Baled Features in the Farmers Guardian
Back at the beginning of November we had the privilege of welcoming Katie Jones, livestock editor of the Farmers Guardian to our farm – Katie arrived on-farm with pen at the ready, waiting to hear the story of Red Hall Farm and how Baled came to be, and it got us thinking just how far we have come as a business.
Originally, Red Hall Farm was a dairy farm and Marshall Charlesworth (a well-known showjumper in his time) maintained the dairy farm as the main farm enterprise. However, the farm has changed somewhat since then, and is now a 242 hectare arable operation which focuses on the production of small bales of straw, hay, haylage and lucerne intended for the poultry, equine and pet market.
In 1997, the price of milk shot up due to the demise of the milk marketing board, however as a family we did not feel this could last and decided to sell some quota at about £1/litre. This is when we decided to invest in another farm enterprise; poultry, to ensure that we had enough income coming through each month. Poultry and Dairy farming go hand in hand – You can milk in the morning and then tend to the chickens after milking! Not only this, but the litter from the poultry side of the business acted as an excellent fertiliser for the farmland, making sure the grass was of good quality for the grazing stock.
After foot and mouth in 2001 opportunities arose and we made the decision to sell our Holstein Friesian herd as big reinvestment was required to sustain these now large animals.
Our love for cows brought some lovely Jersey cows back onto our farm in 2002 to supply a local cheese producer – Because we were being paid on fat and protein, our milk price was fantastic initially, but much like the current milk price, fluctuations meant the price was capped a few years later and we simply could not produce the volume needed to make the figures work. In 2011, the Jersey’s were sold, and this was to be the very last time that cattle would graze the ground of Red Hall Farm.
We set up Baled to combine our passions of the arable and poultry sectors together and to produce products which are unrivalled on quality – We truly believe that animals should be fed ONLY THE BEST.
As the poultry regulations are so stringent, with a huge focus on animal welfare (and rightly so too), we wanted to produce an enrichment bale which would allow the birds to peck, perch and de-construct in a safe a environmentally friendly way. Being farmers ourselves, we also know how demanding the industry can be and that’s why creating lightweight bales for easy lifting was incredibly important to us.
In 2019, we invested in our KME processing system which disinfects, destones and dedusts straw before it gets re-baled! With this system we can also destone and dedust hay, haylage and lucerne meaning we can offer a full offering when it comes to the forage we sell.
We are proud to supply bedding and forage to the poultry, equine and pet markets nationwide and hope to do so for many years to come.
If you would like any information on the products we sell or how we could help you, please get in touch!