Trevor, Adrian, Jeremy, Jonathan and Matthew Shute are part of a family farm that employs 20 people and operates at Newhouse, Canworthy Water, Launceston, Cornwall, UK.
In a recent visit to this farm, Adrian, Jeremy, and their father Trevor spoke candidly about their operation that spreads over three separate locations with a 1,800 sow farrow to finish pig farm, about 1,500 acres, including at least half for crop production and a fully automated feed mill where they produce all their own feed. They also run a beef herd rounding out their farming operation.
“We have a nucleus herd at Treburgett and that’s where we grow, breed our own gilts and produce back to our own commercial herd at Newhouse. That’s our two breeding farms. We’ll produce weaners on both of the farms and then also wean them off and send them to other finishing farms, where we’ll send them into our main outlet, which is Tulip Danish Crown,” said Adrian.
Jeremy runs the commercial farm and the feed mill where they mill their own grain but have to supplement with grain from elsewhere.
“We mill dried feed, don’t pallet nothing and it all goes as meal. Then also the mill is on the home breeding unit where we mill straight into a liquid mixer and then the liquid mixer pumps into the unit which is 500 meters to different satellite tanks,” said Jeremy. “There are five satellite tanks on the farm for all the different units.”
Trevor, the father who started the farm with 30 acres getting a gift from his parents to get going on the farm.
“We’d ask, what can I do to get going with a small acreage. It wasn’t really big enough to go into dairy so we had a go at the pigs,” said Trevor. “I never forget you buy a sow from here, there and everywhere and some would perform well and some wouldn’t. I found after a time it’s best to clear up what I’d got and start with clean stock and try to have a closed unit.”
Adrian said things have changed in how they market their pigs.
“Two-thirds of them are marketed through the group and then I probably stay with about a third to sell on the market,” he said. “Weights have gone heavier in the last four years, from about 80 kg dead carcass to 90 kg (200 pounds) dead carcass. Nationally, internationally the weights are going up all the time.”
Adrian said they try to clear all their production at 30 weeks of age as their maximum cut-off point.
“We like to see our average down at close to 22 to 24 weeks but we have a cut-off period there that is those pigs just don’t grow as fast as they should,” he said. “Then we try to keep our weights. We’ve got a fairly wide spec contract. We don’t want any pigs under 75 and no pigs over 100 kilos dead-weight. Our guys have 25 kilos of dead-weight to play with.”
Jeremy describes the manure disposal system as an umbilical system that moves the slurry out onto their corn and grassland.
“Actually we flush buildings and get slurry out of the buildings and separate during the winter time. The big lagoon, everything that goes into there we like to put through a rundown screen so we don’t get any crusting,” he said. “If we don’t get crusting we can manage the lagoon right. Summertime, we try not to separate so much because then we can spread it straight from the smaller tanks that are more easy to manage. We try to keep on top of it in the summer but we shut off really spreading from late October and then we won’t really be spreading until the beginning of March.”
When asked what the secret to his and now his boys’ success is first and foremost don’t overspend.
“It’s a difficult task. I mean I was smaller then and didn’t have so much overhead and I could tighten my belt. Cut the cost down when needed,” said Trevor.
He said it is very important to have a good mediator in Keith Barriball who acts as a financial director and helps mediate and gives them ideas to help one another.
“Sometimes they don’t all agree with it but the business, you know … we’re individuals, our health matters, we care about one another but the business underlying needs it to survive. Without enough cash, we’d be falling out more, I dare say,” said Trevor.
Dr. John Carr, an international consultant and veterinarian, the person who made this interview and story possible has the Shute family as a client.
“John is a very important person I think. He and Keith to me are two of my mentors. Jeremy communicates daily with John, a one of a kind vet,” said Adrian. “There’s not too many in the world like John to be fair. He sees the numbers and what farming needs to do. He’s more than a vet, he understands business which is important for a vet to allow us to survive, really. He challenges our guys.” •
— By Harry Siemens
