The Farmers Mart Jun-Jul 2020 - Issue 69 | Page 22

22 EBCO HOLDINGS LTD JUN/JUL 2020 • farmers-mart.co.uk We offer collection and Disposal services for all categories of fallen stock and animal by-products, servicing butchers,abattoirs, farmers and catering establishments ANIMAL BY-PRODUCT RENDERERS, MANUFACTURERS OF TALLOW & PROTEIN MEALS JG Pears wishes Ed Barker & Ebco Holdings continued success for the future Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone] Email: [email protected] Mobile: [phone] Head Office: Bella Vista Farm, Hartcliffe, Penistone, Sheffield. S36 9FN Proud to be working with Edward Barker and Ebco Holdings For all your accountancy & tax needs Selby Office 01757 703731 jwpcreers.co.uk Helping to minimise your tax liability and maximise your profitability York Office 01904 717260 The current Covid situation has had very differing effects across the agricultural sector. Prior to lockdown they were absolutely booming, but within a very short space of time, with the closure of the catering industry, demand crashed leaving too much production for the marketplace. With an operation of this size, Ed and his team needed to act fast to stay afloat and weather the storm, so they shut one 150,000 bird unit and rather than having a separate sex system in place it made more sense to rear as hatched. Thankfully, supermarket demand has gone through the roof, with many more people cooking at home rather than relying on fast food and eating out. All their farms are retail approved. It has been a testing time and has put further expansion investment on hold, however investment in the quality of the sheds and bird environment has continued with the addition of windows, superior feeding and watering equipment, enrichment and reduced flock density and increased rearing times. The success of many farming operations these days is often down to, or enhanced by, diversification. Well here is no exception, as the other side to the business is waste management, and as I saw when I entered the yard, this is no small operation. The recycling side began in 2002, today it is a significant part of the overall business. They have a huge scrap wood recycling side where local skip firms bring all their waste wood in for recycling. T. ELSEY TYRES LTD “TYRES MALTON” Exhausts Batteries Car, truck & agricultural tyres 24hr breakdown & call out service Take advantage of the NFU affinity discount scheme for members with these manufacturers: Proud suppliers to Ed Barker and Ebco Holdings Showfield Lane Industrial Estate, Malton, Yorkshire, YO17 6BT Call: 01653 693830 www.terryelseytyres.co.uk Hundreds of tonnes of wood are processed each week by the giant Lancashire crushing machine you can see in the picture. An amazing machine to see in action , it splits out the large pieces of metal to one side, nails into a separate bin (producing as much as 3 or 4 tonnes of nails a week), the remainder than goes into the crusher to be shredded for wood waste to go for further recycling or to burn in biomass boilers. Going forward, the plan is to use a significant part of the waste to fuel their own biomass boilers. They installed biomass boilers some time ago due to Government incentives not to use gas. Currently they buy in softwood logs, season for a year and then shred and use in in the boilers. Big investment has been made in putting up a waste incinerator on one of their sites. It involves the very latest technology in order to conform with very strict emission laws. The system is constantly monitored. It does mean that they can incinerate contaminated waste such as sleepers and painted wood as well as normal waste. The furnace burns at 1500 degrees and fumes spend a critical 2 seconds in the flue. The incineration plant produces both electricity and heat for the chicken sheds. There is a separate site which is for inert waste such as soils and rubble which is processed and separated for crushing, this really increases the recycling side significantly. Thankfully during this crisis, all twenty-one of Edward’s staff have remained at work as it is easy to keep the important distance, and everyone can do everything within the business. This is a very tight knit team, with Ed leading most definitely from the front. It is a rare day he gets to spend in the office - most of his time is spent hands-on at any one of the sites, either assisting or advising staff, or doing the job himself. From very small beginnings and those bold first steps, Ed has built a highly sustainable and robust business with much opportunity for growth which he plans to develop as soon as we are past the current situation. We wish both Ed and the team continued success.