Yorkshire sheep collaboration works well for all

You might think that Peter Caley had enough on his plate without taking on a new sheep enterprise. A tenant with his father on the Burton Constable estate near Hull, he bales around 243ha of forage a year to sell through his business, Smithy Briggs Hay and Straw, and has just over 50ha of arable land.

He also finishes 4,000 indoor pigs and is a director of the Green Pea Company, growing for Bird’s Eye. He has two young daughters with his wife Clare, who helps run a 16,000 hen free-range unit on her family’s tenanted farm six miles away.

So why would he join forces with an old college friend who farms 40 miles away, with a view to establishing a sheep flock of up to 2,000 ewes? Surprisingly, the businesses fit very well together, making best use of available grassland and of each business partner’s abilities.

Six Valley Lamb was born of Mr Caley’s need to graze hay aftermaths from his forage business over the winter. He approached Adam Palmer, a tenant at North Breckenholme, Thixendale, who originally had 300 breeding ewes, finishes 1,200 pigs a year, has 93ha of arable land. He also runs a cold crushed rapeseed oil venture.

Joint venture

Lamb collaboration 1

“Adam wanted to free up more time to develop his Yorkshire Rapeseed Oil business, but needed to keep the sheep for grassland management. So we ended up forming a joint venture to expand the flock to a commercially viable level and make best use of our resources,” says Mr Caley.

The pair created a Limited Liability Partnership, with funding, costs and profits split down the middle. Established in 2010, they have already expanded the flock to 550 ewes by buying two existing flocks.

They also have a grazing agreement on 162ha near Driffield, midway between the two farms. “It’s land that was being grazed by one of the flocks we bought, some of which is not fenced, which presents a challenge,” says Mr Caley. “But there are some herbs and grasses that the sheep seem to like – the lambs do very well on it.”

The ewes lamb in April at Thixendale and are moved to Driffield or Burton Constable after weaning in late July. “The land at Thixendale is a lot thinner, and the grass has run out of steam by mid-summer.” The lambs are finished on grass to sell from September onwards, with the ewes and replacements supplemented with silage and fodder beet over the winter.

“We try to group the sheep together so we don’t need to move them too often,” says Adam. “And we also move them in groups of a full wagon to make it more efficient – although we have a livestock box on the tractor for short trips.”

Last year the pair took on Lizzie Jennings, a part-time shepherdess and recent graduate of Bishop Burton College. Despite coming from a non-farming background, Lizzie is passionate about sheep. “She is fully committed, and wants to run the flock full-time in the longer term.”

While distance poses some challenges, communication is not one of them. “Adam and I speak on the phone daily, and we hold quite a lot of meetings on Skype – I probably only drive up to Thixendale once a month, apart from when we’re lambing,” says Mr Caley.

Teamwork

Adam Palmer

Juggling so many enterprises can be difficult, so it’s essential to have a good team of people around you, he adds. “I have to be very organised with my time, but my father John manages the arable crops and oversees the haymaking, and we also have a good pigman and shepherdess. You do need good communication skills, as you can’t physically do all the jobs, so you have to make sure everyone knows what they are doing.

“Within Six Valley Lamb, Adam is the sheep farmer and I’m the forage farmer, so we have different skills that match up quite well. He’s a qualified book-keeper, so he does the book-keeping and website (www.sixvalleylamb.co.uk), while I’m a former farm consultant, so I do all the budgets. We had to produce a solid business plan to convince the bank to lend to us, and it is continually evolving.”

One change has been to speed up expansion of the flock, although the cost of buying in ewes is somewhat limiting. “We could look at breeding our own replacements, but the new [bought-in] flocks are not really suitable – having bought one mixed flock I would never do it again,” says Mr Palmer.

“We could keep more ewe lambs, or buy in gimmers, but it’s a year before they can breed, and we need to keep the cashflow going, so at the moment we’re buying replacements in September and putting them straight to the tup in November.

“Ultimately, it would be nice to buy all our sheep from one supplier, so we know what we’re getting. We’re currently using Charollais and Suffolk rams, but we might switch to the Meatlinc breed because it suits what we’re trying to do, in producing a supermarket-spec R3L lamb.”

The sheep are clearly benefiting from the better forage provided through the partnership. “The soil at Burton Constable is nice and fertile, with plenty of new grass leys for the hay enterprise,” says Mr Caley.

“Last year we sent the worst lambs to Burton Constable and kept the best at Thixendale as they were nearly ready to finish, but the Burton Constable group actually finished more quickly, which really brought the difference in forage home to us.

“I make so many different types of hay and forage for my customers that there is always something to suit the sheep’s dietary needs at any time of the year. We want to feed them in a more scientific manner, rather than just giving them what’s available, and they are so much fitter as a result – this year the ewes have scanned at 200%, with the shearlings at 185% and only five not in lamb.”

Forage preservative

To guarantee hay quality, Mr Caley treats it with a forage preservative which prevents mould and enables him to bale it at up to 25% moisture if necessary. He cuts a mixture of seed hay and meadow hay, in a variety of bale sizes, and also bales 2,000 acres of straw a year.

Lamb collaboration 2

“By taking on the extra land near Driffield, we have more pasture we can cut, to continue expanding the hay business – and we can bring in hay or silage from elsewhere to feed the sheep as needed. The two enterprises really are very complimentary.”

Ultimately, he and Adam would like to sell branded Six Valley Lamb through the large retailers – but they still have a bit more investment ahead of them. “Last year we lambed 500 ewes at Thixendale and it was a bit of a squeeze,” says Adam.

“This year we’ve got 550 so the singles will have to lamb outside. But up here on the Yorkshire Wolds the weather can be quite brutal, so we are going to have to bite the bullet and put up some new sheds.

“However, because it’s a tenanted farm that does create some difficulties, particularly in working out how we’re going to fund it between us. We could split the lambing between the two farms, but that would be a lot more complicated, so at the moment we’re considering polytunnels as one option.”

But if they can get the infrastructure right, the opportunities are exciting, he adds. “The business structure is suitable to offer exit opportunities for other sheep farmers, and is capable of expanding further in good market conditions, to the mutual benefit of both of our businesses.”

Six Valley Lamb – how it works

• Two farms, 40 miles apart with 400 acres additional grazing land

• Established joint sheep flock, currently 550 ewes, mainly North of England Mules

• Plans to expand to up to 2,000 ewes and establish Six Valley Lamb as recognised quality brand

• Aims to produce R3L lambs for major retailers

• Sheep move between three sites

• Allows complementary use of permanent pasture, leys, aftermaths and land types

• Best use of expertise of each partner

• Buys in skills where needed

• Expansion allows exit strategy for other producers

• Limited Liability Partnership

Tips for successful collaboration

• Choose the right partner with complimentary skills and character

• Have a solid business plan with a transparent cost/profit split

• Be organised and communicate regularly

• Delegate jobs to skilled people who can manage their side of the business

Limited Liability Partnerships

• Operate in similar way to a normal partnership but offer reduced personal liability for business debts

• Can offer significant tax savings compared with trading through a limited company. Taxed largely in same way as partnerships

• Personal guarantees may still be required when borrowing

• Flexibility in commercial and management decisions

• Chosen by Six Valley Lamb for simplicity of structure and limited liability – each of principals was already partner in own farming business

• Less complicated than company but requires reports to Companies House

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