Published by Farmers Guide, February 2008.

Shadwell's Senior Stockman Tony Miller.

Suzuki quad is an essential tool

QUAD bikes are now an important part of many farm enterprises, but on one Suffolk unit their low-ground-pressure characteristics make them indispensable. The Shadwell Estate Company has found that the bikes are perfect for its needs and last August bought a new Suzuki Kingquad 450 for High House Farm, a 360-acre unit at Kettlebaston.
One of four farms owned by Shadwell in Norfolk and Suffolk, the Kettlebaston unit is not a traditional agricultural business. Along with farms at Thetford, Elmswell and Newmarket, its primary purpose is to graze horses - not just any horses, but some of the finest bloodstock in the country.
To tidy up the grass after the horses, Shadwell has invested in a pedigree herd of Aberdeen-Angus cattle, and this is where the quad bike has proved vital to the business.
"Unlike a normal livestock farm, we can't go running around on tractors and digging up the ground," Shadwell's Senior Stockmen, Tony Miller, who manages the herd, told Farmers Guide. "We have to keep the fields tidy and free of ruts, and we have to look after the grass - using the quad bike helps us do both."
All of High House Farm's land is in permanent pasture and is split into paddocks averaging about 10 acres each.
"We're grazing for about seven months each year depending on the weather, but typically there will be stock on the land from April to November," Mr Miller said. "The bloodstock get access to the grass for the first two weeks, with the cattle following on for the next two weeks to tidy up."
Mr Miller and his assistant stockman use the quad bike to monitor the stock, as well as transporting feedstuffs to the field on a trailer when supplementary feeding is required.
Another important role for the Suzuki is moving the creep feeder each day to prevent damage to the grassland. This job has been made easier by fitting the quad with a safety bar that runs all the way around the bike and allows it to be used for pushing - as well as guarding against damage.
"The only time a tractor is allowed near the fields is for spreading fertiliser, but we have to be sure that field conditions are right and will stay off the land if it is too wet," Mr Miller said.
The Shadwell Aberdeen-Angus herd was started in 1999, with the breed being chosen for its hardiness.
"The breed is used to much harder conditions that you find here in Suffolk, so it's ideal to follow the bloodstock and live off the grass that the horses leave," Mr Miller added. "The herd is split between all four farms during the summer and there are about 150 cattle including 70 cows and followers at any one time, although we're currently increasing the cow numbers to about 120 so that we can run a completely closed herd (in recent years a number of three-quarter Angus x Limousin stores have been bought-in for finishing off grass to make up numbers).
"We need to run a high-health status herd with the horses, so we're constantly testing for IBR, lepto, BVD and Johnes to show we're clear of these diseases. This will also help with selling bulls in the future, although the Blue Tongue outbreak means we're not able to sell outside of Norfolk and Suffolk at the moment."
The Shadwell herd calves in two groups in either August/September, or February/March. Everything is registered with the Aberdeen-Angus herd book, although Mr Miller tends to decide which males he will keep entire and which will be castrated quite early.
All the finished cattle are sold at the end of the grazing season.
"Again we're unconventional as we don't have a target weight, we just sell all the finishers when the grass is gone," Mr Miller said. "We have a contract with Marks & Spencer and it will take everything whether it's still a bit lean (when it goes for lean mince), or if it's a bit too fit."
The winter months see the remaining cattle kept on straw yards - fed bought-in silage - and the Suzuki quad bike securely locked away, except when it's needed for yard-sweeping duties.
"I've been using quad bikes since 1984, but they have never been so essential as they are here," Mr Miller said. "The Suzuki replaced another brand. It was eight years old and had done 11,000 miles, so this will be a good test for it."
The Kingquad 450 is fully automatic and road legal, so Mr Miller can take it anywhere on the farm, which straddles the road through Kettlebaston.
"So far I'm very impressed," Mr Miller added. "It easily pulls nearly half a tonne on the trailer and has no problem dealing with the slopes we have in this part of Suffolk."
The Suzuki was supplied by Brad Farm Machinery, in nearby Hadleigh, which will also be servicing the bike during its working life.
"We've worked with Brad for the past seven years and already have a Merlot telehandler from them," Mr Miller said, "so I was happy when they won the tender for the new quad bike."