LPG ATV Case Study - The Hilborough Estate

Converting all terrain vehicles (ATVs) to Calor LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) has led to substantial cost savings for a Norfolk estate – and helped to support crucial conservation work.

The Hilborough Estate, near Swaffham, Norfolk, is owned by Hugh Van Cutsem. It is made up of over 1700 hectares of land, the majority of which is farmed for stock and arable farming. A designated Site of Scientific Interest, it is also home to an array of wild birds and animals, including one seventh of England’s Stone Curlew population, and a burgeoning number of Grey Partridges, which the estate is keen to conserve due to a nationwide decline in numbers.

Each of the estate’s four gamekeepers uses a Honda 450 ATV powered by Calor, the UK’s leading provider of LPG, to get around and maintain the habitat crucial to preserving the Grey Partridge. Since switching to ATVs from 4x4s, the estate has reaped more than just financial benefits.

Gerald Gray, Head Gamekeeper at Hilborough, made the decision to replace the team’s 4x4s with ATVs two years ago because of the cost savings he could make, and the flexibility an LPG-powered ATV can offer. The move has brought a whole host of benefits, not least increased support for conservation work.

Gerald estimates each of the ATVs covers around 5,000 kilometres a year.

"Having the ATVs has really opened up the estate as they are flexible enough for us to negotiate our way through gaps and around the edges of fields", says Gerald. "We can now reach areas that were inaccessible in a 4x4".

The ATVs make it easy for the team to access the traps they set to catch predators of the partridge, as well as refilling the bird feeders that line the edge of each of the estate’s fields, with grain.

The ATVs have also benefited the gamekeepers in other ways. "Not only are LPG bikes acting as a deterrent to thieves because the gas is less likely to be pilfered, they’ve even helped to reduce complaints of back ache among the team when it comes to unloading the grain from the trailers into the bird feeders", says Gerald.

Owning bi-fuel ATVs offers the team many benefits, with LPG offering a clean, green and inexpensive option that also allows the gamekeepers to switch to petrol easily, should they run out of gas away from the tank.

As well as significantly cutting the cost of running ATVs, LPG has saved the team time they would have spent travelling to petrol stations to refuel. With two onsite bulk tanks re-fuelling is effortless, and the installation, maintenance and topping up is all taken care of by Calor.

Environmental risks associated with fuel spillages is reduced with LPG, unlike petrol, which cannot be stored in large quantities. Using LPG-fuelled ATVs has made financial and commercial sense to Gerald and his team and the environmental benefits of LPG help to support the estate’s environmental agenda.

"We want to encourage the Grey Partridge to breed in the wild", says Gerald Gray. "It’s not just predators which threaten their survival, but a lack of insects, which are key to a chick’s diet before they move onto grain".

In order to attract insects, 20 metre strips around each of the estate’s fields are left untouched by pesticides and allowed to grow wild, providing much-needed cover for the partridges and attracting the crucial insect supply. Across the estate, improving the habitat has also attracted red legged partridges, pheasants, ducks, geese, woodcock, snipe and four different species of deer. This best practice is spreading throughout the shooting community showing that game keeping isn’t just about shooting, it’s also about conservation.

With only 150,000 pairs of Grey Partridge in the UK, the team has been active in its work to turn the decline of this species around. Gerald, who has worked at the estate for 16 years, says, ‘We have worked hard to encourage the Grey Partridge to breed in the wild through fundraising and supporting research into their preservation and natural habitat.

‘Research has shown that it is not just predators like foxes, rats and weasels which threaten the partridge, but a lack of insects, in particular winged insects, which are a key source of food to chicks in their first few weeks of life.

‘We hoped that by improving the land here and encouraging insects, it would lead to an
increased food supply to supplement the chicks before they move onto grain".

Calor’s Jeff Penfold says, "We are delighted Calor has helped the estate in its work necessary to preserve Grey Partridges. LPG-powered ATVs can offer environmental advantages as well as cost savings".