Addition of a dairy herd to Derbyshire farm adds value to the business

Richard Toon admits his dairy knowledge and experience dates back 40 years but he believes this has paved the way for a sustainable farm business.

He says: "Progress is always viewed as a positive but I think we can dip back into the past and pinch the better bits. For me, farming is the whole picture and it is about having the cows to fit the farm and not the other way round."

Richard has followed these guiding principles since he arrived at Lower Grounds 51AV视频22 years ago and his continuing enthusiasm for the cows and the business is obvious.

Describing himself as the 鈥榦ldest first generation farmer around', Richard always wanted to be a farmer so began his career freelance relief milking and driving a cattle wagon.

Making the most of opportunities

"I worked part-time for a gentleman farmer and on his retirement he rented 75 acres to me. A few years later I was offered another 110 acres near where I lived also from someone I worked for.

"We were taking in dairy heifers to rear for other farmers and trying to build our own suckler herd at the time. I heard the tenancy at Lower Grounds was likely to come up and so put in a bid for it and in November 2001 my wife, Anita, and I found out we had secured the farm.

"We moved there in March 2002 and we thought we had cracked it as all the land was ring fenced. But this was only the beginning," Richard says.

He was not in a position to buy in much stock as prices were very high in the aftermath of foot and mouth but he eventually built up numbers to around 100 continental cross sucklers and 350 ewes. Alongside the farm he ran a small mineral and feed business and then started to collect and deliver wool from local producers to the Wool Board in Bradford.

North Devon cattle

As he reached his half century, Mr Toon was offered the parkland on the Okeover Estate and this signalled the start of his love affair with North Devon cattle:

He says: "The parkland was unimproved and unimprovable. We knew the continentals would not do well there so we bought four in-calf North Devon cows.

"They fit in well to their surroundings and are aesthetically pleasing and will run on the parkland all summer and do well. They are quiet, so safer to graze on land with public access."

Shortly after this in 2016, the Toons were offered a neighbouring former dairy farm on the Estate and this signalled a major shift in direction for the farm.

The move to dairy

"We realised it was no use faffing about with beef cattle on a farm with this quality of land and we knew that after the Brexit vote, the Basic Payment Scheme would be disappearing.

"Added to this, we had suffered occasional TB breakdowns and we were struggling to sell youngstock. We decided to swap the continental suckler cows for dairy cows," Richard says.

Around that time, dairy processors were competing for new producers and the family secured a constituent based contract with Cheshire based cheese manufacturers, Joseph Heler.

Richard says: "All we needed was a start and that is what Joseph Heler gave us. We bought a second-hand parlour for 拢2,000 and had it refurbished and installed.

"On October 1, 2018, I milked nine cows at Birdsgrove and sent 285 litres to the dairy after two days. At the time we were milking Friesian black and whites and we continued to buy in more and added a few Jerseys and cross-bred grazing types.

Albion cattle

"I read an article about Albion cattle and how they were native to Bakewell but were becoming endangered. I liked them and then saw some advertised for sale on the society website from Colin Nankervis' herd on the Cornish coast.

"Colin told us his cows were very milky and they were used to a hard farm and we decided to buy 12 cows and a bull unseen.

"In 2021, we purchased another 14 Albion cows from John Ball in Sandbach and while they were very different, they fitted in well.

"We find the Albions are cheap to keep and easy to look after. I look at it from a commercial perspective; these cows have to be a good fit and they must give a return because they are not hobby cows.

"They must be true to type, good milkers and easy calving. I want cows which I have in an interest in because milking is routine and the Albions provide some variety.

"I appreciate the breed needs to be maintained but we need to breed quality. I make a better job of things which I like doing, even though I like all cattle."

Since the first day of milking more than five years ago, Richard has built up the herd to around 140 cows of which 100 will be milked through the parlour at any one time. Of these, there will generally be around 12 to 14 Albions and they typically yield between 5,500 and 6,000 litres per year compared to the herd average of 7,200 litres.

Richard says: "They typically do six or seven lactations so lower our replacement rate. They are fed silage and fodder beet with the other milkers, but a lesser quantity of cake in the parlour. Dry cows receive a little rolled barley and beet pulp, and silage to appetite.

"All milking cows are given a coarse dairy blend with silage fed to appetite and they receive an 18 per cent cake in the parlour. No replacements are reared but cows are purchased in-calf from the South and South West of England through herd drafts and dispersal sales.

All year round turn out

"Our cows are turned out all year round for at least some of the day, and in the summer they are out full time. We like to leave them out as long as possible but we have respect for the land so in mid-winter we scatter fodder beet on a stubble field and turn out there.

"We bring the dry cows up to Lower Grounds 51AV视频when we dry them off so we can keep an eye on them and they go back to Birdsgrove as soon as they have calved. Calves are left on their mothers for up to 36 hours to ensure they receive enough colostrum and are then fed whole cow's milk.

"We wean at between eight and 10 weeks and only retain the pure-bred Albion heifer calves. The Friesian cross Albion females are marketed locally and any other beef cross calves are sold through the Livestock Link Marketing Group."

Making the most of all the ground across both farms is Richard's aim. After the very dry summer of 2018 when they ran short of grazing at Birdsgrove, he bought another second hand 10/10 herringbone parlour for 拢100.

"We had it refurbished and it was installed at Lower Grounds so now we can milk 50 cows here and better utilise the grazing at this farm. The Albions will go out on our steepest ground here and thrive," he says.

The North Devon cows bought initially for the parkland have become an important asset and registered pedigree females now number 40 plus followers.

"I think the North Devons are the South West's best kept secret. They are very quiet, good to handle, they have excellent conformation and easy fleshing comes as standard.

"We have several cows which are between 10 and 12 years old and still calve on the dot. They have a very dense coat and cope well with bad weather and they thrive on the parkland.

"We keep nine or 10 females each year and make the cut very early and only register these animals. If we do not think animals are good enough as a breeding animal, we will sell them as stores at Sedgemoor market.

"Repeat buyers often retail meat boxes and they are looking for Devons to make up their orders because they know what they are buying and how to feed them for the right end product.

"The Devon will typically finish at between 500kg to 550kg liveweight which is ideal for direct selling," Richard says.

Future plans

As he approaches retiring age, Richard shows no sign of slowing down and appears as energetic as many people half his age.
He says: "We would like to remain here as long as we can while we stay healthy.听 Every time we have some money to put into a property of our own, another opening comes along and we always seem to follow farming."

Mr Toon's wife, Anita, a freelance riding instructor, agrees. She says: "We have weighed up the chances each time and taken the opportunity and it has paid off."

51AV视频facts

路听听听听听 The Toon family farm a total of 259ha (640a) across two farms, Lower Grounds 51AV视频and Birdsgrove Farm, both of which are tenancies of the Okeover Estate, Ashbourne

路听听听听听 The Okeover herd of Albions numbers 22 animals of which 12 to 14 are in the milking herd and the remainder are kept as sucklers. The Okeover pedigree herd of North Devons totals 40 pedigree cows and there are around 140 black and white dairy cows on the farm at any time.

路听听听听听 Between 16ha (40a) and 20ha (50a) at Birdsgrove is drilled to either spring barley or brassicas as both crops make a good entry to a grass reseed

路听听听听听 Richard Toon farms with his wife, Anita and their son, Arthur and daughter, Libby, also help out. They employ Frankie Hardy as herdswoman and two ex-dairy farmers, Rodney Stanley and Richard Green as relief milkers

路听听听听听 All the field work including cultivations, silage making, muck and slurry spreading and harvest is carried out by local contractors including Stephen Gulliford who has undertaken contracting work at Lower Grounds 51AV视频for 50 years

路听听听听听 The farm has been in an HLS agreement for more than 12 years.

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