College to invest in new beef enterprise

ONE of Yorkshire's leading agricultural colleges has announced a massive new investment in the shape of a new unit to help train and educate the next generation of the county's beef farmers.

Bishop Burton College is to construct a 250,000, 200ft x 100ft building to house the unit, which bosses say will provide a greater opportunity for its students to get involved in cattle showing and to explore the opportunities that lie in breeding beef cattle and pedigree animals.

Principal Jeanette Dawson has given the go-ahead to re-invest in the college's beef enterprise which she said will enable the college to finish a large proportion of their dairy bred Continental-cross calves.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The new unit will also enable the college to rear all of the dairy progeny on site and it is hoped that a pedigree suckler herd will be established in due course.

Farm manager Dominic Naylor said: "This is great news. Not only for the college but also for its farm.

"A significant investment of this calibre demonstrates the long-term commitment to the farm, of senior management and consequently this mixed farm now demonstrates commercial best practice in all areas of mainstream agriculture."

Bishop Burton College's campus has received a 25m revamp over the past four years. As well as a teaching centre, the college campus is also a working farm. At 362-hectares in size it acts as a mixed commercial farm and turns over 1m a year. The new unit will complement the college's existing farm enterprises which include a high-welfare, Freedom Food-assured pig unit, 150-head of dairy cattle, sheep and arable ventures.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The college also recently invested in the dairy unit at the farm, installing fans for regulating air temperature in the cubicle shed.

These have been used to good effect this summer, with temperatures inside the building far more favourable than the ambient air temperature, resulting in happier and more productive cows.

Jeanette Dawson said she was pleased that the development of the beef side of the farm is finally going ahead.

"The farm is currently performing remarkably well and the time was absolutely right to reinvest in beef and build this specialist facility.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"The addition of a beef enterprise will make this a truly mixed farm and give our learners much-needed experience in this sector.

"It will also increase profitability and opportunities for research and development.

"I cannot wait to see this facility fully operational and full of livestock."

Work has already begun on the new beef unit and is due to be completed at the end of December this year.

Related topics: