The Farmers Mart Jun/Jul 2015 - Issue 40 | Page 60

Machinery

Sheffield’s
‘Superfresh’
milk producer
invests in
processing – and
a new McCormick
tractor
»»A Sheffield dairy farm
known for the eye-catching
‘Our Cow Molly’ branding of
its milk processing business is
among the first in the country
to take delivery of a new
McCormick X6 Series tractor to
handle field and yard work.
The new red and silver
machine was handed over
to Graham Andrew at Cliffe
House Farm, Dungworth by
Mick Rimmer of McCormick
dealership Barlow’s of Henbury.
It will be the main power unit on
the 216-acre farm, which has a
100-cow milking herd and about
the same number of followers
and beef heifers.
The X6.420 will handle all the
routine jobs – spreading slurry
and fertiliser, harrowing the
grass pastures and conservation
ground, and running a trailer
from field to pit when the silage
contractor is chopping grass for
the herd’s winter feed.
“It’s not over-complicated
but has enough features to do
the job,” says Graham of his
new tractor. “And it’s easy to
understand and use the different
controls and features.”
The tractor will operate at the
heart of a family-run farming
and processing business that
has increased the proportion of
its milk sold locally – either in
liquid form or as ice cream – by
promoting the benefits of ‘super
fresh’ milk delivered within
hours of the cows producing
it.

“It makes a real difference to
a cappuccino – the milk froths
better and has a sweetness
that makes a good coffee
taste even better,” says Eddie
Andrew. “We’re already
supplying a number of shops
and cafés in Sheffield and the
University and Sheffield NHS
are keen to take more but we
haven’t had the processing
and bottling capacity to meet
demand.”
A new processing facility
just completed will change that
– and it will enable Our Cow
Molly butter to be added to the
product mix.

‘We are the last
Sheffield farm
processing its
own milk’
The colourful branding used
on containers and delivery vans
and regular use of social media
has helped offset the decline in
traditional doorstep deliveries
by promoting fresh milk sales
to shops and cafés, and sales
of the varied flavours of Our
Cow Molly ice cream sold on
the farm.
“This is the last farm in
Sheffield processing its own
milk and for years we just
milked the cows, delivered
the milk and didn’t tell anyone
about it,” says Eddie Andrew.
“Through our branding and

60 Jun/Jul 2015 www.farmers-mart.co.uk

Mick Rimmer (left) from Barlow’s of Henbury hands the keys of
the new McCormick tractor to Graham Andrew at Cliffe House
Farm, home of Sheffield’s Our Cow Molly Superfresh Milk.

promotion at events, and by
using Facebook and Twitter,
we’ve built a strong reputation
for a quality local product with
good nutritional and ‘green’
credentials.
“That enables us to sell a
greater proportion of our milk
more profitably and to invest
in the new processing facility,
creating opportunities for
expansion and safeguarding
jobs on the farm,” he adds.
While the new processing
facility will be a key element
of future retail growth, the
new McCormick tractor will be
the lynch pin of the farming
operation that supplies it.
The new X6 design is a more
advanced successor to the X60
and MC ranges that preceded
it, with added features for
increased productivity, a new

cab interior for greater comfort
and driver appeal, and lower
running costs through longer
engine service intervals.
There are three models in the
X6 range, stretching to 140hp.
The X6.420 at Cliffe House
Farm has 111hp when working
with a plough or cultivator or
pulling a trailer or slurry tanker
in the field. But out on the road,
the 4.5-litre engine can produce
a bit more muscle – 121hp –
for added performance and
productivity.
McCormick products are
distributed in Great Britain
by AgriArgo UK Ltd. Unit D3
Harworth Industrial Estate,
Bryans Close, Harworth,
Doncaster DN11 8RY. Tel:
01302 757550 Website: http://
mccormick.agriargouk.co.uk