ABOVE Extra feed space for high yielders was added outside to reduce competition.
LEFT Herd favourite, Galastar Goldwyn Noelle is an EX93-4E cow due her eighth calf.
9500KG HERD
AVERAGE
BELOW Before moving cows to the farm the opportunity was taken to upgrade the parlour.
interview in July 2010 and the keys were handed over in September.
Initial plans were to install a 10:20 Vacaar Parlour to replace the existing six point abreast parlour. “Long term we aimed to milk more than the 50 cows the previous tenant had and while there were no cows on the farm it was an ideal opportunity to make this change.”
were calving down and milked at various local farms. The application process included a viewing day, followed by submitting the application including five years of cash flows and budgets. With more than 30 applicants there was plenty of competition for the farm. Will and Louise made the selection process and faced the first interview with two council land agents, they then made the final three and had a second interview with council agents plus an independent consultant. “It was a rigorous application process and we sought the help of a consultant to compile our cash flows,” explains Will. “I think this was important as a consultant makes sure all the figures are correctly calculated. However, one piece of advice is to know your own figures and be part of the planning. Don’t rely on figures being put together for you and when it comes to the interview you have to be sure of the figures you have submitted.” Confirmation of the tenancy was given the day after the second
Also during this time the 90 wooden cubicles were replaced with new cubicles and mattresses with a grant from the RDPE North West Livestock Programme. While the farm was empty a slurry channel was also put in across the yard to try to keep it cleaner and easier to manage. “From the start the aim has always been to make the farm easy for one person to work on their own, whether that is myself or Louise,” explains Will. “Sometimes it would be easier to have a second pair of hands due to cow flow between sheds, but, it is hard to justify a second wage when we are building numbers up.” As a consequence of installing the new parlour a lot of rewiring was required with the old parlour being run on single phase. This held work up slightly and the first cows were milked at Meadow Farm on the 19th March 2011.
THE JOURNAL APRIL 2015 39
PHOTOGRAPHY BY RICHARD HODGSON
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