Buckinghamshire-based Parrott Brothers operates a fleet of Kubota-liveried grass kit and an RTV to accompany its M-series tractors used on the family-run 240-acre mixed farm. And all have been supplied by George Browns.
“We’ve a long history of working with George Browns for almost all our equipment needs,” explains Mark Parrott, pictured, who farms with his brother Philip and nephew, James, at Beechmoor Farm, Whitchurch, near Aylesbury.
“Like Browns, we deal directly with our customers through our busy farm shop and butchery, so we understand the value of strong working relationships, reliability and the importance of delivering a good customer experience.”
“The expectations we place upon our machinery dealers are no different to what our retail customers place on us,” he says. “And when you appreciate what’s involved in delivering that service, along with a warranty that’s worth having, it defines who we partner with, for support.”
Beechmoor Farm is focussed on rearing its beef and sheep with home-grown forage, and grain from home-grown cereals too. It’s a philosophy that affords traceability with quality, with almost all stock sold through the Parrot Brothers’ on-farm shop and butchery.
“We prefer to source as much as we can directly from our land,” he says. “It helps with costs, and puts us in control of what we do and the produce we deliver. The only contractor requirement we have is for combining, spraying and muck spreading.”
While the farm operates a telehandler, the smaller of its two M-series tractors – an M6-122 – carries an LK1200u loader, adding versatility when bale handling. The larger M7-153 is the farm’s frontline tractor and is used for heavy cultivations, having clocked up around 1,400 hours.
“I’ve never liked to tow heavy bale trailers on a telehandler, so we’ve always had a loader on one of our tractors,” says Mark. “The M6 is a brilliant bit of kit, with a gutsy engine. And having a loader on it means we can use the loader-tractor to pull bale trailers and load in the field, keeping the telehandler at the stack.”
“We make around 1,200-1,400 round bales of hay and haylage each year, plus a further 1,000 bales of straw,” adds Mark. “The Kubota baler is a variable chamber machine, and produces some great bales. Our preference is hay and haylage bales at around 4ft diameter, with the lighter straw bales slightly larger, at around 4ft 6in.”
A 3.2m DMC 6032 mower conditioner complete with three-bladed discs handles all mowing, with a BV5160 variable chamber baler producing tightly formed bales that are sealed with six layers of film on a trailed WR1600C wrapper.
“We’re pleased with the performance and reliability of all our Kubota kit,” he says. “We don’t need complex tractors or machinery – everything needs to be straightforward to operate, without having to interrogate a terminal. On top of which, we get great backup when we need it. Why would we choose anything else?”
