Major Cyclone delivers the superb finish required for champion Alpaca breeders at Barnacre Alpacas in Northumberland.
The story of Debbie and Paul Rippon’s move from suburban middle England to Northumberland is a familiar tale of townies leaving dense housing estates for greener pastures.
After living all over the UK, they decided to abandon their careers in banking and insurance to pursue their dream of farming Alpacas. Seventeen years later, they have not regretted the move.
Barnacre Alpacas covers 110 acres outside the village of Heddon-on-the-Wall, Northumberland, not far from Hadrian’s Wall. In less than two decades, they have amassed a home-bred flock of 400 Alpacas, built the entire farm, buildings and facilities, and developed a system of grazing paddocks which they maintain under a strict management programme.
“We both like to make sure that everything we do in the management of our farm and our Alpacas results in the perfect finish,” Paul commented. “We don’t do things by halves and don’t accept mediocre results.”
With this short time the Rippon’s have achieved prestigious industry awards and with it a reputation of quality and care for their livestock. Their Alpaca flock includes four Supreme Champions as well as dozens of Champions and First places.
Additionally, they have partnered with a local mill business to produce wool and garments from the Alpaca fleece. All the products are traceable to a specific animal and they have an online shop to offer all kinds of associated products.
The farm also sells Alpacas as pets and for ongoing breeding. Moreover, Barnacre Alpacas offers and encourages visitors to spend time at the farm by booking holiday cottages on sites or taking ‘walks and talks’ with the animals.
Year-round grazing regime for higher yields, healthier animals
A goal of the diversified farm is to graze their flock through the year and produce enough food without having to buy in fodder. They tried several different machines to deliver the right balance of effectiveness and efficiency for this managed grazing system.
“We operate a strip-grazing system to maximise grazing efficiency,” began Debbie. “If the grass gets too long the Alpacas tend to tread it and stomp it down so we lose feed value. And, it doesn’t look very good. We like to maintain fields which are incredibly tidy, perhaps even like a bowling green.”
“If we mow the grass and the mower leaves heavy bunches of clippings, then that tends to go off and looks unsightly, so we spend a lot of time considering which mowers will use the best results. At one time we had seven different mowers on the farm but they just didn’t give us the finish we were looking for.”
From demonstration to dividend
Paul and Debbie attended a local farm machinery open day where they met Keith McCormick of Major Equipment. After hearing their issues, Keith arranged a demonstration of the 4.2m Major Cyclone on their farm.
The MJ30-420 is a rear-mounted, double winged rotary mower. Heavy duty gearboxes power 6 rotors affixed with four swinging blades that cut and mulch vegetation and spreads evenly across the working width.
“Keith was very helpful,” enthused Paul. “He spent time showing us how to set the machine and how to get the best out of it. The result was the closest finish to that of a bowling green so we were really impressed! It not only left a fine cut finish but it also mulched and shredded the reside and didn’t leave unsightly swaths on the surface. Instead, the clippings were spread evenly into the stubble.
“What has been the most impressive aspect of the Major Cyclone is the reduction in fuel consumption – it was like night and day!”
The Rippon’s previously used a 3m flail topper. It was narrower than the 4.2m Major Cyclone yet the flail required more power to drive and therefore burned a lot more fuel. It also lefts swaths of unsightly residue.
“The Cyclone is a very well-built machine,” continued Paul. “It’s galvanised so it won’t rust and should remain in a good state for years to come.”
“The maintenance is very simple and we haven’t had to sharpen or replace any blades yet so we are mightily impressed with its durability. It’s should last us a long time.”
“After strip grazing we clean the fields of dung or harrow it in. Ideally, we leave the field to rest for about two months,” added Paul. “Most of the cutting takes place in fields without alpacas. The wider width Cyclone means cutting only takes a few hours a week, even in peak growth season.”
“We can’t praise Keith enough for the time he gave to us. The Cyclone has turned out to be the perfect mower. It delivers the best finish and at the same time has drastically reduced our operating costs.”