The
estate comprises of roughly 728 hectares of mixed
arable cropping, woodland and a small amount of grassland.
The arable land, currently 687 hectares, is divided
up into three blocks of winter
wheat, spring barley
and winter oilseed rape. These
crops are rotated around the farm to maximize the
return from each crop and to reduce the production
costs.The soils on the farm, are predominantly flinty
chalk loams, with a small amount of clay cap at the
top of the farm. By using minimal cultivation techniques,
only a surface layer of 100mm is cultivated to incorporate
the chopped straw residue from the previous crop.
This practice encourages worm activity and reduces
the nutrient losses incurred from deep cultivations,
as well as reducing the agrochemical usage.
The farming business is run from
the Estate Office situated at Trinley Buildings. A
grain drier, several stores and workshops are also
to be found here. There is an additional grain store
at Park Yard, as well as a series of buildings at
Finkley Manor Farm
. 
The Staff
Andrew Hughes, manages the Estate
with two full time members of staff. Shaun Burgess
carries out the main arable operations, whilst Dawn
Harman, is the full time secretary looking after Estate
matters together with the management of Andover Storage.
The Estate also employs contract labour to carry key
tasks throughout the year.
The Machinery
The Estate currently has 4 tractors,
3 main line tractors and a second hand Massey Ferguson
was purchased last year to do the rough jobs around
the farm and roll the rape in harvest. The two large
Claas tractors are fitted with self steering systems
and are used for drilling and cultivating. The Case
is used for rolling as well
as spraying and is fitted with a Centreline
GPS unit. Also the fertilizer spreader is linked to
a variable control system controlled via a satellite
link.
| Our
Machinery Line up is as follows: |
Combine:
Claas Lexion 570C
|
| Tractors:
Claas 850, Claas 820, Case 140. MF 2640 2 JCB
Telehandlers |
| Cultivation
and Drilling: 6m Horsch Cultivator complete
with single press, 6m Horsch sprinter drill, Cousins
5 sectioned 12m folding ring rolls. |
| Top
Work: Knight 3800l trailer 24m sprayer,
Kuhn 3 tonne mounted fertilizer spreader, |
| Trailers:
1 18t Krampe Hook lift chassis with two interchangeable
bodies, 1 Bailey 14 tonne Trailer, 1 Flatbed with
a removal visitors pod. |
| Other
Machinery: Kawasaki Mule, Topper, Slurry
Tanker, Hedge cutter, Grass Roller, Chain harrows |
Grain Storage: A
new 1800t on floor drier with stirrers was installed
for harvest 2005 and this is complemented by an 800
tonne on floor drier, a continuous flow drier with
1200 tonnes of self emptying bin storage, and 400t
on floor drier and storage, A further 1000 tonnes
of on floor non-ventalated storage also exists.
