MAKING UP FOR DWINDLING MUCK
MAKING UP FOR DWINDLING MUCK
Muck spreading has long been a traditional contractor
service, though falling cow numbers are already shifting the
workload to an occasional task, as Geoff Ashcroft found out
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE contractor Chris Bishop has seen cow numbers fall drastically in his working area over the last four to five years, and has attempted to deal with the impact it has had on his general contracting business.
"Our muck spreading activities have suffered through farmers getting out of milk, or farms changing hands," explains Mr Bishop who operates from Steeple Claydon, Bucks. "Last year, about 900 cows disappeared from our customer base and as a result, we will probably spread about 45,000-50,000t this year compared to 75,000-80,000t last year."
Mr Bishop fears the reduced workload for muck spreading is an early indication of how his grass and maize silage operations might start to unfold in the next couple of years. As a result, he is trying to develop the arable side of the business with whole farm contract operations to compensate.
Shifting the declining muck heaps are two Samson 10t spreaders which are charged out at £24/hour including tractor and driver or for those occasional big spreading tasks, a team of two spreaders and loading shovel go out for £68/hour. Mr Bishop doesnt hire spreaders for customers to use.
"As a team, we can shift about 1000t/day if theres not too much running about," he says. "The Samson spreaders were an expensive purchase, but in four years of hard work, theyve proved totally reliable and produce a good spread pattern."
On a more positive note however, he has made an effort to diversify his muck spreading activities over recent years to include slurry pumping/spreading using an umbilical system.
"The umbilical work has been very successful for me and my customers," he says. "It enables slurry to be applied with more timeliness in the winter months, so it can be fully utilised by grass ahead of the silage season."
And for such reasons, Mr Bishop has also sacrificed some muck spreader work to favour this more timely umbilical work. But perhaps more importantly for Mr Bishop, it adds another string to his bow and provides important employment for his workforce through otherwise quiet winter months.
"Umbilical work is a job we can do any time of the year and with low ground pressure tyres, it has a minimal effect on the farm and its surroundings," he says.
And its a similar story for general contractor Mark Richardson of Preston Bissett, Buckinghamshire – the ups and downs of being in a mixed farming area having a similar impact on his muck spreading services.
"Muck spreader work used to be a good winter job for us, when the ground was hard from frost," he says. "But two factors have had a big influence on how spreading is carried out."
Falling numbers
"The first factor is mild weather which makes spreading in winter a bit too messy; but the biggest influence has to be falling cattle numbers," he says. "Were just not spreading the volumes we used to – and its not that our customers have gone elsewhere."
"We gave up hiring a few years ago to help spreaders live a little longer," explains Mr Richardson. Currently, the Richardson fleet includes two 10t K-Two spreaders with vertical rear beaters which were bought in December 98 to replace four 10t BJ spreaders.
"Okay, so spreaders have become a little more efficient and weve stepped back from hiring out, but replacing four spreaders with two is indicative of how the muck heaps are dwindling," he says. "Because livestock numbers are falling at such a drastic rate, it wont be long before muck and silage operations become very, very competitive."
Mr Richardsons long association with muck as an alternative fertiliser and not just farm waste has led him to appreciate the value of its content. As such, he is applying his muck analysis skills to individual application of nutrients as he embarks on a split P&K application service this season using satellites and front/rear mounted fertiliser spreaders.
"We need to diversify to survive too, and embracing technology to provide a specialist service to all farms – not just the dairy sector – could hold the key to our future," he says.
For a contractor to provide a service such as muck spreading, it is fair to suggest they might have some form of muck spreading machinery in their fleet. Not Bicester, Oxon-based Ron Varney. His muck spreading service requires him to hire in the spreaders for the job – from his son David.
Side-line
"Although David works for me, he runs a spreader hire business as a side-line and so its easier for me to hire in spreaders when required," explains Mr Varney. "Its just one area where I dont have to take a risk with investing in machinery."
As a contractor, he sees muck spreading as a service which he feels obliged to provide for his customers, even though he does less and less each year. And in this instance, hiring in kit provides the answer.
"I dont get any concessions hiring from family – its £95/day for a K-Two Duo or £85 for a 10t BJ."
But for David Varney, the spreader hire business is a useful extension to working in the family business. His fleet of three 10t spreaders – two BJ and one K-Two Duo – are only parked in the yard between April and July when the silage making workload moves into overdrive.
"Im happy to work in the family business but I also want to do my own thing and spreader hire gives me that opportunity, but its unlikely that Ill be buying any more spreaders for the time being. Theres just too much uncertainty in the livestock sector at the moment," he explains.
Chris Bishop has focused on specialist umbilical slurry work to transform a sporadic muck spreading workload into a near year-round operation.
Ron Varney chooses to hire muck spreaders from his son David, to meet the occasional demand for such a service.
Mark Richardson recently replaced four 10t spreaders with two of the same capacity. "The muck heaps are dwindling," he says.