Kemble farms

[robs1]

efficient tho

Certainly a lot less agro than employing (some) folk, I was talking to someone who milks on a 700 cow dairy near me last wk, he said they had had nine people start and finish there since Xmas .
Mind working with family can be hard, I was lucky I got on ok with my old man and get on very well with my step son

 

[tjhooker]

Economies of scale does work, but many (especially arable contract farmers) get stuck in the middle of tranches it takes to work.
You need to be around each level.
for arable I think it’s 1500ha, 3000ha etc. we are slightly caught in the middle as need a contract combine to come and cut 300ha. However for next year I am growing 400ha of triticale for AD which kind of sorts that and takes the sweet spot to around 2000ha which we are at.

What defines each arable contract farm modular level? Combine capacity then tailor your drill / sprayer from there? You say 1500ha is one particular level, is that 1x Lexion 8900? Geography is going to change that ‘sweet-spot’ area due to weather and field size but I do fully agree with your thinking

 

[ajd132]

What defines each arable contract farm modular level? Combine capacity then tailor your drill / sprayer from there? You say 1500ha is one particular level, is that 1x Lexion 8900? Geography is going to change that ‘sweet-spot’ area due to weather and field size but I do fully agree with your thinking

Combine capacity so I guess 1200-1500ha.
although you can make it bigger by doing some AD crops

 

[tjhooker]

Combine capacity so I guess 1200-1500ha.
although you can make it bigger by doing some AD crops

Thanks Another ‘capacity question’ would be how long it should take to combine your wheat acreage, assuming it’s approximately 50% of the combineable crop area - 10 days? 14 days? 18 days? I’d love to know peoples thoughts on this one … Cheers

 

[Devil's advocate]

So they didn’t sell their dairy cattle then??
So Developments Ltd didn’t have Richard Tice as a director???
Kemble have staff, they talk, people talk!!!
It’s not rocket science to work out who I am, if that makes me a “gossip” then fine by me!! Lol

Eh

Richard Tice who is living with Isabel Oakshott who wrote a book called Farmageddon about the evils of modern dairy farming.

 

[ajd132]

Thanks Another ‘capacity question’ would be how long it should take to combine your wheat acreage, assuming it’s approximately 50% of the combineable crop area - 10 days? 14 days? 18 days? I’d love to know peoples thoughts on this one … Cheers

Probably about 12-14 days

 

[tjhooker]

Probably about 12-14 days

Agreed, any more and you’re hoping August goes with you weather-wise, which is rare!! Cheers

 

[MrNoo]

Eh

Richard Tice who is living with Isabel Oakshott who wrote a book called Farmageddon about the evils of modern dairy farming.

Bathurst Development Ltd is the Co that is dealing with the 2,500 houses that they plan to ruin the area with. Richard Tice was on the board but stepped down after planning was granted.
It’s all part of the Bathurst Empire

BATHURST DEVELOPMENT LIMITED overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK

BATHURST DEVELOPMENT LIMITED - Free company information from Companies House including registered office address, filing history, accounts, annual return, officers, charges, business activity

find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk

 

[jerseycowsman]

TBH, I don’t think that is entirely fair to say that to @MrNoo. Even though you also have ‘a’ weekend connection to the area, @MrNoo has a very strong/much stronger local connection to it.
Kemble Farms Dairy Farm is/was(!) an extremely well known and respected farm in the local area.
Many of us find it quite shocking as to what has happened to it.
I well remember being privileged to be able to judge it in farming competitions on several occasions and it is/was the ultimate Dairy farm benchmark.
I remember them investing over a £1 million pounds in machinery to make their own silage, without having to use a contractor and the process they had to go to to persuade the directors to borrow that money to be able to do so.

The staff were extremely dedicated and hard working and I wish them all well for the future.
The circumstances that caused this all were not their fault and it is happening all over the country.

I recently learned a of another farm in my old and your home county of Suffolk, not quite on the same scale as Kemble, that is ceasing Dairy production. Yet another situation where if I was smoking a pipe, I’d have bit the bloody end off of it on hearing that news!

Yet another sign of the times of a very famous farming business, totally fecked by circumstances beyond its control!

Not, I might add helped by fecking stupid ideas by this Government and certain Civil Servants, such as SFI!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Apparently all the cattle were German imports, had they sold up once already, then restocked again and now sold up again?

 

[ajcc]

Castle Hill, Filleigh, South Molton, Devon. . . . 1400 acres up for let mainly , dairy ground. Velcourt had it for last ten years but are walking away. Savills are agents acting for Fortescue Estates (Lord and Lady Arran)

 

[Sid]

Apparently all the cattle were German imports, had they sold up once already, then restocked again and now sold up again?

Herd reduction is the terminology if you don't sell them all

 

[ajd132]

Agreed, any more and you’re hoping August goes with you weather-wise, which is rare!! Cheers

yes although we have more leeway than most as have very good storage so usually starting cutting around 9am even if its ambit damp, get dried or blended at central store.

 

[ajd132]

Bathurst Development Ltd is the Co that is dealing with the 2,500 houses that they plan to ruin the area with. Richard Tice was on the board but stepped down after planning was granted.
It’s all part of the Bathurst Empire

BATHURST DEVELOPMENT LIMITED overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK

BATHURST DEVELOPMENT LIMITED - Free company information from Companies House including registered office address, filing history, accounts, annual return, officers, charges, business activity

find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk

would you turn down large development opportunities if given the chance?

 

[Sid]

Castle Hill, Filleigh, South Molton, Devon. . . . 1400 acres up for let mainly , dairy ground. Velcourt had it for last ten years but are walking away. Savills are agents acting for Fortescue Estates (Lord and Lady Arran)

More of a rent setting exercise as I understand, but maybe wrong.

Savills have an office on the estate

 

[MrNoo]

would you turn down large development opportunities if given the chance?

Yes I would as there’s enough houses going up everywhere as it is.
Have 150ac that a Co is interested in but I’ve not bothered because I’m happy with what I’ve got. Maybe if I wish to move away then I would possibly consider it later in life.
Money isn’t everything!!

 

[serf]

Yes I would as there’s enough houses going up everywhere as it is.
Have 150ac that a Co is interested in but I’ve not bothered because I’m happy with what I’ve got. Maybe if I wish to move away then I would possibly consider it later in life.
Money isn’t everything!!

If your wealthy enough as is then yes you would turn it down but if you were a peasant you would perhaps look at things differently and be glad of the leg-up in life out of the mire ......

 

[MrNoo]

If your wealthy enough as is then yes you would turn it down but if you were a peasant you would perhaps look at things differently and be glad of the leg-up in life out of the mire ......

Agreed, im not overly wealthy but im content with what I currently have.
What would I do with a pot load of money, buy more farm land, ideally sand land so I could practice match ploughing all day everyday and spank the rest on fast cars and cider!!