30.01.04
Roseland farmers team up for cattle handling

Three Roseland farmers have joined forces to set up what's thought to be Cornwall's first shared cattle handling system.

Ben Bailey has teamed up with fellow Veryan tenant farmers Gerald Johns and Edwin Symons to invest £6,350 in buying a mobile cattle handling and weight crush system.

The three all farm scattered blocks of land around Veryan, including as tenant farmers on National Trust and Cornwall County Council land, and have been making do with dilapidated handling equipment at fixed sites – meaning cattle have to be walked back to the handling facilities at each home farm whenever they need handling.

By setting up the VERMAC machinery syndicate, the trio – who between them currently farm around 300 dairy and beef cows and 300 head of youngstock – will be able to replace their old fixed handling systems with a galvanised steel mobile structure that can be transported on the back of tractor or other farm vehicle to any of the many blocks of land they farm.

The project is being helped with nearly £1,300 of Objective One investment from the European Agricultural Guidance & Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) and an equal investment from the Department of Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

The project was put together with the help of Elizabeth Menmuir from the Cornwall Agricultural Council Development Team, who said: "Farmers are increasingly seeking to increase the turnover of their businesses by taking on additional land, however the land blocks are often dispersed and many miles from the home farm, fixed cattle handling units are of little benefit if cattle have to be moved every time they require handling. This is a common problem but the three farmers involved in this project have found a solution with what we believe will be the first mobile cattle handling system in Cornwall."

Carleen Kelemen, Director of the Objective One Partnership added: "Setting up a syndicate like this allows the farmers involved to improve efficiency and reduce costs, making their businesses more viable over the long-term."

Editor's notes:

European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF)

EAGGF is one of the four funds that make up the Objective One Programme for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, which is making £314 million of investment available to support the local economy between 2000 and 2006.

EAGGF aims to:

For further information contact:

Elizabeth Menmuir
Cornwall Agricultural Council Development Team
01872 322888

Jason Clark
Communications Adviser
Objective One Partnership Office
Castle House
Pydar Street
Truro TR1 2UD
Tel: 01872 241379
Fax: 01872 241388
objectiveone@cornwall.gov.uk

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