2010 FW Awards: Beef Farmer of the Year finalist – Paul and Kirsty Westaway
Britain’s livestock sector needs dynamic farmers and in Paul and Kirsty Westaway of Melview Farming it has two of the best.
The county council tenants are both in their thirties and are some of the youngest and most entrepreneurial beef producers in the region. Paul Westaway has used 10 years of experience working with Genus to inform his approach with genetics and he has made major strides in just four years on the farm.
“We came here with just a pitch fork, a wheelbarrow and a grasp of the market. We’ve got a long way to go,” he said. “I am interested in profit per head not pence per kilogram and I am 100% consumer led.”
One of their two main businesses is to finish 70 Angus cross Holstein heifers on a contract with Blade Farming for Tesco’s Finest range and McDonalds. They rear two groups a year of 35 calves that finish every six months to ensure constant cashflow. The calves are on a forward price contract of R4L plus 10p/kg, which allows the Westaways to deliver a workable margin of more than £130 a head before labour.
“The fact we have a guaranteed price the day the calves arrive allows us to control costs and deliver maximum profit per head,” said Paul.
Their breeding and rearing policy is to buy calves from Blade Farming at 12 weeks of age and deliver them at about 260kg a carcass. They aim to finish these heifers at under 18 months of age on grass following strict Blade Farming protocols.
Their second main enterprise is a herd of pedigree Angus cattle, which they mate to the best Angus bulls from around the world that can deliver easy calving, 400-day weight and ribeye area so they can sell quality breeding males and females. They have purchased embryos from elite breeders in the USA and Canada. All bull calves are reared for breeding while the heifers go back into the herd. They now have several cows in the top 1% of the breed.
The unique selling point of the Angus breed is ease of calving and quality beef from grass and so Paul aims for medium sized cows with great longevity.
Cows and heifers are calved in two groups – the younger cows and first time heifers calve in January while the older ones calve in April/May where they do better with grass under feet. Paul starts creep feeding from three months of age and aims to wean calves at 6-7 months.
He needs more cows to achieve his goal of selling 50 breeding bulls a year and he has bought embryos from some of the best cows overseas to help speed up the process. Red Angus embryos were bought from Canada and Paul believes this is a niche market that will grow.
The Angus cross Holstein heifers go into the Angus Finest range for Tescos and marketing their own Melview Angus brand is an ongoing project through county shows and the website (www.britishangus.com), which the couple manage. They will also feature on television talking about their farm and producing the perfect steak for Jimmy Doherty’s Food Factory series to be aired this autumn. Later this year, they plan to launch a new concept called The Perfect Night In, which links Angus steaks with red wine delivered direct to the consumer’s door. The Westaways have also made the most of their location by diversifying into livery and holiday lets.
FARM FACTS
• Gamage Hall Farm, Dymock, Gloucestershire
• Type of enterprise: Breeding pedigree Aberdeen Angus and finishing Angus x Holsteins
• Farm size: 135 acres
• Herd size:> 140
• Financials:> Turnover £100,000 and profit of £15,000 (2009)
THE JUDGES LIKED
• Young farmers using precision techniques to produce quality grass, forage, breeding cattle and beef
• Passionate and enthusiastic about moving his business and the industry forward
• Resourceful at accessing expertise when needed and exploits opportunities