Often the best people to tell you about livestock equipment are other farmers who have already used it.

We are all interested in recommendations and especially from people we know or trust, and if possible we all like to try before we buy rather than committing to a purchase we might be a little unsure of. Stuart Pickering is a sheep farmer's son from Yorkshire and the combination of his own sheep farming experience, plus his training as an agricultural engineer has resulted in him being one of the UK's fastest growing sheep handling equipment specialists in both manufacture and sales.

His Harrington range of clipping and shearing trailers and races is now widely respected and has become a major part of his engineering business, B & P Engineering at Gowthorpe.

With his father, Tony, Stuart helps with the flock of some 650 ewes which include an interesting combination of Swaledales, Herdwicks, Mules and Suffolk/Texel X. Stuart always wanted to become an engineer and undertook his apprenticeship with a local agricultural engineering enterprise making slurry tankers and other farm equipment.

He had a spell at Askham Bryan College where he took his National Diploma in Engineering but it was his year in Australia that was to be the catalyst for his foray into the world of sheep handling equipment. 'I used a Harrington machine whilst I was out there and was very impressed with it.

'I hadn't any plans to go into manufacture of sheep handling equipment at the time but within a week of coming back home Pip Dent, the manufacturer of Harrington equipment, approached me to manufacture for him. He had come to the UK in 1994 and wanted someone to manufacture the Harrington range over here, then four years ago Pip retired and went back to Australia so we took over the sales side as well.'

Harrington sheep handling equipment has always been renowned for making life easier for the sheep farmer and Stuart has recently added to that ease with the new developments he has made. 'We have changed various different pieces on the machine but we have basically kept all of the workings the same. This last year we have now developed an air-operated model that takes the manual handling work out of moving the cradle in position to start clipping and trimming. The air operation turns them over and the cradle that the ewe lies in also has an air cylinder that clamps the sheep in.' Such has been its success that Stuart reports that with two men you can comfortably get 200 through in an hour.

'On an average day you should easily be able to put 1000 ewes through.' Stuart's other business S & W Sheep Services is busy too, travelling as far as both the Welsh and Scottish borders using the Harrington machines that he manufactures. 'In September and October we do a lot of tailing out of ewes. Pre-tupping, and this last year we went down to a farm in the Welsh borders and put 3500 ewes through, but we will deal with any size of flock from 80-100 ewes upwards.'

Stuart's engineering business also sees him carry out a great deal of work for the animal feed industry, making everything from hoppers and storage bins to weighing and conveying systems. 'We've recently just completed a big project for Primary Diets in Ripon and we also carry out maintenance work for Jameson Feeds of Masham.' Stuart and his B & P Engineering business will be on hand at North Sheep and various other sheep events and agricultural shows this Summer.


He's also particularly excited about the new dual-purpose trailer they have launched. 'It's a combination trailer that on one side has the turnover system for foot-trimming and on the other side some drop doors which you press down with your foot and pull out on to the platform for shearing on.' It could well be worth your while to take a closer look if you haven't already at what Harrington, B & P Engineering, S & W Sheep Services and Stuart Pickering have to offer.

INFORMATION

B & P ENGINEERING
S & W Sheep Services
Stuart Pickering
Tynewood Farm
Gowthorpe
York
YO41 5QL
Tel/Fax: 01759 369935
Out of Hrs: 01759 368662
Mobile: 07884 270936
07841 239965
Email: bandpeng@hotmail.com
Website: b-and-p-engineering.com