Few pictures from round the farms *Updated on - 10/03/13*

[Deere-est]

Blimey, Steve!! That has whipped on by quickly. Good to see you on here once more, how is it going at the new plant?

[batcher]

Blimey, Steve!! That has whipped on by quickly. Good to see you on here once more, how is it going at the new plant?

If you can call a 50 year old plant  new .Hard going at times but fun. But there is talk of shutting my plant at the end of this month to put a brand new one in but they being saying that for the last 12 months.Been popping in now and again just to keep up to date 

[Deere-est]

Had a couple of multi drop days in the rigid back along. I had a topper (wish the farm had kept this one!) which was very little used and went to a farm just outside Gloucester, a Spaldings flail topper with hydraulic offset. I then dropped off three disc ploughs at another tractor dealer just outside Hereford. It was on up to a manufacturer after that to drop off a large seed drill, a gravity fed machine built in Turkey which was bought in and then I dropped it off to see if it could be made in this country any cheaper, this went to Price Fallows in Shrewsbury. From here I went just north of town to drop of a Kongskilde cultivator then across to Audlem (Shrops) to drop off the Albutt buckrake.

 

 

 

Then I had to pick up a Massey 124 baler, this was near Loggerheads and was stright forward enough, just a simple lift on with the crane. Finally, just before darkness fell I managed to get to farm near Alcester in Warks to load up an MF290, a Howard rotavator and a Lely power harrow. Bit of a squeeze which mean't I had to remove the crumbler roller on the power harrow but I got it all in and got my head down near Evesham that night, running home the following day, getting back to the yard at 7am .. I was pooped!!

 

 

A load of hay mean't I could pick up a load of tractors for a back load the following week, seen here on the hill south of Newcastle Emlyn, Pemrokeshire.

 

[Deere-est]

I delivered his little beauty to a customer near Worcester a week or two ago, fed up with having their Chinese 'tractor in a crate' constantly letting them down they bit the bullet and bought a fully refurbished 135. Shame to have to leave it there, I could have easily dropped it off at my place!!

 

 

Then a lorry which was bought from Wadworths Brewery a few months back arrived back at the yard sporting a brand new cattle body which will be going into service with us soon. The cab and chassis rails are being sprayed up over this weekend then it just needs sign writing. Good lorry for the job, midi wheels all round so it is nice and low and it also a rear steer and I think, all on air.

 

 

 

I half wondered if this would be staying for the farm too but it has already been sold, 2002 with what is believed to be 60,000 bales on the clock but who really knows!

 

[Tractorman810]

they going to have you on cattle truck duties then tris?? cerainly looks a decent ride, most of them dray wagons seem to have all the options for tight spaces like the rear stear etc

[Deere-est]

The nearly new cattle shed is just about completed now all bar some gate latches and so on by the looks of it. Smart job has been made of it too with calving pens down one side of it, 20ft by 15ft pens and then the rest down to loose housing. The feed barriers on the pen side have an opening barrier gate and also halter feeders to aid any tasks like getting calves to suckle from their mothers or injections and so on for the cattle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And since all that, a third shed has been erected, this one is general storage for hay/straw, cattle, machinery basically whatever is needed at the time but mainly straw. It has since been cladded but the concrete panels have not arrived yet. The area between the three sheds (to the left of this one) which will be a large chipping based yard is at the moment a heap of chippings and what was the perimeter post and rail fence and all sorts of other junk etc so big clean up has started there to open the area up.

 

[Deere-est]

they going to have you on cattle truck duties then tris? ? cerainly looks a decent ride, most of them dray wagons seem to have all the options for tight spaces like the rear stear etc

 

Have been doing a couple of loads of late yes but in the 7.5t MAN, which can only sensible carry 5 - 6 cows so it's a bit on the small side!! Yes this looks like it will be a good cattle wagon. Just a shame about that badge on the front!! Cars and vans, yes. Lorries? Has to be a Scania for me I'm afraid!!

[Tractorman810]

is that cattle body detachable to??? will make a half decent local bales delivery wagon to if it is? wonder if thats why they got it

[Deere-est]

It has been made detachable yes but we don't do any local deliveries with bales. What it may well see though, is a pair of ally ramps slung underneath as being plated at 26t, it will be a better job than the little MAN which will undoubtedly go now. This one has LED lighting inside and three compartments too I should have said. The MAN has two compartments but but because you cant carry enough cows, they are too loose for transport so you have to put them all in one compartment - then fear being overweight on one axle. With this one, it won't matter.

[pistol pete]

how many charolais do they have on the farm

[Deere-est]

Blimey, quite a few!! They have a mix of all sorts but have always had pedigree Charolais as a herd in their own right. I think in time though, the sucklers will be reduced and the store cattle will become the main beef enterprise, hence the cattle lorry being put into service so we can weigh them regularly and as soon as premium weights are reached they can go for slaughter instead of being kept on while the others catch them up. That way they should always get the highest figure rather than an average across the age group.

[pistol pete]

wish we had cattle sheds like those for our charolias but we will have to put up with the little ones.

[Deere-est]

The farm itself didn't have any cattle buildings before the big one with the indoor clamp between the loose housing, Pete. The only shed they had was demolished to make way for the new workshop and yard which was developed ten years or so ago and the cattle were wintered in the buildings on the next door farm which has been rented, land and buildings for nearly twenty. To make life easier and cut down the man hours spent on the cattle the majority of the cattle will be housed back at Manor Farm, leaving the rented buildings for the hay which is made there and some store cattle.

[Jdeere6910]

Some good shed building gone on there Tris. Self locking yokes are one of the best things we put in, makes handling a lot easier, thats just on dairy stock, I imagine on beef its even more useful.

[Deere-est]

Yeah I am really impressed with that shed, Howards put a lot of thinking into that shed about what would be housed in there and how etc. It's a nice building and the 'new' yard which is gradually coming together up there is going to look pretty smart .... The nice thing is it is designed not only around cattle but also. .. around an artic truck too!!!! The sheds are tall enough to take 16ft of loaded bales in and the yard is big enough to spin right around :)

[MF-ROB]

Some nice Massey stuff there Tris can you not leave it at my house or could you not chat to Mr Howard to see if he could open a yard at my house  

[Deere-est]

You'd never make any money, Bob. .. You'd keep it all!!

 

I'd love one their 135's, I know they are not done to the correct standard for the collector but they still look the part.

[CMB]

The central barrier looks like an old galvanised steel crash barrier 

[CMB]

You'd never make any money, Bob. .. You'd keep it all!! :ha ha!:

 

I'd love one their 135's, I know they are not done to the correct standard for the collector but they still look the part.

 

Funky-looking seat!

[Deere-est]

The central barrier looks like an old galvanised steel crash barrier

Correct, Chris.

As for the seat, its a fairly standard seat.

[Light Land]

Nice beef shed,plenty of air around em.

[Deere-est]

Yeah it does look smart, Ol. I think they have decided they are going to have the far end classes with 'yorkshire boarding' to cut the wind back a bit. The concrete panels were made high on the back of the pens to keep the calves from getting a chill too.