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Frank Morphet

Swing Over Feed Cover, Swarthmoor Hall Farm, Cumbria

Frank designed the Swing Over to reduce waste, save on labour and help support dry matter intakes. Following various versions over the years, he has secured a 10-year patent on the cover, which is helping manage his 160-head organic herd, which produces milk for the family business, South Lakes Organic Milk. The manually operated cover has a rubber bottom sheet and shelters and presents the forage, which consists of a grass silage and summer dairy cake. Prior to the invention, Frank pushed feed up twice a day, meaning the machine saves an average of an hour a day. As feed is kept close to cows, they are not made to reach out and rub their necks on the barrier.

On winning the award, Frank said: I am absolutely gobsmacked to have won this award. I’m just an ordinary farmer from Cumbria. Creativeness is needed being a dairy farmer and it’s taken a while but I’ve got the cover to really help in my every day running of the farm.

The judges said about  Frank: Frank designed the Swing Over to reduce waste, save on labour and help support dry matter intakes. He has secured a 10-year patent on the cover and has improved farm efficiencies which can also benefit many dairy farms across the UK.