Giving grassland farmers a helping hand

Edward Woof is a Cumbrian farmer with a passion for contracting, running a successful grassland spraying and reseeding business from his farm just outside Kendal. Sara Gregson paid him a visit

Until 2017, Underhelm was a 103 hectare dairy farm with 70 cows producing milk for Meadow Foods. Edward ran the farm with his parents David and Phyllis. However, after buying his first ‘comfy’ tractor in 2008, he also started spraying to control grassland weeds for other local farmers.

“My uncle was a ploughing contractor who also did spraying and hedge cutting. When he retired, I looked at his operation and took on his spraying customers. I now spray at least 3,000 acres of grassland annually but this figure is growing every year.”

Edward now runs a Massey 7S190, bought from Clarke and Pulman based in Garstang and operates two sprayers – a Hardi with a 12 metre boom and 1200 litre tank, and a Hardi Master with 15 metre boom and 1200 litre tank, with a 1,000 litre tank on the front. He also has a rate controller to ensure consistent distribution of chemical at differing speeds.

Working mainly for smaller family farms, Edward could see opportunities for carrying out other grassland and livestock jobs as well. So in 2021, using government capital grants, he bought an Erth Agriseeder direct drill, a dribble bar for more efficient slurry spreading and a set of Gallagher mobile weigh bars.

“We bought the Agriseeder from Robert Taylor at Dales Agri Sales near Hexham and it has done a lot of work,” Edward explains. “It is a versatile and efficient way of successfully establishing crops with minimal soil disturbance and can run with any seed. This spring I used it to put in a pea and barley crop after grass in a seven acre field, which will be cut for silage this July or August for our cattle to eat next winter.”

Edward’s work takes him up to Shap in the north, east to Clapham in the Yorkshire Dales and as far south as Lancaster and west to Windermere.

“The Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) has certainly boosted the drilling of herbal leys and more diverse mixtures,” says Edward. “Stopping the scheme so suddenly was a shock, but all the farmers who have had their agreements passed have three years to put them in – so there will still be a lot of drilling to do.”

On the farm

With the dairy cows gone, Edward’s family started an Aberdeen Angus suckler herd, including pedigree cows from the Ribble Aberdeen Angus herd at Gisburn. At the peak the herd reached 30 cows, calving in March and April just before the contracting work gets going. The calves are retained as replacements or sold as pedigree breeding stock or finished with compound, barley and peas.

Similarly a flock of 350 mules cross texel ewes lamb from January to March, with the lambs fattened off grass and sold through Bentham Auction Mart near Lancaster.

“I often question whether to keep the livestock,” says Edward. “While there are times when they are very hard work, they are very useful for providing income when it is needed for the other side of the business.

“The cattle and sheep and contracting enterprises cannot support themselves alone, but together they provide a more even and consistent cash flow all year round.

“The cost of the machinery and tractors are getting more and more expensive every year, and my acre rates cannot match these increases. My first tractor in 2008 cost £41,000, my next one could cost in excess of £180,000. The only way to allow for this is to be more efficient, work smarter and add other complementary elements to the business.”

Grass seeds mixtures

One of these additional elements has been for Edward to sell Oliver Seeds grass mixtures. The company has a good reputation in the area and Edward has sown them on his farm for many years. In 2022, he was offered the chance to become an agent.

“Tony Cowgill, the Oliver Seeds northern manager came to see me and discussed the role. I talk to potential customers, farmers I already know and work with, and when a sale is agreed, Oliver Seeds do the rest. I never own the seeds. I don’t even see the seeds; the bags are delivered direct to the customer’s farm and I get a commission. It is a simple process but it is adding to my bottom line.”

Edward usually gains new business through recommendation and word of mouth, but in the past two years has taken a stand at the Westmorland County Show at Crooklands. Supported by Tony Cowgill and Oliver Seeds, Edward was surprised by the interest from showgoers, making more than 75 cups of coffee before 11 o’clock.

“Young Farmers gave me a good grounding in public speaking and while I was nervous, I did enjoy talking to all the farmers about the new drill and the work I can do. I have to admit that I know very little about seed, but my customers seem to trust me and my choices and Tony knows everything there is to know about grass mixtures.

“The only other promotion I do is to give an Edward Woof mug to all my customers, which seems to hang around in their kitchen, and I always hand out a business card before I leave a job. Again simple is often the best.”

Looking to the future, Edward has considered taking on another tractor driver to do more contracting – but decided against this because of the cost, not just for the man but the extra machinery cost and operating and fuel costs on top.

“I want to build personal relationships with my customers and do the very best job that I can for each one,” says Edward. “There might be a danger of the quality of the work going down if I am not the one doing it. My aim is to get to the point where I am busy enough to turn jobs down that are not profitable enough for me to do, so it is a win for me and a win for my customers.”