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“ We are always looking at improving milk protein and last year growing wholecrop of barley oats and peas lifted the milk protein and milk quality in general .
Milk is collected from Studdah Farm on every other day collection and like every other dairy farmer in the UK James was a lot happier with the price the family business was receiving last January .
“ We were at 53ppl this time last year . In November we were at 37.25ppl . I didn ’ t think it would get up as high as that but once it had got there I didn ’ t think it would drop as fast . If we ’ d just had a level price , consistent , that ’ s what we ’ re looking for rather than these peaks and troughs .
Studdah Farm ’ s beef calves are sold at Leyburn Auction Mart at 2 months old . The beef calves are made up of either Blue or Angus and James says that AI is backed up with an Angus sweeper bull that runs with the heifers .
Surplus dairy heifer calves produced may be sold in future , as they have been before , but only when the herd has reached 150 milking cows and heifers .
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James talks about the farm ’ s future progression .
“ We ’ ve looked at various ways we can improve what we ’ ve already got . Last year we had the farm all mapped up and scanned so that we could produce an accurate nutrient plan through Agrii . We got everywhere tested and corrected the ph in the soil and took on variable rate calcium lime spreading . Early last spring we did variable rate P & K to improve unproductive areas .
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“ We are going into an SFI scheme and have some land in countryside stewardship . Because we are a dairy farm we couldn ’ t take so much of our land out of production , so we have fitted it into what we are doing already .
Wensleydale Show is only a few fields away from the farm and it is one that means a lot to the Pratt family .
“ It ’ s our very local show and I ’ m on the committee for it ,” says James . “ We used to do a lot more showing when Richard and I were younger . We ’ ve shown at UK Dairy Expo and Great Yorkshire Show , Wensleydale Show and the North East Calf Show .
“ In 2023 we went to the UK Dairy Expo in March and took a Jersey who came second in her junior cow class .
“ James Robinson , a good friend who owns a share in a calf , took that to the Great Yorkshire Show and she won
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a class in the Interbreed Dairy Calf classes . We had champion Holstein cow at Wensleydale Show last year and champion red and white calf at the North East Calf Show in September , which went on to take 5th at the National Calf Show , which is jointly owned by James and his partner Katy Bainbridge .
“ James Robinson helps and prepares them and schools them . He ’ s from Leyburn originally , but is now in Cumbria . We had got out of the way of showing , but he ’ s helped us back into it .
“ I judged at Pateley Show this year , and I judged the Yorkshire Holstein Herds competition in 2022 and Derbyshire in 2023 . It ’ s good because you get to see the cows in different set-ups and different surroundings . You can always pick up something when you go out on other farms .
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FORAGE HARVESTING
• Full or Part Operations
• Grass
• Maize
• Wholecrop
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ROUND AND BIG SQUARE BALING
• Full or Part Operations
• Round Baling & Wrapping in one pass
• Square Baling
• Square Bale Wrapping
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ARABLE SERVICES
Complete Stubble to Stubble operations including :
• Combining • Drilling
• Min till System
• Conventional Cultivations
• Potato Work
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SLURRY SERVICES
• Umbilical Spreading
• 12m Dribble Bars
• 24m Dribble Bars
• Nurse Tank
• Road Tankers
• Field Tankers
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