Page 31 - The Farming Years proof

CHAPTER 8 Barley beef
The barley beef system was very evident in the late 1970’s and 1980’s when we were attempting to sort out our farming direction. In farming it does seem that every commercial situation is differ- ent in as much as the size, the location and the input changes the pro t to be made. So the only way to cost it is to try and see.
At the other end of the scale I had visited a unit at Brixworth which was on a farm owned by Derek norton. He had gone big time into farming from shoe making – but that’s another story. It was in a very large barn well laid out and, from what I remember, held well over a hundred bullocks with a continuous feed. It was as near as you could get to manufacturing with animals and it clearly appealed to both of us with our factory backgrounds. So, with this very contrasting background, on october 30th 1977 we bought a cow for £260 and two 4 week old bullock calves for £40 each from Reg Paybody at Maidwell. The calves were suckled on the cow in a partly-open barn that would later become one of Jo’s many stables. This was really Sylvia’s day-to-day input and man- agement which she ran extremely well. Six weeks later we bought two-week old calves for £30 each for suckling on the cow. The older calves were weaned and put in another barn. They were
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