The Farmers Mart Spring 2017 - Issue 50 | Page 77

Scarah Bank Farm ♦ Forage Harvesting ♦ Full / Part Operation ‘Farming today is probably as hard as it has ever been although it is not as physically demanding. You work just as many hours but the way it is done means there is not as much shovelling and your quality of life is better. I used to start at 5.30 every morning but the beauty of having robots is that things are happening and you don’t need to be there. These days I now don’t start while 6.30 but if I didn’t get up until 9 o’clock the cows would still have to be milked. ‘Having robots allows me to spend more quality time with the cows and they are a lot healthier through it. Routines such as bedding and footbathing are times when you get to see the herd and how happy each cow is.’ Andrew is one of four farming brothers who were all in partnership until 10 years ago. The move coincided with the passing of their father Geoff. ‘There’s my elder brother William, then me, Peter and John. We’re all independent now and all pursuing farming our own way for our individual families in a five mile radius of each other. Alison and I have two children – Lucy (12) and Geoffrey (10). ‘We’re farming across 240 acres and currently have 195 ♦ Grass / Wholecrop Direct Cut with or without Mill / Maize ♦ Maize Drilling with Fertiliser Placement / Disc Drill ♦ Ploughing ♦ Splash Plate, 6m Injector ♦ Grass Re-Seeding Full / Part Operation ♦ Combination Cereal Drilling ♦ Power Harrowing ♦ Umbilical Slurry Spreading ♦ Gritting / Snow Clearance Proud to be associated with Andrew Walmsley and family of Scarah Bank Farm Contact us! Office 01423 781331 Andrew 07974441654 | Sam 07968532079 Email [email protected] [email protected] mainly Holstein Friesian cows of which around 165 are milking at any one time. Our herd average is just over 10,000 litres at the moment and since we’ve put up the new building we keep all the milking herd indoors 365 days a year. The move to robots has lifted our herd average by around 2000 litres. We rear our own heifers for replacements and the heifers and dry cows go out during summer. The herd transferred over to robotic milking quite easily and they were all used to it within two weeks. The heifers took to them like ducks to water as Proud suppliers to Andrew Walmsley of Scarah Bank Farm, wishing them continued success Moor Lane, Full Sutton, York, YO41 1HX Tel: 01759 373062 / 01759 368563 (evening) Fax: 01759 372929 Web: www.edwardstrailers.co.uk www.edwardstrailers.co.uk PRODUCING MILK AND CREAM TO THE HIGHEST OF STANDARDS Paynes Dairies Ltd, based in Yorkshire, operates throughout the whole of the UK providing raw and processed milk andcream to numerous wholesalers, manufacturing companies, catering and retail outlets. They produce milk and cream to the highest of standards and are acredited by numerous blue chip companies as well as having BRCstandard Higher Level for the last 3 years. Proud to support Andrew Walmsley of Scarah Bank Farm T: 01423 326058 | F: 01423 325702 | E: [email protected] Paynes Dairies, Bar Lane, Boroughbridge, YO51 9L www.farmers-mart.co.uk Spring 2017 77