Church Farm
Pest Control for Farms, Domestic and Office Premises
Pleased to support Dave Blacker of Church Farm
07973 404369 or 01845 577102 www. fletcherpestcontrol. co. uk
Argrain Ltd is proud to be associated with David Blacker
An independent family business serving farmers throughout Yorkshire & the North East.
Grain Drying, and Oilseed Storage. Retailers of Seed Corn, Grass Seed, Propcorn & Fertiliser. Stockists of Animal Feeds and Mineral Supplements. Traders in Straights, Molasses & Brewer’ s Grains.
Please phone for friendly advice and a competitive price!
Tel: 01347 822322 www. argrain. co. uk Mill Farm, Raskelf, York YO61 3LB
IMPRESSIVE SAVINGS David has seen several benefits since changing.
‘ It is unbelievable how much money we have saved. In the first year I calculated that we had used 35,000 litres less diesel, which back then equated to around £ 18,000. Using a one-pass system also allowed me to cut on labour and tractor costs. Today, there are just three of us running the farm acreage and the agricultural contracting. I no longer need the tractors I used to hire either.’
Precision farming is one of David’ s main tools towards greater productivity. His brother Clive, who is a partner in the family farm, owns and runs Precision Decisions a major precision farming company also based in Shipton. They both share the opinion that this is the way forward for agriculture. David was recently a keynote
speaker at the Northern Farming Conference held in Hexham.
‘ I talked about how I use precision farming, how it increases yields and saves money. Autosteer is now accurate to two cms and the N Sensor I wouldn’ t be without. I can now drill much longer at night after the sun goes down as I no longer have to follow a mark. I can just click a button, let the tractor follow its course and if I wanted I could to read a copy of Farmers’ Mart as I went across the field! This also means you’ re less tired. Before I went on to autosteer I reckon I was farming 520 acres when I only had 500 because of the overlap I was giving, which means a saving of around four per cent in nitrogen and chemicals was instantly achieved. You don’ t realise until you calculate the maths just
Proud to be associated with David Blacker and team of Church Farm and wish them continued success
56 Dec / Jan 2017 www. farmers-mart. co. uk