You would expect Antony Pearce to like number crunching. Having spent several years as an accountant and financial adviser it is in his blood.

So it is not surprising to learn that the 365ha Moat Farm in Stoke Mandeville, Bucks that Antony manages with help from his father and brother is “data driven”. So too, is the Cotswold 800ha joint venture that he set up three years ago with a neighbour when the family invested in an arable unit just outside Burford. Antony handles the administration and costings for the partnership in return for the day-to-day management of his 400ha arable cropping.

Benchmarking is critical to his decision making on both farm businesses. He uses Gatekeeper for stock and input costs on both businesses. Costs of production are tracked using HGCA’s Cropbench program.

In his drive to understand where the best margins lie, Antony invited EBLEX’s Dr Liz Genever, ADAS’s Kate Phillips and the 2007 FW Sheep Farmer of the Year, David Baber, to scrutinise his sheep business.

“It soon became apparent that even I didn’t have enough data to work out where to go forward. I needed to get a more accurate picture of lamb mortality, the time I was spending to finish the lambs, stocking rates and grass measurements to name but a few.”

Since then, he has invested in a plate meter to record grass growth and he contributes to the FW Grass Watch online initiative. This has enabled him to make better use of his grass, cut fertiliser costs and increase stocking density to 11 ewes/ha. Average lamb mortality has dropped from 25% to 13% too.

He built an Access database for the Christmas turkey sales which enabled him to dramatically reduce his safety stock margin. His website, sales service and open-farm policy is delivering very high customer loyalty.

The heavy land at Moat Farm is challenging and unforgiving in wet years. Blackgrass is a major problem on his rotation of first and second wheat, rape and spring beans. He autocasts rape to help keep on top of the grass weed and is introducing more grass leys and swift forage crops to help. Yields are now averaging more than 9t/ha for first wheat and oilseed rape 3.6t/ha. Working with the benchmark group has enabled him to cut wheat growing costs by £25/t.

Both farms are in ELS, with 5m buffer strips running adjacent to permanent water courses to reduce run-off and potential pesticide contamination. He’s a LEAF member and helped out neighbour, Ian Waller, with Open Farm Sunday.

Keen to explore new opportunities, Antony obtained planning permission for a biogas plant fuelled on maize and grass. “Niggling” regulations and limited returns have scuppered further development, but the project is typical of his continuous drive to seize new opportunities.

Every farming decision of his busy life is done with the backing of detailed figures. His plans for the future include reducing wheat production costs below £100/t, expanding the sheep flock and setting an example of “willing openness to discuss difficult farming issues with the public”.

PROFILE

• 35 years old

•Ind financial adviser

• Farms 365ha arable and 170 ewes in partnership with father

• Formed and administers a 800ha arable partnership in the Cotswolds

• Runs a Christmas outdoor 500-flock turkey business

• Has produced boxed lamb for Budgens

• Treasurer of Vale Training Group

• Local facilitator for HGCA Cropbench

THE JUDGES LIKED:

• Detailed analysis of each business

• Explores new opportunities

• Shares his learning with others

• Engages with customers and the public

• For more on the 2010 Farmers Weekly Awards
• For more on the 2010 finalists