The Farmers Mart Oct/Nov 2016 - Issue 48 | Página 25

Osgodby Grange

ROBERT D WEBSTER LTD
Kilham: 01262 420 226 | Howden: 01430 430 624
Owstwick: 01964 670 224

New Sales • Used Sales • Parts & Service
“We’ve grown maize for 10
years since giving over with
sugar beet when the York factory
closed.”
The largest expense in
recent times has been the farm
investment in a brand new state
of the art Perry grain dryer. It’s
presently Doug’s pride and joy
and he realises how much of a
boon it is to other farmers. He’s
keen to let others come and take
a look with a view to him drying
their grain.
“It does 25 tonnes an hour.
We’ve installed storage and
a weighbridge too and we’re
good to go. It has cost us around
£250,000 and we have already
started drying for two or three
new farmer customers this year.
It’s a big expense but I believe
in our game of farming you’ve
got to have some pain on! If you

don’t do something then you can
soon end up going backwards
instead of forwards.”
Where Doug is perhaps
better known at least in recent
years is for his ground breaking
new business in beef cattle
contracting. Put simply he
doesn’t own any cattle but
between now and next May he
will have 700 beasts on at any
one time.
“We were probably ahead
of the game and in ten years
maybe everybody will be doing
what we’re doing with having
specialist breeders and specialist
finishers who never own what
they are finishing. It’s a way
of everyone playing to their
strengths. My grandfather was a
dairy farmer but packed in many
years ago. We then had suckler
cows but I found that if you buy

We put the customer first

Pleased to be associated
with Doug Dear of Osgodby
Grange Farm and wish
him continued success.

Robert D. Webster Ltd are the
New Holland dealers in East Yorkshire
... we sell New Holland combines,
telehandlers, tractors and balers

your own cattle there is not a lot
of margin and you could end up
with £1m laid out to make only
a small return. I felt we could do
things differently.”
Doug must be doing
something right because last
year he won an Innovator Award
through Farmers Guardian
and this year he is one of the
nominees as Beef Farmer of the
Year in Farmers Weekly.
“All we do is finish the stock
that comes here. In September

we start with steers and heifers
of all breeds and crossbreeds
including Stabilisers and
Charolais. We get anything that
has done a year at grass that
needs a 90-day quick finish.
They are usually around 18-20
months and need taking from
550 kilos and banging on the
extra 100 to get the cover and
reach the spec that Woodheads
are looking for. In November
and December we move on to
predominantly Stabiliser bulls

www.farmers-mart.co.uk Oct/Nov 2016 25