine writer and columnist Matthew Jukes will present 6 still and sparkling wines. Tickets are £20 and the proceeds are donated to the Drinks Trust charity. (Numbers are limited to 120 – so book early!) ◆ Visit the Wine Hub and taste some the UK’s best wines – up to 100 different wines available to try on the day ◆ Attend the WineGB seminars – Expert speakers will cover viticulture, winemaking and marketing topics – aimed at new entrants to the industry as well as those already established ◆ Join some of the biggest names in the industry such as CLM, Hutchinsons, Vitifruit, Bruni Erben, Royston labels – and many more

WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET | OCTOBER 2021

MONICA AKEHURST AT THE KITCHEN TABLE

14

“You can’t have too much of a good thing” was a recent comment made to me. I’m not sure I agree. We’re still dealing with the workload created by our bumper grass crop. In early spring we envisaged a long, dry summer ahead and feared supplies would be tight, so we bought in extra grazing. How wrong we were.

A crystal ball could be handy. Even if we tripled our livestock numbers I doubt they’d have kept pace with grass growth.

Our mower has been kept busy; lack of sunshine has prolonged the hay-making process. The end result is large stores of silage, and hay of varying quality. Grass regrowth after cutting has been impressively fast. Livestock look well, and market prices are remaining buoyant. I’m wondering how long this good fortune will last.

No boasting about our crop of winter oats; yields were poor, in large part due to the increasing numbers of deer and the damage caused by them.

On the home farm our double fences on either side of our new hedges deterred the deer from visiting these fields, but all around us it’s clear to see that herd sizes are increasing at an alarming rate. There needs to be more control to lessen the numbers and minimise the damage to trees and crops.

Could more be done to encourage the consumption of venison? It’s said to be a healthy meat, lower in saturated fat than other red meats.

It’s one of my favourites. Venison just needs to lose its Bambi image. Legal beagle daughter subscribes to the cooking magazine Delicious and in it venison gets the thumbs up, described as nutrient-rich meat. I was also delighted to see they ran an article entitled “Could eating meat and dairy help the planet?” This had a positive slant on food, farming and the future, saying agriculture can be part of

IS THE TB

TESTING FLAWED?

the solution to global warming. Some hope for our industry, which is heartening.

I was intrigued to see the Woodland Trust sent out an envelope promoting its work. Displayed on the outside was a picturesque red squirrel and an appeal to make a donation to protect the UK’s threatened woods and wildlife. Far be it for me to question their wisdom, but I thought squirrels (grey ones especially) are actually quite destructive to trees. They gnaw on the phloem tissue which is responsible for the movement of sugars around the plant and is situated under the bark. Squirrel damage can kill the tree or leave scars, providing an entry point for pests and diseases which also ultimately leads to the tree’s demise. Perhaps there should be more done to control grey squirrel numbers.

I enjoy woodland, and appreciate trees, in the winter. I get to spend time in the woods with our working spaniels. During the spring and summer I like to save seedlings on our farm if I spot them growing in vulnerable places like pastures where they risk getting damaged. I rescue them and nurture them in pots until they are strong enough to be planted out in more suitable locations.

I get pleasure from observing their progress. I

> Harvest time

OCTOBER 2021 | WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET

place the daggings from our sheep around the base of the trees, keeping moisture in and providing a little natural nitrogen, generally helping them to thrive. Might as well put our wool to good use; our wool payment was dismal again this year and we won’t get paid for this year’s wool until we send next year’s clip.

The Woodland Trust leaflet states that “we can’t ignore the plight of UK wildlife”. There’s a picture of a hedgehog and a description that reads: “Our playful scuffling badger cubs are history”. Badgers, though, are far from history. Their numbers are rocketing; even on the land we farm, many more setts are appearing, whereas, sadly, hedgehog sightings are rare.

This is no coincidence. Conservationists blame habitat loss, traffic and farming practices. There’s a strange reluctance to admit a link, choosing to ignore the fact that badgers’ diets consist of earthworms, rodents, vegetable matter (they love maize and grapes) and hedgehogs. The reality is that hedgehogs decline while badgers flourish.

Culling badgers has been stopped. The question of what part badgers play in the spread of tuberculosis is hotly debated. The disturbing fact that 28,356 cattle were compulsorily slaughtered

> Sorting through ewes, condition scoring, bags and teeth after testing positive for bovine TB in the 12 months to March 2021 is distressing. Farmers’ careful breeding of stock for better genetic improvements to the herd can be lost. Losing cattle testing positive and slaughtered has an economic and emotional effect on the farm, and for those that have cared for the animals it’s incredibly sad, and so I have some sympathy for the owner of Geronimo the Alpaca, who captured the media’s attention.

Geronimo, though, tested positive in August 2017 when he arrived in England from New Zealand, and was again positive when tested in November 2017.

Geronimo was finally destroyed on 31 August 2021 amongst a furore of what can only be described as a shocking media circus which only added to the animal’s distress. It hit the news, talk shows, twitter etc.

I hope that some good can come from the hype by raising the profile of how bTB is dealt with. Many farmers claim that they’ve had seemingly healthy animals that tested positive destroyed with postmortem results showing no sign of TB. This begs the question: Is the TB testing flawed? Is the regime fit for purpose? No one wants to see healthy animals slaughtered needlessly. TB is a risk to human health and requires a robust system in place. Is more scientific research needed to help evolve a better, more efficient way of dealing with TB in animals?

I’ve decided I don’t want to become a sheep’s dentist. I’ve been getting up close and personal with my ewes, condition scoring, checking bags and teeth. The fuss that some of them make, when all I want is a quick glance at their teeth.

Such drama queens; I know age can be a sensitive subject, but really I think some overreact. The cull ewes sold well so I suppose it was worth the effort.

Happy farming.

> Ewe lambs – potential replacements

> Spaniels helping with Grandma duties > Teaching the younger generation how combines work

15

> Shearing - wool is undervalued > Waiting to have her fleece off

> My tree nursery TO ADVERTISE CALL 01303 233883

WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET | OCTOBER 2021

FRUIT

THE IMPORTANCE OF

FOLIAR NUTRITION South East England is renowned for its orchards, where many thousands of high quality apples are grown every year, destined for British supermarket shelves.

The need for year-round produce, though, means retailers often need a quality end product in store several months after harvest, which presents a range of issues for growers.

One major challenge to maintaining apple marketability is bitter pit, caused by calcium deficiency, especially when contending with extended periods of dry weather. Careful management of calcium during the fruit development and fruit ripening stages can, however, help maintain quality.

16

IMPACTS OF LOW CALCIUM IN APPLES

Bitter pit is a well-recognised disorder causing mottled spots in apples. It is the most visible condition of inadequate calcium in the fruit and is commonly found after dry, hot summers, leading to fruit that is not fit for storage. > Folair nutrition in apples ©Blackthorn Arable “When there’s insufficient calcium available in orchard soils, the nutrient will be unable to get to the fruit quickly enough to keep up with development,” explained Geoffrey to poor calcium uptake due to nutrient immobility.

Bastard, commercial technical manager at FMC. “Placing calcium in a formulation where it can easily be taken up by the plant “In places where calcium is not thoroughly circulated, spotting occurs and and used where it’s needed in the fruit can pay dividends. If soils are dry and a develops into dead tissue. Weak points in the apple skin can lead to splitting, high-yielding variety is being grown, consider topping up calcium levels via a which attracts bacteria and fungus which develop in the cold store, leading to foliar application,” explained Mr Bastard. reduced storability and the potential for a wasted crop.”

TIMING CALCIUM APPLICATIONS Issues are compounded when growers and packhouses have to store apples During the crucial fruit fill period, calcium is a reliable insurance policy, Mr for long periods of time, Mr Bastard added.

Bastard added.

“Packhouses, in particular, will store the fruit in controlled atmospheres for “Foliar applications of calcium in apples will lead to improved shelf life, months on end until it’s the right time for it to go to market. This means the crop yield, colour and firmness. FMC’s Carnival, which contains 225g per litre needs to be healthy enough to store well at harvest, last for a few months and calcium, along with a range of other nutrients to boost crop health, is still perform well on supermarket shelves.” formulated in way that maximises the uptake of calcium.”

THE BENEFITS OF CALCIUM Applications should be made at five to 10 litres per hectare, from petal fall, Calcium deficiencies are often worse in light, sandy and acidic soils, but even in up to one week pre-harvest, applying every 10 to 14 days in a scenario where a calcareous soils, such as those seen in parts of the South East, sufficient calcium in deficiency is prevalent. a plant-available form can be a problem.

“The most important timing for applications is August onwards. Post-June “Soil testing really is key in the orchard,” explained Mr Bastard. “For example, an agronomist can take a decision on crop-load per tree, and this will help soils with too much potassium can lead to lower levels of calcium in the fruit. guide the grower to decide how much calcium they’ll need,” he said.

“FMC trials have shown that a higher potassium to calcium ratio can lead “A foliar application during the development and ripening stages will help to greater potential for storage issues. This is because it’s easier for apples to apple skins to be as strong as possible. This, along with routine soil testing absorb potassium rather than calcium. The apple will take up the potassium to for calcium at the start of the year and maintaining good store hygiene fill its cells and neglect the calcium.” and environmental controls, is vital to successful storage and maintaining Additionally, the South-East often experiences dry weather, and dry soils lead marketability.”

OCTOBER 2021 | WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET

FOCUS ON FRUIT SARAH CALCUTT

> Ian Johnson

THROWING DOWN THE GAUNTLET I begin this month with my first call to action; take any vacancies; the numbers of roles they are we have two new awards at the fruit show this given and the candidates they place will be data for SARAH CALCUTT year, and while one has already been decided the government, key information on the needs of Executive Chair, there is a second that I’m putting out there as a our sector.

National Fruit Show challenge to you practically minded geniuses.

Please respond to the request. It’s going to play Ian Johnson of the Highland Investment a crucial role in the months to come in getting us Company is still sorely missed by all those who more permits, to allow more recruits and even to worked with and admired him. Speaking with the company’s chief executive change some of the barriers that our experienced workers have encountered Gary Walters, we agreed that Ian wouldn’t have much enjoyed a life of farming when trying to return to UK farms. There is undoubtedly potential for crop loss, by apps (he would have loved the knowledge, don’t get me wrong) but would either at the tree or as a consequence of late harvesting; it’s not unreasonable to have looked for practical, non-electronic tech ways of getting to where he expect that we will need to collate this data, too, as the season progresses. wanted to be.

And the third call to action… with apologies to the editor, I am returning to So, his former colleagues have created the Ian Johnson Practical Innovation the fruit show. The competition schedule has been published (available on the award. We want to hear your practical, on-farm solutions to farming problems. new website, www.nationalfruitshow.org.uk) and we are throwing down the Tell us about the innovative piece of kit you have created that has simplified gauntlet to all growers. To celebrate the return to Detling and a bustling physical a complicated, or expensive, problem for farmers everywhere. Nominations show, we would like to deliver a stunning display of competition fruit, despite should be made in writing to sarah@nationalfruitshow.org.uk all the horrendous weather issues that have created so many problems for our A second call to action has come from the NFU national team. As a farming members this year. This is the year to have a try at packing a show sample for the sector we have a lot to be thankful for in the seasonal worker permit scheme; first time. There is comprehensive guidance on the website on how to present no other sector received permits for workers and it has made an enormous your fruit to best advantage. difference for many growers this year already.

How wonderful it would be if our supreme champion were a first-time But what is apparent is that it has been a drop in the ocean of the true entrant! numbers required; our settled and pre-settled workers haven’t returned in the anticipated numbers. There is a very real, and worrying, deficit of workers both numerically and in the ability of candidates to do the job required.

You will have been sent an email from the NFU team; please could you take a few minutes to respond and let them know of any issues that you are encountering. The DWP central teams have been briefed and are standing by to

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17

NIGEL AKEHURST VISITS: J A KEEN & SON

FARMING

AND CAMPING

18

Arriving at Etherley Farm via a concrete farm track off Leith Hill Lane, I notice the busy campsite to my right, with a mixture of tents and camper vans dotted around the field.

To my left I spot a flock of geese grazing in a paddock next to the farmhouse. I park up and head for the farmyard, navigating my way through a cluster of old and modern buildings and past a cold room to find the poultry processing unit, where I meet Charlie Keen wearing a butcher’s apron.

She tells me they have just finished eviscerating (disembowelling) their latest batch of chickens on a small processing line. It’s an impressive looking operation, all housed in a collection of old farm buildings that were once used for dairying.

Richard turns up and they give me a quick tour, starting with the lairage where the birds are housed before they are slaughtered. The room has blackout blinds which helps keep them calm,

explained Charlie.

The birds are put on a line and stunned in an electric water bath before being processed on a series of machines operated by skilled workers.

The birds are dipped in paraffin wax to aid dry plucking, a desirable but far more labour-intensive method compared to the wet plucking used by the larger scale poultry processors. The end product is finished by hand and well worth the extra effort.

“We rear all our poultry on a free-range system, slaughtering and processing them on site,” said Charlie.

It is a free-range system with Hubbard birds. “It takes around 12 weeks to rear from day old chicks before they are ready,” explained Richard. “This compares to around 42 days or fewer for most modern broiler units that supply supermarkets under the Red Tractor scheme.”

The Hubbard variety of broiler was chosen as it suits the outdoor system; once they are old

OCTOBER 2021 | WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET

This month Nigel Akehurst visits small-scale poultry farmers J A Keen & Son at Etherley Farm, a 165-acre National Trust tenanted farm situated at the foot of Leith Hill, an area of outstanding natural beauty. Husband and wife team Richard and Charlie Keen, together with Richard’s daughter Amy and her husband Phil, run a highly diversified mixed livestock farm and campsite business. enough to be let out of the sheds they tend to roam more than other more commercial birds like the Ross. However, at Etherley Farm they do still buy in some Ross to get some different weights for Christmas.

The poultry enterprise operates under the small-scale supplier class, slaughtering fewer than 10,000 birds per year, meaning they don’t need a vet on site (though they do still have inspections).

The vast majority of their poultry is sold direct from their farm shop or to local butchers.

FARM FACTS

> Amy, Richard and Charlie

BACKGROUND

Richard’s family has been raising poultry since before his father John Keen took on the National Trust tenancy at Etherley Farm in the late 1950s.

As he was growing up, the family always produced turkeys for Christmas and ran a milking herd like many lowland farms, said Richard.

After returning from Berkshire College of Agriculture, Richard worked in partnership with his father. Over the years they built up the milking herd to around 100 head to make ends meet. By the late 1990s the milk price was so low they were struggling to stay afloat, so in 2000 they took the difficult decision to sell the cows.

“We probably should have packed up five years before, but you know what it is. You’re so emotionally involved with it, as well as financially, you think we’ll carry on a bit longer,” he said.

After packing up the cows, they decided to build up the poultry enterprise, starting with turkeys for the Christmas market. They also went into Countryside Stewardship, something their landlord was very keen on.

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CAMPING AND SELLING DIRECT

In 2002 they started the campsite, becoming part of the Camping and Caravanning Club as a quick and easy route to get going.

“In those days there were no websites and camping wasn’t that popular,” said Richard.

They were listed on a National Trust leaflet of places to go and started getting bookings over the phone. The first few years were a slow burn, with the income barely covering the cost of topping the field and with Richard spending much of his time cleaning portable toilets.

Then in 2008, during the credit crunch, camping began to get a bit more popular. A few websites such as Pitchup and Camping Ninja set up. Charlie listed their site on all the platforms and things began to pick up. The Olympic year was good as they were inundated with cycling clubs that came to watch the peloton pass by the farm entrance.

As demand grew, they successfully managed to get retrospective planning permission for a campsite with a maximum capacity of 250 adults per night (though they are operating well below >>

• 165-acre National Trust Farm • Poultry enterprise – free range system in mobile sheds on skids.

Includes meat chickens, egg layers, ducks’ eggs, meat ducks, Christmas turkeys and 150-200 Christmas Geese. Operating a processing facility for under 10,000 birds a year • Lamb enterprise – 100 north country mules. Lamb end of April. All the lambs are sold direct, with some kept back for hoggets. Cull ewes go for mutton, which is sold through the shop.

• Beef enterprise – small herd of pure bed Sussex cows and a bull. All meat sold direct and some heifers kept as replacements if possible • Successful camping enterprise started in 2002 now represents a third of farm income • Apple enterprise

WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET | OCTOBER 2021

19

NIGEL AKEHURST VISITS: J A KEEN & SON << this capacity at present). They upgraded their facilities by installing a septic tank to serve a prefab toilet and wash block.

More recently, in 2017 they obtained permission and LEADER funding to convert a couple of their old farm buildings into a permanent toilet and shower block, together with a new farm shop.

“It’s all come together really. We’re just so lucky as we’re in the right place at the right time. If you’d said to my father 30 years ago that we would be operating this sort of facility he wouldn’t have believed you,” added Richard.

Amy and Phil have since developed a website where most campsite bookings are taken. They also use social media to promote the farm, with Amy regularly posting pictures of farm life on Instagram and Facebook “It’s quite incredible. One year, the first day we let the geese out Amy put a video on Facebook and it got 15,000 likes,” Richard added.

The campsite now accounts for around a third of their annual income.

LIVESTOCK

We hop in Richard’s pickup truck and drive down to his main poultry field.

In it are a dozen or more chicken sheds on skids (to make them easy to move) with chickens roaming out on grass. One shed is home to egg layers but the majority are his broilers.

He opens the door to one of the sheds to show me a recent batch of chicks under heat.

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OCTOBER 2021 | WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET

“Once a fortnight I go up to the eastern counties and I get day-old ducks and day-old meat chicks. I buy in between 200 and 300 chickens at a time and 50 ducks too. There are a couple of thousand chickens down here at any one time,” he explained.

They also buy in about 1,000 day-old turkey chicks in June, as well as 150 day old geese chicks in May, to rear for the Christmas market All the poultry start off being reared in the houses, and as they get bigger they let them out to free range.

As the birds can go anywhere they’ve struggled with predation in the past: “We used to get some pretty horrific fox kills,” said Richard.

To help they invested in a few llamas, which keep a watchful eye over the chickens and ward off opportunistic foxes. It seems to be working as they no longer get daytime kills, though they still occasionally lose the odd bird as it’s getting dark.

The other threat is buzzards, which are a bit of problem.

“We’ve also got red kites, but they don’t kill the birds - they’ll just take the carrion,” he added.

I was interested to learn that they don’t belong to any assurance schemes.

“If people want to see how we rear our animals they can come and see.

We’ve got footpaths everywhere,” explained Richard, gesturing to a smart fence that runs along the edge of the field.

I ask if he believes they farm to a higher standard than Red Tractor?

“They are just different – our chickens are free range. You have to look after them as if you don’t look after them you don’t get a product. It’s self regulating in that way.

“I would say we do everything that Red Tractor does. There might be some little things. We’ve got no rat bait boxes in the field but have them around the buildings.

“You set your own standards. If you sell a bad-un, they are on you, so you don’t want to sell a bad-un,” he replied.

While poultry is the mainstay of the business, they also have a small suckler herd of Sussex cattle and a flock of North Country Mules.

Low stocking rates and direct sales are key elements of their operation.

Richard explained: “Everything is just grass-fed. We don’t supplementary feed. It’s 165 acres.

If you tell the average person, they say ‘wow, that’s massive’. Really, in this day and age, and without the camping and other diversifications, it’s hard.

“If we were a commercial lowland farm with a breeding flock of ewes and a beef enterprise, we’d struggle to get a living, especially for two families. It would be very difficult – it’s just the way it is. Christmas is a big bonus for us as it is for anybody doing traditional poultry at that time.”

While the business generates more income than most similar-sized farms, it is very labour intensive. In addition to the core team of four - Richard, Charlie, Phil and Amy, who are all full-time – they have two regular part-time ladies, an apprentice and another young farmer who helps out. There is also a part-time butcher and they employ extra help at Christmas.

“In the past we have had Eastern European labour but that’s just naturally faded away as we’ve got more local people,” Richard said.

Just as well, he added, as there is a labour problem.

“They reckon they want an extra 8,500 people to help with seasonal poultry. A couple of poultry farmers I know are having difficulties; because the people came over once a year they didn’t apply for settled status and now they can’t come back,” he said.

they are really tasty. We make duck burgers, chicken burgers, lamb burgers, chicken sausages.”

The average bird costs between £8.50 and £10.50, which seems great value to me.

“I’ve always been very price conscious, but since my daughter and son-in-law have come in they’ve worked things out to our advantage a bit more. If we can’t make anything at it we won’t be doing it. We have to make a living. You pay for what you get,” said Richard.

NEW APPLE ENTERPRISE

The latest venture on the farm is an apple enterprise spearheaded by son-in-law Phil. As well as restoring an old orchard located near the farmyard they have recently planted 53 apple trees - some of which are in the poultry field.

From making cider vinegar and selling it through the shop, he then made apple juice and more recently took a big leap, buying a pasteuriser and a bottling unit to make cider with the help of the final round of European funding through the LEADER program.

THE FUTURE

The Keen family is optimistic about the future of their farming enterprise.

They’ve embraced change and built a highly diversified and resilient farm business in the process. To me, Etherley Farm is a fascinating model of what a small family farm can be. A place filled with people, where traditional common sense methods are used to produce high quality food, processed on site and sold direct to local customers.

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COVID-19

Like many farms selling direct, Covid-19 has been good for business.

“During lockdown we got very busy. That’s tailed off a bit but I think we’ve managed to keep a fair few customers. Again, we’re in the right place. If we were in a less affluent area it might be a different story,” said Richard.

Nothing goes to waste and they also get a lot of ‘doggy’ people who come in to buy chicken wings or carcasses to boil up. People buy livers, they buy hearts. They even sell packs of necks for dogs.

“Years ago you just sold the whole bird. Some people just want the breast and we’ve started to market the legs and thighs and people have realised

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Fendt congratulates R W Crawford on the opening of their new Hampshire depot.

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NEW DEALERSHIP BRANCH

SPACIOUS AND WELL-EQUIPPED SITE

When R W Crawford set out to find a more convenient depot for its Hampshire customers, the aim was simply to provide better customer service to farmers living on the western edge of the dealer’s patch.

While the site itself was less important than the location, the end result exceeded the company’s expectations and has given the dealership a remarkably spacious and well-equipped site with room for significant expansion in future.

“We were looking for somewhere that would cut journey times for farmers who needed to visit the depot; what we found was a superb location that is not just ideal for our current needs but will support future growth,” explained R W Crawford’s sales and operations manager Alan Haines.

The building at Ropley Dene near Alresford was home to Case IH dealer William Wheatley for some 20 years before being used by a technology company that has since moved out of the unit, leaving behind an ideal site for R W Crawford’s fourth dealership.

Conveniently located on the main A21 road, the secure site has an impressively large, level area of hardstanding with ample space for displaying machinery as well as a wash bay. Currently screened by hedges, the company aims to reduce the frontage greenery to create an unbeatable ‘shop window’ for its Fendt, Valtra and other key

machinery ranges.

The large workshop, with ample space for four bays, came complete with an existing two tonne gantry crane and was ready for R W Crawford to move straight in.

The rest of the building is now home to the parts department headed up by Luke Smallbone, a useful face-to-face facility that supports the increasing move towards online sales, and a

modern office and sales area. The first floor meanwhile boasts currently unused space that is set to be used as a conference room but could be put to other uses.

“It really is an excellent location and provides a great opportunity not just to provide better service to our local customers but to facilitate future expansion and new offers,” said Alan, who joined R W Crawford at the end of July and now looks >>

> Alan Haines TO ADVERTISE CALL 01303 233883

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23

VALTRA CONGRATULATES R W CRAWFORD ON THE OPENING OF THEIR NEW HAMPSHIRE DEPOT

NEW 5TH GENERATION VALTRA TRACTORS ARE HERE! The award-winning Valtra A, N and T Series tractors have undergone a major upgrade into 5th generation versions, packed with improvements to make your life easier and give you the best tractor experience.

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Find out more from your local Valtra Dealer or visit valtra.co.uk/products.html#quote to request a quote today.

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NEW DEALERSHIP BRANCH << after the new dealership and the company’s other southern depot at Billingshurst in Sussex.

R W Crawford was set up in 1980 in Essex, with a second depot in Charing, Kent, opening in 2014 and the Billingshurst depot coming on stream in 2019.

When the company took on the Fendt and Valtra franchises from John Seale Ltd in 2019 it was clear that customers in the west of the Hampshire and West Sussex area needed a closer location.

“Billingshurst isn’t that far from here as the crow flies, but the roads are such that it’s not an easy journey,” explained Alan.

“R W Crawford has always had an absolute focus on customer service, which is one of the main reasons why I was delighted to take on this role, and finding this depot at Ropley was an important step in the company’s growth.”

Customers old and new will be able to see the spacious, well-equipped new dealership at R W Crawford’s Hampshire Open Day and Live Demo Event planned for Thursday 23 September.

The event, which runs from 1pm to 6.30pm and includes a hog roast, special deals and prizewinning opportunities, will also feature live in-field demonstrations within walking distance of the depot, a chance to test drive the latest machines and an opportunity to talk to the R W Crawford team as well as representatives of manufacturers stocked by the dealership.

Alongside the impressive Fendt and Valtra ranges, those manufacturers currently include Amazone, Väderstad, Manitou, Ktwo, Spearhead and Trelleborg, but as Alan pointed out: “We are always looking out for new franchises to expand our offer, but they have to fit the company’s customer first profile.”

Parts can be provided from all four of the R W Crawford depots and are usually delivered by the next day if they aren’t available over the counter.

“If that’s looking difficult someone will just get in the car and go and get it,” added Alan. “That has been known to cost us money in the past, but the customer was back up and running within a few hours,” said the clearly impressed recent recruit.

Alan’s own journey has been an interesting one. The son of herdsman Colin Haines, he grew up on a farm in West Challow, and apart from sharing the not uncommon ambition to become a professional footballer he seemed destined to work in agriculture.

“In 1996 walked out of my last GCSE exam – which I remember was geography – and within 20 minutes I was wearing a pair of overalls as an NVQ student with Oakes Bros, the New Holland dealership at Wantage in Oxfordshire,” the 41 year-old recalled.

The NVQ turned into a modern apprenticeship and set Alan on a path that saw him work his way up through Oakes Bros and then join AGCO in >>

25

Photos: Martin Apps, Countrywide Photographic

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WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET | OCTOBER 2021

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<< 2008 as a sales support specialist working with the Massey Ferguson brand. He became a territory sales manager before joining Lister Wilder in 2015, becoming group sales manager and then sales director in 2019.

Remarkably, Alan’s elder brother Richard is now managing director of Oakes Bros, the company he started with. “We have a professional rivalry, but we are the best of friends,” he stressed.

While he has enjoyed his time with other dealerships, Alan said he had never felt as “at home” as he has since joining R W Crawford, with its focus on customer service. “It’s grown into a big company over the years, but it feels like a small company and even the senior members of the team are very hands on,” he said.

That ethos comes from the top. Managing Director Wes Crawford is based at the company’s current Essex depot in Writtle but is still closely involved with the business at the ‘sharp end’, which Alan said was “part of the reason I was keen to join the team”. Nunzio Rio, the company’s sales and operations director, who has been with R W Crawford for more than 20 years, is responsible for Essex and Kent, leaving Alan to head up the two southern dealerships.

Financial Director Russel Oliver has been responsible for bringing the Ropley depot on stream, with Rob Beddoe heading up the operation on the ground “and making it happen”, as Alan explained.

“This is a great team, very hands on, and joining it has felt like coming home,” he added. “Nothing is too much trouble and everyone works hard >>

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Built to perform, built to last yet simple to set-up, that was the brief given to the Precea design engineers.

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29 << to put the customer first. This new depot will do just that, while giving us plenty of room to grow the business in future.”

The new dealership has also provided job opportunities in the area, with engineers and sales and parts staff needed to make it all run smoothly. While the new workshop is large and impressive, R W Crawford also provides a mobile service, tackling even major repairs on farm if required.

Another existing member of the team set to play an important role is James Freemantle, who has 30 years’ local experience and is now the dealership’s business and development manager.

One member of the team who will be playing a vital part at the open day event and regularly visits customers to talk to them about new products is Luke Morley, product demonstrator and technology specialist.

“Customer choice has increasingly been driving the sales process online, particularly amongst younger farmers who are more used to the technology, but our sales team is still keen to connect with customers and we still enjoy the chance to chat about the next potential purchase over a cup of tea in a farmyard kitchen,” Alan said.

“In the meantime, we are hoping customers will join us at the open day to see what we now >> have to offer here in Hampshire.”

TO ADVERTISE CALL 01303 233883

WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET | OCTOBER 2021

NEW DEALERSHIP BRANCH

30

IMPRESSIVE LIST OF

MACHINERY STOCKED At the top of an impressive list of machinery stocked by Crawfords are the outstanding and highly regarded tractors from Valtra and from German manufacturer Fendt.

While Fendt is perhaps bests known for its tractors, which cover the whole spectrum, from specialist viticulture models through medium horsepower loader machines and on up to high horsepower behemoths, the quality focused manufacturer offers much more.

Its impressive product line includes combine harvesters, hay tools, sprayers and forage equipment, and Crawfords holds a range of Fendt stock to suit all sectors across its four South East depots.

Although Valtra celebrated its 70th anniversary this year, the manufacturer continues to move forward as it delivers exciting new machinery. The company’s award-winning A, N and T Series tractors have undergone a significant upgrade into 5th generation versions the manufacturer has described as “packed with improvements to make life easier”.

Crawford also stocks Väderstad drills and tillage equipment from a range that the manufacturer says is “designed to create the optimum environment, allowing for perfect emergence”. The range includes cultivation, seedbed preparation and seed placement machinery, all of which is aimed at maximising yield.

Also in the Crawfords manufacturers’ line up is Manitou, a world class supplier of materials handling equipment designed to meet the needs of the

OCTOBER 2021 | WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET

most demanding professionals in agriculture and industry. The vast range covers telehandlers, articulated loaders, skid steer machines, masted forklifts and warehouse handling equipment.

German manufacturer Amazone supplies Crawfords with fertiliser spreaders, seed drills, powered rotary cultivators and rotary harrows and non-powered soil cultivation equipment including compact disc harrows, mulch cultivators and tine and disc cultivators. The well-regarded manufacturer also supplies precision air seeders and crop protection sprayers.

Ktwo is a UK trailer manufacturer known for producing a range of trailers with the excellent build quality that Crawfords’ customers demand. The range includes muck spreaders, Rodeo Compact push trailers and many more trailers to meet a variety of needs. The company also manufactures and sell the Warwick trailer range.

For tyres, Crawfords favours internationally renowned manufacturer Trelleborg, known for its innovative range of rubber for tractors, harvesters and other agricultural vehicles. Crawfords offers a supply service for Trelleborg tyres and can help with booking a tyre fitting appointment.

Crawfords also stocks Spearhead Machinery, which has for many years designed and manufactured a wide range of equipment to make large-scale mowing and mulching more efficient. Built to make large-scale vegetation management easier, the Spearhead range is built for agriculture and amenity land as well as airfields and military sites.

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31

LOG FRANCHISE

LOG CONCEPT WAS SIMPLE BUT PERSUASIVE A business venture that was originally set up to keep a property company’s staff busy during quiet times has proved so successful that it is now being offered as a franchise.

The concept was simple but persuasive – providing a fast, efficient, mess-free delivery of quality hardwood logs delivered exactly where the customer wanted, and ordered and paid for online.

Set up in 2010, Andrew and Sally Viney’s Logs for All business quickly took off, and now that the husband and wife team have perfected the concept, built a reputation and proved its profitability, they are offering farmers and landowners the opportunity to share in its success.

The first farming franchisee, Ed Blanchard, has since looked back on “an amazing year” and has said he would “definitely recommend this excellent opportunity to anyone looking to diversify their farming business”.

As well as offering a useful diversification for any farming business, signing up to Logs for All allows farmers and estates to benefit from a considerable increase on the return for standing timber compared with wholesale prices.

32

OCTOBER 2021 | WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET

“This is an ideal opportunity for anyone who has timber on their land, and it can also work well for those who don’t have their own woodland,” explained Andrew. “With the wholesale price of standing timber at between £14 and £20 per tonne for hardwood and the retail price of logs at £200, the potential is clear.

“We began Logs for All while running our Oxford property business,” he continued. “That meant we had to purchase machinery, rent a yard and buildings, buy in timber at the going rate and pay staff to help chop and deliver the logs, all of which added to our overheads.

“Given that most landowners, farmers or forestry agents will have some kind of storage space, machinery for moving the timber and staff with time on their hands for at least a few weeks of the year, they will face lower overheads and earn an even greater margin. If they also have their own timber, Logs for All is likely to be the ideal diversification for them.”

His comments were echoed by Ed Blanchard, the landlord of the site at Abingdon where Logs for All started and who became the first farming franchisee after seeing how successful the operation was. “We don’t have any

FEATURED COMPANY:

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timber of our own, but despite having to buy in timber for processing we still had a very profitable first year,” he said.

“With markets continually going up and down and subsidies disappearing, we were looking for an additional diversification opportunity,” Ed explained.

“Because we run an arable business our tractor drivers have some downtime, and this allows us to put that time to good use and generate another source of income.

“It’s nice to be able to sell something where we set the price rather than being told the price. Our first year as a Logs for All franchisee was amazing. I really This project is supported by: would recommend it.”

Besides the fact that selling logs from the side of the road is much harder because forests matter... under new legislation, the Logs for All offer benefits from online marketing and a well-earned reputation for providing a clean, quality product that is delivered where the customer specifies, covered and securely paid for on line. It will also meet the new legislation from day one.

The other major benefit of Logs for All is that not only have Andrew and Sally already checked out and purchased the most suitable timber processing equipment available, but they rent it out to their franchisees at a highly competitive rate.

“It’s easy to make a mistake, and we went through various options before deciding on the best machine for the job,” said Andrew. “The problem is that it costs an awful lot of money for something that will probably only be in use for two or three weeks a year, which is why we rent ours to our franchisees for a fraction of that potential outlay.”

The idea behind Logs for All is that franchisees will source and process their logs under the guidance of Andrew and Sally during a quiet time of the year, using existing staff – and with different farm businesses all having different peak seasons, that should mean that with a bit of forward planning, the processor will always be available.

Apart from providing suitable transport to get the logs to their final fireplace, franchisees need to meet the high standards that have made Logs for All such a success. It means logs need to be seasoned and dry – but not necessarily kiln dried – and conform to the new regulations.

“If you fell when the sap is down and store the logs for six months to a year after they have been processed, they will meet the requirement of having a moisture content below 20%,” said Andrew. “People talk about kiln-dried logs but that’s not a requirement; it just means ‘dry’.

“There is no requirement for kiln drying and in fact it’s pretty crazy. You shouldn’t have to cut down half the trees in the forest in order to dry the other half so that you can burn them on a fire or in a woodburner. Plan ahead, store them properly and the logs will dry perfectly well naturally.”

While regulations around moisture content look set to drive some lower quality log suppliers out of the market, Andrew is confident that for quality producers, demand is set to soar, with people increasingly enjoying the ambience created by a log fire and the fact that they can warm one room rather than the whole house.

“What they don’t enjoy is having a load of damp, low quality wood dumped on their drive in the rain miles from the house, with no way of knowing how much it weighs and having to leave the money in an envelope under a brick if they aren’t going to be at home,” Andrew pointed out. “And that’s where Logs for All is setting the standard for log delivery.

“Consumers love the product, the marketing and back office assistance provided by Logs for All is already creating a demand and farmers and landowners have easy access to the retail market without having to pay huge start-up costs or take big risks. They also receive expert advice on marketing.”

Andrew and Sally, both from farming backgrounds, set up Logs for All as a secondary business so that they could keep staff employed during an expected downturn in the property rental market. The downturn didn’t happen but the log venture took off and the past ten years have proved the success of the model.

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Tel: 0845 2690306 Email: enquiries@logsforall.co.uk Web: www.logsforall.co.uk

ENHANCE & E X PA N D YOUR LOG BUSINESS

33

If you produce 500+ tonnes of quality hardwood annually and sell it in the round. You need to talk to us NOW in order to maximise your returns.

Don’t delay. Call today.

For the complete TURNKEY operation: • Processing • Bagging & Stacking • Marketing & Sales • Revenue Collection

Contact: Andrew Viney on 0845 2690306 or enquiries@logsforall.co.uk

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because forests matter...

because forests matter...

WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET | OCTOBER 2021

b

NICK ADAMES WEST SUSSEX DIARY

DITCHING RESPONSIBILITY

34

A group of local farmers, including me, is about to have its first meeting with interested parties and Environment Agency (EA) officials for almost two years, as we attempt a local resolution to the appalling state of river drainage in our corner of West Sussex.

A group of local farmers was being taken to task for the state of our ditches; ditches that were designed to drain into our local drainage channel, or rife, as it is known in West Sussex.

This system, in existence since the early 16th century, worked well in the days when the River Board or the old, farmer-backed, Internal Drainage Boards (IDB) took responsibility, ensuring local rifes were regularly cleared of silt, debris and weeds. Since the EA was given responsibility, however, the work has been progressively ignored.

Today these waterways have become neglected to such a degree that the water regularly flows upstream instead of downstream, in places silted up to a depth of more than four feet.

Instead of the EA carrying out any maintenance to these channels, local farmers were told to “clear our own ditches to improve drainage”! As a group we objected, since the more we cleared our ditches the more the bottled up, ‘sewage polluted’ water in the rife (see photo) flowed back ‘uphill’ onto our fields rather than away to the sea.

We managed to gather all the interested parties for two meetings in 2018 and 2019 and had the feeling we were making the laws of gravity understood by the ‘experts’. Then came Covid-19 and everything has been at a standstill, rather like the water, ever since.

One of the main complaints we have with Southern Water and the EA is the sheer volume of sewage, raw or partly treated, being released to flow freely into the rife and pollute our land, a point recently highlighted by a £90 million fine imposed on Southern Water for doing just that in another discharge area along the south coast.

This is surely a problem that’s going to get worse as development inevitably increases. But if these authorities are allowed to get away with such behaviour, one must ask: “Why they should then seek to pass the blame onto private landowners?”

Folk who, as in this case, have absolutely no say in the matter.

If landowners were found to be discharging pollutants into waterways they should pay a penalty but, as these key water courses have been neglected by the EA, our point is that they must first be returned to the well-maintained state they were in when the EA was given responsibility for their maintenance many years ago.

If the bordering private landowners, farmers

NICK ADAMES Former dairy farmer

and property owners are then required to pay a fair proportion of annual maintenance costs, based on fairly assessed contributions, it might be acceptable, but this would have to include all owners, houses, shops, factories, farms and sewage companies. Stockfarms would obviously need assessing on all livestock units they kept, as well as acres.

Then it’s a matter of funding. The feeling in our group of farmers ‘appears’ to favour ending any involvement by the EA, preferring a return to the area-based IDBs that worked well until political intervention wreaked havoc with the system, as it does to so many things.

This work has been almost totally neglected by the EA for too long. Our position is that we expect them to put the whole system back to where it was when they took over the job, allowing a new ‘IDB-type body’ free of EA interference, to undertake responsibility. It will be an interesting meeting.

On the subject of drainage and the EA, we have another long-running related issue with the EA on some land in the Arun Valley. A similar situation has been ‘rumbling on’ for some two years regarding the EA’s poor management on the whole of the

> What is this ditch full of? There are no cattle to blame now. And what of the white banks?

OCTOBER 2021 | WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET

River Arun, from above Pulborough down to the sea at Littlehampton.

Again with the river banks, which form such an integral part of the drainage of the area, farmers and landowners have for some time been resisting the EAs pressure to do the costly work for them.

Finally the agency agreed to undertake critical repairs to the banks, but again it has been delayed.

The problem has been that they don’t seem to have any idea of organising anything themselves.

They spend so much time searching for a possible water vole or crested newt that the actual work is forgotten. Their contractors recently damaged an underground power line to a pumping station and, when it was repaired, they replaced it incorrectly but, instead of redoing the job properly, they insisted the farmer then did the work himself.

Naturally he refused on the grounds of safety and inadequate compensation. It’s an ongoing shambles.

After more emails they decided they were going to repair our long-neglected riverbanks. Carefully agreed EA plans were drawn up regarding access and work areas, and then one day the contractors turned up and, ‘off their own bat’, set up on another site, totally ignoring the terms of the arrangement.

Words were, not unexpectedly, exchanged; their apologies were profuse. Sadly the EA appears one stage worse than ‘incompetent’, however much “total respect” Boris Johnson purports to hold for them. He needs to give some of us in Sussex a call!

Their contractors have since walked off the site.

West Grinstead & District Ploughing and Agricultural Society

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CELEBRATING 150 YEARS

> 2017

> 1928

PLOUGHING A PLACE

> 1930

IN THE COMMUNITY A quick glance at the third page of the schedule for the West Grinstead & District Ploughing & Agricultural Society’s 2021 ploughing match tells you all you need to know about the inclusive nature of a show that has cemented its place in the community over the past 150 years.

Despite being single spaced and typed in a small font, the list of 2019’s Challenge Cup winners in fact spreads well over that page and doesn’t end until half way down the fourth page, where the reader learns that The Late Capt. E.C. Smith Perpetual Challenge Cup for the Best Pit of Ensilage on Farm from 2018 was won by F. De Boer & Partners.

It’s an impressive list of trophies, covering everything from the best novice ploughman (reversible plough), won by Adam Charman, to the best welded item (Jack Hawkins), four years and under domestic produce (Jack Peacock) and best native breed bull, won in 2019 by Tony Robinson.

With the 2020 show falling foul, like virtually everything else, of the restrictions imposed

Photos: George Garland © WSCC

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because of the Covid-19 pandemic, this year’s 150th anniversary show, which takes place on Saturday 18 September, is certain to be welcomed back not just by the local farmers and farm businesses but by the wider community.

Joint honorary secretary Rowan Allan estimates that around half of the several thousand people who attend the popular annual event, which dates back to 1871, have no regular connection with farming but just enjoy a great day out in the countryside.

And with this year’s event taking place in a popular site near to West Grinstead itself, he expects this year to see another strong turnout from the local populace.

That site is Priors Byne Farm, Bines Road, Partridge Green, where John and Alison Ford are set to welcome the event on to their land for the fourth time in its history. “We are delighted to be able to hold the 150th anniversary match in the parish and grateful to the Fords for their support,” Rowan commented.

After 23 years as honorary secretary, he is well aware of how important the ploughing match is to the wider community as well as to the farming fraternity, and he stressed that the society worked hard to bring in new classes and categories that kept the event relevant and reflected changes in the industry.

While still focusing on ploughing, the match is also an agricultural show in the broader sense, with classes for beef and dairy cattle and for sheep, as well as related skills such as hedge laying and hedge cutting.

For competitors in many of the classes, the match itself is less relevant – except as the opportunity for a great day out – as on-farm judging takes place throughout the year. The competition season starts with leys in April and May and goes through to silage clamps in December.

There are classes for cereal crops, sheep flocks, dairy herds and ‘best farmed farms’ large and small, >> as well as a number of conservation classes.

> 1914

WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET | OCTOBER 2021

37

CELEBRATING 150 YEARS

GREAT GRANDFATHER

WAS A FOUNDER MEMBER

38

Tim Bennett’s great grandfather John Boniface, a tenant farmer at Griffins Farm, West Grinstead, was a founder member of the society, while Tim himself first visited the event as a four year-old in 1960 – two good reasons why he was asked to be President in the match’s 150th anniversary year.

“I am proud to have been asked to stand as president and to have worked alongside the committee to bring together an event which I am confident will again be a great success,” said Tim, who runs Bennett Fencing.

A member of the organising committee since 1985, Tim pointed out that in the early days of the match, winning a prize was a way for ploughmen to demonstrate their skills in primary cultivation and perhaps even command a higher price the following season.

“Since its foundation in 1871 this local parish ploughing contest has grown, amalgamated with cattle societies and other ploughing matches and become the bustling match, produce and livestock show it is today,” he added.

One thing that had remained a constant over the years, he said, was “the commitment and camaraderie of the local farming and rural communities that work hard to bring all the elements of the show together”.

He added: “The show is also very much a social event. As well as visiting the match to see the displays of agricultural prowess, people do so to catch up friends and neighbours, and after the past 18 months that will be more important than ever this year.

<< New for this year are classes for farm diversification and the best small vineyard.

“We always aim to keep the match evolving so it reflects an overall picture of where agriculture is now and where it is evolving to meet new challenges. While the match continues to highlight the skills of ploughmen and women of all ages, the competitions that take place throughout the year showcase the industry as a whole,” said Rowan.

“It’s a chance for farmers and families to show off their skills and their work over the past year, whether they are farming 20 acres or 2,000.”

It adds up to a huge challenge for the hard-working committee and particularly for the many judges who devote their time to the continuing success of this vital part of rural life. While the list of challenge cups on pages three and four of the schedule runs to 75, the complete list of classes ploughs on to 131 and includes a number for young people.

Alongside the likes of cooking, handicraft and photography for four year-olds upwards there are popular lamb and calf handling classes for youngsters keen to show off their skills.

And if that wasn’t enough, the ploughing match itself includes more competitive events in the shape of terrier racing, an open clay shooting competition, ferret racing and a tug-of-war.

Other events that will add to the fun include a parade of hounds by the Crawley & Horsham Hunt, a steam ploughing display, poultry displays, a gun dog demonstration and scurry, birds of prey and falconry display, a licensed bar and plenty of food stalls. The Harris’ Brothers traditional fun fair will be yet another attraction on a packed day.

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> 1914 At the heart of the event, of course, will be the ploughing match itself, with classes for conventional, reversible, premier reversible and vintage ploughs as well as dealer and manufacturer-based trophies for Case IH/David Brown, John Deere, New Holland/Ford, Fordson and Fergie machines. The Charles Lambert Challenge Cup will again be presented to the winner of the Best Open Horse Ploughing class.

The match will feature machines ranging from 15bhp to several hundred, while manufacturers will show off their latest equipment on the showground’s demonstration plots. A bumper crop of trade stands is also expected this year.

Two special awards will also be presented at this year’s annual dinner at the Steyning Centre on Saturday 9 October, one for Long Service to the Countryside and the other a Young Farmers’ Special Award, which is new for 2021.

“Our aim is to provide an affordable, enjoyable day of entertainment as well as hopefully providing some education in the different aspects of farming and rural life,” said Rowan. “Classes and demonstrations like hedge laying and horse-drawn ploughing draw big crowds, and the evolving nature of the show means it links to the future as well as the past.”

The society has close links with Brinsbury college, which supports the match in return, as well as with local schools, supporting projects and initiatives and offering farm visits and talks to local youngsters.

The show has carved itself a vital place in the community and regularly supports local and national charities as well as helping Brinsbury College students on different initiatives. Recent donations have helped The Butterfly Project in Horsham, Sussex Air Ambulance, the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI) and dementia support charities.

About ten years ago, the society introduced a bursary which has supported a range of mainly younger people looking to develop careers in agriculture.

Successful applicants have been helped with attending college courses, studying dairy farm management abroad, attending a dairy management academy and forestry handling equipment training.

“The awards are made at the discretion of the society but we give what we can each year,” said Rowan. “A few years ago, we helped a young lad who was facing some difficulties at school. He was helped by one of our society members and we then supported him on a land-based course at Plumpton College.

“He really benefited from the course and from some mentoring from our members and has gone from strength to strength. He also gave a passionate report back to members. He is a great example of the community support provided by this vital, 150 year-old institution.”

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Celebrating 150 Years

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West Grinstead and District Ploughing and Agricultural Society

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West Grinstead & District Ploughing and Agricultural Society

HELPING YOUNG ENTRANTS

The committee that runs the West Grinstead & District ploughing match is rightly proud of the help it gives young entrants to the agricultural industry.

Hugh Passmore, a long-standing committee member and previous chairman of the society, was one of those who decided some years back that providing a bursary would be a constructive way of giving something back to the community.

“It’s aimed at helping youngsters who want to pursue a career in farming and it’s a way of putting the money we raise at the ploughing match each year to good use,” he said. “We supported a young lad who wanted to go to Plumstead Agricultural College, we’ve helped people on study trips abroad and we have paid towards a dairy management course in the past.” Awards are usually for between £500 and £1,000 and are agreed by a committee.

Hugh will be collecting his own award at this year’s annual dinner on 9 October as the arable, sheep and beef enterprise he runs with his uncle Chris Passmore and the team at Applesham Farm, near Steyning, has won W D Passmore and Sons the Best Farmed Farms class (over 500 acres).

“It’s a good traditional mixed farming set up that’s probably now called regen farming – but in reality it’s not new,” he explained. While Hugh doesn’t compete in the ploughing match, one of his team – Sam Peacock – takes part, along with Sam’s dad Steve.

Applesham Farm hosted the previous ploughing match in 2019.

CELEBRATING 150 YEARS

LOOKING FORWARD Agricultural contractor Dick Bray took time out of a busy day’s hedge trimming to look back on a challenging time as chairman of the West Grinstead & District Ploughing & Agricultural Society.

“I’ve been involved in the match for around 30 years, but being chairman during the pandemic was certainly interesting,” he said. “The situation called for the committee to take some tough decisions, but we got through it and now we are looking forward to a great 150th anniversary event.

“What I have always admired about the West Grinstead event is the society’s forward thinking. It’s always tried to be innovative, look to the future and help the public to understand and experience changes in agriculture.

“Our bursary helps young people looking to pursue a career in agriculture and we also work with schools and with the community. The show is really important locally and has rarely been cancelled, apart from during World War 2, foot and mouth disease and now Covid-19.”

Dick praised the “fantastic” support provided by the 60-strong committee, all of whom play their part in bringing the show together. “You don’t see them all at meetings in the depths of winter, but you know that on the day and when something needs doing, you can rely on them.”

Although he can’t match the experience of the likes of Bill Parsons, who started ploughing in 1957, and Dave Tilly, who has been competing for 60 years, Dick has been taking part in matches for many years across Sussex and is a former county ploughing match chairman. His daughter Amy has competed for Sussex under 21s at a national level.

“The society has always encouraged youngsters to plough, and we have produced a number of national competitors,” he said. “The ploughing is still a vital part of what is also a great family day out for the rest of the community.”

> 1914

WELCOMING THE CROWDS BACK

This will be the fourth time the West Grinstead match has been held at Priors Byne Farm, where host John Ford is looking forward to welcoming the crowds back once again.

“I am proud to be able to host this historic, 150th anniversary match,” said John, a long-time committee member and previous chairman of the society.

Priors Byne Farm, Partridge Green, is a mixed beef, sheep and arable farm of just over 300 acres that has proved to be one of the best-attended match sites for the society.

“It’s one of the few remaining sites that’s actually in the parish and we felt it was

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important for the event to ‘come home’ in such an important anniversary year,” said John, who has been involved with the match since the early 1990s.

“It’s a big part of West Grinstead and a great community event and this site always attracts the crowds because it is close to where people live. As the host it involves a fair bit of work, but we’ve done it three times before so we are used to it!”

John, who also has 44 acres of solar PV panels on his land and is a big supporter of conservation initiatives, is looking forward to a successful show with a good turnout of trade stands and exhibits. His land is also home to some attractive water meadows and has the River Adur flowing through it.

WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET | OCTOBER 2021

41

Celebrating 150 Years!

West Grinstead & District Ploughing and Agricultural Society

Our ploughing match

The sky above was blue and clear, We’re going to be lucky for another year, Machinery lumbers around the edge, And judges inspect yet another hedge, The shiny metal from tractor and plough, Patiently waiting to show us how.

The smell of fried bacon tempts us all, And heavy horses stand proud and tall, With shining brasses and creaking leather, Ready for the off, no need to tether, They will turn up the soil and make it glisten, You can hear Mother Nature if you stop to listen.

Calves are washed, powdered and brushed, Sheep are clipped, stripped and rushed, to the ring For all to see, first prize in the beautiful Sussex country.

Fun fair and side stalls, or just raise your glasses, At the bar or lunchtime venue, and gaze in wonder at the menu.

Lambs and calves justle for attention, Just one thing I forgot to mention, Adults and babies, children and pets, Tweed, corduroy, wax oh let’s.

Watch and chatter, to our local vets.

There is produce made from fruit and vine, Clear fruity jams and sumptuous wine, So come again, please close the latch, And enjoy our local Ploughing Match.

By Caroline Charman

www.westgrinsteadploughing.co.uk

FROM THE FRONT LINE

IN CONJUNCTION WITH

WHERE THERE’S MUCK THERE’S REGULATION The timing of changes on Farming Rules for Water could not have been more disruptive, writes Peter Knight, managing director of Burgate Farms Ltd, Hambledon, Surrey.

There is a saying: “Be careful what you wish for.” Back in July I made a comment that lower yields that lead to higher prices can be beneficial. Well across the South East it certainly hasn’t been a bumper harvest; yields generally are below average for all crops and at home we are roughly one t/ha down across our cereals, winter and spring. Quality is also variable, with low bushel weights in feed wheat and oats, plus Hagberg has completely gone in anything harvested after 10 August.

With a below average harvest across most of the northern hemisphere, the theory of lower yields leading to higher prices has come to fruition. It has been a challenging and difficult harvest with disappointing yields, but overall the results are far from a disaster.

Since the introduction of Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZ) I have become used to regulation and record keeping when applying fertiliser and manures. At first it seemed a bureaucratic imposition on the way I farmed, but over time, with recording made easier using crop recording and management systems such as Muddy Boots or Gatekeeper, it is no longer a burden. In fact it has improved nutrient management; I am now fully aware of the nutrients in the organic materials applied and tailor the bagged fertilisers to account for all applications across the rotation in line with crop needs.

As I now actively avoid excessive use of nutrients, it is saving money and helping to avoid pollution, both from the organic manures used and indirectly by a reduction in bagged fertilisers, resulting in less greenhouse gas emanating from their production and transport.

So why did the Environment Agency deem it necessary to interpret the Farming rules for Water in the way they have? The timing could not have been more disruptive. Stock piles of farmyard manure, compost and digested sewage cake were already in arable fields in preparation for spreading post-harvest. Don’t they realise that farmers plan applications many months ahead?

Effectively banning most proposed applications at the eleventh hour beggared belief.

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43 > Peter Knight Fortunately, after much lobbying by the NFU both at a senior level and by grass roots members, the rules continue to be “clarified”. As I write they are still being “clarified” and seem to be very much open to interpretation, as some organisations understand that planned spreading of stockpiles can go ahead while others are saying that spreading is only allowed if justified by the needs of the following crop.

I have used digested sewage sludge for many years to supply all phosphate requirements on the farm. Soils are tested every four years and show that soil phosphate levels are not increasing over the long term. In conjunction with our manure management plan, this is surely evidence that we are not overapplying and are therefore using manures responsibly.

The notion that all applications should be made in the spring is impractical nonsense; most arable crops are sown in the autumn, so there is not a large enough area of uncropped land available in the spring. Ground conditions are invariably worse in February and March than in September, risking serious soil damage from spring applications. The same goes for the idea of applying to growing crops in spring. The thought of driving a spreader weighing 30t plus across any field on our weald clay is a non-starter.

There seems to be contradictions in policy and messaging coming from the differing arms of DEFRA. On the one hand farmers are being asked to look after our soils and improve soil health by increasing organic matter, nurturing soil flora and fauna and growing cover crops, aims and principles I wholeheartedly support as soil in good condition produces healthy crops. There are many ways of attempting to increase soil organic matter, including cover cropping, incorporating crop residues and reducing cultivations, but one of the main soil improvers used for hundreds of years is “muck” in all its forms.

Then another arm of DEFRA comes out with rules that are trying to severely curtail the use of “muck” on the grounds of pollution risk. It can be argued that adding organic matter to soils to improve structure enables soils to retain more nutrients, thus reducing pollution.

Surely the differing arms of environment, farming and rural affairs within DEFRA should be working to common goals and policies, not producing regulations and guidance that are antagonistic to one another? As farmers we have to work within the rules, but they need to be proportionate, easily interpreted and implemented and above all practical, as we are the guys that have to make them work.

WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET | OCTOBER 2021

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HIGH DEMAND FOR SERVICING Offering unbeatable customer service continues to keep Uckfield-based pressure washer specialists Pressure Clean operating at full bore.

The busy team, led by husband-and-wife partnership Gary and Donna Fielding, has now taken on another field-based engineer to cope with the increasing demands for servicing from customers across the Home Counties.

David Fowler brings the company’s servicing team to five, with four engineers out on the road and a fifth based at Pressure Clean’s new headquarters on the Bell Brook Industrial Estate, which also offers a well-stocked showroom and parts department.

“We are really pleased to welcome David to the Pressure Clean team,” Gary commented. “He has a lot of relevant experience and is a skilled engineer who will be a real asset to the line-up.”

The high demand for servicing follows a customer-focused initiative Gary came up with about ten years ago when he decided to offer pre-planned maintenance agreements on the wide range of Karcher, Nilfisk and Mac pressure washers, scrubber dryers and industrial vacuums the company sells.

At the time Gary joked that the reasonably priced maintenance deals were

probably costing him money, since emergency repairs brought in more revenue, but as a customer benefit it quickly proved to be a winning strategy.

“It’s become a real area of growth for us, as customers value the peace of mind they get from knowing their machines will always be performing at their best, as well as enjoying the discounted rates they get for accessories and callouts, but it does keep us very busy,” Gary explained.

“Regularly serviced machines also work more efficiently and tend to last longer, and that’s something that is really attractive to our hard-pressed farming customers, who value reliability and can’t afford to wait around for a machine to be repaired.”

Pressure Clean has been supplying, repairing and servicing pressure washers and accessories across London, Hampshire, Sussex, Surrey and Kent for more than 50 years and has built a strong reputation for quality service.

Pressure washers come in all shapes and sizes, but Gary’s hard-won experience in the industry means he is well placed to recommend the best for the job. Pressure Clean sells hot and cold machines, most of which can be powered either by diesel or electricity, while static and cabinet models are also available.

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FEATURED COMPANY: Always happy to demonstrate the wide range of machines on offer, Gary tends to put a couple of alternatives in the back of the van when going out to see a farmer.

“Farmers are often adamant that they know what they want, but if I know what it’s going to be used for, I will take along a few suggestions of my own – and they often end up going for the alternative,” he explained.

One model that has proved popular with farmers who want a portable machine that can provide exceptional cleaning power (literally) out in the field is Karcher’s HDS 1000 BE hot water pressure washer. Powered by a petrol-driven Honda pump with a diesel-fuelled hot water system, it is useful for washing down machinery in remote locations.

Static pressure washer systems are also becoming more popular with farmers, who value the extra longevity that comes with not being bounced across yards and uneven barn floors.

Floor or wall-mounted static systems are also protected against frost, which makes them less vulnerable than mobile systems, which can be costly to repair if the last farmhand to use it forgets to put it away for the night and leaves it to it sit outside in below zero temperatures.

“Farmers also appreciate the fact that there are fewer controls with a static system and so less temptation for multiple users to fiddle with the set up and potentially damage something,” said Gary. “They are user friendly, reliable and efficient, which is just what a busy farming set up needs.”

Again, there is plenty of choice available, depending on budget and on the use the equipment is being put to. “The Nilfisk SC Uno range is a popular indoor cold water model, while the Mac Plantmaster Revolution is a frost-protected hot water machine with an outstanding reputation,” Gary explained.

With the South East currently experiencing strong growth in viticulture, Pressure Clean offers a range of equipment that is ideal for keeping wineries spotlessly clean, and Gary and the team are exhibiting at this year’s Vineyard and Winery Show at Kent County Showground on 24 November.

The company, which has recently become an accredited supplier with the Fram Farmers buying group, has also seen several customers improving their cleaning regimes by purchasing accessories or upgrading their systems.

“We have had a lot of enquiries from farmers wanting to add a high-pressure retractable hose reel, which keeps the hose tidy and prevents it from being damaged,” said Gary. “We have also supplied a number of wash boom systems.

These are fixed to a wall so that the farmer can drive up alongside, swing out the boom and use the washer without the hose getting tangled or stuck under a vehicle wheel.

“Pressure clean is also supplying a lot of foaming systems that apply the cleaning chemical more efficiently and improve the process. Entry level, bottle-based systems do a reasonably good job, but more and more users are now switching to industrialstyle stainless steel lances with more robust valves. Once users realise the benefits of a decent foaming system they tend to upgrade their equipment, and we are here to advise on the best way forward.”

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ELVED PHILLIPS ARABLE NOTES

46

There is a distinct feeling of ‘déjà vu’ about this harvest. In the first week of September, like last year, we still had about 30% of the spring barley and winter wheat left to harvest. It is true that, unlike last year, in this region we have just had 10 days when it didn’t rain, apart from some early morning drizzle, but there was little sun or drying wind. So, our farmers have been ‘slowly chewing through’ their crops. Many had to be cut at 17% to 19% moisture. On-floor drying systems have been overwhelmed, with continuous flow driers working around the clock.

There are other similarities to last year in that dry grain for immediate delivery to boats or mills made a good premium, with spot values for wheat and barley eclipsing all pre-harvest as available prices. So, like last year, the expected harvest pressure to sell and move grain has not happened yet and I don’t think it will, as once the barn door is shut drilling will become the priority.

The saga I presaged in recent months has continued. The trade was surprised by the United States Department of Agriculture being unusually candid about the Russian wheat and Brazilian maize crop in its August report. More market highs were reached on London and Chicago futures and the French MATIF wheat futures were even more volatile.

This is because the French merchants were searching desperately for dry wheat that could be tendered in September based upon milling specification.

The Russian wheat crop started at 85 million metric tonnes but is now heading for 73 million with 78% combined.

Brazilian maize is expected to be 87 million, having started at 109 million, and there are

DÉJÀ VU FOR HARVEST similar stories in Canada. With all the background noise about record global wheat and maize plantings, coupled with the dreaded ‘trend yields’, millers and maltsters could be forgiven for failing to take adequate forward cover when the futures markets were £25 lower than they were in early September.

They continued to ‘buy this story’ right up to date, when they have been forced to at least cover their spot positions. However, the warnings from history were there. Several months ago I pointed out the low stock-to-use ratios in key producing countries. One of the reasons that consumers have ‘sleep walked’ into this is COVID-19. The ‘bounce back’ in demand for food, post lockdown, seems to have taken them by surprise.

Even now, some are forecasting a return to ‘demand destruction’ as the new Delta variant spreads to other parts of the world. I cannot see that.

Next, it was only two years ago that the world had such a buffer of wheat and maize, which had taken four years to accumulate, that it was believed we could suffer one, if not two, poor global harvests and still have sufficient to prevent big price increases.

Last year the world had an average to poor harvest and the UK had a very bad one. This year it looks like the world is having an even worse wheat and maize crop, and while the UK is having a much improved crop, it’s ELVED average at best.

PHILLIPS The way plantings are going Openfield in places like Russia, with poor soil moisture, next year’s winter crop is already under pressure.

IMPROVE THE HEALTH OF YOUR SOIL

Another poor world crop would see the current volatility and high prices continue. So even with the November 2022 UK wheat futures at £175, it would be a brave man who sells that far ahead, especially when the UK market may yet hit market highs in the new year.

With our milling quality being very doubtful we will probably have to import more than our usual 900,000 metric tonnes. Perhaps our feed wheat, of which we will have more, will be passing it at the port on the way out, but that pre-supposes we will have an exportable surplus at all. If our average wheat yield is only eight tonnes per hectare, that will mean a crop of only 14 to 14.5 million tonnes. Assuming that disappears by Christmas, come January to June 2022 we could be importing feed as well as milling wheat, at which point anything goes on price!

Feed barley continues to overachieve on price, as does malting barley, where premiums are much higher than milling wheat. This suggests barley is a better sell than milling wheat. Also, the UK miller has yet to truly assess the quality of our 2021 crop.

When they do I think that any hard or soft wheat, with some reasonable specs of Hagberg, bushel weight and some protein will be worth keeping separate. The UK miller will have to maximise the use of home-grown wheat, as the imported alternative from every source will be very expensive.

Regular readers will know my view remains that volatility is here to stay for this year, so if you have missed the last ‘market high’ don’t worry. it will come back again and may be higher than the last peak.

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STEPHEN CARR

WHAT ELSE COULD GO WRONG? A useful harvest in the barn, got cheaply. Grain prices at near record highs. ELMS due to replace Basic Payment. What could possibly go wrong for arable farmers in Great Britain in the next few years?

The great post-Brexit threat to our livelihoods, of

course, is the possibility that our government will do trade deals that will see us undercut by grain from low-cost grain exporting countries.

News that the UK is on the point of reaching a trade agreement with New Zealand should not concern cereal growers in Great Britain as New Zealand doesn’t export grain. But the word is that Trade Secretary Liz Truss is prepared to eliminate tariffs on imports of New Zealand honey, wine and apples. If I kept bees, had just planted some vines or earned my living tending an apple orchard that news would worry me greatly.

It’s not that our apiarists, viticulturists and apple famers should fear a sudden flood of imports the moment Truss signs a deal. Rather, it is the medium and longer-term implications that are of concern.

New Zealand cannot immediately increase its production of these commodities but, with tariffs removed and greater profits available, it means that new hives will gradually be installed and new vines and apple orchards planted. No, the flood of production will come in a few years’ time.

That was certainly my grandfather’s experience as a Sussex arable farmer in the 1920s, when

EXTRA TIME

FOR SFI PILOT DEFRA has extended the deadline for farmers to join the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) Pilot scheme, with midnight on Thursday 30 September the new deadline.

While some online commentators have suggested that the extra time could be a response to a disappointing take up to date, it is likely that harvest will have been a priority for many.

Comments on one forum have also suggested that the complexity of the application process and what some feel are low payment rates may be affecting take up.

Applications are being invited from the more than 2,000 farmers and land managers who expressed an interest earlier in the year, with DEFRA pointing out that the SFI will “reward farmers for managing their land in an environmentally sustainable way”.

The SFI is tier one of three schemes being developed to encourage environmental land management, with the others being Local Nature Recovery and Landscape Recovery. The full scheme will launch in 2022, initially for farmers in England who currently receive Basic Payments.

The Rural Payments Agency has produced a video guide to applying, which can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_KZ6hGEO78 Farmers and land managers with questions about the pilot or their application are being asked to email the Rural Payments Agency at ruralpayments@defra.gov.uk

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we were exposed to the effects of ‘free trade’ in grain. Despite promises that trade protection for agriculture would only be wound down slowly after the First World War, the government in fact repealed the ‘Corn Production Acts’ in August 1921 and immediately exposed farmers to cheap grain imports (with a paltry bribe of £3 an acre to help them make the transition).

With import tariffs and guaranteed prices removed, his livelihood became unstable, but things didn’t really go wrong for my grandfather for a further four or five years. This is how long it took to build the infrastructure to import large tonnages of cheap grain into the UK and for wheat production in the US mid-west to increase to take advantage of the opened market.

Is history about to repeat itself? It’s too early to say, but we do know that, unlike red meat and dairy, our government does not consider cereals a ‘vulnerable’ farm sector in need of tariff protection.

So I suggest we need to keep our fingers firmly crossed but brace ourselves for when trade deals are done with low-cost grain exporting countries like Ukraine, Brazil or Argentina.

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WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET | OCTOBER 2021

47

ANITA HEAD ORGANISED CHAOS

UNFORTUNATELY, RULES

MUST BE ADHERED TO

48

It seems to have been one of those years when the weathermen’s predictions seem to be so inaccurate that it’s almost laughable. It seems a long time since we saw the bright yellow thing in the sky that once upon a time was called sunshine, although by the time you read this, I could have been proved very wrong.

This week saw the unfortunate demise of “Geronimo”, the Alpaca at the centre of a legal row due to a failed TB test. Protests are still occurring, and the ongoing legal dispute has cost the taxpayer in excess of £100,000.

Geronimo was tested twice for bovine TB and on both occasions had been a reactor. DEFRA had ordered him to be put to sleep. I haven’t heard a mention of the cattle that are lost in TB testing throughout the year or the farmers that go through this on a daily basis.

Unfortunately, rules must be adhered to until a suitable vaccine is made available. It doesn’t mean that farmers are any less distraught than Helen Macdonald (Geronimo’s owner); it just indicates

ANITA HEAD Farmer

that farmers have come to accept the threat of a TB reactor at every test.

Bovine TB is an infectious disease of cattle, deer, goats, llamas and alpacas as well as many other mammals. In cattle, TB is primarily a chronic respiratory disease, but clinical signs are rare. It can be naturally transmitted from animals to humans under certain conditions, but pasteurisation in milk has drastically reduced this.

The UK has a comprehensive TB eradication plan in place, but it is causing significant problems in developing countries. The compensation money just isn’t enough. The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board is helping dairy farmers breed

OCTOBER 2021 | WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET

cows with an improved resistance to TB. Time will tell if this is to be successful.

We are fortunate to be on a four-yearly TB testing rota but others in the South East are not as fortunate and have either six-monthly or annual TB testing. At the beginning of July, we underwent four days of TB testing. Day one: dry cows and all heifers; day two: all milking cows; day three: a rest day, or as some call it: “catch up on all the work that wasn’t achieved Mon/Tues”; Thursday and Friday we were reading all the results. Fortunately, we passed for another four years. A huge sigh of relief from us all, including our vet.

We had an email yesterday from our milk buyer stating that they may not be able to collect our milk due to a large protest from the “animal rebellion” outside the Aylesbury dairy. This essentially closed our milk buyer as they could not move lorries on or off the site. How can a bunch of smallminded people have this much impact on a business? The police were very helpful in assisting the protestors to leave, but how can so few cause so much damage without suffering any consequences? The protest lasted from 5am till 8pm but, in that time, the financial damage had already occurred.

The purpose of the protest was allegedly to convince our milk buyer to switch to plant-based production by 2025. I’m not convinced that a dairy company (owned by 16,000 dairy farmers) will embrace the thought of switching to plant-based products. We shall stick to the job we know; perhaps the protestors should stick to a job they know!

We are now back to the dreaded school run and life will shortly return to “routine, routine and more routine”. The school run is always entertaining with a four-year-old who allegedly takes delivery of his New Holland 1200HP tractor tonight and he’ll have to test it in the morning so unfortunately won’t be able to go to school, or the fact that we’ve got no-one to AI the cows so he will have to stay home and help.

I’m beginning to wish I was four years old again or just had the vivid imagination to come up with the stories. The evenings have started to draw in and the dew on the ground seems to take forever to disappear. The highest temperature reached in the South East during August was 21 degrees - maybe we shall have an Indian summer in September!

Until next time, stay safe.

AGRONOMY

SMALL STEPS TO CREATING MORE

RESILIENT AND PROFITABLE FARMING Steps to adopting an Agroecological approach • Minimise disturbance by reducing or eliminating tillage wherever possible and by minimal and targeted use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides.

• Never leave soil bare; return crop residues to the surface to armour the soil and utilise catch and cover crops effectively.

• Maintain living roots throughout the year; roots help stabilise, structure and aerate the soil while providing drainage channels, and also feed soil organisms with carbon rich exudates.

• Maximise the diversity of rotations and avoid monocultures. Use intercropping, companion cropping and variety blends; integrating multispecies catch and cover crops is an important aspect of this.

Hutchinsons has constructed a range of catch and cover crop mixes to suit all situations, diverse mixes which use reliable and high performing species, and our agronomists are well versed in how these are best used to deliver key objectives for particular situations.

• Well managed grazing of livestock of forage and cover crops can also further enhance soil health.

• Enhance biodiversity and protect natural resources.

• Managing carbon and agroecology work hand in hand – the fundamental principles of agroecology help reduce CO2 emissions and enhance carbon sequestration.

• Aim for integrated crop management; agroecology uses all available cultural control methods and aims to maximise plant health using forecasting and decision-making tools that allow for appropriate and targeted applications when necessary.

• Enhance crop nutrition; a healthy plant needs a balanced and adequate level of 16 elements. Soil testing and getting to know what is happening to these elements throughout the year is key. An ideal time to do this is early autumn.

• Use technology to help plan, map and understand the impact that any agroecological practices can have.

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Ed Brown, who heads up Hutchinsons new Agroecology service, summarises what underpins the practice.

Agroecology is a term that has come into regular use over the past couple of years and is often associated with radical changes to standard arable farm practices. Ed points out, though, that this is a misconception as it really doesn’t require a big sea change or leap into the unknown, something that he believes it is important to recognise.

Many agroecological principles such as reducing cultivations, using cover crops and reintroducing livestock are in fact already being carried out on many farms across the UK. Agroecology is all about farming in partnership with nature; working with rather than pushing against it. The arguments for this approach are compelling and a more environmentally focussed path is undoubtedly the way farming is heading.

It also has political support which will create opportunities for growers to access new markets and income streams.

Every farm is different, with its own set of challenges – so it’s always worth trialling new ideas and techniques to determine what works for that given farm. Keep an open mind.

Everything starts with the soil; if soils are healthy, they are more resilient, which in turn results in healthier crops that are able to reach their full potential even under more challenging weather conditions – the bottom line being improved profitability year in and year out. Many practices that build and maintain the natural fertility of soils are already being carried out on many farms.

Recognising industry demand for advice and support in making changes, and maximising opportunities from an agroecological approach, Hutchinsons has been developing and trialling different approaches and technologies across its Helix farms, as well as investing in training specialists across the business that can deliver these objectives across UK farms.

ED BROWN

Head of Agroecology, Hutchinsons T: 07583 019273 E: Ed.Brown@hlhltd.co.uk Canterbury: 01227 830064 www.hlhltd.co.uk

WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET | OCTOBER 2021

49

AT COLCHESTER MARKET GRAHAM ELLIS FRICS FAAV FLAA For and on behalf of Stanfords T: 01206 842156 E: info@stanfords-colchester.co.uk

www.stanfords-colchester.co.uk

NUMBERS ARE

INSUFFICIENT FOR

Late summer bloom in the sheep pens this year with prices at record levels at the end of August. Remarkably, the last two weeks in August saw finished lamb prices in Colchester averaging over £110 a head each week, some £20 a head up on the previous 12 months.

The numbers generally are insufficient for the demand, with several vendors involved in harvest and also commenting that it was difficult to finish lambs this year without additional feed. Certainly it must be worthwhile feeding this year with the increase in value very much dependent on meat.

Last year September saw a strong trade for finished lambs and if we see the same increase this will be an exceptional year. By the time this report is being read we will know what the result was. Let us hope the good optimism is fulfilled.

Cull ewe trade was also strong for the best ewes, but as is typical for the time of year, there are many feeding ewes about, these however looking well sold.

The first breeding sheep sales showed exceptional returns for the best quality shearlings and young ewes as would be expected with farmers willing to reinvest in breeding stock. Let us hope the 2022 results are as good.

THE DEMAND

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Store lambs are also selling well, with great optimism following the 2021 spring sales of finished hoggets.

Beef trade was also exceptionally good throughout August, although some hesitancy was noticed from northern markets towards the end of August but still at very satisfactory levels compared with 12 months ago. In Colchester, plenty of cattle are selling for well over 240p/kg and weight no issue. Best heifers and heavyweight steers are regularly trading over 250p/ kg liveweight.

Trade throughout all sections was good, with processing meat wanted and numbers inadequate for the demand. There appears to be a general shortage of beef being reflected in the returns. Over 30-month cattle and cull cows also exceptionally well sold.

Store cattle, as would be expected at this time of year, are very short and those forward dear. It will be interesting to see how the autumn sales progress, with many yards now empty in Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk.

Hopefully farmers will replace the stock and will feel confident to go out and buy at current levels.

The one disappointing side of the livestock trade which seems to be the regular view from this writer is that the pig trade is at very low levels compared with the costs incurred. A substantial increase in price is needed to keep producers in business but there was little sign of that throughout August as prices dropped. There is a surplus of pork about, not helped by cheap imports of pork still coming into the country.

The cull sow trade is also very difficult, with a waiting list for some abattoirs and with the cost of feed barley and feed wheat at high levels, some good news is desperately needed for pig producers this autumn.

VET DIARY RESEARCH PROVEN

BE CAREFUL WHAT

YOU WISH FOR Well, it has been shown again that you have to be careful what you wish for.

Last year we were all desperate for rain and this year that’s what we got. I guess it’s been good for some but certainly not so good for others.

There is one organism, however, that has thrived in this weather. The common liver fluke just loves these warm, wet conditions. Our veterinary laboratory Axiom noticed cases of fluke as early as July. This was in five to six month-old lambs, and they later found positive cases in ewes as well. Admittedly these cases were in Lancashire and Powys, but it should still be a warning sign for us down here in the South East.

Fluke prevalence has increased in past years due to a combination of factors like climate change and increased sheep movements, and we have certainly seen fluke make more of an appearance in our part of the UK on farms where it wasn’t commonly seen before.

Traditionally fluke was very much a seasonal disease, with infective cysts being released by the intermediate host, a snail going by the name of Galba Trunculata, from August to September. This could then lead to sudden onset acute or sub-acute disease in the autumn or more insidious chronic disease in late winter and early spring.

This rise in infection still exists but milder winters have meant that infective cysts can survive better and can cause infection in spring as soon as the conditions are right. So not only has the prevalence increased but the disease has become much less predictable as well. On top of this, more and more cases of resistance to the commonly used treatment Triclabendazole have been seen, which is also worrying.

Lots of research is being done on improving diagnostics, understanding the mechanisms of resistance to triclabendazole and developing vaccines, but in the meantime we need to continue taking a responsible approach to managing the disease.

This means diagnosing the disease before treatment by testing either faecal samples or blood. Only if disease is present will it warrant treatment. This treatment can then be targeted to the season, stage of liver fluke involved and the type of disease seen.

Only treating the parasite within the definitive host, ie the cow or sheep, though, will not be enough. Farmers need to look at reducing the contact between the parasite, the intermediate host (snail) and the cow or sheep. This can be done by improving drainage, fencing off wet areas and avoiding grazing the animals on at-risk pastures at certain times of the year.

With more and more talk about changing the way we farm, trying to improve soil health and reducing compaction and poaching of pastures may reduce the areas in which the snail can thrive. It is definitely something that will be discussed more in the near future, especially with the changeover to the Environmental Land Management scheme.

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WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET | OCTOBER 2021

51

ALAN WEST SHEEP TOPICS

THOUGHTS TURN

Once again it is that time of year when thoughts turn towards tupping – and by the look of my tups it is a subject that is also high on their list of priorities. Noses are starting to puff up and wrinkle, they are darkening around the eyes and getting rather more pushy with each other. Testosterone is obviously well on the rise, in the tups that is.

Ram preparation, for anyone intending to lamb in March, should be well underway by now. It is a process that should ideally commence some 10 weeks before they go to work, particularly when one considers that spermatogenesis takes about seven weeks, from inception to the sperm maturing; it is the sperm that are being produced now (end of August) that will be going into action at the beginning of October, so getting things wrong at this point in time can have a significant impact on next years lamb crop. The boys need a bit of TLC at this time of year and a bit of feeding doesn’t hurt, even if its only a handful a day just to keep them sweet and get them coming to a trough, providing a good opportunity to observe how things are progressing and grab any ram that may need attention. It also helps put a bit more condition on them before they go to work; some additional quality protein at this time all helps towards quality sperm production.

Ewe preparation doesn’t take quite so long, but it is important to monitor body condition score (BCS) in order to ensure that all ewes (hopefully) are on or about the target BCS 3.5 when they meet the tups. Now is also the time to get other issues sorted regarding feet etc, although the question is “should any real offenders still be in the flock?”

It is also time to address breeding policy; in common with much of the agricultural sector, many sheep producers retain an obsession with chasing performance. For the arable sector it may be yield/ha, while for sheep producers it is often lambing percentage. In reality the key performance indicator of a successful enterprise should be the bottom line; high yields or lambing percentages do not always equate with the latter.

For many years my key performance indicator, in common with many other producers, was lambing percentage; a lambing percentage of 205%+ confers certain bragging rights at the pub. But several years ago a number of factors arose, after a particularly dry summer, that caused me to question this approach. Lamb mortality was in line with national averages, but I considered this too high, similarly with concentrate use, but probably the key factor was ewe condition at weaning and the costs of getting hard working ewes back into

TOWARDS TUPPING

52

ALAN WEST Sheep farmer

> July 2020, July 2021 – July 2022?

OCTOBER 2021 | WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET

appropriate condition for tupping. Additionally I considered ewe flock life, again in line with the national average, to be unacceptable.

By accepting a drop in a lambing percentage of around 10% on average (190 to 195%), I have seen a significant drop in lamb mortality (this season scanned at 194% and 190% weaned including still births), while the approach to concentrate feeding has become more considered and focused around ewe condition and the availability and quality of forages. This includes a more strategic approach to the use of creep feed, tailored to meet the needs of both ewes and lambs. Additionally I have seen an increase in average flock life, with an associated reduction in the level of ewe depreciation.

All of this, along with a determined effort to make more effective use of grass (thwarted, in some seasons by the weather), has resulted in a small drop in terms of lamb output per ewe (lower lambing % accompanied by reduced lamb mortality), more production off grass, even on permanent pasture (albeit improved from time to time by overseeing and stitching in a few herb species), more contented and healthier ewes and a significant reduction in production costs, (feed + veterinary + replacement etc). All of which has contributed to an improved bottom line and less hassle.

There is still a long way to go, but movement is in the correct direction. The focus for the future is to extend the range of forages and the effective grazing season. To this end this autumn I will stitch a bit of rye and vetches into some paddocks to give a bit more of an early bite and contribution towards nitrogen demands. Over-seeding some other paddocks with a legume mix to boost the percentage of clover and legumes in the sward should also help. It would be lovely to have a fully mounted grassland direct drill, something like the Simtech Aitchison; sadly I cannot justify such an investment but relatively easy access to such a bit of kit would be a real plus. Any contractors out there?

Ewe efficiency is another focus; lambing performance is about where it needs to be and for a number of years I have been using Lleyn Gold (the ability to rear 60% plus of ewe weaning weight in lambs by eight weeks) as a significant part of my

LIVESTOCK selection criteria for ewe replacements (one of the advantages of maintaining a closed flock). Now with 80% of the flock at Lleyn Gold I’m looking at body condition scores (BCS) at weaning in relation to Lleyn Gold scores. I am now aiming to select replacement ewe tegs born out of ewes that not only have a Lleyn Gold score of 75%+ but also wean at a BCS above 2.5.

Historically ewes that had a reasonably good BCS at weaning would often be regarded with a degree of suspicion. Producers often regarded them as being lazy, not putting enough into their lambs, but evidence to support their ability to do their lambs well (Lleyn Gold) and still look after themselves relatively well (BCS 2.5 to 3) indicates that they are rather more efficient than their contemporaries. Not at all scientific, but figures like these do provide a useful pointer to further progress, with the additional bonus that they are relatively quick and easy to calculate.

I also want a relatively compact lambing; lambing outside can, if the weather is not ideal, be rather challenging and hard work. Not that I don’t enjoy it, but as I have said previously it is one of those things that one looks forward to but then looks forward, just as eagerly, for it to end. To this end I have, for quite few years now, only left tups in for 21 days, thus selecting for the more fecund and precocious ewes. This has worked well and I get very few empties at scanning. The intention this year is to push them just a little further and leave the Lleyn ram in for one cycle and use the Suffolk as a sweeper. Come next spring it will be fairly obvious if I have just pushed them a little too far.

Moves towards greater ewe efficiency coupled with more extensive (not in the traditional sense of the word) and efficient use of grass and forages together with reduced reliance on concentrate feeds should both reduce costs of production and contribute to a more sustainable production system; the latter achieved, in theory anyway, by reducing greenhouse gasses caused by concentrate feeding, in particular methane emissions, plus enabling the build up of soil organic matter, thus sequestering CO2.

In addition, a move towards a greater variety of species in swards should help to address some of the issues associated with the hot dry summers of recent years. Mixed species with a greater range of rooting depths should help to provide access to moisture beyond the reach of many of the more common grass varieties; the more abundant root mass also helps build soil organic matter and contributes to greater drought tolerance (1% organic matter will hold the equivalent of 1inch (25mm) of rainfall).

Enhanced production off grass presents our customers with a greener image of lamb production; add to this the contribution made to reducing the potential impact of sheep production on climate change and the social benefits are quite significant.

To come back to the point about chasing performance, it may seem counter intuitive, but reducing levels of performance may often result in an improved bottom line, particularly when using a medium sized, prolific and efficient ewe; cost savings, both direct and indirect, simply need to be of a greater magnitude than the revenue forgone.

GRANT FOR COMMUNITY FARM

A £5,000 grant to a popular community farm will allow the charity to support more children and young people.

The Kent Community Foundation (KCF) grant will help Wye Community Farm, which has for the past two years been supporting youngsters who have been experiencing difficulties at school, those who are not in education, employment or training, those with special educational needs or those suffering from isolation or poor mental health.

The £5,000 grant will allow the charity’s Farm Club to employ a tutor and increase the number of children and young people it can help.

The Wye Community Farm (WCF) initiative was launched in 2007 in response to the loss of agricultural teaching at Wye College and, according to its website, is “demonstrating important new ways for the public to reconnect with where their food comes from and how the countryside is managed”.

WCF now manages part of the Wye National Nature Reserve on behalf of Natural England, with WCF livestock playing a crucial role in maintaining the chalk grassland which supports rare and endangered species such as the black veined moth and lady orchid.

The organisation farms a total of 120 acres, including areas that it looks after on behalf of local landowners. It sells meat boxes, woodland products and preserves made from home grown produce, including pickled onions and raspberry jam.

Young people who join Farm Club help to feed and clean the animals, which the WCF believes helps them develop “important life skills including teamwork, communication, concentration and decision making”.

BOOST FOR STRUGGLING PIG FARMERS The South East’s pig producers have been offered a ray of hope in a gloomy year with news that Mexico has opened its doors to British pork for the first time.

The deal, described by International Trade Secretary Liz Truss as “a huge win for our farmers and food producers”, follows more than four years of negotiations and inspections.

Mexico’s National Department for Health, Safety and Agricultural and Food Quality inspected numerous premises in February 2020 before approving four

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processing facilities and four associated cold stores in England and Wales.

Global UK pork exports were worth more than £421 million in 2020, reaching 75 export markets worldwide. The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) estimates that access to the Mexican market will be worth £50 million to pork producers over the first five years of trade.

AHDB International Market Development Director Dr Phil Hadley described the announcement as “a fantastic boost for the UK’s pork industry” which would offer “another potential export market for our red meat during a challenging year”.

WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET | OCTOBER 2021

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ADVICE FROM THE VET

PREVENTATIVE

FOOT TRIMMING Lameness is a significant issue on farms and is regarded as one of the three key issues facing every dairy farmer, along with mastitis and fertility. Because of the substantial health, welfare and productive consequences, it is also high on the agenda of processors, supermarkets and Red Tractor Assurance.

WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS OF LAMENESS ON A COW?

• Yield can be reduced by between 400 and 600kg, depending on the type of lesion and its severity • This yield depression can last up to nine months • Higher yielding cows are at more risk of becoming lame, intensifying the effects • Conception rate can be reduced by more than 25% • There can be lifelong damage to the corium if a heifer gets an ulcer on her foot.

IDENTIFY AND TREAT PROMPTLY – MOBILITY SCORING

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Prompt and effective treatment of lame cows has been proved to reduce the prevalence and impact of lameness in the herd. A positive response will be guaranteed by identifying those cows that may benefit from treatment and treating them quickly. The best way to identify these cows is by regular mobility scoring.

The gold standard for mobility scoring is to do it every three weeks, but it will likely only happen on an ad hoc basis or often quarterly. Any cows scoring two or three need to have their feet lifted and checked within a few days of being identified. If treatment is delayed, there is a real risk that mobility score two cows will deteriorate. This can lead to irreversible changes in the foot that can consign that animal, often a freshly calved heifer, to a lifetime of lameness.

MOT TESTING YOUR COWS’ FEET – PREVENTATIVE FOOT TRIMMING

Lameness prevention is just as important, if not more so, than identifying and treating lame cows. Prevention focuses around preventative (i.e. routine) foot trimming and managing the risk factors for lameness Preventative hoof trimming is where every cow in the herd receives routine foot inspections twice yearly. This will allow the feet to be trimmed if necessary. Ideally, this is done around dry-off (but not at that exact point) and at 80 to 100 days in milk, and would include heifers prior to their first lactation, to allow them to start their milking lives with good feet.

Dry-off inspection would be advised as the bare minimum if only routinely trimming once a year. These timings target the period of highest risk for the development of claw horn lesions, which is around the time of calving.

Some cows (for example, extensive grazing herds) may never need trimming, as hoof wear matches growth. However, regular foot inspections can still reduce lameness on these units.

WHAT ARE THE AIMS OF PREVENTATIVE FOOT TRIMMING?

The key to this is that feet are inspected and only trimmed if necessary. Hooves need to be the ideal shape so that they are balanced, better capable of supporting the cow’s weight and less likely to be affected by future problems.

The Dutch Five Step method is the standard recognised means of trimming

OCTOBER 2021 | WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET

> Freshly trimmed hoof cattle feet. A correctly trimmed and balanced hoof maintains excellent mobility, is cost effective and a valuable investment to preserve good foot health. It increases cow longevity and profitability and helps to maintain lower herd lameness prevalence.

Regular foot trimming allows the farmer to understand the causes of lameness within their unit. By recording all lesions, patterns are likely to be established.

This allows the associated risk factors to be managed; from cow comfort and lying times to foot bathing protocols. This all helps to develop a lameness reduction plan.

Preventative herd health is a focus of the dairy industry and is fundamental to increasing farm profits and sustainability and improving the health status of the herd. As part of this, frequent mobility scoring and preventative foot trimming can lead to cows with significantly improved health and welfare and the risks and costs of lameness on farm can be reduced.

The classic saying works just as well with lameness as it does with lots of other factors on farm: prevention is better than cure.

If you would like to discuss anything covered in this article contact your local Westpoint practice

ANDY RICHMOND JACK BALKHAM EMILY PHIPPS

Westpoint Horsham Westpoint Ashford T: 01306 628086 T: 01306 628208 E: info@westpointfarmvets.co.uk www.westpointfarmvets.co.uk

Westpoint Sevenoaks T: 01959 564383

AT ASHFORD MARKET

ARE THESE SHEEP

TOO DEAR? Following on from the last words I wrote in this magazine, concerning the most commonly asked questions I receive about the current sheep industry, another one has shot to the top of the most regularly asked query on a market day: “Are these sheep too dear?”

This is a ‘loaded’ question and the simple answer that springs to mind as a vendor of sheep that have been bred and raised on your own farm, is simply “No, they can never be too dear; let’s sell them for as much as we possibly can at all times.”

As we all know, this theory has a number of knock-on implications. The price of finished lambs can be too high as there is a limit to the price that a leg of lamb or some chops can feasibly be sold for in today’s supermarkets or even into the export trade.

To ensure repeat business and for the same buyer to be willing to buy the same lambs the following week, prices must be at a sustainable level.

The simple answer that many come up with to this price ceiling is that food is too cheap, and the supermarkets must pay and therefore charge more for it on the shelves. But with the rise of meat-free alternatives and other proteins available at a fraction of the price, I don’t see this is a feasible option. The risk is that we will make eating British lamb a luxury experience, which will drive

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down consumption levels very quickly.

Now we must also look forward, way past today’s sales, and think about the future of the flock. If we continue to sell our fat lambs for £100£120 and above, we cannot expect to purchase replacement ewes into our systems for the price we are used to of £110-140/head. As we have now seen in earlier breeding sales this season, £150£180 is going to be more commonplace, which is also a necessity I’m afraid, as those who purchase ewe lambs to mould into breeding sheep to sell next year are going to have to pay considerably more for these as a result of an increase in the prices achieved by the everyday finished lambs further back down the chain.

Another factor we must also consider here, taking an average Suffolk Mule ewe as the example, is that cull ewe prices have remained exceptionally high for almost two years now, give or take a few periods of excessive supply.

We can now expect to see these sell for £100£140, depending on condition, and I doubt there are many farmers out there who can argue that a replacement yearling ewe doesn’t justify a £170 price tag with culls at this level either, even more so when they have also sold their offspring at £100/head in the finished section or even £85 in

JOHN ROSSITER T: 01233 502222

www.hobbsparker.co.uk the store market.

If we look at the store lamb marketplace, at the time of writing, we have now offered just under 20,000 head in Ashford in three sales and the average selling price is in the region of £85/ head all included. These figures are up by roughly £20/head for the store lamb producer, in recent times the one part of the supply chain who hasn’t benefited from price spikes; deservedly they have been rewarded this year.

Once again, we must remember that the purchaser of higher priced stores must still be able to profit at these levels to make a return next year.

In my opinion these buyers are taking the biggest risk in the whole system as there is no guarantee that the finished price will be as buoyant when they sell next spring.

So, how do I answer the question: “Are these sheep too dear?”

Well, at the current time of writing and taking all sectors of the sheep industry into account, including the finished price, cull price and breeding price, I would say: “No, they are not too dear.” However, we need to maintain the industry by producing a consistent supply of numbers and, with the national flock numbers in decline, this may be difficult in the near future.

Price spikes and slumps are not in anyone’s interest and these are caused by uneven supply and often by sellers chasing the peak of the trade, which is something all producers should try to avoid.

Chasing the peak of the trade has been an understandable approach in recent years when incomes have dwindled, but with the current steady growth in demand, maintaining the growth of the national flock must be our ambition.

This isn’t an easy ambition to follow when taking into account the age profile of producers in the industry, but if returns and profitability can be increased going forward, maybe this is a good opportunity to encourage growth in the industry.

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55

Legal services for farmers & rural businesses Call us today or visit our website:

01227 763939 furleypage.co.uk

DON’T MISS OUT ON TAX RELIEF Akshay Thaman, intellectual property analyst at IP specialists GovGrant, explains how the agriculture industry can gain significantly from the Patent Box scheme.

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Innovation across agriculture means businesses in the sector stand to gain significantly from the UK government’s Patent Box scheme.

While data from the Innovation Nation survey found 92% of companies in agriculture felt they were either ‘somewhat innovative’ or ‘highly innovative’, HMRC data shows few are capitalising on their innovation through patenting.

In 2018/19 there were 3,125 claims made for research and development (R&D) tax credits, proving companies in the sector are taking the first steps towards capitalising on their innovation. There were, though, just 20 Patent Box claims from agriculture firms in the same timeframe.

The sector is behind the curve when compared to other industries in the UK, claiming just 3% of the amount claimed by the top performing sectors. This is despite the agricultural sector hitting more than £4 billion in income for 2020 and employing four million people in 2019.

As with other industries, it may be that agriculture companies simply aren’t aware that innovation can be small and simple; it’s not just for digital sectors or ‘lab coat’ industries.

Supporting the rural community for over 230 years We have a real commitment to the rural sector, providing responsive and accessible legal advice to farmers, producers and their suppliers.

If your business needs help with: • Contracts and transactions • Diversification • Property purchase and lease negotiation • Equine law • Employment If you would like help with: • Family law and divorce • Residential conveyancing • Tax planning and trusts • Wills and estate administration

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WHAT’S THE SCALE OF THE OPPORTUNITY FOR BUSINESSES IN THE AGRICULTURE SECTOR?

The agriculture sector has barely scratched the surface of its potential when it comes to making the most of Patent Box. The figures show not only a relatively small number of claims, but six figure financial returns for those businesses that successfully completed the process.

WHICH TECHNOLOGIES ARE MOST PATENTED IN THE AGRICULTURE SECTOR?

Animal husbandry: The breeding, farming and management of farm animals is a staple of the agriculture sector, and animal husbandry accounts for around a quarter of all agriculture patents lodged. While some of these innovations are concerned with caring for animals and include developments in animal feeders, many are ideas related to fishing rods and similar equipment, demonstrating how much potential lies in this area as well as how diverse agriculture is.

The main areas of innovation in animal husbandry are: Fishing rods, tip rods, animal management, animal traps and bird feeders.

Agrochemicals: A huge concern in agriculture is protecting crops from insects and other pests, as well as microbes and decay. It’s vital to get chemical formulations just right, so that crops are preserved, but not fundamentally changed. A quarter of all agriculture patents fall under the agrochemical umbrella.

Agrochemical innovation primarily focuses on: Insecticides, insecticidal composition, fungicidal composition, disinfectant and preservation solution.

Cultivation: To achieve the best yields from crops and plants, it’s crucial to give them the best conditions possible. Doing everything they can to care for their plants and crops, farmers will uncover innovative ways to optimise cultivation, which account for around 13% of all agriculture patents.

The main sources of these patents come under the following categories: Flowerpots, control, cutting and blades.

Harvesting: For farmers, harvest time can be make or break. Developments in harvesting equipment and methods have been instrumental to modern farming practices, reducing the amount of labour and time that goes into harvesting.

Continuing developments are most common in these areas: Harvesters, combine harvesters, cutting, lawn mowers and conveyers.

GovGrant is working not only to raise awareness of the wide-ranging benefits of Patent Box to help companies identify their patentable IP assets quickly, efficiently and accurately, whether it’s a method of saving water or crop yield research.

This is part of the wider process, starting with R&D tax credits, of guiding companies through every possible avenue of claiming tax benefit from their IP – however small or hidden that valuable gem of an innovation may be.

The purpose of applying for Patent Box is not to draw your company into a long, drawn-out legal process, but to pinpoint where IP is patentable right from the start, often through a detailed R&D tax report. Taking the time to recognise these areas can have a big financial impact in the long run.

LEGAL

POST-COVID WEDDINGS: PROTECTING YOUR ASSETS With Covid-19 restrictions now completely eased, the wedding industry is almost certainly breathing a huge sigh of relief, as are the many couples who had to postpone their nuptials due to the pandemic.

For those preparing for the happiest day of their lives, the last thing many would consider is discussing future plans in the unfortunate event of a marriage breakdown.

As undeniably unromantic as this conversation may be, there is no getting away from the fact that it is a critical one to have. The unfortunate reality is that around 42% of marriages in England and Wales will end in divorce, according to the latest figures from the Office of National Statistics.

WHEN ‘I DO’

BECOMES ‘I DON’T’

PRE-NUPTIAL AGREEMENTS – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Many people in the farming community will have heard of a pre-nuptial agreement and how it can assist in protecting pre-acquired business assets that have often been built up over generations.

Although pre-nuptial agreements are not strictly binding upon the courts, when certain criteria are met they will be given great weight by a court considering the division of assets in the unfortunate event of a divorce.

Examples of these criteria include: • Both parties providing full financial disclosure to each other • Independent legal advice being received by both parties • The agreement being fully negotiated and signed at least 21 days before the wedding.

A helpful rule of thumb is to have agreed and signed the document before the wedding invitations are sent. It is this last ‘21 day’ point which often catches couples out and can prevent them from entering into an effective pre-nuptial agreement.

PRE-NUPTIAL AGREEMENTS – NOT THE END OF THE STORY

What many do not realise, however, is that a pre-nuptial agreement is not the end of the story. If

a couple have not managed to negotiate and settle a pre-nuptial agreement in good time before their wedding, they can still enter into a similar agreement – known as a post-nuptial agreement.

A post-nuptial agreement is negotiated in much the same way as a pre-nuptial one. It remains compulsory for both parties to provide open and honest financial disclosure and to reach an agreement which is fair to them both in all the circumstances.

One particular advantage of negotiating agreements after a wedding is that, often, a party trying to go back on a pre-nuptial agreement will claim that the other party ‘forced’ them to sign the agreement by providing an ultimatum along the lines of “sign the pre-nup or I won’t marry you”.

Where negotiation takes place after the wedding, this claim of duress is removed. What’s more, provided all the other relevant criteria are met, it is likely that the agreement will actually be given more weight by a court than a pre-nuptial agreement might have been.

It is also worth noting that post-nuptial

agreements cannot only be used immediately after a wedding; they can also be entered into at any point during the marriage. For example, when one party to the marriage comes into wealth or assets from a third-party source, such as an inheritance.

Any nuptial agreement can be useful to those marrying for a second time, particularly when seeking to ensure that children of a first marriage are protected within the family legacy. This consideration is particularly relevant to those in the agricultural community who may wish to ring-fence shareholdings in the family farming business and assets.

SARAH LINNET

Chartered Legal Executive, Brachers LLP T: 01622 776543 E: sarahlinnett@brachers.co.uk www.brachers.co.uk

Legal services which deliver long-term solutions to support the future of farming Proud sponsors of the Weald of Kent Ploughing Match and East Kent Ploughing Match Call us on 01622 690691 Visit us at brachers.co.uk

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For your free copy please telephone 01892 509280 or email enquiries@batchellermonkhouse.com

RURAL OUTLOOK 2021

An essential read for everyone with an interest in land & property. Download your copy at batchellermonkhouse.com

TO

PP

ICK

CARBON OFFSETTING OPPORTUNITY IN SURREY HILLS DORKING | SURREY

GUIDE PRICE: £825,000

A carbon offsetting opportunity adjacent to a popular National Trust destination has become available through Savills.

Ashcombe Woods, located on Ranmore Common and within 29 miles of London, extends to approximately 134 acres and is also a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

Available as a whole with a guide price of £825,000, the dominant trees within the woodlands are oak with a shrub layer of holly, silver birch and yew. Whilst it is mainly woodland, there are some areas of heath and rough pasture.

Carbon offsetting represents the last part of the solution to the enormous challenge of reaching net zero emissions by 2050 and the availability of Ashcombe Woods is believed to provide genuine natural capital potential.

Carbon offsets are used to compensate for the residual emissions of a system once direct emissions reduction has been completed. While emission reductions should be the priority, offsetting plays an important role in enabling the transition to net zero.

There are two types of carbon offset market; the compliance market and the voluntary market. The compliance market is regulated and applies to companies that by law have to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. The UK has its own ‘cap and trade’ Emissions Trading Scheme, which applies to energy-intensive industrial plants, power stations and aviation operators.

Chris Spofforth, head of Savills South East rural agency team, which is handling the sale, said: “The growing interest in woodland for carbon offsetting

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For more information, contact Chris Spofforth at Savills on 07812 965379 or cspofforth@savills.com

TO ADVERTISE CALL 01303 233883

APPROX 134 ACRES

and environmental, social and governance (ESG) objectives makes the sale of Ashcombe Woods an increasingly attractive investment.

“The Savills Rural Research team recently modelled the impact of carbon income on a variety of woodland creation models to understand the extent to which carbon is changing forestry market dynamics. If carbon prices rise in line with research predictions, and regulatory baselines continue to increase, carbon will endure and grow as a dominant force for change within the forestry market, blurring the lines between land-use change and viable investment.

“However, even with rapid carbon price growth, the high returns from timber are likely to remain the most substantial income driver for forestry investment.”

Land or Woodlands wanted for small independent doggy daycare

3 to 7 acres, with suitable vehicle access Water supply (ideally with electricity) Within the Surrey area To buy (cash buyers) or rent (long term lease) Excellent rates paid Contact Nick on 07594 370015 nick@pawsomedogdays.co.uk

www.pawsomedogdays.co.uk

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59

LAND AND FARMS

WINGHAM | KENT

GUIDE PRICE: £6.2M FOR THE WHOLE

500+ ACRES

VERSATILE ARABLE FARM 60

Savills has been instructed in the sale of a rarely available 500+ acre farm in east Kent.

Set to the east of Canterbury, near Wingham, Bramling Court Farm presents a unique opportunity to acquire a commercial farm of this size and with potential alternative uses including equestrian, leisure and residential or commercial.

Available as a whole or in up to three lots, and with a guide price of £6.2m for the whole, the sale also includes a four-bedroomed, Grade II listed farmhouse in need of modernisation and a trio of three-bedroomed semi-detached cottages – two of which are occupied under Rent (Agriculture) Act Tenancies and one under an Assured Shorthold Tenancy.

The farmland, which is largely grade 1 and

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2 with soil types ranging from fine silt to chalk, comprises arable land (approx.480 acres) and permanent pasture (approximately 19.5 acres). This is complemented by roughly 9.63 acres of woodland.

There is a substantial range of modern and traditional farm buildings with considerable scope for a wide range of different uses, including residential development.

Chris Spofforth, head of Savills South East rural agency team, said: “With such highly productive farmland of a meaningful size, Bramling Court is very capable of being run in a self-sufficient manner. Not only does the farm present a variety of diversification opportunities but, importantly, there are also very few good commercial farms of this size that have come to the market over the past 24 months and

For more information, contact Chris Spofforth at Savills on 07812 965379 or cspofforth@savills.com

OCTOBER 2021 | WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET

there is real, pent-up demand for farmland of this specification. This is a hugely exciting sale and we expect considerable interest from both farmer buyers and non-agricultural investors.”

Recent analysis by Savills rural research shows that, on the supply side, there are early signs that the theme of low supply that has dominated the farmland market in the last couple of years is beginning to ease.

58% more farmland was publicly marketed in the first half of 2021 than in H1 2020 (although for obvious reasons, that was an exceptional year).

Across the UK, supply to 30 June 2021 is only 8% below the five-year average, which marks a significant swing in comparison to activity last year.

Viewings of Bramling Court Farm are strictly by appointment through Savills.

P O T

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How well do you know your Land Agent?

Ours are at their happiest getting out and about to provide effective, on-the-ground advice. Batcheller Monkhouse, one of the leading independent firms in the south-east, have both the team and the expertise to deliver a strong, professional service – whether your requirement is full estate management, strategic advice or one-off consultancy.

Battle

Haywards Heath

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Tunbridge Wells

01424 775577

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FOR SALE

Lamberhurst, Kent/East Sussex Borders Private and pretty lifestyle farm, Grade II listed farmhouse, enviable equestrian facilities, barn annexe, farm manager’s cottage, 2 flats, environmental stewardship opportunity, within easy reach of Tunbridge Wells and London. EPCs = D-F Guide £5.25 million | About 233 acres

Talk to us today Chris Spofforth Farm Agency 07812 965 379 cspofforth@savills.com

Richard Mann Farm Agency 07967 555 862 rmann@savills.com

Savills Sevenoaks

01732 879 050

FOR SALE

Ansty, West Sussex Farmhouse (AOC) needing improvement, extensive farm buildings some with commercial use and one with PD for 5 residential units, 17 acre vineyard, mostly pasture. As a whole or in 3 lots.

EPCs = E-F Guide £2.25 million | About 97 acres

savills.co.uk | Follow us on

FOR SALE

Wingham, Kent Grade II listed farmhouse, 3 semi-detached cottages, extensive farm buildings with significant development potential, productive grade 1 and 2 arable land. EPCs = D-G

Guide £6.2 million | About 514 acres

Talk to us today Chris Spofforth Farm Agency 07812 965 379 cspofforth@savills.com

Richard Mann Farm Agency 07967 555 862 rmann@savills.com

Savills Sevenoaks

01732 879 050

FOR SALE

Dorking, Surrey Mixed woodland with natural capital potential, much of the woods lie within the Ranmore Common SSSI and has CROW Act access, central London about 29 miles.

Guide £845,000 | About 134 acres

savills.co.uk | Follow us on

LAND AND FARMS

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RISE OF THE GARDEN VILLAGE Over the past three years, Robinson & Hall has seen a growing trend of landowners being approached by developers looking to develop new garden villages. These garden villages are often within the open countryside on land that we would not normally consider suitable for development as it is not adjoining any major settlement.

The garden village concept is for these communities to be self-servicing, with a local service centre, and to vary in size between 1,000 and 3,000 houses. The area of land required is significant at 200 to 600 acres per village and Robinson & Hall has noticed a trend towards being close to a train

TH & Co

station and/or good road connection.

The garden village concept therefore offers huge opportunities to landowners to gain the benefit of development proceeds, whilst also creating a development that they can be proud of with a focus on place making and designed with the community in mind.

The first few developments using this new concept have now received planning permission and the house builders, in particular the large PLCs, like the concept due to them being able to provide a significant housing number over the long term. The advantage to the local councils is that it provides the opportunity to locate housing away from further

expansion on the edges of existing conurbations.

With the continued need for new housing sites and the Government preparing its Strategic Framework for the Oxford to Cambridge Arc, Robinson & Hall is already involved in negotiations for a significant number of garden village sites and expect to see further proposals come forward through the planning system.

If you are a landowner and are approached about a new garden village development, please do consider it carefully and discuss it with your local property agent at an early stage. The development of such land may feel farfetched but it may now be far more likely than it once was.

TED HANDLEY & Co Ltd PROPERTY CONSULTANTS AND ADVISORS

ESTATE OFFICE • HIGH STREET • MAYFIELD • EAST SUSSEX • TN20 6AB TELEPHONE: 01435 692058 MOBILE: 07483 108078 EMAIL: th@tedhandley.co.uk

URGENTLY WANTED 80 – 200 ACRE FARM RYE/HAWKHURST/EASTBOURNE AREA Preferably with 2 houses

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68.5 ACRES Known as Pound Land and Lovells Land PEVENSEY LEVELS Road access. Prime fattening ground OFFERS INVITED £315,000 - £370,000

WATSONS HAYWARDS HEATH | WEST SUSSEX

APPROX 97 ACRES

SUSSEX FARM

COUNTRY PROPERTY AGENTS AUCTIONEERS

CHARTERED SURVEYORS VALUERS EST. 1873

WITH MULTIPLE OPPORTUNITIES

KENT LANGTON + SPELDHURST

A diverse farm with agricultural, commercial, development and viticulture elements has come to the market in West Sussex.

Ansty Farm, situated near Haywards Heath, extends to about 97 acres.

The location is peaceful yet highly accessible. The farmland is predominantly pasture, although an established 17-acre vineyard adds an increasingly sought after angle for the offering.

The farmhouse, which is an AOC, needs refurbishment or could be suitable for complete redevelopment, subject to necessary consents. There is also a detached garage with a studio flat above.

There is an extensive range of farm buildings extending to about 38,800 sq. ft (excluding the barn for development), with some used for commercial purposes and one with prior approval for change of use from an agricultural barn to five residential units.

The farm, which is being marketed by Savills, has a guide price of £2,250,000 as a whole, but is also available in three lots.

Chris Spofforth, head of Savills South East rural agency team, which is handling the sale, said: “The availability of Ansty Farm provides the prospective buyer with multiple and diverse opportunities. The mixture of agricultural, commercial, development and viticulture aspects that make up this farm can create multiple income streams which, in turn, allow businesses to mitigate risk from the volatility of agricultural incomes going forward.”

63 ACRES LAND, BUILDINGS AND WOODLAND Rural location within two miles of Tunbridge Wells Pasture, Woodland and Stable Yard with Ancillary Buildings Excess of: £550,000 Available as a whole or in three lots

The Estate Office - Burwash Road, Heathfield, East Sussex TN21 8RA www.watsonsestates.co.uk

Tel: 01435 865077

Bespoke Planning Advice

for your planning journey

www.therpp.co.uk

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For more information, contact Chris Spofforth at Savills on 07812 965379 or cspofforth@savills.com

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CRANBROOK 01580 201888

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LAND AND FARMS LAMBURHURST | KENT/EAST SUSSEX

GUIDE PRICE: £5.25M

APPROX 233 ACRES

PRIVATE LIFESTYLE FARM

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A picturesque lifestyle farm, complete with enviable equestrian facilities, has come to the market with Savills on the Kent/Sussex border.

Sandhurst Farm, nestled between the popular village of Lamberhurst and the spa town of Royal Tunbridge Wells, extends to approximately 233 acres and provides both an environmental stewardship opportunity and ample secondary accommodation within easy reach of London.

Believed to originate from the late 15th or early 16th century, Sandhurst Farmhouse is a classic example of the type of farmhouse one would expect to find on the Kent/Sussex Weald. The fourbedroomed farmhouse is Grade II Listed, constructed of brick and timber elevations under a tiled roof and overlooks its beautifully landscaped gardens.

It has planning permission to extend and create an additional bedroom suite.

Available as a whole with a guide price of £5.25m, the principal dwelling house, equestrian facilities and ancillary accommodation lie centrally within the farm, which is surrounded by woodland and provides an exceptionally high degree of privacy.

In addition to Sandhurst Barn, a two-bedroomed property providing ancillary accommodation, there are three further dwellings. The Red Barn, a former hop barn, has been converted into additional accommodation; The Hay Loft has been used as a two-bedroomed holiday let, The Hop Loft is a threebedroomed farm manager’s cottage and The Bothy is a one-bedroomed staff or groom’s flat.

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The extensive range of equestrian facilities at Sandhurst Farm has been developed by the current owner and includes various modern farm buildings, one of which has been adapted to create an indoor school with floodlighting, and an outdoor manège.

The farmland has numerous rides and gallops running over it and there is further potential to build on the existing facilities.

Chris Spofforth, head of Savills South East rural agency team, which is handling the sale, said: “The

For more information, contact Chris Spofforth at Savills on 07812 965379 or cspofforth@savills.com

OCTOBER 2021 | WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET

availability of Sandhurst Farm presents an incredibly exciting opportunity. Changes in approaches to farming and the direction of grant support mean that UK agriculture now has a diverse range of options open to it. The farmland could be suitable for a number of potential uses, including re-wilding, vine growing or planting trees, and these could sit alongside its established equestrian yard, sheep flock and haylage production, which have all proved profitable in the past.”

P O T

K C PI

LEGAL

FRESH FACE

WITH A NEW VISION Introducing Whitehead Monckton’s new head of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

MARSHA MARRINER

Over the years I have enjoyed leading the Agriculture and Rural Affairs team at Whitehead Monckton. I have watched the team grow from strength to strength and am proud of how we have collaborated with our clients to support them in the wider rural community. Our involvement with the National Fruit Show will always be a highlight for me. More recently, I have also taken over as the head of the Property Group at Whitehead Monckton and so I feel it is time for me to hand over the reins to a fresh face with a new vision.

So, I am delighted to tell you that Daniel Bridgland has agreed to take over as Whitehead Monckton’s new lead for our Agriculture and Rural Affairs team. Daniel is already well known in the industry and is an outstanding lawyer. Going forward, I feel fortunate to be able to leave the rural team in a safe pair of hands. It has been an absolute pleasure getting to know you as farmers, clients and friends and I look forward to seeing you all at the upcoming ploughing matches.

DANIEL BRIDGLAND

Very much a “Kent lad”, I spent my first 18 years in the Weald before heading north to Sheffield to study for my degree. I trained as a solicitor in Kent and have worked here since qualifying in 2001. I married a Lewisham girl in 2004 and brought her out to the less urban surroundings of the county town, where we now live with our two sons. The youngest will be joining his brother at secondary school this

September and I am not sure how they grew up so fast!

Since joining Whitehead Monckton in 2012 my focus has shifted towards representing rural landowners, farming clients and individuals purchasing former agricultural properties for development. A large part of my work is acting for landowners granting options to developers, or selling their land subject to planning, as well as on promotion agreements. I acted for several clients in relation to land-based solar farms, although such projects have now become less viable (either financially or due to planning constraints and local objections).

I am fortunate to have inherited the firm’s agriculture and rural affairs team from the very capable hands of Marsha Marriner. Many of you know that Marsha has over the past 14 years developed a strong profile within the sector, having built the team from scratch. Our team is recognised in Chambers & Partners legal rankings for their expertise in this sector. Under my direction the department will continue to build on and support Marsha’s legacy to the farming community/industry by assisting family businesses including orchards, cereal/arable growers, green innovators, diversifiers and land developers to make the most of their investments.

I am looking forward to making my foray within the local farming community and beyond. I plan to take an active part in getting to meet you at local events and helping you work through the challenges that all farmers are facing both environmentally and politically. I am also looking forward to meeting and reacquainting with some of you at the East Kent Ploughing Match on 29 September.

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> Marsha Marriner, Director and Head of Property

> Daniel Bridgland, Associate Solicitor and Head of Agriculture and Rural Affairs

MARSHA MARRINER

Director and Head of Property T: 01227 643271 E: MarshaMarriner@whitehead-monckton.co.uk www.whitehead-monckton.co.uk TO ADVERTISE CALL 01303 233883

WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET | OCTOBER 2021

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For all enquiries call 01233 860404 07770 867625 (Harvey) or 07768 115849 (Dave)

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Specialists in agricultural and industrial buildings ASBESTOS Survey Removal Disposal

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Enquiries FieldWaterInstallations@gmail.com

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STORAGE TANKS KING

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OCTOBER 2021 | WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET

Tel 01638 712328

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CROSSWORD ®

VINEYARDS

COMPLETE OUR CROSSWORD TO WIN Two bottles of Monks Delight, two bottles of Special Mead and one bottle of Special Reserve

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Crossword by Rebecca Farmer, Broadstairs, Kent

PRIZE ANAGRAM: Vinegar Fly (7,4,10)

To enter, simply unscramble the anagram (7,4,10) using the green squares.

Hit on the head and confused (9) Sap sucking pest (5) Not guilty (8) Teeth of a venomous snake (5) Consumes (4) A large rock (7) A feeling of melancholy (4,2,3,5) Mite infestation of skin (7) Flowering plant with rhizome used as a spice (6) Suitable for eating (6) Species of migrating duck (4) Fertilise plants (9) Speculation, hypothesis (10) Song bird (4)

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Allium (6) Group of nine musicians (5) When daylight fades (7) Somewhere to sit (5) Cricket term (7) Indolent (4) Not evergreen (9) Make a depression in a surface (4) A week off in the NFL (3) Large waterbirds (5) Tree that has suffered great disease pressure (3) 21 Short format cricket (5) 22 Odour (5) 23 Stir eggs with light rapid movement (5) LAST MONTH’S ANSWERS:

PRIZE ANAGRAM: Left behind after harvest (5)

Email your replies with your name, address and phone number to sef.ed@kelsey.co.uk Correct entries will be entered into a draw which will take place on 5 October. The winner will be announced in the November edition.

TO ADVERTISE CALL 01303 233883

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VINEYARDS

For a winter warmer we are offering readers the chance to win two bottles of Monks Delight, two bottles of Special Mead and one bottle of Special Reserve. Enter the crossword to be in with a chance of winning four bottles of our favourite wine, Ortega. For more information about the vineyards, please visit www.biddendenvineyards.com or call 01580 291726. *Subject to availability

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Correct answer: Gloucestershire Old Spots LAST MONTH’S WINNER: Jane Lywood from Kirdford, Billingshurst, West Sussex

WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET | OCTOBER 2021

PROTECTING AGRI-CONTRACTORS We provide flexible cover for a range of agri-contractors to help you serve your customers, whether you’re working with livestock or on the land. We also offer specialist risk management and plant inspection services to meet the needs of your business.

To see how the policies and services can benefit your business, contact your local agency or search NFU Mutual agri-contracting.

The National Farmers Union Mutual Insurance Society Limited (No.111982). Registered in England. Registered Office: Tiddington Road, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire CV37 7BJ.