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Bouncing Cows became the name for the Robinsons ’ ice cream through an idea between Gary and his daughter , 10-year old Emma .
‘ When we turn the cows out in spring after a long winter they are inclined to get a bit frisky , because they are happy to be out . I ’ m sure many dairy farmers experience this . Emma and I thought Bouncing Cows summed them up at that time and we thought it was a fun name . It certainly makes everyone smile when they see it on our tubs .’
Gary splits his time between working for JG Paxton & Sons in Bentham and on the farm . He gets milking under way at Low Birks at 5.30am , which his parents Susan and Duncan , who live on the farm , take over from him at around 7.30am so that he can get to work . He and Fiona live just a third of a mile away .
‘ We have 90 dairy cows and 500 sheep ,’ said Gary . ‘ We are mainly a dairy farm that also has sheep . We all work together , myself , my brother Andrew and our parents . Andrew looks after the feeding up of the cows and all machinery work on the farm as well as the sheep . Mum and dad look after the rest of what needs doing on the farm including feeding the calves and afternoon milking that starts at 4.15 . I check on the cows when I get back home . We sell all of our milk to Arla , apart from what goes into Bouncing Cows .’
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‘ Our farm has enough work for three families but only the income for one and we are limited over what we can do with the capacity we have to increase further .’
The Robinsons ’ cows are Holsteins with a few Dairy Shorthorn crosses and Norwegian Reds .
‘ We need cows to be long lasting and hardy . I used to work for Genus and handle all of the AI work on the farm . I know how critical it is for us to select for good feet and strong legs as ours spend a long time on concrete . This is a wet farm with short summers and that means very long winters for them inside .
‘ It is important that we don ’ t push them for production because that way
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they don ’ t last as long . Ours average around 7500-8000 litres a year and around five lactations .
We graze them in summer and feed them on a grass silage feed in winter .’ The dairy herd , which breeds all of its own replacements , is also well respected for the quality of its young stock . The Robinsons have in recent years returned to selling newly calved heifers with some success at Skipton and Gisburn .
The sheep that include Swaledales , Mules and Lleyns provide another income while also keeping the ground tidy , as Gary says : ‘ We have three flocks with some mine , some Andrew ’ s and some mum and dad ’ s . We have ewes on Ingleborough Fell .’
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Susan and Duncan moved to Low Birks Farm in 1983 . The Robinson family has farmed in the area around Settle and Malham for over 200 years . Gary and Fiona are hopeful that Bouncing Cows will carry on adding to the farm ’ s longevity in the future .
‘ Maybe some way down the line we might consider opening up an ice cream parlour ,’ says Gary . ‘ We ’ re certainly very pleased with the reaction we ’ ve received so far . Last summer was an amazing start to our business with many more people staying in the UK and particularly coming here for their holidays and enjoying our ‘ proper ’ dairy ice cream . You never know , we might even get chance to stand and scoop at some shows some time in the future !’
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