The Farmers Mart Aug/Sep 2015 - Issue 41 | Page 73

Geoff Spence
we are still pleased to be with
them. We’re breeding cows that
give more butterfat, and that
is what ARLA want. They are
pushing new brands and trying
to expand into new markets all
the time.
“You have to bring income
in from wherever you can. We
breed and sell bulls too, as well
as selling heifer replacements.
Understandably, when there
is a market downturn as we
are facing at the moment,
then buyers are not as keen
to purchase replacements as
readily, so we milk more cows
and when the market picks up
again our cows will be even
more proven as milkers.”
It is all a far cry from when
Geoff’s granddad, George,
purchased Lowfields in 1957.
He’d had 40 Dairy Shorthorn
cows, which was a decent sized
herd back in the day, and then
he moved on to Friesians. It
was Geoff’s dad, Thomas, who

came to Lowfields, with George
staying at his other farm at
Carthorpe.
Time has also moved on at
Lowfields and Geoff tells of how
Christopher is leading the farm
onward.
‘I’m the cowman now.
Christopher is managing the
farm and pushing the bigger
numbers. Up until five years
ago we had 340 cows and
when I was younger we had
80-90. We have the facilities
to increase the milking herd
again.”

‘pushing the
bigger numbers’
Lowfields is run as a farm
partnership with Geoff, his wife
Linda and Christopher. They
employ a team of eight that
includes a herdsman, Mark
Fawcett, who has been with
them for 17 years.

www.farmers-mart.co.uk Aug/Sep 2015 73