The Farmers Mart Feb-Mar 2018 - Issue 55 | Page 40

40 GOLDEN HILL FARM FEB/MAR 2018 • farmers-mart.co.uk BLACKGRASS PROBLEM OR MILL & MIX REQUIRED - MEET THE SPECIALISTS Chris Berry talks with the Ropers of Golden Hill, Wansford MAKING an impact is what the Roper brothers Andrew and Mark are all about. They’re specialists in leading potatoes, dealing with blackgrass problems for other farmers and provide an on-farm mobile mill and mix service for cattle. They’re not without worldwide farming pedigree either having farmed as far afield as Wiltshire, Wales and Canada with their parents Steve, a born and bred Yorkshire- man, and Linda before landing at Golden Hill Farms on Skerne Road near Wansford in the East Riding just two years ago where they farm 260 acres of which 190 acres is owned. ‘We’ve combined for farms too as we are agricultural contractors and are prepared to turn our hand to anything,’ says Mark. ‘Our main contracting sides so far have been leading potatoes and our specialist application of Avadex with a 24-metre boom spreader which is about as accurate as you can get, goes on tram lines so that there are no extra wheelings in the field and is granular. It’s the best there is for blackgrass. We’re being rec- ommended by agronomists for our high standard of application and we’re able to apply to a considerable area in a short space of time.’ Andrew had run his own mill and mix business in Cardigan when they were in Wales, which they sold on moving to Canada. The brothers looked at starting up again when they arrived at Golden Hill and talked with Rob Theakston of Superior Mills who told them Roger Williams of Barthorpe Milling was looking to sell. 70715 - Leonards - 8TH.pdf 1 26/02/2018 10:16:46 ‘We bought Roger’s customer base, lorry and mill and this year we’ve added a brand-new mill from Rob that adds two proteins instead of one. Ours has the capability to mix out of the back and into the trough or into a trailer or pile. We work closely with DB Agriculture in Pocklington and shared a stand with them at YAMS. We visit customers weekly, fortnightly or monthly dependent on their requirements from an area that currently includes York, Thirsk, Tadcaster, Holderness and the Wolds. We have a mix of customers ranging from small to large herds. We mill and mix at a rate of around 25-30 tonnes per hour.’ Mark and Andrew’s mill and mix business makes up around 40 per cent of the overall income with the agricultural contracting making up around 25-30 per cent. They have made a considerable impact since their move in 2015 when they also brought over their Case International 9120 Axialflow combine with the intention of agricultural contracting. ‘Buying the same model here would have cost us another £50,000 and the trans- portation 69975 was - Terry miniscule in comparison to Elsey Tyres .pdf 1 05/03/2018 12:37:27 that kind of saving. It’s completed just over 1000 hours so there’s plenty of life in it. One thing we have noticed about all machinery though is that it doesn’t rust as much in Can- ada as it does here. There’s less humidity in North America.’ ‘Our farming operation at Golden Hill includes arable and cattle. We grow oilseed rape, barley and milling wheat varieties Skyfall and Crusoe that go into Bradshaw’s mill in Driffield. We’re averaging around 4.5 tonnes per acre for the wheat on what is predominantly heavy clay to relatively easy working land. The cattle side of the busi- T. ELSEY TYRES LTD “TYRES MALTON” C C M M Y CM MY CY CMY K Chartered Surveyors – Valuers – Land & Estate Agents - Auctioneers WISHING GOLDEN HILL FARMS EVERY SUCCESS - EVERYDAY OF THE WEEK • Sales & Purchase Advice • Valua�on & Appraisals • Tenancies & Contract Farming • Farm & Estate Management • Planning and Development • Telecommunica�ons • CPO & U�lity Schemes • Farms machinery auc�ons • BPS & Grant Schemes • Partnership Dissolu�on • Inheritance Tax Planning www.leonards-hull.co.uk Tel: [phone] | Email: [email protected] | 512 HOLDERNESS ROAD, HULL, HU9 3DS Y CM MY CY CMY K Car, truck & agricultural tyres Exhausts Batteries 24hr breakdown and call out service Call: 01653 693830 www.terryelseytyres.co.uk Showfield Lane Industrial Estate • Malton • Yorkshire • YO17 6BT Take advantage of the NFU affinity discount scheme for members with these manufacturers: