Farmer Stories
Bryan Olde

“We have no bullying at the feed fence because feed is constantly available. When you started the diet feeder, you couldn’t hear yourself think. But now you can’t hear a noise, and cattle do not rush to the feed fence.”
Bryan Olde, Blegberry Farm, Hartland, Devon.
Improved performance:
+ Increased daily liveweight gains from 1.2kg to 2kg a head a day
+ Doubled throughput from 270 to 560 animals finished annually
+ Saved 14.5 hours per week
+ Slashed running costs by £12,000 annually.
Replacing a diet feeder with a Lely Vector automatic feeding system has helped beef finishers Andrew and Bryan Olde slash labour and fuel spending by almost £22,000 annually. The brothers, who run a mixed enterprise across 600 acres (242ha) at Blegberry Farm in Hartland, have also realised big improvements in daily liveweight gains. This has enabled them to more than double the throughput of animals to 560 head and start to finish them rather than sell them to another farmer.
Installation
They were convinced to upgrade to the Vector after witnessing the benefits of Lely’s Juno automatic feed pusher. They first purchased a Juno in September 2021 and calculated that daily intake increased by 6.5kg a head, reducing time on the farm by 30 days and resulting in a £40 a head saving. The Vector was purchased through the Farm Productivity Grant, which covered 40% of the machine.
Benefits
The Vector has been operating at Blegberry Farm for 12 months and is showing good cost and labour reductions. The Mixer Feeder Robot (MFR) is programmed to feed three rations: a 16% grower ration and heifer and steer finishing rations (12% protein). The Oldes grow fodder beet, wheat, barley, grass and wholecrop peas and barley. These ingredients are utilised in the beef rations to reduce bought-in feed requirements. Only ground maize, soya and minerals are purchased to complete the Total Mixed Ration (TMR).
Currently, grass silage and fodder beet make up the mainstay of the ration (see Table 1: Rations). Feeding accuracy, measured by the feed requested versus what is loaded, is hitting 95%. Previously, feeding cattle with a diet feeder took 2.5 hours daily. Now, it takes just three hours weekly to fill the feed kitchen. Bryan calculates that this is saving them 14.5 hours a week. Based on labour costing £14/hour, the Vector is realising savings of nearly £10,000 a year.
On top of this, the Vector has reduced running costs by £12,000 annually.
“We used to spend £15,000 on diesel running the tractor and feeder wagon. In comparison, the Vector is costing £3,000 in electricity,” explains Bryan.
It has also been beneficial for animal health and welfare. He adds: “We have no bullying at the feed fence because feed is constantly available. When you started the diet feeder, you couldn’t hear yourself think. But now you can’t hear a noise, and cattle do not rush to the feed fence.”
“The support from Lely Holsworthy has been very good. They set it all up and taught us how to use it and have been on hand ever since,” says Bryan. He says the addition of Lely’s Horizon app has been a game changer in improving feed efficiency and reducing waste.
In fact, it has been an integral step towards futureproofing the farm. He explains: “The data I receive through the Horizon app means I know accurate feed costings, which is helping to make the enterprise more profitable.”
Table 1: Rations:
Ingredient |
Grower ration |
Steer finishing ration |
Heifer finishing ration |
First-cut silage |
9kg |
11kg |
14kg |
Fodder beet |
8kg |
9kg |
9kg |
Ground maize |
2kg |
2kg |
3kg |
Blend |
3.5kg |
1kg |
1kg |
Fact file:
- Farming 600 acres (180 acres rented, the rest owned)
- Growing winter wheat, spring barley, winter barley, fodder beet, peas and barley and grass
- Finishing 560 cattle annually
- Cattle sold deadweight to Dawn Meats, Hatherleigh. Heifers averaging 330-340kg and steers 410-420kg (killing out at 55-60%).