Lackham Farm & Estate represents a versatile resource for
education, leisure, commerce and conservation. To ensure
a balance between exploitation and conservation we have
adopted a set of policies to help develop and maintain our
unique heritage.
Lackham Farm:
- is managed as a commercial business
- provides students with practical facilities whilst at the same
time displaying good farming practice
- provides students and visitors with a range of
interpretation material and data from all of the farm
enterprises
- is a ‘flagship for ‘agricultural industries’ by displaying and
promoting agricultural goods and practices
- provides a resource for trials and demonstrations in crop
and livestock husbandry
- maintains a range of enterprise
- develops a comprehensive system for recording physical
and financial data
- is a major attraction for farmers and visitors
Dairy Unit
- 140 Dairy Cows with replacements
- Managed in 2/3 groups fed on a choice of diets
- Selective breeding policy on an Autumn/Winter Calving System
- To have a Bull Selection Criteria based on type and fault correction
with an eye on production
Sheep
- 400 Ewes with replacements being bought in
- Split into three flocks, one lambing early, pure Lleyn and one
March lambing flock
- Option to feed lambs intensively for the Easter Market
- Texel, Poll Dorset, Lleyn, Hampshire down, Isle de France, Berrichon
and Suffolk rams are used
- Sheep Project – crossing a flock of Lleyn ewes with different
breeds of rams
- Lamb sold direct to consumers
Beef
- A range of both intensive and semi-intensive systems, to provide a wide
range of farming practice for beef production
Examples:
• 12 month Bull Beef system
• 18 month intensive system
• 24 month semi-intensive grass
• forage / concentrate system
Pedigree Limousins
- A herd of 20 heifers were donated in 1999 by the British Limousin
Society. The aim of the project is to breed the heifers and monitor
traits of the breed. This new enterprise will produce Pedigree offspring
for replacements and sale, it will also give the beef systems at Lackham
a new focus to produce high quality meat.
Single Sucklers
- A herd of 30 Limousin X heifers make up a single sucklers herd to
produce ¾ X Limousin calves with the aim to finish them at
15 – 20 m0nths of age direct to consumers.
- 12 further heifers have been served to increase the herd to 50
cows producing 1 aniamal a week per week for sale
Bowden Dairy
In conjunction with the FBT arrangement we manage a 220 cow dairy unit
for Bowden Park Farm
- The herd average is 9000 litres
- Calving from August to March
- Breeding for type, butterfat and protein
- Housed in cubicles during the 220 day winter
- Grazed on heavy land hence a long housing period
Pigs
An outdoor pig unit is based at the College owned by Down land pigs
- Producing pig meat direct to the consumers
Crops
| Arable: |
Wheat - |
Feed
Milling
Home Use |
| |
Barley - |
Feed
Malting
Home Use |
| |
Oats
Beans – winter and spring
Oilseed Rape
Peas and lupins are occasionally grown
Trial site for all crops and student competition |
| |
|
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| Forage: |
New Leys – silage
Permanent pasture
Maize
Stubble Turnips |
