Agriculture

For 74 years the Evans family has farmed at Widdenham, in a tranquil and secluded valley near Colerne, Wiltshire. Today Peter Evans relies on his fleet of four Case IH tractors for production of round bale silage and hay...

Peter farms 350 acres bought by his father, Jack, in 1932. Back then a herd of 15 dairy cows on 60 acres provided a living for the family. During the years in between, Jack worked hard with the help of his brother-in-law, John, and later Peter to develop and grow the farm. In those days, the business used Fordson tractors from Kingsmead in Bath.
Today, Peter has a herd of 95 dairy cows and 100 beef cattle, and also grows 100 acres of feed wheat for his own mill and mix plant, as well as for sale. The farm runs four Case IH tractors as well as a Case IH combine and a New Holland round baler. Peter says: “It’s incredible how things change. A few years ago our Case International 785XL was our main machine and we used it to drive the forager. Today it’s the smallest tractor which we use it mainly for yard work! It’s still going strong with over 9,000 hours on the clock and no oil leaks.”
John still works full time and for several years has favoured the Case 5150. It was only after a lot pressure from Peter that John decided to try the new MXM150. John was surprised: “I thought the 5150 was the best tractor I could use, but the smooth, easy gear change of the MXM made all the difference, especially for baler work.”
This year, John and Peter are also helped by Tom who is at Widdenham Farm for a year’s work experience as part of his course at Lackham College. Tom has enjoyed the time here and now milks most days despite having never worked with cows before arriving. If all goes well, Tom plans to return to the farm full time when the course is successfully completed.
Peter first met Stuart Crook, T H White Pro Agri’s sales representative, when he worked in the parts department at Davies of Marshfield. “Stuart was always able to find you the part you needed even if it wasn’t available at first,” Peter remembers. That helpful resourcefulness has served Stuart well especially after he moved into sales. Stuart’s willingness to help out even for the little problems as well as taking orders for the larger machines has meant that Peter always prefers to give Stuart a call when he needs something. Stuart’s first tractor sale at Widdenham Farm was a Case International 574 some 15 years ago.

T H White has been providing the farm with parts and service for a number of years particularly for the New Holland 644 round baler. Peter likes the helpful efficient back-up that he receives.
Looking to the future, Peter remembers pushing his father to try new ideas and to take on more work when he was younger. He is looking forward to the day when his twins (9) and son (7) will start to push the business forward in the same way. “Our generation has been farming in a similar way for quite a while now. It will take a young person’s enthusiasm and ideas to take it forward again,” Peter believes.
Who knows what the future will hold? Peter’s wife Anne already successfully runs two holiday let cottages on the farm, which are booked up all year round. Will the dairy herd need to expand? One thing for sure, T H White Pro Agri will be there to offer the support and service that Peter and his family have come to rely upon.
Case IH tractors bring flexibility