Today, the business comprises three main enterprises; a pedigree Texel lamb business - ‘Clanfield Pedigrees’, a commercial flock of crossbred ewes and a pedigree herd of Hereford beef which James aims to retail via the local butcher.

“At the start of our farming journey we purchased the Farmall 95C with a Case IH loader from Cotswold Farm Machinery because we were looking for a reliable, versatile and compact tractor to work in our smaller buildings but also had the power to meet to seasonal demands we have in our business,” explains James.

The farm is all down to permanent pasture with the reseeds also containing chicory and clover seeds, offering multiple benefits of a fast-growing crop, quality grazing and worm burden control for the sheep flocks. Using a ‘move and mow’ system, the sheep are moved to fresh grazing every 10 days, and the fields are topped using the Farmall, ensuring clean weed-free regrowth and quality grazing for the next rotation.

“When purchasing a Farmall you have multiple tractors in one, because of its versatility,” continues James. “In the winter, we rely on it for mucking out and in the summer, it can be doing anything – it handles whatever is thrown at it. At busy times, like when we are hauling Hesston bales, we can hook a trailer to it. Likewise, if we decide to go fencing, we quickly attach the post knocker and away we go. The Farmall is great because its compactness allows it to easily navigate the smaller fields but at the same time get stuck in on larger fields with its main summer task of topping.”

The farm has recently purchased a Case IH Maxxum 145 ActiveDrive 4 to add to the fleet which will be used for larger jobs including hauling bales. “We have a lot of visitors to Mill farm and like to run a tidy business, with tidy kit and I pride ourselves on all being red!,” continues James. “Relationships are key for me, and Guy Medlicott at Cotswold Farm Machinery is one of those people whose input we value, and who goes out of his way to find solutions for our business.”

“To us, the Farmall brand is one that you can trust. Its reliability means you can get up in the morning knowing what jobs need doing, and with the Farmall you can just get on with it.”