An Abbey 2250 spreader has helped Messrs J & J Baxter of
Beaumont to cut costs with both labour and fuel. The tanker
can hold 1300 gallons, and although larger than previous
tankers does not damage the ground with its flotation tyres.
It is solid and well made and assists when we are doing
agricultural contracting as well as on our own land. We
undertake spreading, sowing, round baling, wrapping and
ploughing. With 450 acres of their own and a herd of dairy
cows plus followers and suckled cows through to fattening
cattle, Mr Baxter and his two sons plus one other employee
have quite a workload, so the Abbey 2250 has helped to save
precious time.
Buying an Abbey Tub Mixer VF1250 was a decision
made to make better use of home grown forages
and increase yields, for the Long family of Old Hall
Farm. 240 acres and 195 dairy cows in milk plus 40
dry are farmed by son Andrew, Dad William and
brother Robert part time, plus Mum.
"After buying the Abbey with the above in mind we
have increased the average from 28 litres to 31.5
litres per cow," says Andrew, It performs extremely
well it is fast, very efficient and most importantly
reliable.
"We feed the dry cows with brewers grains and
straw, and the Abbey Tub Mixer has no problem
with handling round bales."
We have found that the mix is more palatable and
it has reduced bullying in the herd." continues
Andrew. "We find it very manoeuvrable around
the buildings and easy to handle. It doesn't need a
high hp tractor to operate the mix which is a saving
on fuel, another plus, says Andrew. All in all the
Abbey has been a valued addition to the farm, and
Rickerby's have been very helpful.
David Wilson and his wife Annie and son
Robert farm 500 acres with Dairy cows and
followers, plus sheep.
David told me we had in the past hired a muck
spreader in, but I looked around for a system
that would suit us.
I decided on the Abbey AP 900 I like the way
it chops the muck fine and spreads it over a
wider area. The spread is even and if you
want to use soft muck you can also with this
system.
The Abbey is easy to service, with not too
many working parts, it is good to handle,
accessing fields is good and it has plenty of
capacity. All in all it has been a good addition
to the farm.
Escalating fertilizer prices last Summer caused Frank
Mattinson and sons Philip and James, to think seriously
about utilizing their slurry by products better. While visiting
Rickerby's Spring Show they looked at the Abbey trailing
shoe slurry system, we had three different machines on
demonstration, Frank tells me, one was the disc method, but
we have light ground which is gravelly in parts and I found
that the disc was cutting a big slot in the turf which could
have damaged it in drought.
The abbey trailing shoe system was demonstrated on half
a field and in 7-10 days it was so much greener than the
rest. The system is perfect for us to get rid of slurry in the
summertime as we can treat the land and the cows can be
back grazing in 4 or 5 days, says Frank. " It's 6 metre width
means that you are covering more ground faster, and it parts
the grass and lies it at the root, just right for the growth, it
is easy to pull and transport also. The flotation tyres don't
mark the land and all the goodness goes into the ground, we
are planning to cut back our fertilizer by one third in Spring
and half in Summer, and we will not use any in Autumn,
concluded Frank.
Visiting last year's Rickerby's Spring Show fulfilled a
requirement for Mr Richard Wilson of High House, Kendal.
"Farming in close proximity to the town, I wanted to make
slurry application as odourless as possible he explained.
The Abbey trailing shoe fulfilled this requirement and also
has many other plusses. I farm a lot of sheep and after an
application with the Abbey they are back grazing on the land
within 7-10 days. We have some hilly land too and the Abbey
can be used on land with little soil where it applies under
clover and so does not scorch.
The Abbey has proved invaluable for getting rid of dairy
waste, a big plus for us, said Richard. Abbey were most
helpful and made the tanker to our specifications, it is slightly
lower than standard and has a wider wheel base.
Pulling the Abbey does not require more than 120hp no
heavier than a normal 2000 gallon tanker, so it assists with
fuel savings too.
A nearby organic farmer Richard Park has been very
impressed with the Abbey trailing shoe as it provides the
only way to apply slurry to his cropping land only.
Richard farms in partnership with his Dad and son; they have
1100 acres, of which 300 are hill land, and 700/800 acres of
grass, and farm Dairy, Beef and sheep, alongside a touring
caravan site with views to the valley below.
ABBEY AP900
ABBEY 2250 GALS TANKER
ABBEY TRAILING SHOE
Frank Mattinson of Rosewain Farm, Near Wigton, made a
decision to change his horizontal auger mixer for a vertical
one, doing so increased the capacity from 14metres to
18 metres, which meant that mixing one load a day would
suffice for his herd of 250 pedigree Ayrshire dairy cows plus
followers.
The Abbey VF 1850 has seen other benefits too for the family
the mix is fluffier and the intake has been higher and yields
have improved too, says Frank. We have found the Abbey to
be strong and robust, it runs 365 days a year and it hasn't let
us down. It chops the straw for the dry cows too.
Rickerby's give a first class back up service which increases
our confidence in buying as we know they will help us out if
there are any problems, says Frank.
With the help of sons Philip and James, Frank farms 315
acres at Rosewain, they too speak highly of the Abbey.
VERTICAL AUGER MIXER
VF 1250 TUB MIXERS
Quality from across the water
Byegill Farm, is home to the Byers family. A dairy farm of
around 400 acres is farmed by Dad Robert along with sons
David and Mark "When we were looking for a new muck
spreader the Abbey 2090 rotor spreader appealed to us
because of its
ability to carry and spread slurry. We have sheds away from
the farm with no storage for the slurry, so need to transport it
between the two, " Mark tells me. "The Abbey has done
everything required of it.
ABBEY 2090 ROTOR SREADER
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