REPORT: Looking at ways to hone its hay and haylage making business has led AM Jervis and Son to invest in a front-mounted merger to see if it could benefit crop making. We hear what they have to say.
Making haylage and hay for equine ‘A’ listers, (that’s racehorses and competition horses to the uneducated horse lover) can be a profitable business but requires high standards to produce the nutritional quality demanded, not to mention considerable investment in equipment.
AM Jervis and Son established Equi-Grass in 1980, as Mark Jervis explains. “My father Tony started making haylage almost by accident; we had horses and he fed them on ‘dry silage’ made by experimenting with the new technique of wrapping bales.” Initially supplying local customers, the business went up a gear when they exhibited at the National Stud’s stallion show in Newmarket. The ‘dry silage’ offered equestrian customers a higher quality forage than was generally available as hay, with the bonus of minimising moulds and dust which can affect the animals’ health and performance.
“Equi-Grass became very popular with all the leading trainers; suddenly we were feeding Grand National and Derby winners,” recalls Mark. Many of the leading breeders including the National Stud, Cheveley Park Stud and Highclere Stud also joined the customer list.
For more up-to-date farming news click here and subscribe now to profi and save.
