Be efficient or get out
Be efficient or get out
Evidence of change in
farming is apparent
everywhere and
Management Matters is no
exception. This week we
introduce our new eastern
spotlight unit, Dereham-
based Swanton Morley
Farms. Simon Wragg reports
NORFOLK is littered with extensive arable units, but not many can boast the mix of enterprises of Swanton Morley Farms.
From his base at Hoe Hall, near Dereham, James Keith oversees a business which includes 890ha (2200 acres) of medium sandy loam soil much of which is down to cereals, sugar beet and break crops. A further 182ha (450 acres) is contract farmed locally.
Stock also plays its part. A 140-cow Friesian dairy herd was dispersed after quotas arrived and duck fattening ended after demand dried up. In their place are two outdoor pig herds, one conventional and the other organic, in addition to a small herd of suckler cows and red deer. A small family shoot is also managed.
Genteel as the latter may sound there is no doubt that this unit is fighting hard to be efficient. "It is either progress or get out. We must aim to be in the top 10% of efficient farms," says Mr Keith.
Staff will play a significant role in moving the family-owned business forward. A big change has been to cut back sharply on outside professional help in the form of accountants, agronomists and advisers. "The budget for professional fees was getting silly," he says.
In their place Mr Keith has recently employed Simon Brock as arable manager. Being both FACTS and BASIS qualified he is expected to provide the fine tuning to arable operations that Mr Keith says is needed.
Mr Brock will also help in the preparation of budgets. Admin-istrative support is given by Michelle Seale in the farm office. "This should leave more time for me to add value to what we produce by working with and listening to our customers," says Mr Keith.
An example of this is the development of the organic pig herd. "We were already supplying baconers from a high welfare straw-based system to Waitrose. When they looked for an organic supplier I said why dont you speak to me?" That sparked the launch of the Organic Pig Company, a 140-sow herd located on rented ground on a nearby organic unit. "We are the couch removers in the rotation," he adds. The first piglets are due in a few weeks and will be ready for Waitrose shelves in October. Prices have been negotiated using feed as a benchmark.
What of the other livestock? Red deer calves are bought in for finishing and then marketed through Yorks-based Northern Venison to the supermarket trade. Suckler cows – described as mobile lawnmowers – are used to manage parkland under a potential Countryside Stewardship scheme for the preservation of a site marking a medieval village.
Environmental schemes also cover river banks, hedgerows and the number of small coppices. "These have encouraged wildlife and we have a man on vermin control to keep order."
Returning to adding value, Mr Keith says grain is a different prospect. A commodity in its own right, sales from Swanton Morley Farms are dedicated to a farmer-controlled merchant group. Supplies from an off-lying farm are marketed by Mr Keith, who once worked as a trader himself, to use as a comparison.
Most wheat will go for feed and barley for malting, comments Mr Brock. "Premiums for other uses wouldnt cover storage and haulage from here. Yield, therefore, is our main target," he says. Arable budgets have set these at almost 9t/ha (3.64t/acre) for winter wheat, over 8t/ha (3.3t/acre) for winter barley and 50t/ha (20t/acre) for clean sugar beet.
Arable kit includes three four-wheel drive tractors, two JD2266 combines – which cover neighbouring ground on contract – and a 24m Sands sprayer. Additional drivers and tractors are hired in during harvest and autumn cultivations.
"We run machinery tightly, but I wonder if it can be squeezed further without compromising the ability to get crops drilled in the back end.
"While the farm is predominately medium sandy loam it ranges from gravel to sticky clay at the extremes. In one area we can plough and drill sugar beet after rain while further down you cant touch land for six weeks," says Mr Keith.
While cultivations may have their limits there is no restriction of future developments for the business as a whole. Ideas include developing an agronomy service, admin support and further contracting for local growers.
"We have to capitalise on the in-house ability we have," says Mr Keith. That should be evident when farmers weekly returns to Hoe Hall in June when arable duties are in full swing ahead of harvest and those first organic pigs are on the ground. *
FARMFACTS
• Swanton Morley Farms,based near Dereham, Norfolk, is a 890ha (2200 acres) largely arable unit managed as a family partnership by James Keith, his wife, Victoria, and mother, Penelope.
• Arable crops cover 90% of the unit. Wheat grown on medium sandy loam soil goes as feed. Barley goes for malting. Sugar beet is also grown. A further 182ha (450 acres) is contract farmed locally.
• There are two outdoor pig herds; 550-sow conventional and 140-sow organic. Growers are taken to bacon weight in straw yards. A 26-cow suckler herd grazes parkland. Red deer calves are also finished.
• A number of cottages are let.
• Farm staff of 12.