When George Brown started a contract dairying operation at Bisterne Estate, he wanted straightforward, reliable tractors that would appeal to a broad spectrum of operator experience.
Bisterne Estate owner Hallam Mills and contract farming partner George Brown are only five years into the development of an award-winning, low input, grass-fed dairy herd. Getting the operation up and running in such a short period of time has meant keeping a keen eye on costs and taking a considered approach to mechanisation.
“Our focus of attention is entirely on developing the herd to maximise milk production,” said George Brown. “It is essential that our cows do not go hungry, and that means making the most of every available resource to produce the highest quality milk, solely from grass and forage.”
The 600-cow enterprise is the focus of an ambitious team with a fastidious eye for detail – and it’s one that has helped the herd deliver 6,200 litres and 540kg of milk solids per cow per lactation. The pasture-fed focus recently helped the farm to scoop top honours in the RABDF’s Gold Cup award too.
“Our leys are grazed from February to December across the Estate’s free-draining sandy loams, and this is supplemented by grass and maize silage,” he said. “There’s certainly little margin for error and no room for wasted resources – and that includes the machinery we’ve bought, to support the herd with efficient field and yard logistics.”
That mechanisation extends to just three tractors across the 1,250-acre dairy operation, with contractors providing fixed cost services where investing in machinery isn’t cost effective. In and around the dairy, an L1421 with hydrostatic transmission manages daily scraping duties, while larger M125GX and a M5112 models – both with loaders – are used for bale handling, mowing, and general tasks. All were supplied through, and are supported by, EG Coles.
“With multiple operators, we needed to focus on tractors that are robust, reliable and basic,” said George. “And it was essential that our scraper tractor didn’t have a clutch – hydrostatics are perfect for this application.”
George says the M5112 is proving an extremely versatile and manoeuvrable tractor, and can do the work of the L-series if needed, giving the farm options in the event of a breakdown.
“The older MGX is too big for existing buildings, but these two tractors are clocking up 1,000 hours each per year, and complement each other across the dairy operation,” he said. “A telehandler isn’t cost-effective either, so tractors with loaders are an integral part of our machinery needs.”
He says that having the security of a five-year warranty has helped to fix costs and control cash-flow – essential for continuing to develop the herd.
“Kubota tractors replicate that of our dairy philosophy – low input, but high quality,” he explained. “It’s very unlikely that I’ll get this level of reliability combined with low operating costs from any other tractor manufacturer, and is why our MGX will probably be replaced by an M6 utility model.”
