Hereford Times - 7th January 2016 - Page 99
Hereford Times - 7th January 2016 - Page 99
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| Date | 07/01/2016 |
|---|---|
| Type | |
| Format | |
| Language | English |
| Area | Hereford Times |
| Collection Holder | |
| Date of Publication | 7th January 2016 |
| Transcription |
inng , dis- irone been more nbers com- t at athan quali- “The these down thing agery ilems. tal in- better isions :ryfile Hawk lSS. A ed off t only d was spray same fun a ver a a right anting ' year , :ifying 1 vs an rained i more herefordtimescom Thursday, January 7, 2016 THE HEREFORD TIMES 99 Successful rearin SHOBDON calf-rearers Emma and Joff Roberts know what it means to have attention to detail as they successfully rear 700 calves a year from two to 12 weeks. So with a broiler rearing enterprise the main focus of the farm, the couple is used to a focus on optimal daily liveweight gain. The calves are fed on au- tomatic machines and get 12kg of milk powder in six litres per day, fed over six feeds and are offered calf starter ration and water straight away. The aim is then to start dropping the milk intake by 0.4 litres each day from 23 days. They have recently been involved in a study which involved switching the source of fibre in the calf starter ration, which has prompted an increase in daily liveweight gain of around 10 per cent. The study took two batch- es of evenly-matched two-week old calves past weaning over a nine-week period. One batch was of- fered the usual calf starter nut alongside milk, with the other offered the same nut but with most of the soya hull content replaced by nutritionally improved straw (NIS). The calves fed the stand- ard ration gained an av- erage of 0.99kg per day over the nine-week period, whereas the calves fed the NIS ration gained 1.1 kg per day. The cost per kg of each calf starter was the same, but the calves on the NIS ration ate 3.5% more — 152 kg each compared with 146.8kg over the nine weeks. Mrs Roberts believes the difference lies in the effec- tiveness of the fibre source in kick-starting rumen function and avoiding the post-weaning ‘slump’. “The calves were notice- ably thriving on the adjust- ed ration; aside from the liveweight gain, I recorded 190 incidences of dirty tails throughout the period in the group fed the standard ration, compared with 113 in the group fed the NIS diet,” she said. “We’re repeating the study to get a better idea of the average gain we can expect but we’re confident there’s a positive effect. Even the vet has commented on the bloom on the calves fed the NlS-based diet.” Mrs Roberts says the calf rearing enterprise started in 1999 when her children were young and she were looking to diversify into an- other enterprise. They installed a series of calf igloos — rounded igloo- type shells ~ which can usiness Emma Roberts is rearing hundreds of calves each year in Shobdon. Photo: Ruth Downing accommodate around 15 calves at a time. It gave the calves shelter but with bet- ter ventilation. ”This system meant that we could expand and we now rear around 700 calves a year from about two weeks of age to 12 weeks. when we sell them on to regular customers in the area." she said. “Our aim is to eventually rear 1,000 calves each year." Their experience with coping with the tight mar- gins typical in the broiler business means that every aspect of the calf rearing enterprise is costed down to the last penny But Emma also kmm > '1‘» :' business relies on ‘ customers so is cm to sending off t‘.‘ _ will hit the grount. ‘ ._ and continue to haw st. un: growth rates. Warning for farmers to keep on top of their finance matters FARMERS have been warned not to take their eye off the ball when it comes to important finan- cial matters. Peter Gosling, who heads the Agricultural and Rural Services group at law firm Higgs & Sons, say many dairy farmers don’t take a proper salary out of the business and, to keep costs down, often employ family members on the promise they will benefit from tak- lng over the farm in th future. ' ‘But Mr Gosling says the ‘emotional baggage” in- volved in such arrange- ments can cause problems and, in some cases where the son or daughter doesn’t take up the family busi- ness, the farm could be lost. Unfortunately, many cas- es where verbal assurances have been made across the generations that ‘one day son, all this will be yours’, are now coming before the courts,” he said. “Perhaps a promise has been made that the farm will be left under a will (or passed on after retirement) to a person who often works long hours at low wages to keep the farm running. “In some cases the fam- ily member may give up a potentially promising, al ternative career away from the farm in the knowledge they will be inheriting the business.” “The problem facing many farmers is that they often have competing aims. “On the one hand they are looking to treat all of their children fairly, splitting the assets equally between them on their death or re tirement. “On the other, they want to keep the farm in sole ownership, to ensure that the fruits of their lifetim'e’s work stay intact.” He said long-term plan- ning is essential to protect the valuable assets that several generations have worked hard to build up. “With difficult choices to be made it is no wonder that many farm owners never get around to docu- menting their succession plans," he said. “A recent Farmers Week- ly/NFU Mutual survey of farm owners and succes- sors showed that 60 per cent of the 700 respond- ents currently working in a farming family did not have a written succession plan in place. 64 per cent of successors and 32 per cent of farm owners felt that that not being able to have a proper conversation is the most significant barrier to putting a succession plan in place.” Housing group unveils community orchard at new £1.5m development A HOUSING group has planted a community or- chard at its new $61.5 mil- lion development in a Her— efordshire village. Kemble Housing unveiled the orchard, featuring a mix of apple, pear and plum trees. at the develop- ment in Mordiford which was officially opened in the summer. WM Housing Group de~ livered the scheme for Kemble. It is made up of 12 family homes at Shepherds Or~ chard which were built to help address a shortage of affordable hOUSing in the village. The development in cludes a play area and a1— lotments. Ten people have signed up for an allotment so far with some already prepar- ing the ground ready to plant up. + DIG IN: Cliff Morden (left), ire which helped with the project, with (back. from left) Nick Edge, development project manager at WM Housing. Councillor David Lloyd, Dormington and Mordiford Parish Council, Jan Ashton-Jones, former member of the parish council. Front (from left): Helen Edwards, customer and community engagement officer at Kemble. Karen Pritchard, Kemble’s assistant director, Sarah Harrison‘ Branter. customer and community engagement manager at Kemble. Right is Greg Pipps, Cutting Edge‘s grounds maintenance operative |
| Newspaper name | Hereford Times |