ISSUE 51
MOWING TO THE MAX With a focus on producing high quality forage for its 250-cow herd, Stanworth Agricultural based at Black Moss Farm near Preston, Lancashire, is geared up for dealing with tight weather windows.
“It’s all about the detail,” he adds. “We’re also focussed on safety and professionalism, and we’d like to develop the farm to be a centre of excellence for everything we do.” With a keen eye for detail, Ed says the simplicity of the mowers and their adjustability means stubble heights can be easily managed, along with achieving a clean cut to promote faster regrowth. “We’ll only mow what we can chop in a day, which is usually around 150-200 acres/day depending on how heavy the crop is,” explains Ed. “These mowers work well. They are very easy to use and they’re not heavy – they glide across our fields. And with hoods that afford swathing or spreading, we have versatility to suit the growing season, with every cut we take.” The farm is on a programme of continual expansion that should see its herd peak at 600 cows, making its current machinery investments lean towards future-proofing the business. “Taking up to four, 300-acre cuts means these mowers are not working very hard, so they’re a long-term investment, which will help to keep our operating costs low.”
Among its machinery fleet is a pair of Kverneland 5387MT butterfly mowers and a four-rotor Kverneland 95130C rake, essential components for its focus of being totally in control of silage making. “To keep our herd producing an 11,500-litre average, we need rations that include high quality forage at 30% dry matter,” explains farm manager Ed Swindlehurst. “So when it comes to silage, we don’t need mown grass sat on the ground for any longer than 24 hours.” With a view to working more efficiently and with consideration to staff welfare, Ed has invested in a pair of 5387MT butterfly units from Clarke and Pulman. “It’s vital that we can get over the work quickly and efficiently, without having to work extremely long days,” he says. “And that means having the capacity to get things done. So with two 8.7m triple mowers, we don’t have to start mowing too early, so we can let the sugars rise.” Just as important is not working long into the night just to make sure there’s enough grass down for the forager.
“These mowers work well. They are very easy to use and they’re not heavy – they glide across our fields.” Ed Swindlehurst, farm manager
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