14 LOW GRANGE FARM APR / MAY 2022 • farmers-mart . co . uk
bit of a showcase , so along with a good deal , Geoff persuaded David to keep the sheep where they were and erect a roundhouse for the cattle instead . Suffice to say David was very impressed with the building , it is ticking a lot of boxes in terms of achieving the correct mix between shelter and free flow of air , the unique roundhouse construction draws the stale air up through the roof centre
‘ the unique roundhouse construction draws the stale air up through the roof centre
whilst drawing in fresh air from the sides ’ whilst drawing in fresh air from the sides , This is superb for both animal health and comfort . David and Austen have been so impressed with the first that they have installed a second .
One question I frequently ask farmers is , what has been their biggest challenge to date . Both Dave and Austen agreed , the mixture of foot and mouth in 2000 where , although they didn ’ t lose their stock like many , the prices went through the floor and , as Dave said ”. Following on the back of foot and mouth 2001 , was the wettest year for some time , which meant they lost all the potatoes they were growing back then .
It was these two events which really persuaded them to look at reopening the quarry , to give the farm another revenue stream and level of diversification .
There was still planning permission on the quarry until 2030 . So , after some research and number crunching in 2003 , Austen reopened the quarry , initially extracting the limestone for use as crushed stone for roads and hardcore . Austen was also keen to look at the potential of the readymix market and with that they bought a volumetric wagon which mixed sand cement and aggregate in one , being
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