The Farmers Mart Oct/Nov 2016 - Issue 48 | Page 24

Farm
Osgodby
NameGrange

Grain to dry or
Beef to finish?
Chris Berry meets Doug Dear
at Osgodby Grange

Proud to advise Doug Dear on his business,
accountancy and taxation affairs
Based in Selby & York, we have over 75 years’
experience in assisting farmers & landowners.
20-24 Park Street, Selby,
North Yorkshire, YO8 4PW

Genesis 5, Church Lane,
Heslington, York, YO10 5DQ

01757 703731
01904 717260
www.jwpcreers.co.uk

24 Oct/Nov 2016 www.farmers-mart.co.uk

»»WHETHER YOU CALL IT
more strings to your bow or
several eggs in your basket, or
even many fingers in pies, Doug
Dear understands the need to
have whatever they are called.
He’s built a business in recent
times that now encompasses
grain drying, grain storage,
contracting, beef contracting
and his own arable cropping at
Osgodby Grange in the village of
Osgodby near Selby.
“We’ve grown the farm from
what was 550 acres when I came
back in 1991 to 880 acres today
of which we own 750 acres. Most
of our land is ring fenced around
the home farm but we also have
a block in South Duffield and
we’ve just taken on a farm at
North Duffield this year.
“My wife Pam and I make the
overall decisions on the farm and
farming operations but we run
them past my parents Alan and
Elizabeth. Contracting, whether
with the cattle or on the arable
side is now a major part of our
business.”
Doug’s arable cropping for
2017 will see the farm growing
250 acres of winter wheat
varieties Evolution, Relay and JB
Diego.
“We’re battling against
blackgrass and coupled with that
we’ve had a very poor wheat
harvest this year. We did quite
well last year with over 4 tonnes
an acre but this year we’ve only
come home with 2.75 tonnes. We
had the wheat on very strong clay
land and it had its feet in water for
too long. It was a different story
with our winter barley though.
The quantity was there with over
3 tonnes an acre but not the

quality. We grew Volume winter
barley and we’re going with 140
acres of it for next year.”
In order to try his best to
eliminate what blackgrass he
can Doug is experimenting with
cover crops including black oats
this winter with a view to then
going for spring barley across
100 acres next spring. He’s also
growing 135 acres of rape for
next year and 118 acres of maize
for a variety of uses including
forage, anaerobic digesters and
crimping.
“We’re not growing second
wheats any longer as the yield
just isn’t there. On the sandier
land we will probably aim for a
rotation of maize, wheat, two
barleys and maize.”
The arable contracting side of
the Osgodby Grange operation
currently includes crop spraying
and maize drilling.
“I’d like to grow the maize
drilling side of the business.
We did 450 acres last year
including some for my wife
Pam who farms in her own right
with her brother at Melbourne
near Pocklington. Pam is the
daughter of pig protagonist John
Rowbottom. We do all the farm
contracting work at Pam’s and
we are tooled up for everything
with the right kit that we have
invested in heavily. We combine
for a farmer in Barlby near to us
and have a New Holland CX8.
It’s an 06 registered combine
that presently only does 150
hours a year. Our tractors include
a Case Magnum 370, Case
Puma 230, John Deere 7830,
Massey Ferguson 6290 and Ford
TW15. The Magnum is the main
workhorse.