Flawborough Farms
Three generations making
the land work for them
»»Three generations ago,
Flawbrough Farms was a
humble 300 acre arable
farm. But today, thanks to
the progressive thinking,
technical knowledge and highly
professional approach of Tom
Hawthorne and his father, John,
this is now both an impressive
farm and contract farming
business. Ian Wilkinson went
along to find out more.
The business is located in
the arable heartland in the
small hamlet of Flawborough,
just seven miles from Newark
and next door to Alverton. I
met up with the energetic and
enthusiastic Tom Hawthorne,
the younger half of the father
and son partnership that runs
Flawbrough farms which is
now a 4,000 acre Arable and
Contract Farming business.
Meeting Tom, it is clear that
he always thinking ahead and
constantly looking for new
and better ways to manage
the farm along with his father.
Their vision and energy
enables them to drive down
costs and increase yield and
profits while managing to take
care of the environment. They
have also put good customer
service at the top of the list
which makes a significant
difference to the success of
the enterprise.
Tom and John have
expanded steadily and
sustainably, acquiring more and
more land to the point where
they now own 1,000 acres; and
following John’s decision in
the late 90s to make a foray
into the world of contract
farming, they now have 5,000
acres in total under their keen
management. Tom says it was
either that or bring people in to
manage their land.
Contract farming is a
joint venture agreement
between eight land owners
and Flawborough Farms.
The landowners keep their
own identity supplying the
land and variable costs, while
Flawborough Farms supplies
all the necessary machinery,
labour and management
expertise, to establish, manage
and harvest the crops.
“Using our considerable
knowledge and expertise,
we are able to bespoke an
agreement to fit customer’s
farming and countryside
management requirements,”
says Tom.”Whether you are
an existing farmer exploring
different options for your
farming business, a country
estate thinking of modernising
your operation or an investor
looking to gain from the
benefits of being a ‘farmer and
land owner’, we can tailor-make
an agreement to suit your
needs.”
Years ago there was a
certain amount of pastureland
at the farm, but that was when
machinery weighed only 2.5
to 6 tons - whereas now it can
weigh 60 tons or more which
can really compact the soil. So
as a result of heavy working
and constant flooding, the land
is now an extreme clay soil
landscape, some 70 percent
with overlaying sand and
Gypsum. To maximise returns
and yields certain crops work
best – such as wheat, rape,
winter and spring barley, maize
and spring beans.
Tom explained how important
it is to develop strong soil
management practices to
offset worrying fluctuations
in the wheat price and the
low profitability in general
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8 Oct/Nov 2015 www.farmers-mart.co.uk