The Farmers Mart Jun-Jul 2019 - Issue 63 | Page 60

60 WILDON GRANGE JUN/JUL 2019 • farmers-mart.co.uk Sales ● Installation ● Spares ● Servicing ● Testing Automated Milking Systems ● Milking Parlours ● Milk Cooling & Storage Barn Equipment ● Feeding ● Dairy & Animal Hygiene ● Herd Management Calf Feeding & Rearing Equipment Proud suppliers to ngus ngu and & Sue Gaudie udie John Sally Gaud Banks Stamfre S frey F of Wildon Grange Coverbridge Farm, East Witton, Leyburn, North Yorkshire, DL8 4SQ Tel: [phone] Email: [email protected] Visit: gea.com Feeders - Buckets - Muck forks - Bale spikes - Bainbridge Rotary Sweepers BAINBRIDGE ENGINEERING ARE PROUD TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH A E BANKS & SON East Farm, Cold Kirby, Thirsk, YO72HL T: 01845 597655 / 07831 425056 E: [email protected] Find us on: BAINBRIDGE ENGINEERING are independent feeder specialists dealing in Sales, repairs, and relines of most makes of feeders www.bainbridge-engineering.com Come and see us on stand no.001 at The Great Yorkshire Show this year on 9th-11th July which will be the shows 161st year! housed. We looked at robots and I like the concept of robotic milking but the rotary parlour’s capacity for greater numbers is the key. When Clarkson Dairy Services took us to see the rotary in operation at a farm in Scotland we immediately thought there was little point in looking at anything else. We duly did look at other options but we were so taken with the rotary parlour and it made sense finan- cially. People visiting on OFS are fascinat- ed by it.’ John and Roger’s Holsteins are not pedigree but they are of high genetic merit and average around 11,000 litres. Young stock grazes outside for the first two years before entering the herd and expansion of the dairy herd has come through their own calving regime having served nearly everything to the Holstein using sexed se- men until recently. Beef calves go at three to four weeks to local farmers. ‘We are also exploring genomics,’ says Sally. ‘We are sending off hair or ear notch samples to America for DNA profiling which will tell us the animal’s traits earlier and means you can make decisions over rank- ing and breeding potential earlier.’ The Banks family has sold milk to Arla from the days when it was Express that changed to Arla. ‘The really big thing with Arla for us as expanders is the contract is evergreen and they are guaranteed to take all the milk we produce at the same price. In times of low prices the fact that they take it all makes every drop vital. Another benefit is that being part of Arla our price is being held up by a buoyant business platform they have in place at present.’ John and Roger’s grandparents relocat- ed to Wildon Grange when their farm on the edge of Dalton airfield, which was to be expanded, was requisitioned pre-WWII. Cliff purchased another farm Low Kilburn Grange in the 60s with the words from his local bank manager telling him: ‘Cliff you go to the sale, bid what you think it’s worth and I’ll give you the money’. Wildon Grange was purchased out of tenancy in the early to mid 80s when the opportunity arose. Today’s overall farming operation includes the dairy cows and arable crops that supply feed for the cattle and wheat that is sold through Argrain. Their land is predominantly clay loam, which is described by Roger as good grass growing land that will also grow 3.5 tonnes per acres of wheat. Maize is grown on the lighter land. It’s a strong family unit at Wildon Grange with John and Roger’s mum Angela Banks Sr also involved in Open Farm Sunday and with Charlotte and Becky being the next fourth generation coming on.