Farmer/owner: Awde Family
Farm location: Penrith, Cumbria
Farm name: Broad Meadows Farm
Herd: 450 Holstein Friesians
Milking system: 50 point Fullwood rotary abreast
Date of installation: August 2007
In 2001 foot and mouth disease ravaged the farming community and the Awde’s lost all of their livestock. Apart from the emotional distress, there were serious financial implications, with the farm having virtually no income for the best part of a year.
Around the same time, because Grandfather Awde passed away, the family were not only in danger of losing their farm but could also have lost their home. At that point Trevor and Frances decided to buy the farm and, Lynsey and Francis, their daughter and son, took the decision to commit their futures to the farm and to keep the family together.
Although some families in the region decided not to restock after the foot and mouth outbreak, the Awde’s were not amongst them. As they said “the farm felt very strange without livestock and non of us were happy”. So the decision was unanimous to restock with a pedigree dairy herd to replace the ones they had lost.
Lynsey now runs the cows, and you only have to see the immaculate condition of the buildings and the spotless Fullwood 50- point rotary parlour to realise that the cows’ welfare is a priority. It was in 2007 that the family installed their Fullwood parlour enabling them to milk 200 cows per hour. With a herd of 450 dairy cows they are now averaging an impressive 4.5 million litres per annum.
Thanks to the Awde family’s commitment and dedication and Fullwood technology, life is good. Profitability is growing steadily and with everyone enjoying more leisure time, Lynsey and her family clearly made the right decision to soldier on, back in 2001.