This Feature on the Goodwood Estate Company first featured in South East Farmer April 2009. Written by Malcolm Triggs.

A major new-build project on the Goodwood Estate in West Sussex has revolutionised business for dairy farmer John Holt.

The scheme at Ides Barn has given John state-of-the-art facilities, better surroundings for his animals, and has allowed him to expand his herd and make the business more efficient. "At a time when dairy farming is under pressure, it's more important than ever to have up-to-date facilities, the right equipment and a herd that's big enough to cover the fixed costs," he explained. Up until November, John had none of those things. The third generation of a dairy farming family, he was operating from Manor Farm, East Dean, a traditional flint and brick dairy a mile or so up the road from the Ides Barn site. The buildings were old and unsuitable, the equipment was becoming outdated and the herd was limited to 130. The loose yard set-up meant dealing with mastitis was an ongoing problem and making a living from milk was becoming more difficult. Step forward Goodwood's estates director and land agent Nigel Draffan with an ambitious plan to take advantage of the development potential of the picturesque village centre dairy buildings and use the funds to provide better facilities for one of the estate's tenants. Nigel proposed selling the Dickensian dairy for conversion to an attractive housing scheme and using the cash to fund the 6,100 square metre scheme at Ides Barn, where John described the buildings and facilities as "fantastic – a massive improvement."

Nigel explained:

"We could not afford to invest what was in excess of £1 million in this superb new dairy without selling the old buildings for development, but having sold them we were happy to take the long-term view and invest the proceeds in the business. John is already the third generation of his family to run a dairy operation on this estate. I believe he is now set up for the next generation at least."

The new-build was co-ordinated by Jon Carver, of Rural Associates, with support from Simon Kenny of Rural Partners Ltd. They devised a scheme that made the most of the space available to create a large, modern dairy boasting excellent conditions for the animals and top notch, computerised DeLaval equipment. Although first proposed in 2004, the planning process meant it was not until February 2008 that building work proper started at Ides Barn.


It finished in November, "on time and on budget", as Jon Carver pointed out. The scheme includes covered accommodation for 200 cows, a new general purpose building, two covered silage barns, a new 24-unit parlour and a covered collecting yard and handling facilities. It's all a far cry from Manor Farm, where the Holt family business had been based since the 1960s. The dairy actually started at Ides Barn in the 1950s, and the original building, now very run-down, still stands just yards from the spruce new buildings. A delighted John Holt is now in the process of building up his herd of Holstein Friesians with the aim of reaching what he sees as a cost-effective 200 animals by the end of this year. Most of his existing 150 animals are autumn calving, and as he prefers to run a closed herd he is only buying in a limited number of ‘well-bred' bulling heifers.

"The new facilities are a massive improvement on what we had before. Everything is purpose built and works properly, first time every time. The move from loose yards to cubicles has made keeping the animals in peak condition much easier and the computerised kit makes the whole milking process simple and controllable," he said.

Read More»