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The farm buildings are in one corner of the land and cows were having to travel long distances for grazing. Now the cows are benefitting from less stress and consistent feeding and it has allowed for better crop rotation on the land
Richard’s aim for Orton Grange is that it will be totally self sufficient: “The farm has a bore hole that supplies water at Orton Grange and in 2013 our first wind turbine was built on the farm to produce electricity for the farm and the business complex.
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“All of the businesses at Orton Grange, including the farm, use 200,000kW of electricity each year and in the first year our Enercon Wind Turbine E33 produced 750,000kW. Electric is sold to Cranstons for the running of their food hall and we also run a charging point for electric cars – the most used in Cumbria.
“My next aim is to have a biomass boiler installed next year to produce heating. The swimming pool is expensive to heat and it would be great to be totally self sufficient and produce the heating ourselves.” The initial turbine cost £1,000,000 before it turned a blade. Planning and civil costs came to £100,000, a track to the site cost £70,000, the turbine itself was £620,000 and grid connection totalled £230,000.
Surplus energy is sold at 23p per kW with the farm owning a 50% stake and receiving free electricity as rent. When the blades aren’t turning electricity is purchased from Good Energy which sources from renewable sources. There is now a second turbine in place, it is slightly bigger than the first an E53 and with a better euro rate cost £1,100,000 and should produce 1.8M kW each year – enough to supply 400 houses. As an incentive to get planning for the second turbine the surveyor was offered a share in the turbine and three months later planning was approved. “We invited local businesses to invest in the second turbine as an opportunity for them to be involved in renewable energy. Between local businesses and the surveyor they own 60% of the turbine with Orton Grange owning 40%. Interestingly 80% of local people are in favour of the turbines. “I am now looking into ways of retailing electricity to local farmers who are unable to use natural sources to produce energy – but at the moment it is looking even more complicated than milk retailing.” Adding to the diversification theme are two partnerships in embryos with Richard implanting embryos in to 80% of maiden heifers with pregnancy rates between 60 and 80%.
Mark Comfort who owns Udder Comfort and Comfort Livestock is one partner in embryos, he sells embryos out of maiden heifers. An agreement
36 THE JOURNAL OCTOBER 2014
was formed in a 50% share in heifer calves whose dams classify and do well while Richard keeps any heifers that don’t make the grade.
It is early days, but at the moment there are high testing black and white polled heifer calves on the ground by Earndhart and out of a red Snowman daughter going back to the VG88 classified Islehaven Gold Dancer Red. Manuel P sired calves out of Venture Shamrock Payton P and pregnancies by Stanleycup, Let It Snow and Sudan out of Islehaven Gold Dancer Red. The latest embryos to be implanted are out of Morsan Ladd After Fools Red P by Kingboy, Stoneden MOM Red Desert by Stantons Main Event, All-Riehl Ladds Charmer embryos by Pinetree Overtime and Pinetree Ohio Style.
Embryos are also implanted for Genus with bulls being taken for testing and heifers retained for the Orton Grange herd. This partnership is due to the high health status of the herd, with it being Johne’s accredited with the SRUC, Lepto and BVD vaccinated and looking to go BVD free as well as monitoring
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