FarmersMart - Summer 0209

The NorTh’s Number oNe FarmiNg guide

Issue 16 | Summer 2009

summer showTime
Previews of the North of Endland’s finest

iae Leading livestock handling
manufacturers

caTwalk kiNgs oF harrogaTe

plus

Young farmers strut their stuff at Great Yorkshire Show

Think Red Think ReliabiliTy
www.Farmers-marT.co.uk

contents
Yorkshire Show.........................4 news ............................ 5-8, 31 Diary Dates .............................9 Showtime .........................10-11 Driffield Show ...................12,13 ryedale Show ........................14 Steven Dresser .......................15 Solway recycling ...................16 clarkson ................................17 Fairburn .......................... 18-20 Kelly .....................................21 robertson ....................... 22-23 Wharfedale Mart ............. 24-25 Bluefin ..................................26 Lambert ................................27 Brockholes Mart .............. 28-29 Lowther Park Farms ......... 30-31 Bramley .......................... 32-33 great Star .............................33 Hall ................................. 34-35 Harold Woolgar ......................35 Whole crop Marketing ..... 36-37 argrain ..................................37 Wilkinson ........................ 38-39 Hindmarsh ...................... 40-41 Mason ............................. 42-43 Market garden ................. 44-45 Howarth .......................... 46-47 askham Bryan college ..... 48-49 Brockhills ........................ 50-53 DH Wadsworth & Sons .... 54-55 Massey Ferguson ...................56 russells Farm Machinery .......57 Philip Watkins ................. 58-59 northfield ........................ 60-62 iae .......................................63 Scrutons ...............................64 Young Farmers ......................65 richardsons ..................... 66-67 Machinery ................. 68-69, 89 Yorkshire Steel Buildings ........70 thirsk auction Mart ...............71 Douglas ............................72-74 Hope .....................................75 todd .................................76-77 Hepworth .........................78-79 Johnsons................................79 David Shaw...................... 80-81 Hyslop ............................ 82-83 galloway ......................... 84-85 Simmental ............................85 Savills ...................................86 cundalls ................................87 competitions .........................88 contractors ...........................90

Welcome
Summer is now upon us and what wonderful weather we have been having. It’s now show time and we will be at the Great Yorkshire Show and Driffield Show once again. We would love you to come and see us. The Great Yorkshire Show is running a Young Farmers Model competition and judging will take place at the fashion show on Tuesday 14 July. I am thrilled that my handsome nephew, Christian, who works on FarmersMart has got through as well. See page 4 for some “hot hunks” in their designer gear! At Driffield Show we will be running our very own Fencing Contractors competition using handheld tools only, and what a great sight to behold it will be after four hours of building. Please come and see it on Wednesday 22 July - see pages 12 and 13 for more details. I am also delighted to welcome Tim Gibson as our new writer on Farmersmart, giving us a regular quarterly update on the dairy industry. The Dairy Farmers of Britain collapse has left some in the industry wondering what they should do in the future. If anyone is worried or in need someone to talk to please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us as we will try to help any way we can. Check out page 31 for an industry update. On a most positive note we have been out and about to many of the machine dealers’ open days and what a great success they were with lots of people attending - see pages 50 to 63 and you might see a picture of yourself! Congratulations to IAE on celebrating 40 years trading in the industry and I wish them continued success. On that note may I wish you all a great summer and I hope to see you at the shows. Kind regards, Simone [email protected]

Managing Director/ eDitor Simone Gallon Tel: 01274 610 101 [email protected] conSULtant eDitor Chris Berry Tel: 0113 2643 645 [email protected] SaLeS Manager/ SUBScriPtionS Ben Walton Tel: 01274 610 101 [email protected] aDVertiSing accoUntS ManagerS Grahame Kraft Tel: 01757 229 630 [email protected] Nicola Robson Tel: 01274 610 101 [email protected] FeatUre eDitorS Chris Berry, Jennifer Mackenzie Phil Read, Rob Wilkinson aDMin/SaLeS Christian Gallon Tel: 01274 610 101 [email protected] DeSign James Ockelford The FarmersMart 40 Stockhill Road, Greengates Bradford, BD10 9AX Tel: 01274 610 101 Fax: 01274 621 730 www.farmers-mart.co.uk
We mail to over 8,000 industry contacts with an approximately readership of 24,000 throughout Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Lancashire, Cumbria, County Durham, Northumberland,Berwickshire, Roxburghshire and Dumfries and Galloway. The FarmersMart is published quarterly by Little Red Marketing Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system or transmitted in any form by means electronic, photographic, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the publishers. Views expressed in The FarmersMart are not necessarily those of Little Red Marketing Ltd.

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GET YOUR COPY
Each edition of FarmersMart contains essential information about the agricultural industry. As a subscriber you’ll get regular updates, a chance to voice your views - and much needed encouragement. Just fill in this form and send with a cheque for £12 (payable to Little Red Marketing Ltd.) to: The FarmersMart, Office 1, 40 Stockhill Rd, Greengates, Bradford, BD10 9AX. Or call Ben Walton on 01274 610 101, email: [email protected] name ........................................................................................ tel no. ............................................

address ................................................................................................................................................. .............................................................................................................................................................. .................................................................................................. Postcode ......................................... FarmersMart Summer 2009 

YoRKsHIRe sHoW

YOUnG MOdEl FaRMERs PREPaRE TO sTRUT ThEiR sTUFF
Bradford’s finalist in the 2009 Model Young Farmers competition is preparing to take to the catwalk at this year’s Great Yorkshire Show – and had a sneak preview of the designer outfits he’ll be wearing in the Skipton Building Society Fashion Pavilion. Christian Gallon, aged 21, works for the FarmersMart magazine and and was nominated by our editor, his aunt, Simone Gallon. He joined his fellow finalists at the Showground today (Tuesday, 30 June) for some advice and training on being a catwalk model from Bernadette Gledhill of Louise Morton & Co, Huddersfield, who co-ordinates the fashion shows for the Great Yorkshire Show. Afterwards the group moved on to Ripley Castle for a photo shoot, where outfits included Paul Smith suits kindly supplied by Lynx of Harrogate and retro Vivienne Westwood clothing from the personal collection of TV celebrity florist, Carl Wilde. “The training was really good fun,” said Christian. “We were shown how to walk down the catwalk and learned the two routines we’re doing during the Fashion Shows. “I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to the real thing, but I think I’ll be nervous stepping out in front of a crowd for the first time.” Ms Gledhill added: “Even professional models can find it daunting when they first take to the runway and walk out in front of an audience, so I’m really impressed with these guys for being willing to give it a go. “I’m helping as much as I can so they know what to expect and I’m sure that when the time comes they’ll all step Christian Gallon out confidently and show everyone what they can do.” Guy Hudson, who owns Lynx of Harrogate, said: “We’re delighted to be associated with the Great Yorkshire Show and wholly support the event. It’s a great commercial showcase for the region.” The Model Young Farmer contest will be held on the first day of the Great Yorkshire Show, which this year takes place from Tuesday 14 – Thursday 16 July. Other highlights of the daily fashion shows will include prom dresses from Dawn Stretton of Leeds and the launch of Mary Benson’s autumn/winter collection. The talented 19-year-old from Leeds is currently on placement with designer Alexander McQueen. There will also be collections from Hatch, of the Huddersfield Textile Centre of Excellence and fashion students from colleges around the region. As well as stunning catwalk shows in the Skipton Building Society Fashion Pavilion, other attractions at the north’s largest agricultural show will include international showjumping, Mark Simpson All seven finalists • t homas Foley, aged 20, of Rathmell, near Settle, North Yorkshire, works on a beef farm and undertakes agricultural contracting. He was nominated by his fiancée. • Stephen Knowles, aged 30, of Langthorpe, Boroughbridge, North Yorkshire, is the current county chairman of Yorkshire Young Farmers and is taking part in the competition in a bid to promote the organisation. All seven shortlisted contenders will strut their stuff on the catwalk during Tuesday’s fashion shows. The winner will be announced after the 2.30pm show and will receive £300 from Skipton Building Society and a crate of Black Sheep beer. Each of the other finalists will receive £50. FarmersMart have 2 stands at the show this year. We are giving away prizes plus special offers on subscriptions. Come and see us on stand numbers 657 and near the cattle ring 267

thousands of animals and plenty of fun for all the family. The other six finalists hoping to take the title of Model Young Farmer 2009 are: • Mark Simpson, aged 29, of Ossett, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, nominated himself for the competition and has aspirations to become a model. He currently helps to run his stepfather’s farm. • Jimmyatkinson, aged 25, of Harperley Hall, Crook, Co Durham was nominated by his proud mum. He works with cattle and fat lambs as well as being involved in forestry. • Stuart Fort, aged 24, of Glusburn, Keighley, West Yorkshire, works on his parents’ dairy farm and was nominated by his girlfriend. • r obert Battye, aged 19, of Snowden Hill, Oxspring, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, was nominated by staff at the Young Farmers’ county office. He is currently taking a welding and fabrication apprenticeship but also helps out at his family’s beef farm.

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Please contact: John Mob: 07966 285240 or Steve Mob: 07931 511090 www.quickfencer.com • email: [email protected]
4 FarmersMart Summer 2009

CONCRETE POSTS & PANELS FOR INSTANT SECURITY WALLING

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nEW diRECTOR adds GalliC FlaiR TO GRiPPlE’s aGRiCUlTURal diVisiOn
With five years’ experience as sales manager of gripple’s agricultural division in central and eastern europe, 39-year-old Frenchman, eric Laroche has been promoted to sales director of the company’s entire agricultural division. Eric was born in Joigny in Burgundy and has lived in the UK since 1992, prior to which he had gained a Masters degree in industrial marketing in France. He is now responsible for promoting the newly launched Gripple T-Clip, which is designed to terminate fencing in seconds rather than minutes, and the Gripple Torq Tensioning Tool. He is also involved in identifying additional uses of the Gripple Plus wire joiner and tensioner, millions of which are already sold across the world to secure fencing, trellising and vines. Eric, who lives in Nottingham with his family, said: “There seems almost no end to the potential uses of the Gripple Plus! We are working

‘sPEnd&saVE’ REWaRd CaRd is laUnChEd
as part of its commitment to bringing extra value to their Members and customers, Farmway is pleased to announce that it has launched a ‘Spend&Save’ reward card. Farmway stocks a wide range of competitively-priced Agricultural, Pet, Equine, Smallholder, Clothing, Footwear, Gardening and other Rural Products across its nine country stores throughout the North-East. “Spend&Save” customers will receive exclusive promotions and special offers, advance notification of product launches and invitations to Farmway Country Store events. Farmway members will also exclusively receive enhanced benefits from their Farmway purchases. Peter Hull, Farmway Chief Executive Officer, commented,, “We would like to assure you that Farmway is committed to developing the range of products provided to our customers and members and to developing our service levels in both the farmdelivered and country store sides of our business. As part of this we intend to continually develop our service in terms of expanded product range, additional staff training to increase the guidance on offer in our stores, competitive pricing and unbeatable customer service levels.” Please see www.farmway.co.uk/ corporate for details of how to apply for your Spend&Save reward card now.

very closely with our innovations and ideas team to ensure that every product is suited to its purpose. At Gripple, our philosophy is ‘think the unthinkable, do the impossible and you will succeed’.” For information visit www.gripple.com

Specialising in Used Agricultural Equipment
Amazone 3m Drill Combination £4,650 6 Ton Trailer, ideal for stableyard £750 Browns 56 Bale Grab £850 Russell 75 Electric Bale Elevator £350 Bucket with Tanco Brackets £290
Muck Spreader Hire – P.O.A. Wanted: All types of farm machinery and equipment. Good prices paid.

TEL: 07793 742543 / 01937 841371
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FarmersMart Summer 2009

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WaREinG BUildinGs CElEBRaTEs 100 YEaRs in FaRMinG
a LancaSHire family firm which has been working with farmers for generations is celebrating its centenary. J Wareing & Son (Wrea Green) Ltd has grown from humble beginnings in 1909 to become one of the leading suppliers of custom-built steel frame buildings to the agricultural and commercial sectors. The iconic label ‘Wareing Wrea Green’ is a familiar sight on farm buildings throughout the UK and is synonymous with the Lancashire village where the company was originally founded. Today, the fourth generation family firm has a multi-million pound turnover and employs a team of 70 members of staff at its new purpose built 10-acre production site. Clients include the Duchy of Lancaster, Myerscough College, the University of Cumbria (Newton Rigg campus) and United Utilities (Farms); the firm also has a strong customer base among farmers in Lancashire, Cumbria, Yorkshire and throughout the UK. Brothers Peter and Andrew Wareing who manage the firm with their respective children, have been working with farmers ever since they joined the family firm at the age of 15. Peter explained: “As a family business, we’ve worked with generations of farming families and have established many long and happy friendships. “Our history is very much the history of farming – over the years we have had the flexibility to adapt to the needs of a changing industry. Andrew commented: “In the early days, we were supplying farmers with buildings for a variety of agricultural purposes but only in the local area.” “At the time it wasn’t feasible for our teams to travel long distances to erect buildings. But in 1964 we were asked to supply steel frame buildings in kit format so farmers could arrange the build themselves; today we send steel frame kits to destinations throughout the UK and even as far as the Falkland Islands!” The firm offers an extensive range of services, from providing steel frame buildings in kit form, to a full design and build ‘turnkey’ package for a wide range of applications including farm buildings, business premises, leisure facilities, schools and all are fully Health & Safety compliant. They provide bespoke joinery services including timber stables. They also will undertake re-cladding services and disposal of semi or fullycompressed Asbestos. Peter added: “Flexibility has been the key to our success as we are

The Wareing Team capable of manufacturing any type or size of building to suit each individual customer’s requirement from portal frames to extensions and lean-tos.” George Dixon, of Low Newton at Newton-in-Cartmell, Cumbria, who purchased the first kit building from Wareing Buildings, said: “It’s over 40 years since I purchased a kit form building from J Wareing & Sons which is still in use today. I would like to take this opportunity to express my satisfaction and wish Wareing Buildings continued success in their centenary year.’’ During its 100 years, the firm has employed a loyal team of highly skilled staff many of whom have been with the firm for 25 years and several over 50 years. For more information visit www.wareingbuildings.co.uk

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 FarmersMart Summer 2009

neWs

a nEW ChaPlain FOR ThE YORkshiRE aGRiCUlTURal sOCiETY

inlinE WiTh ThE aUCTiOn MaRTs
as their mart software supplier, newline aSP is delighted to wish Brockholes arms auction Mart every success with their business. See pages 28-29. Newline ASP deals with auction firms in both hemispheres and has provided auction software since 1983. As a second generation family firm committed to the livestock market business we provide services for 80% of UK markets, an even higher figure in New Zealand & 29 sites in Ireland. Newline has been involved in E.I.D since the mid 90’s

and has provided an EID solution to livestock marts that allows farmers to get on with farming without having to become involved in purchasing any EID equipment other than tags. For details contact your local mart. Visit www.auctionmarts.com it’s free to use and is the most comprehensive livestock sales listing website. We’re constantly adding new features to www.auctionmarts.com so keep watching.

Revd Canon Leslie Morley at the Great Yorkshire Showground the Yorkshire agricultural Society has appointed a new chaplain, as the rev toddy Hoare has stepped down, having moved to oxfordshire. toddy’s connection with the Society began 25 years ago - as a horse steward at the great Yorkshire Show and his reputation as a supporter of rural life, an accomplished sculptor as well as a parish priest ,is well known. The role has been taken by The Revd Canon Leslie Morley, a familiar face to many through his years of pastoral work across Yorkshire. His love of the countryside and empathy with farmers and the rural community mean he was a natural choice as Chaplain. Nigel Pulling, Chief Executive said: “We’ve known Leslie for a number of years, not least through his involvement with Farm Crisis Network and the Yorkshire Rural Support Network. He manages to combine a great sense of humour with a genuine concern for farmers, and a practical hands-on approach to making things happen! I know he will be an excellent support for staff and an excellent ambassador for the Society in its work supporting the rural community.” Amongst Canon Morley’s many roles within the rural community, for the last decade he has been the Rural Officer for the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds, which involves advising the Bishops and the Diocese on matters of concern to the farming and rural communities and supporting rural clergy and congregations. He is also the Deputy Chairman of the Yorkshire Rural Support Network, Chaplain to the Yorkshire branch of Farm Crisis Network and a member of the Church on Show committee for the Great Yorkshire. His home is in Low Pittington, County Durham. Speaking about his appointment he said: “I was delighted to be asked to take on the role and had no hesitation in saying “yes”. I’m very much looking forward to the Great Yorkshire Show, and I extend a warm welcome to Morning Prayers, each day at the President’s Lawn Band Stand at 7.30am. I’m very conscious that this is a year round post, and so will be a frequent visitor to the Society’s offices to be available to the staff. I am also getting involved in activities around the region on the Society’s behalf.”

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FarmersMart Summer 2009



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nEW dVd liFTs ThE lid On MillinGTOn liMOUsins ‘sTRiVinG FOR PERFECTiOn’ aVailaBlE nOW
at Millington we are committed to producing the best animal any farmer or any consumer would ever want.’ The Millington herd runs to around 200 Limousins, including around 100 breeding cattle and 10 stock bulls. They also have a commercial herd of around 300 which are used for embryo work, as well as smaller herds of Black Limousin and Aberdeen Angus. John and his show team, which includes Mark Phillips have won major awards at the Great Yorkshire, Royal, Royal Welsh and Royal Highland Shows, including Interbreed champion at both the Royal Welsh and Royal Highland with home-bred Millington Tangerine. On the DVD John explains their breeding philosophy, their feeding and their exploits abroad. The programme also includes their highly successful day at Carlisle last year when two of his stock achieved the best two prices in the ring on the day. There are commendations from notable figures in the industry such as Iain Kerr who heads up the Limousin Society and David Thomlinson, the breed’s principal auctioneer at Borderway Mart. There is also footage of a notable win at last year’s Driffield Show, and a visitation from a Hong Kong delegation on behalf of reintroducing British beef into their country. if you would like a copy of the DVD just send a cheque for £2, to cover postage and packing, to: John Weatherill MiLLington LiMoUSinS cold Skin Farm, Millington York Yo42 1UD (Please remember to include you name, address and post code details) tel: 01759 368121 email: [email protected] www.millingtonlimousins.co.uk

John Weatherill winning at Driffield Show 2008 - it’s on the DVD there are few cattle men who are going about the job of promoting their herd and breed as professionally as John Weatherill of Millington grange estate. John has, for the past decade and more, built up one of the country’s leading herds across his three farms of The Grange, Cold Skin Farm and High College Farm in the Millington area of the East Riding of Yorkshire. And he now tells his story of what they have achieved and what their expectations are for the future as the Millington Limousins’ name spreads right across the world. It is all encapsulated in a brand new DVD titled ‘Striving for Perfection’ which is John’s motto. ‘Unless you work hard you will never attain it,’ says John. ‘Here

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FarmersMart Summer 2009

DIARY DAtes JULY
Tuesday 7 - Friday 10 roYaL SHoW Sunday 12 HoWDen SHoW Tuesday 14 - Thursday 16 great YorKSHire SHoW Saturday 18 cUMBerLanD coUntY SHoW Sunday 19 MaLton SHoW artHington SHoW Friday 24 - Sunday 26 roYaL LancaSHire SHoW Saturday 25 PenritH SHoW Sunday 26 Weeton SHoW HUBY & SUtton SHoW Tuesday 28 rYeDaLe SHoW Wednesday 29 BorroWBY SHoW Sunday 2 SYKeHoUSe SHoW Wednesday 5 cartMeL SHoW Wednesday 5 - Thursday 6 BaKeWeLL SHoW Friday 7 - Sunday 9 LoWtHer carriage DriVing triaLS Lowther Estate, Penrith Saturday 8 HaLiFaX SHoW Sunday 9 BingLeY SHoW Wednesday 12 DanBY SHoW Wednesday 26 egton SHoW Saturday 29 MaLHaMDaLe SHoW BiLSDaLe SHoW| WearDaLe SHoW WenSLeYDaLe SHoW Monday 31 KeSWicK SHoW SHoW gLenDaLe SHoW

SePteMBer
Tuesday 1 KiLnSeY SHoW Thursday 10 WeStMorLanD coUntY SHoW Friday 11 KeLSo raM SaLeS Saturday 12 PeniStone SHoW Saturday 12 - Sunday 13 StanHoPe SHoW Saturday 19 StoKeSLeY SHoW Monday 21 niDDerDaLe SHoW

aUgUSt
Saturday 1 eMLeY SHoW cocKerMoUtH SHoW SeaMer SHoW oSMotHerLeY SHoW PoWBUrn SHoW garStang SHoW DUMFrieS SHoW Saturday 1 tocKWitH agricULtUraL SHoW Tockwith Agricultural Showground

octoBer
Saturday 24 - Sunday 25 coUntrYSiDe LiVe! Harrogate

Wednesday 22 DriFFieLD SHoW Friday 24 - Saturday 25 BorDer Union SHoW Kelso

nEW aPPOinTMEnT, FaMiliaR FaCE
is now situated within the new Thirsk Rural Centre at the Auction Mart and it is an ideal location. One of the problems that market towns are facing is the onset of parking charges which are going to stifle business in centres such as Northallerton, Bedale and Stokesley. That’s why our location here is strategically so important. Derek has already sold his first block of land since joining Bell Ingram and gives his current feeling on the farmland marketplace. ‘The first block of land I have sold was Grade 3 arable strongish land which didn’t have roadside access and wasn’t near a built-up area. It ran to 30 acres and sold for £202,000, just short of £7,000 per acre, which shows no weakening in the market whatsoever. I’ve already several irons in the fire over more land and property to come on the market. Now really is a good time because relatively speaking agriculture is on the up at present. It is seen by a number of people as the right time to cash in.’ And he’s keeping his eye on the livestock front too: ‘The market prices for lambs has dropped recently, but they are still in advance of what they were at this time last year. They’re still £10 a head better than they were. It’s the same story with the cattle too. Fat cattle prices have eased off a bit, but they are still better than 12 months ago.’ He is already feeling the benefits of

being involved as a satellite office of a larger company, and looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead. ‘’The advantages are that we receive great support from our head office and I can now offer a one-to-one familiar service from what is a wonderful location.’ Derek comes from Cumbria originally and is a farmer’s son from between Keswick and Cockermouth. His first job was at Cockermouth Mart before moving on to Longtown Mart, and then to Northallerton Mart in October 1989. He is married to Judith and they have two daughters – Hayley and Rebecca. BeLL ingraM - Derek tyson thirsk rural Business centre Blakey Lane, thirsk north Yorkshire Yo7 3aB tel: 01845 522095 Fax: 01845 522130 Mob: 07789 373092 email: derek.tyson@ bellingram.co.uk www.bellingram.co.uk

Bell ingram, the rural-based chartered surveyors practice, which was established in Perth in 1899 has further strengthened its Yorkshire base with both a move of office and a new appointment in recent months. Derek Tyson is a familiar face to many in the North Yorkshire area, having been with Northallerton Auction Mart and Northallerton Estate Agency for nearly 20 years. He has joined Bell Ingram at what he believes is a very important time. ‘They have a very strong rural land agency practice in Scotland and have expanded into England with three offices over the past decade. The Thirsk office where I am based

Traditionally the work Bell Ingram has undertaken in England has been contract work for utilities, such as negotiations concerning new pipelines, but we now intend to expand on greater work with both the general public and farmer clients. I will be offering all of the same services I have always done at Northallerton from rural land management, compensation claims, estate management, valuations for divorce, capital gains, inheritance tax and preparing farm business tenancies. I’ll be doing less livestock auctioneering but I am now also relief auctioneer for Mitchells at Cockermouth once a month and available for any local farm who needs an auctioneer.’

FarmersMart Summer 2009



sHoWtIMe

WEnslEYdalE GEaRs UP FOR anOThER shOW
the Wensleydale Show at Leyburn promises to be another great day out for all the family, building on last year’s successful event. “Our visitor numbers were up again last year helped by a large entry of sheep and cattle proving that we are a real agricultural show.” says show chairman Gerald Hodgson. As well as the farm livestock sections there are many other items of interest including ponies, heavy horses and carriage driving, music from Leyburn Band, hounds and beagles and dry stone walling. There will be activity throughout the day in the main ring including spectacular displays by the Cheshire Dog Display Team, parades of vintage vehicles, judging of the carriage driving classes, sheep championship and parade of cattle and, for fun at the end of the day, an “on the day” pet dog show. For the mechanically minded there are vintage cars, tractors

kilnsEY shOW
The Dales’ foremost agricultural show with dry stone walling, produce, handicrafts, horticulture, equestrian events, sheep and cattle, sheep dog trials, fell races and finishing the day with the excitement of harness racing. Held every year on the Tuesday after August Bank Holiday against the magnificent backdrop of Kilnsey Crag, the show has been a showcase for the Dales farming community for over a hundred years. It is one of the larger agricultural shows in the North of England and it attracts visitors from throughout the Dales and way beyond. Opens at 9.00am and goes on till 7.00pm with plenty of food, drink and bargains at over 100 trade stalls. Please note that no dogs other than guide dogs or competitive sheep dogs are allowed on any part of the show field . For further information cntact Mrs Kathy Lambert (Secretary) tel:01756 753259 [email protected]

and machinery contrasting with homecrafts, handicrafts, flowers and vegetables. For the young members of the family there is a funfair and bouncy castle and a wide selection of trade stands will complete the colourful scene. The Wensleydale Show takes place at Bellerby Road, Leyburn on August Bank Holiday Saturday, 29 August 2009. Adult entry is £6, 5-16 year olds £3, under 5s free and car parking free. For more details visit www.wensleydaleshow.org.uk or call 01969 623750

haliFaX shOW

The Halifax Show is one of the most prestigious, best attended and well respected shows in West Yorkshire. Come along and support what is guaranteed to be a fantastic Show with a great atmosphere - where some of the best Cattle in the Country will be on show. Fantastic Livestock Classes, Superb Prize Money , New Showground Design , New Main Arena , Corporate

Hospitality Packages, Authentic Approved Farmer’s Market. West Yorkshire’s leading agricultural event will be held on Saturday 8 August 2009 on Savile Park Moor, Savile Park, Halifax. the Halifax Show 2009 8th august 2009 Savile Park Moor Halifax

Saturday 29th August 2009
The Showfield, Bellerby Road, Leyburn
A great family day out, with entertainment for everyone. Adults £6 Children £3 Under 5’s Free Free car parking The Cheshire Dog Display Team, Cattle and Sheep Classes, Children’s Funfair, Carriage Driving, Leyburn Band, Pony Classes, Walling and Quoits competitions Displays of Handicrafts, Homecrafts and Horticulture. Around 100 Trade and Craft stands.

KILNSEY SHOW & SPORTS Tuesday 1st September 2009
The biggest and best one-day agricultural show in the country
Show Classes, Displays, Demonstrations, Competitions, Trade Stands, Food Stalls ...... and much, much more for all the family, including Harness Racing and the famous Crag Races 9.00am - 7pm Ample FREE Parking Adults £8 - Children £1 - Under 5s Free Contact Kathy Lambert on 01756 753259 www.kilnseyshow.co.uk [email protected]

01969 623750
www.wensleydaleshow.org.uk
10 FarmersMart Summer 2009

sHoWtIMe

2009 YOUnG FaRMERs sTOCk JUdGinG COMPETiTiOn
almost 60 Young Farmers from clubs throughout cumbria met at Park House Farm, Heversham to compete in the Westmorland county agricultural Society’s 13th annual Stock Judging event. The competition included judging prime lambs, dairy and beef cattle and a veterinary questionnaire with all competitors assessing the livestock against a master judge’s placings before giving traditional reasons. Competition was particularly keen amongst the Young Farmers, with just a few marks separating the top placings in each section. President Dorrie Galbraith commented “It is fantastic to see so many youngsters taking part in traditional stockjudging competitions, and with such high standards we can be sure of competent farmers in the future.” In recognising the increasing number of stockswomen taking part, Mrs Galbraith presented a new trophy for the female gaining highest points throughout the evening. A delighted Lizzie Bland from Penrith YFC was the first recipient of this new award. The prizes were presented by Mrs Galbraith for the best individual Senior and Junior Stockman (or Stock judging winners

rather Stocksperson, since there were also many young ladies taking part), along with the best club team (2 seniors and 2 juniors). Cheques were also given to each complete team. The evening was made extra special for Dorrie, when her grandson, Craig Galbraith was named Senior Stockman. Thanks were conveyed to the Capstick family for hosting the event

and to Jonathan Mason for loaning the dairy cattle by Chairman Judith Buckley and also to the judges, stewards and helpers for their continued support.

For more information visit www.westmorlandshow.co.uk or call on 015395 67804

JAMES STEWART
(Agricultural Sales)
20 Slyne Road, Bolton-le-Sands, Carnforth , Lancashire. LA5 8BQ Tel. / Fax 01524 822192 Mobile Tel. 07946 819467
Suppliers of a full range of galvo. gates & wire fencing. sheep races, lamb weighers, roll over crates, dagging yokes, calf pens , sheep hurdles & dog runs. Cow cubicles & mats, cattle crushes, races & calf dehorner crates. Plastic & galvo. water troughs, bowls & footbaths. Cattle & Sheep feed troughs, hayracks, feed rings, barriers, creeps etc.

2009 REsUlTs
sEniOR sTOCkMan : JUniOR sTOCkMan : TEaM PRizE : CRaiG GalBRaiTh, GRaYRiGG YFC saM WilkinsOn, kEnT EsTUaRY YFC kEnT EsTUaRY YFC

See us at the Westmorland County Show

We believe this is the biggest one day Agricultural Show in West Yorkshire Halifax Agricultural Society Ltd Presents the 63rd show on 8th August 2009

The Halifax Show

Pre-day tickets available from outlets throughout Calderdale Adult Pre-day £6.00 (£7 on the day) Child & OAP Pre-day £3.00 (£4 on the day) Family Ticket £18.00 (2 adults and 2 children) For further information regarding entries please contact Mrs Leanne Skelton [email protected] Nunnery Farm, Wainstalls, Halifax, HX2 7TR Tel: 01422 885519 Mob: 07779281122

Visit our website www.halifaxshow.co.uk
FarmersMart Summer 2009 11

DRIFFIelD sHoW

nEW COMPETiTiOns & sTaYinG TRadiTiOnal
ChRis BERRY Talks WiTh daVid TiTE aBOUT This YEaR’s dRiFFiEld shOW
this year’s 134th Driffield Show on Wednesday 22 July looks set to top all records – greater livestock entries, even more agricultural and rural trade stands, new classes for first time entrants and a fantastic fencing competition. David tite, Driffield agricultural Society director, is looking forward to another great show. ‘Last year’s BlueTongue restrictions caused us a few problems and we were limited on livestock entries. If everyone who had originally signed up had been able to come last year it would have been a record, but we’ve just saved that for this year instead!’ David also pays tribute to Richard Jackson, who took on the role of livestock secretary last year: ‘Richard did such a sterling job that we’re very pleased to say we have secured his services for a number of years into the future. He has worked very hard to ensure that our classes develop in the right way, and this year we are starting a new project. It’s a beginners’ interbreed cattle and sheep championship and it’s meant for first time entrants. There are lots of people out there, smallholders with maybe one beast or another, and people who have either never shown before or not had a first place just yet. What we would say is come along to the show and take part because you are going to be the future of agricultural shows. The only entry qualification is that you must not have gained a first place at any agricultural show before 22 July. It’s chance for everyone who may have had little or no experience of showing up until this point –and a chance to win, instead of having to compete against the big names.’ ‘Sticking with our grass roots is very important to us and we also have

a young growers challenge with 13 schools growing their own produce of everything from cucumbers to courgettes, beans and peas.’ The Enterprise Village, which houses new businesses and rural ideas, has recently secured the funding to enable it to continue for a further 3 years. David is also looking forward to the new fencing competition which makes its Driffield Show debut. The Yorkshire & North of England Fence Contracting Competition is being sponsored by Farmers Mart

and sister magazine Fencing & Landscaping News. ‘We’re constantly looking at new ideas and we are looking forward to this becoming a major attraction this year and in the years to come. Sponsorship is important to the show and events such as this which have a rural theme are always to be welcomed.’ Other events include the renowned activities area which this year will see dogs, a polo demonstration, sheepdog demonstration with ducks and geese being rounded up.

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FarmersMart Summer 2009

DRIFFIelD sHoW
Parachute jumps into the main ring will take place courtesy of the Royal Artillery and Signals complete with coloured smoke. There will be a rural crafts demonstration also featuring coracle-making, straw-dollies, ropemaking, beekeeping and bench making amongst many others. The Driffield Agricultural Society is widely acknowledged as being one of the most forward-thinking societies in the UK. It hosts one the largest one-day agricultural show in the country and with over 25,000 attending it matches the Great Yorkshire Show’s first-day attendance. ‘I have worked for the Society since I was 13 years old. I ran the team that put the show together on the ground for a number of years and now I have been in this role of society director since 2006. We have big plans here and we’re always moving forward.’ DriFFieLD agricULtUraL SocietY Kelleythorpe, Driffield east riding of Yorkshire Yo25 9Dn tel: 01377 257494 email: [email protected] www.driffieldshow.co.uk

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‘In September we will also have new Discoveries available on hire too, and we are also putting together bespoke services for picking up shooting parties.’ There’s plenty going on at ARD Yorkshire! For more information contact arD YorKSHire LtD Howdenshire Way Knedlington road Howden, goole Dn14 7HZ tel: 01430 431134 email: [email protected] Web: www.ard4x4.com

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FarmersMart Summer 2009 1

RYeDAle sHoW

RYEdalE shOW 2009

Gill Brown of Stape picks up the Simmental Trophy at Ryedale Show 2006 the 143rd ryedale Show will once again take place in one of the county’s most beautiful settings at Welburn Hall, near Kirkbymoorside on tuesday 28 July. Ryedale Show attracts upwards of 15,000 visitors and provides an amphitheatre-like setting for its agricultural and equestrian classes, with the trade stands from wellknown Farmers Mart names such as Russells, Yorkshire Generators, Cundalls and Moorland ATV on the top tier of land. It was established in 1855 and is the major show in the North York Moors area, attracting cattle and sheep competitors from all over Yorkshire. Prize money of ovear £20,000 is up for grabs as well as some tremendous trophies. This truly is one of the UK’s great rural shows and fully deserves everyone’s support. ryedale Show, Welburn Park Kirkbymoorside tel: 01653 697820 email: [email protected] www.ryedaleshow.org.uk

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FarmersMart Summer 2009

steven DResseR

GETTinG YOUR ElECTRiCal sYsTEMs RiGhT
With the recent fortunes of most in the farming industry having become more profitable there has been a move towards reinvestment on farms and in particular farm buildings. Many farmers who have for years wanted to either expand their operations or at the very least maintained them in the manner they would like are now in a more comfortable position to do so – but one of the areas that can sometimes get forgotten about is ensuring that your electrical systems and installations are both adequate to today’s needs and checked over thoroughly. This might not seem as grand or as exciting as putting up that new shed or building, but in the long term it could be much more pertinent. Equally, if you are putting up a new build then electricity supplies and circuits are a vital consideration, especially in the likes of crop stores and pig housing where temperature control is uppermost in farmers’ minds. Steven Dresser runs one of the very few electrical contracting companies that specialises in the agricultural sector. His father, Ian, started the business back in the mid-60s and today Steven employs 16 electricians, who encompass everything from domestic electrical installation and maintenance, to rewiring, alarms and all forms of security including CCTV. ‘Whilst the domestic work is still a big part of what we do there are not many electrical companies that can deal with the really big jobs on farms these days. We maintain and input electrical systems all around Yorkshire and are also able to deal with times when big breakdowns occur. Recently due to thunder storms we received a call at 10 pm and attended a pig farm where a building had lost all its power, subsequently causing the fans to stop. Because of the number of people we have available and the fact that we are on call 24/7 we were able to get out to the farm and by 1am we had the building’s electrical supply and ventilation up and running again. We went straight from that farm to a local dairy herd to wire-in a stand-by generator after the farmers’ unit failed, 100 dairy cattle were stood waiting to be milked! We work longer hours than most and that’s because we realise the value of pigs, cattle and grain, and the damage a loss of electricity can cause to any farm.’ One of Steven’s busiest times is coming up shortly – harvest. ‘At harvest we are non-stop, especially if the weather goes against the farmer. If it’s wet everything has to work that bit harder and susequently fails more frequently. The most popular of breakdowns is electric motor failure,we keep a full stock of both single and three phase motors to try and combat this problem. The company majors on both installation and maintenance work and is very busy currently with new dryer installations, where they are experts in wiring grain dryers, many new and refurbishment projects on piggeries plus controlled stores for potatoes and grain storage. ‘We are well placed to pick up that work and we also offer not just everyday electrical installation but installation of fans – particularly appropriate for pig buildings. Fan ventilation is taking over from ACNV (Natural ventilation) and we currently have a number of pig farms converting, farmers have realised that the end product from a fan ventilated building is better than that from a ACNV controlled building. We are agents for the marketleading Ziehl fans covering the north of England and into Scotland, and we are also approved suppliers and installers for Farmex Dicam. Regular testing of electrical equipment within the agricultural sector is now an absolute requirement and often an insurance stipulation, PAT testing is also a large part of our buisness as Health and safety becomes an ever growing part of any business ,Steven believes his company is the one best placed to be able to handle that, as well as all other electrical needs on the farm. SteVen J. DreSSer electrical contractors Ltd, the Works chapel Street, thirsk north Yorkshire Yo7 1LU tel: 01845 574691 [email protected]

FarmersMart Summer 2009

15

solWAY RecYclIng

ECOGRid COW TRak iMPREssEs aT saC CRiChTOn
WaLKing the dairy herd four times a day between fields and parlour in our increasingly wet and mild climate was made easier using ecogrid cow tracks at Sac crichton Farm, Dumfries reports manager Hugh Mcclymont. Last autumn Hugh opted to lay cow friendly walk ways to the fields using Ecogrid, a soil stabiliser already used for car parking and buggy tracks at golf courses. Manufactured from recycled waste plastic Ecogrid was supplied by Solway Recycling Ltd of Dumfries, who are launching their latest innovation at the Royal Highland Show. Speedily and simply laid on top of the ground this plastic grid requires no prior site preparation, is extremely durable with a 20 tonne axle load carrying capacity. SAC’s Hugh McClymont found herd health improved thus cutting costs as the incidence of lameness and other problems such as mastitis was reduced when cows no longer

Cow Trak walked through badly churned up ground. These environmentally friendly walkways require little maintenance, have minimal visual impact and reduce both soil erosion and poaching. Not only livestock, but also vehicles move more easily around a farm on an Ecogrid cow track without churning up fields, lanes and gateways. “With Scottish herds of up to a 1000 cows moving considerable distances four or six times a day at milking times Ecogrid cow tracks have a key role to play in improving herd health and reducing costs,” commented Jim Muir of Solway Recycling. Founded 15 years ago the farm based Dumfries firm offers a Complete Circle Approach by collecting agricultural plastic waste using their award winning Solway Bin and Liner System. This plastic is then recycled into a growing range of durable products including calf and sheep pens, lamb creep feeders, Stokboard, Ecogrid and garden furniture. For further details of ecogrid cow tracks contact, Solway recycling Ltd, tel; 01387 730666

1

FarmersMart Summer 2009

clARKson

ThWinG & ThE shaVinG OF a Chin!
ChRis BERRY Talks WiTh PhiliP ClaRksOn in ThE YORkshiRE WOlds
there are many villages in Yorkshire which have lost their rural identity over the past three decades, but thwing in the Yorkshire Wolds is most definitely not one of them. Nestled in the northern end of the Wolds, and not too far from the coast, Thwing is very much a community that has kept itself firmly to itself. Philip Clarkson is in his 21st year as Parish Council chairman which he has served for 25 years. He runs a predominantly arable enterprise at Little Farm where he and his family moved to in 1967 from Willerby, near Hull. ‘When they were going to build the Humber Bridge they were also going to build a motorway to Beverley which would have gone through our farm, so we moved up here. I was 17 when we moved.’ He’s never regretted it one bit. ‘It’s so nice and peaceful out here. We’ve kept the village nearly the same as it has always been, although we have lost both our shop and post office. It’s still very quiet here, and it’s a non-development area. We’ve only had 4 or 5 houses built in the last 40 years. We still have a church, pub, a little village hall and village mere. We have restored the mere, at the east end, and have a brick monument marking the point where a meteorite fell in 1793. That’s probably our main claim to fame.’ Philip’s farm runs to around 200 acres and is mainly Grade 2 land. He farmed with his father, Francis, who passed away in 1984. His mother Florence Vera now lives in a retirement home in nearby Burton Fleming. He has three sisters – Joy, Linda and Elizabeth. Annette, another of Philip’s sisters, passed away in 2006. Philip clarkson ‘I’ve never married. Never met anyone suitable. When I was younger I went to Driffield Young Farmers, and used to go into Scarborough for nights out. I’m in easy walking distance of the pub, the Falling Stone.’ As well as his parish council activities and fondness for a pint Philip is also involved with the thriving Wold Newton Farmers Discussion Group and is the Summer coach trip organiser. Last year he came out of beef cattle, and it led to a new Antipodean adventure for him, which in turn led to the growing of a beard, which in turn led to raising money for charity. ‘I always used to keep 50 beef cattle bought as stores in the Autumn, feed them up during Winter and sell fat during Summer, but last year we were told we had a problem with TB so the ministry came and took half of the cattle away. However, the tests all proved negative after they had slaughtered them. So I came out of cattle completely. My mate Bill Thompson who farms at Wold Newton said he was going to Australia so I went with him. We travelled right across the country, flying in to Perth and then driving from Western Australia to South Australia and Victoria. We climbed Sydney Harbour Bridge, visited Australia’s largest open cast gold mine 400 miles east of Perth, visited Melbourne, Adelaide and Canberra and had a great time. It was hot and sunny and an altogether better climate, but I don’t think I’d like to live there. The farms are much bigger than here but they are lower yielding. One farmer told me he was getting only three-quarters of a tonne per acre for his wheat, although I understand there are some that get 3 tonnes an acre. When I came back from the heat of 40 degrees a day in Australia I was met with snow. I also hadn’t had a shave for three days and someone suggested I should carry on for a month and then shave my beard off for charity. We raised over £500 for RABI when I had it shaved off at the pub.’ Philip is no stranger to giving either. He has donated 54 pints of blood over many years. He’s also involved with a regular meeting each week when the old ‘market crew’ go for lunch together in Driffield. He talks of going back into cattle this year, but only when the price is right. ‘I’ll probably go back in this Winter. I’ve been to Ruswarp but they’re a bit dear at the moment.’ Philip also has a small flock of 40 ewes and is pictured here with some of the smaller lambs from this year’s triplets. inForMation Philip clarkson, Little Farm, thwing nr DriFFieLD tel: 01262 470231 Philip enjoys his £500 shave!

DAviD WooDCoCk
Agricultural Contractors
Burton Fleming, Driffield, East Yorkshire, YO25 3PS We are pleased to be associated with Clarkson Family and wish them continued success for the future.

Tel: 01262 470 246 Fax: 01262 470 502 Mob: 07889 081804 E-mail: [email protected]

FarmersMart Summer 2009

1

FAIRbuRn

CREaTinG a YOUnGER nFU in YORk EasT
ChRis BERRY Talks WiTh nEW ChaiRMan, JOnaThan FaiRBURn OF RiEVaUlX
there has long been a view, amongst the more cynical in the farming community, that those who go further than the local branch chairmanship of the nFU are in it for what they can get out of it personally, to climb the ladder. Thankfully the cynics are fewer these days and the concentration on achieving a better lot for each farmer has always been the maxim. Jonathan Fairburn who farms at Griff Farm, near Rievaulx, is the new York East County Chairman, following on from the astute and highly professional and calculating chairmanship of John Gatenby. Whilst Jonathan is keen to carry on the good work of those who have gone before him, he has come with a plan - and one that he feels will stand the union in good stead for

Jonathan & Tracy Fairburn of Rievaulx many years to come. ‘I will judge my success on whether there are 4 people younger than me involved with the county committee by my last meeting. The first meeting I took as chairman there were two.’ It might not seem much of a target to get just two more but it is longevity that Jonathan is after. Getting four people younger than him, at meetings regularly, is no easy task given the pressures on time that most farmers face whether young or not so. ‘There have still been many meetings where I have been the youngest and we can’t let that carry on.’ In order to achieve his goal Jonathan isn’t just leaving things to chance. He recently arranged a farm walk, at Low Marishes, between Malton and Pickering and invited nine other chairmen of branches from around the York East area to meet his personal challenge by bringing farmers under the age of 35. ‘There are now far more decisions that have to be made and bureaucracy that has to be undertaken that 27-28 year olds are having to be involved with. Part of that is down to IT skills and computer literacy and my gut

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18 FarmersMart Summer 2009

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FAIRbuRn

travelling in farming style feeling is that younger farmers are now making decisions around 5-6 years earlier than they were doing 15-20 years ago. I started getting involved with the NFU in my earlymid 30s.’ Jonathan is married to Tracy and the farm runs to 327 acres, which includes 220 acres of arable land, and the rest as grass. He has 500 breeding sheep, predominantly Texel X with what he terms a splattering of Mules, Charollais and Suffolk. He also fattens pigs on a bed and breakfast basis. He was born just up the road, at Harriet Air, just a mile and a half away. He’s not moved very far, but moving away from the family farm, where he farmed with his brother and father up until 15 years ago, did mean a change in his farming skills. continues page 20

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Email: [email protected] Website: www.kennetheasby.co.uk

FarmersMart Summer 2009

1

FAIRbuRn
‘Frederick, my brother, had always looked after the livestock side of things, with me tending to look after the arable side. We helped each other out of course, but when I came here it was a bit of a crash course for me on the livestock side. I had to get my head around livestock. I came here with 120 breeding ewes and we’ve now increased the numbers to our limit. We lambed about 30 Suffolks in January this year, with the rest starting at the beginning of March and finishing at the beginning of April. We used to lamb 150 in January and we might go back to that. The reason we stopped was that we fatten pigs and we needed the shed space for them. We can now lamb about 5060 in another building we haven’t been using.’ Jonathan hasn’t gone down the cattle route because his neighbours were fairly keen on pigs for fattening. On the arable side he grows around 60 acres of winter barley for malting, roughly 60 acres of spring barley, also for malting, 30 acres of oil seed rape, with 5060 acres of winter wheat. In his 15 years at Griff he has faced up to nearly everything that could have been thrown at farming and family life. BSE, FMD, Blue ear, Bluetongue, difficult trading periods, rock bottom prices, a bad back injury. ‘It’s been challenging. When I came here there was no talk of BSE. IACS forms had just been invented. Winter Barley was at 110-115, wheat was at 120-130, oil seed rape 300. Things were flying, but within two years everything crashed. Yes, it’s a better time at the moment and we are getting more money for our products, but we’re also having to pay a lot of money on input costs.’ Jonathan and Tracy were married 5 years ago, and have been together for 9 years. Between them they have three children, Dean and Sara (16 & 13) from Tracy’s earlier relationship, and 6 year old Thomas from their own. Tracy is from Kirkbymoorside and is an ex-dance teacher. She spent 8 years in Chester, both at college and in a number of jobs and tells of having taught the Duke of Westminster’s children. Jonathan’s other involvements have been in the young farmers movement and in cricket. ‘I was with Helmsley YFC, and was then involved with Ryedale District, becoming Activities Chairman for Yorkshire. David Airey, who is the current West Riding County NFU chairman was around at the Jonathan & Tracy same time.’ The cricket could have gone much further though as Jonathan had trials with Durham CCC. ‘I played for Stokesley, Hovingham and Rievaulx, but when I went to feed the pigs one morning my cricket career was over. A disc had dropped on to my spinal cord and I literally crawled back in to the house. My consultant, who was South African and looked after the South Africa cricket team told me I shouldn’t bother playing cricket again. The scan I had taken showed that the same thing could happen again and that the next time it could all end up far more seriously. That was enough for me.’ if you would like to know more about joining the nFU YorK eaSt coUntY membership why not contact Jonathan on 07801 145049 or email: [email protected]

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20 FarmersMart Summer 2009

KellY

FiVE sOns = FaRM + TEaROOM + FaRM shOP
ChRis BERRY Talks WiTh andREW kEllY in liTTlE FRYUP
andrew and Jill Kelly are a busy couple – in every sense of the word! not only do they run a farm and a tearoom, they also have plans to open up a farm shop. not only that either – they also have five, yes five young sons ranging from 2 to 11 years old. andrew acknowledges it could create quite an interesting time if they all grow up wanting to be farmers! The Kellys came to Stonebeck Gate Farm, Little Fryup in the North York Moors in 1996. Andrew comes from Ireland originally, whilst Jill is a Yorkshire girl, from Thorne, near Doncaster. ‘I studied in Edinburgh and Cirencester, which is where I met Jill. Then I was a farm manager in County Whicklow for 5 years. In Ireland my youngest brother took on the family farm. Jill and I had always wanted to farm under our own right and when the tenancy for this farm came up we didn’t think we would get it but we did. It had been renowned for being one of the best farms in the area, so we had quite a standard to maintain.’ They arrived in the Moors before BSE, FMD and all other manner of farming catastrophe had occurred. ‘It’s been a real rollercoaster but we’re surviving. The farm is part of the Dawnay Estate and we are working well with Lord Downe who is the 12th viscount. We have built up the farm from nothing. There was no stock here when we came and we have spent a fair bit of money, in conjunction with the estate, in doing the house up. The farm had been well farmed extensively before we came.’ Andrew’s original stocking levels are not what they were though. ‘When we took on here I kept a lot of cattle and sheep, but I’ve cut down quite a bit. We didn’t have our stock culled during Foot and Mouth year in 2001, and like many others we lost a lot of money. As a result we decided we would sell off some stock and branch out into food retailing. That’s been one serious learning curve too. It has been up and down, and it’s very hard work. We run the teashop at the National Park Centre on the outskirts of Danby, about 4 miles away, and we try to get as much produce from within Yorkshire as we can. Our theme is to buy local. With the large family we have the tea room is necessary to keep things moving forward. Better recent prices on sheep and cattle would certainly make the farm more viable today if I farmed intensively again, but we see our future now in extending our food retailing side. We are currently planning for a farm shop that we hope to open next year. The idea will be to market not just our own produce but that of other estate farms. We’re also involved in the setting up of a new Beef Shorthorn marketing scheme with Andrew Loftus and Andrew Hall of Albert Hall Farms, near York, and in conjunction with the EFFP (English Food & Farming Partnership).’ Andrew and Jill’s farm runs to

Andrew Kelly at Little Fryup some 450 acres and their livestock numbers currently total 160 Scotch Blackface ewes, put to the Blue Faced Leicester; 100 Mule ewes, and 50 suckler cows, of which 25 are pedigree Beef Shorthorns with the rest being commercial. Andrew sells stock at Ruswarp, but his pedigree cattle side came from another area completely. ‘I bought my first Beef Shorthorns from Gerald Turton 6 years ago and I’ve steadily built up the numbers. There is certainly a market for the traditional native breeds at the moment and we hope to capitalise on that trend.’ He’s happy in the Moors and shows no pangs of wanting to be back across the Irish Sea. ‘It’s nice to go back and visit, but we’re settled here. This truly is a beautiful part of the country and the boys all go to the little primary school in Lealholm. Farming is still what I want to do, but the tea room and hopefully the farm shop should ensure that we are able to look after our family well in the coming years.’ Andrew’s other interests, on top of farming, the tea-room, proposed farm shop and Beef Shorthorn marketing scheme, as well as his wife and five sons, also includes being a committee member of the Glaisdale Foxhounds, shooting with a syndicate called The Foxhunters, and playing a bit of golf. The only thing he has committed to not doing in the future is expanding the family even further! andrew Kelly Stonebeck gate Farm Little Fryup, Whitby north Yorkshire, Yo21 2nS tel: 01287 660362

Agricultural Engineers
We wish Andrew & Jill continued success for the future
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FarmersMart Summer 2009 21

Tel: 01947 897285 Mob: 07970 104859

RobeRtson

TRadiTiOnal BREEds haVE ThE X-FaCTOR aT BECks
JEnniFER MaCkEnziE VisiTs ThE ROBERTsOn OF lanGhOlM
traditional hill sheep and cattle breeds suit the system at Becks Farm, Langholm in the Scottish Borders. Jim Robertson has been a South Country Cheviot diehard since taking on the tenancy of the 1,760 acre farm on the Buccleuch Estate 29 years ago with his father. Since re-building the pedigree flock after the 2001 foot and mouth epidemic’s contiguous cull, equally easy-care Galloway cows have been making their contribution to the enterprise run by Jim and his partner Sharon. Only 200 acres of the farm is in bye land, the rest is enclosed hill and the purchase of a lowland farm of 120 ploughable acres at Jedburgh provides Jim with summer grazing and crops such as turnips and kale. “The Cheviots suit the farm,” said Jim. “They make money for you yet they are easy care with no problems. They are a nice sheep to work with,” he added. The hefted flock of 1,000 Cheviot ewes produces shearling rams for sale at the early October sale at Lockerbie. Previously, they were used at home as shearlings and sold the following year as two shears. Between 18 and 24 rams are sold each year with the flock’s best price of £8,000 being achieved in 2005 and 2006 when they were the sale’s second top price. One was by an £8,000 Elsdonburn tup and the other was by Glengeith Xfactor, both of which have done well for the Becks flock. Ram sale averages for the last four years have been 2004, 24 - £1,145; 05, 14 - £2,196; 06 17 - £1,835; 07. 20 - £1,286; 08, 17 - £1,145. Not afraid to invest in stock rams, Jim paid a then record price of £14,000

the robertsons at Lockerbie for Xfactor in 2004 – a worthwhile investment since he has produced progeny which have sold to total around £46,000. Jim described Xfactor, which is still at Becks and one of a dozen stock rams, as a big sheep with true breed characteristics. Last year Jim paid another record price again for a Glengeith ram when he bought Statesman for £18,000 and his first crop of lambs is on the ground now. He is an exceptional, massive ram with “that little bit extra”. Becks breeding was not lost during 2001 as the farm’s 300 ewe hoggs were wintered away and flock n umbers were made up by the purchase of 250 ewes that year and the same the following year. Since then no more females have been bought in. In 2001 Jim bought the stock ram Castle Knowledge for £7,000, a good price at the time, but it paid off as the ram put the flock on the map again. All the ewes are bred pure with the exception of 120 draft ewes which are crossed with a home bred Texel ram. There are 30 pedigree BecksTexels but the rams are sold commercially as shearlings through Longtown and Dumfries, where Jim is a director of Cumberland and Dumfriesshire Farmers Mart. The Texel cross lambs and Cheviot wethers and ewes not selected for breeding are all finished either on kale or grass taken away from home and sold at Longtown. Texels crosses are sold from the second week of August and last year were making up to £60 a head at around 45kg liveweight, Cheviot hoggs are sold from February to the first week in April and this year they averaged £71 a head at 42 to 45kg. Now that the flock is getting back to its previous production, draft ewes will be sold again. Lambing starts with those in lamb to the Texel in February and the hill ewes from April 15 which are lambed outside in fields near the farm steading.

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RobeRtson
All the ewes are scanned with a percentage of up to 128. After scanning, twin bearing ewes are brought onto enclosed land and fed a ewe cob from six weeks before lambing. Those carrying singles are fed beet pulp. After lambing the ewes receive no supplementary feed and lambs are not creep fed. The Cheviots are shown with success at Dumfries, Moffat, Langholm and Peebles shows. Jim has judged Cheviots, overall sheep championships, Texels and Galloways at shows from Omagh in Northern Ireland to Islay and the Great Yorkshire. This year he will be judging in Northern Ireland and Kelso along with local shows this is something he enjoys given his past Jim’s quite competitive himself and understands the work that’s involved in bringing stock out. The farm runs from 500ft above sea level to the top of the dry, white hill at 1,150ft which has proved ideal for the recently introduced Galloway cows. Previously, the farm’s suckler herd were all Limousin crosses. Since the introduction of the Galloways which now number 50 cows a niche market has been found for the meat and the current 60 continentals will be phased out in favour of the traditional breed. Steers are sold at 30 months old weighing 383kg deadweight and bringing in an average price per head of £1,100. They are sold to David and Moira MacGregor who run a farm shop at Dirrops, Lockerbie, as well as selling at farmers markets. Also with a ready market for the Galloway beef from restaurants and hotels in London is Ben Wetherall, of Dumfries who also runs an internet based traditional meat sales business, blackface.co.uk Galloway beef pies made at Becks are also sold at farmers markets. Jim is the treasurer for the Langholm Farmers Market and believes in cutting the food miles and supporting local produce. Currently the cross-bred calves are sold from February through Longtown at 13 to 18 months old and are making up to £960 a head. “The Galloways are living on a lot less than the cross-breds. They are fed silage and virtually no concentrates and the upside is also that we are not buying in replacement cows. The Galloway beef has a unique flavour,” said Jim. “We have been trying to cut feed and fertiliser costs and despite having to keep the steers until they are 30 months old we are finding them more cost effective.” The foundation Galloways were bought in 2002. Twenty five cows and calves were bought from Stewart Runciman, of Bonchester Bridge. “I did have some Bluegreys but they were getting scarce to buy and I wanted a traditional breed to outwinter. I liked the Galloway which is native to the area,” said Jim. Unlike the crossbred cows, all the Galloways are outwintered and fed on big bale silage or pit silage and straw, with the exception of the youngstock during their first winter. The crossbred cows are housed from November 1 while the Galloways are not fed until December or January. The cows start calving from the end of May. While the herd is not registered, it is intended to do so and eventually to sell stock. Stock bulls are Blackcraig Kazoo, bought at the 2003 Castle Douglas sale together with Jim’s brother Kenneth for 5,000gns and Lochdochart King, bought privately 18months ago. Another, Gladiator of Whitehill, was bought in Carlisle for 700gns. For more information J roBertSon & Son Becks Farm, Langholm, Dg13 0LP

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FarmersMart Summer 2009

2

WHARFeDAle MARt

GOOd TiMEs FOR WhaRFEdalE .. BUT WaTCh OUT FOR ElECTROniC TaGGinG
ChRis BERRY Talks WiTh ian sMiTh aT OTlEY
confidence has come back into the market. these are the words of ian Smith, Market Manager at Wharfedale Farmers auction Mart, who has now been in the role for just over a year. ‘It’s been good to see. Stock numbers have been up in all sections. Store cattle have been very expensive this year and the same has been true of ewes and lambs. The cull cow trade has also been very good. The pound strengthening recently has brought lambs down a bit but overall it’s very good news. We are picking up business all of the time and we’re very competitive. Our commission rate is one of the lowest in the country.’ When I visited was just after the collapse of Dairy Farmers of Britain. There was talk around the ring of some dairy farmers who had been with the group now giving up completely. Ian believes that could happen. ‘It has been a major blow, especially to some of the smaller or out of the way dairy farmers. Finding a market for their milk is now even more difficult and it looks like we could expect one or two men to pack in.’ Although life at the market is good at present, including vintage sales, poultry and Border Fine Arts sales Ian warns of one potential problem, which may have a significant impact on sheep sales. It is a subject close to the hearts of many sheep farmers at present and Ian realises the part that auction marts will probably have to pay. ‘The electronic tagging of sheep next year is a major worry. It will be a headache and a lot of expense for farmers and I have heard a lot of them say that if they have to do it they will cease farming sheep. One idea is that auction marts may become reading centres for farmers. My own feeling is that it could decimate the British sheep industry.’ ‘I first came to Wharfedale Farmers as a drover when I left school and I’ve ian Smith

now been auctioneering here for five years and took over the running of the Auction Mart fourteen months ago. I’m currently studying for a degree in auctioneering and valuations and I’m in my third year out of the four after which I hope to become a full fellowship member of the Livestock

Auctioneers Association. Ben Atkinson still helps out at the Mart as and when needed,’ as was the case when I visited, when he was selling the Fat Cattle – and clearly enjoying it. Ian is from a farming family near

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FarmersMart Summer 2009

WHARFeDAle MARt
THE COVERALL COMPANY-HALIFAX
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Ben finds something funny Pateley Bridge. ‘My dad’s farm is at Lofthouse and we farm suckler cows and sheep there.’ Judging by the number of people at Wharfedale Farmers Auction Mart when I visited this is certainly not a livestock market that is struggling, instead it is doing well. It has been in existence for over 100 years and its main weekly sales day is Monday for primestock. Fortnightly sales of stores take place on Fridays. The Mart is owned by farmers and butchers and run by a board of nine farmer directors. ‘We know that our market here is not a modern market, but it provides a great service to the local farmers, it also provides employment and hopefully shows a profit for the shareholders, which it has done this year.’ With well-known farming faces such as Philip Hughes, Michael Wilson, Richard Danforth and Andrew Heaton all present it is also clear that Wharfedale is still an attraction too. Wharfedale Farmers auction Mart Ltd chevin Lodge, Leeds road otley LS21 3BD ian Smith Mob: 07738 043771 Fax: 01943 461135 email: [email protected]

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FarmersMart Summer 2009

25

blueFIn

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2

FarmersMart Summer 2009

lAMbeRt

ThE ViEWs OF ThE dalEs
there can be few better looking working environments than that enjoyed by robert Lambert of Mile House Farm on the back road between coniston and Kettlewell in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales. With views extending the length and breadth of Upper Wharfedale, widely recognised as one of the most scenic parts of England, it’s easy to see why Robert has delighted in calling this home since his parents moved there in 1957 when it was a tenanted farm. It’s 500 hectares of predominantly moorland with 820 Swaledale breeding ewes and 55 dairy cattle accounting for the lions share of Robert’s time. Robert’s family bought the farm outright in 1995. His brother James runs the Throstle Nest farm just down the lane and it’s an area of the world in which the Lambert family really have made their mark. Robert commented: “James’ son Simon runs a contracting business and I work closely with my brother. My mother is now in her 80s but still plays an active role by doing my books. “My father worked this land for over 40 years and never had a day off sick in that time,” exclaimed Robert whose dad died from a sudden heart attack in 2000. He officially started his farming life in 1968 when, as Robert admitted “Procol Harum were top of the charts with Whiter Shade of Pale. It was the day after I left school although I’d been helping out during most of my school days.” It’s a life that the affable Robert enjoys but he’s far from being the robert Lambert sort to rest on his laurels. Despite working seven days a week, 52 week a year he still finds time to be chairman of the Kilnsey Show and recently headed down to Downing Street to hand in a petition on behalf of the Farming For Real cause. “This is the 40th year of my involvement in the Show and it just seems to get bigger and better with every passing year,” said Robert who took over as Chairman six years ago in what he describes as “a role that doesn’t stop until you drop!” This year’s event takes place on September 1st and it’s expected to attract up to 15,000 visitors with the harness racing being a major draw for many of the attendees. “It’s the biggest one day show in the north of England and this year we’re expanding our childrens tent area to provide real farming education resources for the youngsters. “Attracting new generations into farming is essential or who will look after the land? The average age of farmers in this area is 59 and there’s little prospect of new blood coming through given the issues affecting rural communities,” he admitted. Farming For Real is another cause close to his heart and one which he’s been involved in since its inception. It first showcased at the Kilnsey Show in 2007 and is focused on the interests and future wellbeing of hill farming communities. With the popular Dales Way dissecting his land it’s easy to see why Robert has got involved: “We have hundreds of miles of dry stone walls and footpaths in the Dales that need constant repairing and maintenance and it’s a tough ask for farmers to protect these treasured routes. “I headed down to Number 10 with the Farming For Real team to hand in a petition aimed at keeping the hills alive. We’ve found a lot of interest in our cause and the campaign is going well,” he added. There’s been many notable landmarks in Robert’s farming life with a recent fire in 2006 proving the most traumatic. Caused by a faulty electric meter, the blaze took the lives of 19 calves and Robert is still coming to terms with the loss. “There was snow on the ground and it was impossible for the fire brigade to attend in time and I still look back on that night with horror. I care for all of my animals, in particular the cattle and to hear those calves suffering was agonising,” concluded Robert. Robert Lambert is one farmer who is thoroughly engaged in his way of life and the views he holds and enjoys are music to the ears..and eyes! robert Lambert, Mile House Farm, coniston with Kilnsey, north Yorkshire BD23 5Ht tel: 07900 234843

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Wishing Robert Lambert all the best for the future.

FarmersMart Summer 2009

2

bRocKHoles MARt

sUCCEss FOR MaRT naMEd aFTER PUB
ChRis BERRY Talks WiTh TOMMY haRGREaVEs aT BROCkhOlEs aRMs aUCTiOn MaRT
Livestock markets are back on the rise! With the hike in prices of dairy cattle, beef cattle and sheep over the past year many who had abandoned the live selling arena have been tempted back. It is a happy time at most auction marts and particularly satisfying for Tommy Hargeaves at the legendary Brockholes Arms Auction Mart, the only livestock market to take its name from a pub, which is next door! In August they will open their new office premises and which Tommy is particularly pleased over the fact that they have not had to borrow a penny to complete. They have also renewed the cattle ring too. ’10 years ago we moved out of the old offices into Portakabins and I am really very proud of my team of directors and staff who have made sure that we have been able to achieve what we have. There are now more farmers coming back to the mart and there were at least two who were selling clean today who have been going deadweight for the Sheila Garlick & Tommy Hargreave past 12 months. It proves we’re on the right track.’ Tommy farmed himself, at Barton, with a dairy herd of around 180 but sold to a dairy farmer who had been taken out due to FMD up at Longtown. ‘I had no sons to carry it on and so I now let my land out. I’ve been a director here for 18 years and chairman for the past 10. I have sold here for the past 50 years.’ As a measure of just how well the market is going Tommy tells of a recent two week period bringing about the highest fortnightly turnover ever. ‘It wasn’t that we had the most stock ever, it was more that we had great quantity coupled with dear prices. Pre FMD we were more of a sheep

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28

FarmersMart Summer 2009

bRocKHoles MARt
and calves mart, but we’ve now built everything up in stores, dairy cattle, clean beef and sheep. We’re neither the biggest nor smallest but we are a very friendly livestock mart, and we attract good quantities of buyers.’ Those include the likes of Jimmy Woods and George Blackledge and on the day I visited there were around 8 cattle buyers in attendance and around 14 sheep buyers. ‘You never know what’s around the corner but we’re enjoying life here at the moment,’ says Tommy. ‘We’re hoping to extend again when we have enough money back in the kitty. Things like the filming of Peter Kay’s TV series, Max & Paddy, really helped us both financially and in visitors and we have also picked up due to the unfortunate closure of Preston Auction Mart. We get farmers coming here from as far as Manchester, the Fylde Coast, Clitheroe and Kirkby Stephen, so it’s quite a big area really. Sheila Garlick our office manager and her team do A busy time amongst the calves a great job.’ Garstang-based Armitstead Barnett conduct the auctioneering of the cattle and both Richard Furnival and James Fish were auctioneering on the day I visited. Richard was selling the cattle, whilst James did the calves. Richard believes that Brockholes Arms is now very much on the up. ‘We have been involved down here since 2001 and we are really pleased to see the effort they are all making here in showing commitment to the local farming community. There is a more positive outlook at the moment and people really are coming back.’

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FarmersMart Summer 2009

2

loWtHeR pARK FARMs

QUaliTY FREE RanGE MORE iMPORTanT Than ORGaniC
JEnniFER MaCkEnziE VisiTs lOWThER PaRk FaRMs
chicken portions and chicken livers are mailed as far afield as Cornwall to the islands of Scotland. The Lowther family has been farming in this area of Cumbria for 1,000 years and today Lowther Park Farms looks after 3,500 acres of parkland in the Lake District National Park, running poultry, beef and sheep. Says poultry manager Roger Gill: “The farming system combines modern science and technology with traditional farming practices to maintain the long-term fertility of the soil and use less of the earth’s finite resources while producing the highest quality, nutritious foods. Since 2001 and until recently the farmland has been managed organically, however mainly the rising cost of feed has led the Lowther family, farm manager Richard Price and Roger Gill to re-think the system with the poultry enterprise reverting to conventional production. “It would have meant us increasing our prices by 20 per cent but we wanted to keep then reasonable. We have found that free range is more important to the consumer than organic chicken,” said Roger. The chickens are kept in batches of 500 and are allowed to range free during the day time on a minimum of two acres of grassland at the estate’s Melkinthorpe poultry unit where at any one time there are 5,000 birds. They are fed a cereal based blend. “Because the chickens are slow growing and kept in smaller batches there is no pressure on them and we find there are no health or disease problems,” said Roger, who has been poultry manager at Lowther for 20 years. “The price we receive for the chicken has to reflect that it costs us more than twice as much to produce them as a conventional bird. The advantage for the consumer is the

eating quality, taste and texture of the meat. Celebrity chef Clarissa Dickson Wright has commented on Lowther chicken’s “fantastic taste and flavour”. Main customers are butchers and farm shops as well as mail order with next day delivery through the Lowther website with the main demand being for whole chicken. The Melkingthorpe unit also has

testament to the superior taste and eating quality of the free range chicken produced at Lowther Park Farms, near Penrith, is that its customers are spread across the UK. While the main customer base is in Cumbria and the north of England, Lowther branded whole chicken,

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FarmersMart Summer 2009

neWs
roger gill

TiM GiBsOn UPdaTEs FaRMERsMaRT On dFB
after the recent happenings with Dairy Farmers of Britain many people are reassessing their options and some may indeed decide to come out of dairy farming altogether and who could blame them after such a massive blow? On the other hand though, perhaps its time we look at this as an opportunity for the dairy farmer to have his voice heard and make a difference to the current way things work i.e. milk prices, whilst we have the public’s attention. Is it also time to look at working ‘smarter rather than harder’ for our money in future, possibly by increasing herd numbers and putting into place new systems to make life easier. Since the start of the rumours about DFB troubles, many suspect things would come to an end in one way or another, but even the best dairy pundits and industry commentators did not see the end coming as it did and when it did. Farmers affected have lost thousands and effectively have been forced to bear the cost of industry rationalisation after being the ones who hoped, by sticking together, could make a difference to the industry. Other milk buyers have said for years that the weak co op was the very thing forcing low prices on the industry by selling milk too cheap, and that excuse has always been the one used in producer meetings up and down the country when excusing price cuts. Now is the time for the rest of the industry to prove that was the reason and milk prices should rise? Or will another co-op be the target and used as the excuse for low prices. For the rest of the supply industry the fallout of DFB has yet to be felt. Mays milk cheque failed to arrive and the easy thing for the

farmer is to not write cheques to suppliers who he owes. Main ones being feed bills and the May silage making costs. So can the supply chain cope without a months income? It would be assumed from the farm end that “they make money out of me” attitude and can stand it, but the grim reality is that just like farms the margin has been squeezed and many supply companies are also struggling. The DFB crisis may not only have farmer as casualties but some of the supply chain to dairy farmers may also falter and some may fall. This will affect all farmers not just those who have been misfortunate to have supplied DFB. Just imagine if your dairy engineer went out of business; who would you call to come to your milk tank when it broke in an emergency? For more info or to discuss further contact tim gibson email [email protected]

1,000 free range laying birds, another traditional breed the Lowman Brown. They are bought as point of lay pullets through local supplier David Stratton and production runs at 5,000 eggs a week. A further 300 to 400 free range turkeys are reared for Christmas. Again a traditional bronze slow growing breed, they are taken through from July on a similar GM free diet and are sold through similar outlets as the chicken. The estate has a herd of 300 continental cross suckler cows and 3,000 Mule sheep which will continue to be run organically. Currently all cattle and lambs are sold through the live ring at either

Penrith or Carlisle markets but the plan is to begin direct sales and possibly include the opening of a farm shop to further add value. The estate’s chicken, eggs, beef, lamb, pork and game is also being showcased through the Lowther family’s latest venture spearheaded by Charles Lowther who after considerable expense, time, and thought has turned the George and Dragon at Clifton, near Penrith into an estate pub. LoWtHer ParK FarMS Lowther, Penrith ca10 2Hg tel: 01931 712407 www.lowtherparkfarms.co.uk

FarmersMart Summer 2009

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bRAMleY

WORkinG WiTh YOUR nEiGhBOURs
ChRis BERRY Talks WiTh MaRTin BRaMlEY in shERBURn-in-ElMET
not so long ago everything appeared to be going wrong for arable and pig farmers. grain prices were languishing at £65/tonne, and even less in some quarters. Pig prices were way below the cost of production. add into the equation that farmers, particularly those in Yorkshire, had not been renowned for working well together and you have a gloomy picture. How times can change! Martin Bramley of Home Farm, between Sherburn-in-Elmet and South Milford, has pigs on a bed and breakfast basis which he is now expanding on; his crops have made far better returns than they were doing (in line with the rest of the grain markets); and he has entered into a joint venture with a neighbouring farmer which is working well. ‘We have 650 acres of arable land and grow winter wheat, winter barley, spring barley and oil seed rape. We had mixed blessings with milling wheat such as Hereward and Mallaca so we now grow group 2 variety Einstein, and Oakley and Humber for

Martin Bramley arable and pig farmer feed. The barleys are for malting, but we also grow both wheat and barley for seed, which goes to Campbell & Penty.’ The land varies from good limestone where Martin says they can get the results they want, to heavy clay land which needs drilling in the autumn. Land is also rented out to a neighbouring farmer who grows potatoes. Over the past decade Martin has been with various companies regarding bed and breakfast and contract finishing of pigs. ‘In the past six months we have now settled down with Peter Batty (R Wilson & Son), cousin of David who I am involved with in a joint venture now. Peter farms at Darrington and has recently expanded his breeding side. I wanted all of the pigs to come from one source and the previous company I had been involved with had them coming from all over the place. We were having to wash out all of the time and there was always the risk of disease. We now have a constant throughput and don’t have problems with shed standing empty for long periods. They come in at 35-40 kilos and we are taking them through to bacon. It’s keeping us busy and we have been able to utilise existing buildings which were once cattle sheds. At the moment we have 1300 but we have just altered a grain store so that we can get up to 2000.’ The increase in pig numbers has created another useful bi-product too. ‘We’re utilising the manure from the pigs on our crops. Given the present price of fertiliser it is proving not just useful but economical. We’ve also invested in a scraper passage unit which means we’re getting even better manure which is less strawy. It means our plan in the future is cutting down on artificial fertilisers, using less straw and getting goodness back into the soil.’ But where Martin has grown the business even more over the past 5 years has been in the joint venture he entered into with David Batty (S Batty & Son).

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gReAt stAR
‘Farming is changing. I am always looking to grow the business and the venture I entered into with David was set up with James Severn of Andersons Northern. We both grow the same amount of crops acreagewise and we got together to share a lot of machines – combine, corn drill, Sumo, a set of rollers, tillage spreader, quadrant baler, tractors – and labour. The cost savings for both farms have been tremendous, and we have also started undertaking agricultural contracting. We keep our identities the same but it really is a Bramley-Batty venture. It has enabled us to move on to bigger machines that I wouldn’t have been able to justify. Between us we now have a CR980 New Holland combine, an Amazone combination drill and an MF187 quadrant baler that gets us a lot of work.’ Contract spraying has also taken off in the past couple of years and Martin, with his two men Ian and Howard, and working with agronomist Matthew Palmer, has developed another niche area of his farm business through usage of their own Bateman sprayer. He pays tribute to his men and respects their support and experience. ‘Without them I wouldn’t be able to lead the life I live, knowing full well that this place is going to be looked after when I am not here. There was a time a few years ago when it was starting to look as though I wouldn’t be able to do things outside of the farm. I’m still very much hands-on but farming is changing. There is also more confidence in the future of farming and people are starting to realise there are mouths out there that need feeding. The population isn’t getting any smaller. It’s just a shame we can’t get paid that little more and can then do without subsidy cheques. The Entry Level Stewardship Scheme has certainly worked well. I think farmers have got wise to helping the environment and we need to be seen to be doing our best in the public’s eye. The ELS scheme suits our farm as we can protect a lot of water courses and hedgerows. The limestone land also suits the over-wintered stubble. Everything’s going mad really and as a farmer and businessman you’re having to think of so many things. Prices have been so volatile of late everything takes a lot of keeping up with. There’s no point doing things just because you always have.’ Three years ago Martin diversified by launching a livery yard. It paid for itself but an opportunity came for him to rent it out and so he did. Lone Star Grange now offers a full livery and DIY livery, and there are 15 horses there. He’s happy with the arrangement. ‘I now only have to listen to one woman, rather than what seemed like hundreds at the time!’’ Many readers will know Don, Martin’s father. Don is a renowned local historian and is the author of a fantastic book telling his own life story. He’s retired from the farm these days but still looks in on what Martin is up to. ‘Dad still comes and tells me what he thinks I’m doing wrong, but he’s pretty good and I think he reckons I’m doing alright. I’ve been running the farm for the past ten years now and it’s amazing how the place has changed in that time, but it really has had to in order to keep up with the changes in modern farming.’ Martin is married to Sallyann and they have three young boys – James (7), Charles (6) and William (2). Martin’s interests include cricket, golf and rugby. He plays cricket for South Milford, has a 14 handicap at Selby Golf Club and played stand off or centre for Selby Rugby Club. Now he’s managing the U7s at Selby. Martin Bramley, Home Farm, Milford road, Sherburn-in-elmet Leeds LS25 6aD tel: 01977 682296 Mob: 07976 433462

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FarmersMart Summer 2009 

HAll

QUaliTY is ThE QUEsT FOR BEEF and shEEP PROdUCER
the enterprise at ainstable Hall, ainstable, carlisle is run by Brian and his wife Sabine, a vet and director at rowcliffe House Vets in Penrith, centres around 240 pure Limousin and cross-bred suckler cows breeding British Blue-Limousin crosses, as well as Beltex and texel ewes. They sell up to five pedigree bulls a year at Limousin society sales in Carlisle. A further 30-plus breeding bulls out of the pure Limousin cow by the British Blue bull are sold privately with a growing demand from both dairy and commercial producers as far afield as Devon and Wales. Before 2001’s foot and mouth epidemic the farm’s cattle were mostly commercial with around a dozen pure Limousin cows.The 550 acre farm also had a flock of more than 1,000 North of England Mule ewes which were crossed with the Beltex but it was decided to reduce sheep numbers, running a small pedigree Beltex flock, and concentrate on the cattle. “When we re-stocked we decided to go for a quality suckler cow so we bought 130 pedigree Limousin cows and 30 heifers,” said Brian, the third generation of his family to farm at Ainstable Hall. “Until last year when we bought 28 bulling heifers, the herd had been closed and we intend to buy in as few animals as possible with the exception of pure Limousin and Blue bulls,” he added. The herd comprises 180 pure bred Limousin cows carrying the Ainstablehall prefix, 40 of which are bred pure with some selected as herd replacements. Brian Hall

The remainder of the pure bred cows are crossed with the Blue bull. Another 60 cows are either three quarter Limousin or British Blue Limousin crosses and are put back to the Blue bull. The heifer calves have traditionally been sold store at a year old but now around 30 are being kept to 18 to 20 months old with cross bred heifers readily selling for suckler herd. Some younger calves are sold as potential show calves. Two bulling heifers topped their section of the trade at the 2008 main sale of beef breeding cattle at Carlisle in May at £2,300 to John Richardson, of Dufton, Appleby, with

three averaging £1,883. The male calves are kept as bulls and a recent batch of 15 month old bulls comprising pure bred and crossbreds sold privately for export averaged £1,180 An added value is the sale of Limousin cross Blue bulls which meet a rigorous selection for use as breeding bulls. Since beginning to sell the crossbred bulls for breeding several years ago, demand has increased with many buyers returning. A bonus for buyers is the bulls’ hybrid vigour and Brian is confident in selling them with a guarantee as none has been returned for being infertile.

“I can’t knock the Limousin as a pure bred suckler cow. They are easy calving. I think a lot of calving troubles in herds is down to the management and we focus on the condition of the cow in the last few months before calving,” said Brian. “We don’t wean the calves until March and that prevents the cow putting on too much condition and after a month at grass after calving she is doing well. “I have always gone for conformation, quality and width and the Blue is the perfect cross with the Limousin.” Brian always buys pedigree bulls and selects for conformation with plenty of width and shape and he is

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FarmersMart Summer 2009

HARolD WoolgAR
prepared to pay good money both to improve his pedigrees and produce quality cross bred calves. Current Limousin herd sires carry the Sarkley and Annadale prefixes. An imported British Blue bull and two others were bought from Andy Ryder at Moffat whilst another three were purchased from Andrew Craig in Northern Ireland Pedigree Limousin bulls from Ainstable Hall have sold to a top price of 4,000gns twice. The system is simple as Brian and Sabine only have the help of casual labour. Calving begins in May and runs through to September. All the pure breds are outwintered on a dry, sandy field and they are also calved outside which helps promote hardiness, as are most of the cross-breds. They are fed every two or three days in a feed trailer on a basic diet of silage made in one big cut. The calves are creep fed as soon as they will eat concentrates and older calves are fed a barley mix, some of which is home-grown on 40 acres, with added protein and silage. Any grassland which has been poached is harrowed and re-seeded. The pedigree Ainstable flock of Beltex sheep was founded with nine imported ewes bought from John Hall, of Dalston. Numbers were built up initially through AI and embryo work by Dan Fawcett, of Stainton, Penrith, and a few bought in females and the flock now comprises 40 breeding ewes. “We also have 20 Texels which we cross with the Beltex to produce a commercial type of tup which we sell as shearlings at either Penrith or Carlisle The current stock ram was bought from Neale and Janet McQuistin’s Airyolland flock for 3,200gns and has produced three crops of lambs. At the 2008 Carlisle Beltex sale Ainstable nine shearling rams, mainly by the Airyolland tup, averaged £977 to a top price of 2,000gns. In the early days the Beltex sheep were shown locally and won numerous championships. Any lambs which are not suitable for breeding are finished mostly on grass and sold through Carlisle in November. tn & J HaLL ainstable Hall, armathwaite, carlisle ca4 9PZ tel: 01768 896647 “Perhaps one of the best ploughing festivals in the country” says President Harold Woolgar, “but perhaps i am slightly biased as one of the original three founding members.” On Sunday 20 September we will be holding our 30th Epworth Festival of the Plough event (although we have had a year off because of foot and mouth). It is a very special event in the hearts of many, and give us a wonderful opportunity to meet and greet people from all over the country and it is indeed a pleasure to see and hear so many tales of yesteryear and to relive the experiences of some of the more senior members of the farming community. Pictured is young Tom Cliffe talking to young Arnold Ellis (91), listening on is Tom’s assistant, by comparison a teenager, Caroline Stubbins who is often seen ploughing behind Tom’s two worthy shire horses. Held in the heart of the Isle of Axholme, just off junction 2 on the M180, the Festival of the Plough combines a vintage ploughing rally(with 104 vintage tractors) and ploughing match, with a unique blend of traditional agricultural activities including static machines, static vintage cars and commercial vehicles, livestock displays, terrier racing, ferret racing, craft exhibitions, trade stands, and traditional music with a great brass band, together with the steam threshing, steam gallopers, steam ploughing and of course the famous shire horses ploughing their straight furrows. “Each year since the outset” says Chairman John Smith, “we have raised monies via the Grand Raffle, and this year to make administration easier, entry is £5 which includes a free raffle ticket, and of course a programme. All the proceeds are donated to local charities, and each year we raise in the order of £14,000.” Harold continued by saying “I travel around to even the World Ploughing event, and I really feel that the Epworth Festival of the Plough (by kind permission of Mr & Mrs Simon Clark) is perhaps one of the best sites, elevated and giving wonderful panoramic views, and with easy access, there is truly something for everyone. The event starts at 9.45am with the blessing of the plough which has a slightly modified version of one of the well known hymns and there is a full day’s entertainment for the whole family. Please do not just read this article, come along and experience it for yourself, or look us up on www.festivaloftheplough.co.uk

FEsTiVal OF ThE PlOUGh

sUndaY 20 sEPTEMBER 2009

FarmersMart Summer 2009

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WHole cRop MARKetIng

POTaTO COMPanY MakEs iTs MaRk in EasT RidinG
ChRis BERRY VisiTs WCM in kiPlinGCOTEs
within the group.’ The aim of the group is quite simply to reach the best possible price for all grades of potato and Mark feels that the pairing of he and David is a winning formula. ‘We find the best market for any quality of potato. David has been a well-respected trader for many years, having worked for one of the leading companies until last year. He sells the top end stuff, whilst I find the markets for the lesser grades.’ Mark’s background has largely been that of working with packhouses, including some of the industry’s leading names. He tells of how he gets the best deals for the group. ‘You can always get rid of lesser stock, but this year it has been getting the best deal for your potatoes can be tricky if you’re farming on your own and have plenty of other pressures on your time. if you’re part of a group of potato farmers it’s even more important to have the right people marketing your produce too. East Yorkshire-based WHOLE CROP MARKETING (WCM) is the new name in potato marketing. Having started in September last year they have been running for nearly 10 months and came into existence because of the people they now serve. Like many new businesses before them WCM has come into the market because of the experience of the people at its helm. The pair heading up this new, yet massively knowledgeable operation have masses of years worth of experience behind them and the names Mark Tomlinson and David Burks have been long associated with the potato industry. ‘We started up last year because there was a group of farmers, predominantly based here in the East Riding of Yorkshire, who wanted us to market their potatoes and get a better value for them, across all conditions,’ says Mark. And it seems to be working well as they have sold around 80,000 tonnes of potatoes in their first year and are already supplying outlets such as Tesco, ASDA and a variety of packhouses. Their strength is not just in the two of them though. They also have some of the country’s leading potato farmers as shareholder members too. ‘WCM has 10 shareholders, which includes David and myself plus the eight potato producers. We all have a vested interest in the success of the business and it has gone extremely well so far.’ WCM started out on land owned by Andrew Soanes, of T Soanes & Son potato growers, at Wallace Grange in Kiplingcotes, himself one of the farmer members of the group. ‘Andrew very kindly offered us an office there, and we have now moved to another of his farms at Middleton on the Wolds. We had already outgrown the first office and have now taken on more staff. Our supply of potatoes is also already far in excess of the amount grown by the 8 farmer members. The group members’ potato acreage alone accounts for nearly 6000 acres particularly difficult with the surplus of potatoes. There has been a lot of poorer quality stock around as well, but we have managed to trade it in such a way that the farmers have been able to make money – and that’s what it’s all about.’ David Burks believes that the onset of WCM has to be a good thing for the potato industry: ‘I left my previous company last June. Andrew and others then brought this idea to me whereby he and his other potato farmer colleagues wanted to offer their potatoes to the rest of the country. There had been one packer who had dominated the area and they wanted to see just what they could get for their produce. As a result of how well we have done so far we now have at least another

Mark Tomlinson, Andrew Soanes, David Burks

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6 George Street, Driffield, East Yorkshire YO25 6RA E-mail: [email protected] Telephone: 01377 272341 www.ullyott.co.uk  FarmersMart Summer 2009

ARgRAIn
40 growers from outside the group members. They have come to us for one reason, and that’s because we are doing a good job.’ As far as Andrew is concerned he’s very happy with the way in which WCM has started, and since he grows over 1000 acres of potatoes their success is very much entwined with his. ‘David was with the company that I previously traded my potatoes. I believe in going with the person I know and I have known David most of my life. He’s a local lad and between him and Mark I feel very confident in their ability to market my spuds.’ Good quality, high grade seed potatoes is another area where WCM is planning to make its mark. James Thompson has recently joined as Seed Manager from his previous role as Technical Manager for a leading Dutch Seed House. James will be co-ordinating production of best quality Yorkshire Seed from within the business, procurement of seed for the business and offering for sale all available varieties for Yorkshire growers. ‘Members of the group have complained in the past about the quality of seed potato traditionally grown in Scotland. This is in our opinion due to the ongoing problems of primary scab due to the wet conditions north of the border and we seem to be able to get a better product here in the East Riding. So this year we are pushing for greater quantities of seed potato being grown by our own producers.’ Andrew Soanes agrees: ‘We have quite a lot of virgin land on the Yorkshire Wolds where we can take advantage of growing seed, with plenty of potential to expand. It’s a market I believe we can service well.’ Whilst neither Mark nor David are over-concerned with attracting too many farmers too soon, as they are concentrating on sales, word of mouth is certainly getting around of their success to date. This is certainly a potato marketing company to watch out for in the future. WcM - Wholecrop Marketing Ltd Wold Dyke Farm Middleton on the Wolds Driffield, east riding of Yorkshire Yo25 9DD Mark tomlinson/David Burks tel: 01377 217873 www.wholecropmarketing.co.uk [email protected]

aRGRain’s MOsT RECEnT inVEsTMEnTs
argrain is an independent, family owned, grain merchant and animal feed business, established in 1975 by Derek Padgett and now managed by his son David. Trading in an area covering Yorkshire and the surrounding counties, the business has been based at Mill Farm, Raskelf, near Easingwold since 2001. From this location, and its other store at Leeming Bar near Northallerton, which was acquired in 1997, the company operates its centralised grain storage and drying operations. By gradual expansion, the capacity of these two sites has now reached over 30,000 tonnes. Whilst the drying and storage facilities are used mainly by local farmers, many delivering by tractor and trailer, they are available to any farmer who has such a requirement, with competitive haulage to the stores available. The most recent investment has been to upgrade the grain dryer at Leeming Bar, a decision which had it not already been made before the wet harvest of 2008, would certainly have had to be made after it! Having considered various options, and consulting the store management, the decision was made to purchase an Allmet continuous flow model A45106, having a capacity of 45 tonnes per hour, from JW Installations of North Cowton. This has been successfully commissioned and is ready for the forthcoming harvest. Following the installation of new rotary grain cleaning/ screening facilities in 2008, and the construction of a new shed in 2007, the company is now satisfied that the site has been brought right up to date and is able to cope with the inflows from today’s high capacity combines. The storage facilities account for only a small proportion of Argrain’s total ex farm grain purchases, of over 150,000 tonnes annually, sourced by a small procurement team. Trading Director Jonathon Cockill has responsibility for marketing the vast majority of this, to domestic consumers such as flour millers, maltsters and feed compounders, with whom excellent trading relationships are maintained and who are regular and reliable customers. Argrain is a keen supporter of both Driffield and Ryedale Shows, and is pleased to meet customers, both new and old, on its stand each year. if you would like to contact argrain about any of its services please ring the office on 01347 822322.

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FarmersMart Summer 2009



WIlKInson

liFE On ThE FElls OF FROsTERlEY
ChRis BERRY Talks WiTh ThE WilkinsOns OF WEaRdalE
Lambing is a real family affair at Bollihope Shield Farm in county Durham. Situated in the fells of the north Pennines in Weardale this can sometimes be a bleak existence, but it is a hive of activity when i arrive in Spring. Graham and Sandra Wilkinson are busy sorting out this year’s crop, with the help of Graham’s dad Leslie and their 3 ½ year old son Ned. It isn’t long before 5 year old Jack is collected so that he doesn’t miss out on the family picture. ‘We have around 900 Swaledale ewes at the moment, including both those in-bye and on the fell. We breed commercially with the majority of the males going fat for meat production, as well as breeding a few tup shearlings. The best Swaledale females are kept for our own replacements,’ says Graham. The remainder are sold for breeding, along with a new venture of selling Texel x Swaledale gimmers direct to a buyer in the South of England who had made enquiries at the Swaledale Association stand at Malvern. The Wilkinsons’ fat lambs go direct to Welsh Country Foods in Anglesey. ‘We’ve been with Welsh Country for 10-15 years. As our lambs are all entire, it’s a better system for us than selling through the marts. Last year we averaged just short of 20 kilos deadweight with over 60% of the Swales been R grades. We use the breeding sales at Middleton in Teesdale for selling our Swale draft ewes and surplus gimmer lambs. Tups are sold at our D District Association sale at St John’s Chapel. For purchasing tups we go to the association sales at St John’s Chapel, Middleton in Teesdale, Kirkby Stephen and Hawes.’ Graham’s top price he has achieved in selling a tup is presently £2,600, and that was around four years ago. The record he has paid is £5,000. ‘He’s done well for us too. A year ago at the Royal Highland Show he came second, and he was on the Swaledale Association stand at North Sheep in Eastgate.’ At this years RHS a son of his took 3rd

The Wilkinsons - Graham, Ned, Sandra & Jack

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FarmersMart Summer 2009

WIlKInson
Wilkinson ewes at Frosterley Graham has strong views on tagging, paperwork, vaccination and bureaucracy. ‘This new electronic ID is farcical. As for vaccination (for Bluetongue) we’ve just completed it. With stock on the open fell the logistics of gathering them all up would make life difficult.’ He doesn’t see that the increasing of stock numbers on his farm is the key to success either, even given the current good prices in the sheep sector. ‘It would be nice to have tomorrow’s paper today wouldn’t it? It’s the other way around for us. Bollihope Common is in a stewardship at the moment and we have reduced numbers for environmental purposes from the 900 rights we have. We took sheep off the fell, but I’m not sure they are any better for being confined. The sheep’s worst enemy is another sheep, at least on the open fell they are spread well out.’ graham Wilkinson Bollihope Shield Farm Frosterley Bishop auckland DL13 2ta co Durham tel: 01388 528246 Mob: 07734 560078 email: [email protected]

prize in the tup hogg class. In common with many other farmers the Wilkinsons make the Royal Highland Show a bit of a holiday for themselves. Graham rates the show, and what it does for the Swaledale breed, very highly. ‘We go up there and support the association because Scotland is an important part of the Swaledale. The Swaledale goes well with the Scottish Blackface and that’s why, commercially, it is right to support the show too. It’s a good shop window.’ All the family are members of Eggleston Show Committee and Graham was previously the chairman, he admits to not having enough time to show there, or at many of the other local shows, but that doesn’t stop the rest of the family from being involved. Sandra tends to be the one who shows the most both with the Swaledales and her own flock of 15 pure Texels at the local shows. ‘We show both the Swaledales and Texels at Eastgate and then just the Texels at Wolsingham and Eggleston,

and any other local one I can get to,’ she says. The Texels are also bred commercially with the onus being on a good body with good gigots. The tups are sold as shearlings or kept for home use. Graham’s father and mother, Leslie and Marion, came here 40 years ago from Scargill, near Barnard Castle, and are still very much involved with the farm. His sister Dianne is married and lives and farms at the top end of Teesdale. Sandra comes from a bit further south, as she’s a Yorkshire lass. She was a member of Penistone YFC, and met Graham, who was with Barnard Castle YFC. They’ve been married 6 years. ‘I was in the wrong place at the wrong time!’ she says jokingly. ‘Life up here isn’t any different to what I was used to at Green Moor. Down there we weren’t far from the open fell. Sandra works in the local Co-op parttime and helps out at the school, both situated in the village of Frosterley which is three miles from Bollihope

Shield Farm. They also have a herd of 25 suckler cows, with a few pedigree Limousins, but Graham counts these as very much his hobby. ‘We’re doing alright with them. I sold one bull through Carlisle at 1500 guineas, and I’ve sold one at home for 2000 guineas, but I just dabble a bit - as a hobby.’

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HInDMARsH

COUPlE’s sUCCEssFUl lOW-inPUT sYsTEM hiGh in ThE ChEViOT hills
JEnniFER MaCkEnziE VisiTs POPPY & nEil hindMaRsh in nORThUMBERland

Poppy and Neil Hindmarsh Poppy and neil Hindmarsh have got onto the farming ladder in one of the most beautiful and remote corners of the north east of england. The couple took on the tenancy of the 2,500-acre hill farm Rowhope and the Trows near Harbottle in the uppermost reaches of the River Coquet in Northumberland bordering Scotland four years ago. Originally from farming families in the neighbouring valley of Redesdale, the Hindmarshs and their children Anna, six, and William, four, love their new home and farm which rises to 2,000ft at the aptly named Windy Gyle in the heart of the Cheviot hills and the Northumberland National Park. The farm is so remote that it has no mains electricity or water with electricity being generated and water taken from the spring. School for the children is nine miles away in Harbottle. Poppy and Neil spent a year in New Zealand from 2000 to 2001, Neil taking advantage of using his sheep shearing skills and both of them working in the wool sheds. They married in 2001 and invested in two lorries - a four wheeler and a six wheeler - transporting dressed stone, animal feed and wool from the region. These were sold with the move to Rowhope. Keen to get a farm of their own, there was no hesitation in taking on Rowhope, despite it being a hard hill farm with no in bye land. All feed has to be bought in for the farm’s hefted flock of 1,600 ewes and 400 hoggs on the hill which is part of the Ministry of Defence’s Otterburn training range. In 2007 the couple bought their first Galloway cows for their Rowhope herd, the females and calves also grazing the hill, the third highest in the Cheviot range, and hopefully helping in a bid to enter the Higher Level Stewardship scheme. The flock’s seven hefts were Blackface sheep when the Hindmarshs took them on but because the farm is not suitable for finishing the lambs, Cheviot rams have been introduced to breed up a new flock. “We decided to cross through 800 ewes with a Lairg type Cheviot ram and last year we used a South Country Cheviot on a further 500

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40 FarmersMart Summer 2009

HInDMARsH
ewes, with the remainder going to the Blackie tup,” said Neil. “The grass stops growing here in October and we can’t finish lambs so they have to be sold store by then. “Last year we sold 1,000 Cheviot lambs which averaged £10 a head more than the 400 Blackfaces sold through Scott Lambie and Livestock Marketing (Borders). The Cheviot’s wool is also worth £1 a fleece more. “It makes sense because of our circumstances. The Cheviot crosses are every bit as hardy which is important when we can have some snow lying from November to April and eventually the ewes will be pure bred.” “We have found the South Country Cheviot crosses to have more wool and a heavier skin and they are a fleshy lamb straight off their mothers in September but as a finished lamb they will probably not be as heavy,” he added. The ewes are given feed blocks from the end of February to early May and are only fed hay in extreme weather conditions such as snow from hay huts on the hill. Lambing is from April 20 to mid May in an enclosure with ewes with twins turned onto better land - this year

there were 300 pairs of twins. Soon after lambing the ewes and lambs go back to the fell. Weaning is in September and to save on transport costs lambs are sold from home to buyers in England as far afield as Shrewsbury. One of the reasons for starting the Galloway herd was because the Hindmarshs have to buy in hay in case of inclement weather for the

sheep it saves wasting it if it is not needed. The 13 foundation females were bought from Hindhope, Outer Huntly, Coldingham, High Creoch and from the Dryhope dispersal sale. All but two are registered. The aim is to run 25 females with a bull. As there are no livestock buildings on the farm, the cows and calves are outwintered at up to 1,500ft on the minimum of feed. Last winter they were fed five small hay bales a day from mid December to mid April. The bales are delivered in the summer to the hay huts by a tractor borrowed from the family but the farm’s only machinery is a quad bike and a snow mobile. The cows calve from the end of February extra females to build up numbers and herd replacements will be bought in to save changing the bull with the intention of building up a good pedigree herd. “Native breeds such as the Galloway and the Blue Grey are coming back into fashion partly because of environmental schemes but also because they are so easily kept

requiring the minimum of feed which is an increasing cost, particularly taking into account haulage. There is definitely a place for them,” said Neil. In 2010 the current Stewardship agreement ends and the Hindmarshs are hoping that the features and management of the farm will enable them to enter the Higher Level scheme. The farm is criss-crossed with footpaths including a Roman road, The Street, and it is a place frequented by serious hill walkers. There is a late Bronze Age farmstead and settlement at Wardlaw, flora and fauna include heath and blanket bog. There is a variety of wildlife including buzzards, curlews, partridges and around 50 feral goats which roam close to the Border fence. neiL & PoPPY HinDMarSH rowhope Farm Harbottle, Morpeth ne65 7Bt tel: 01669 650267

FarmersMart Summer 2009

41

MAson

REMaininG TRUE TO ThEiR ROOTs
ChRis BERRY Talks WiTh JOhn & ClaiRE MasOn aT EMBsaY
if anyone ever tells you that farming has to change direct them to oddacres Farm, just out of embsay, near Skipton on the Duke of Devonshire’s estate. Here is where John and claire Mason farm with sheep and cattle largely as they have always done. they don’t have a single form of diversification and are very happy that way thank you very much. John took over from his father, also John, some years ago and has been here all of his life, Claire come from Gargrave where her parents still live, and her brother farms at Elslack. John and Claire were both members of their respective young farmers clubs, but actually met at a local nightclub in Skipton. ‘I was under the influence I think (not of John!) at a nightclub called The Waterfront, which is now the Canal Side Restaurant,’ says Claire jokingly. They married 20 years ago and have two children – Annabel and James. Annabel is at Myerscough College studying for a degree in agriculture

John & Claire Mason with their Limousin herd whilst James has just finished his first year as an apprentice mechanic with local Land Rover specialist Robin Clarkson. John’s dad had a dairy herd of around 30 but as soon as he retired the herd was sold. Today the farm runs to some 400 acres with fell rights up on the common for 300 sheep. John and Claire presently have 900 Swaledale ewes of which they have 300 pure and 600 X with the Blue Faced Leicester. They also keep 40 Leicester tups for selling. On the cattle front they have 35 pedigree Limousin cows plus followers. Whilst their record with the Limousins is good it is the sheep side where John is better known. He is an in-demand judge at shows such as Northumberland, Westmorland and North Yorkshire County and their own Mule gimmers have twice won their classes at the Great Yorkshire Show. John won the Stockman of the Year title for Yorkshire and the North of England during his YFC days and that has clearly stood him in good stead for where he is today. ‘It’s the weeks before a show or sale that matter most. You have to get the growth first, but it is the last 10 days that are crucial. We sort out the best of the flock ready for showing and make sure they are fed better through the summer.’ The Masons breed all of their own replacements and buy two Leicester tups and two Swaledale tups every year. ‘We always buy at the better end of the Swaledale tups. We go to Hawes and Kirkby Stephen and we like a tight-coated, long-legged, longnecked tup with a good body, mainly thinking about the breeding ewes. Virtually all of our females go for

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42 FarmersMart Summer 2009

MAson
going back ever since. We’ve been to Ireland and Italy as well, and bought cows there too.’ Daughter Annabel seems to be following in her dad’s footsteps as she is very keen on stockjudging too, and John isn’t one of those who is about to quell any thoughts his children have of farming in the future. ‘I’ve always encouraged Annabel and James that if they want to farm they can do. A lot of farmers these days tell their kids not to farm but I don’t like putting people off. Farming is still a great life, even in marginal hill farm areas like ours. I can see things changing but there’s more to life than money.’ Claire is the current president of the local YFC where both children are involved, at Silsden-with-Skipton YFC. And there is plenty of family support close by. John’s mum and dad, John and Shirley, live just up the road and his brother Andrew helps a bit with the cows and has a shop in Skipton called Honme & Kitchen. John & claire Mason oddacres Farm, embsay, Skipton, north Yorkshire tel: 01756 792636

John Mason’s Blue Faced Leicester tups breeding. We buy mainly at Skipton and sell tups at Hawes. We still hold the record price for a Leicester in Skipton and we have sold tup lambs up to £2800 at Hawes.’ Kilnsey and Gargrave shows both hold special places in the Masons’ hearts and minds. Gargrave is Claire’s local show whilst John rates Kilnsey as the main show in the country for Mules. ‘That’s all a lot of people go for, to look at the Mule lambs. Whether you win or lose if you’re in to Mules you have to be there.’ The family started out with Limousins nearly 30 years ago, running them

Good length on this bull at Kilnsey and one year we even won at the Great Yorkshire as well. We spend a great deal of time preparing them for show, making sure they walk and stand correctly.’ Whilst John has never moved from Embsay he and Claire do get away occasionally – under the auspices of looking for yet more good quality cattle. ‘We go to the Royal Highland to take a look at who has got what, and when we lost our stock we went over to France to look at cows. The first time we went we ended up going to a show. This French chap gave us a catalogue for a sale and we’ve been

commercially and improving them bit by bit. Then foot and mouth saw virtually all of the cattle culled, as well as half the sheep. ‘We restocked and when we did we just thought that if we were restocking we would try even harder.’ And so they have. John reports a good trade so far this year and that they sold around a dozen bulls this spring, selling at Skipton, Carlisle, Leyburn and a few from home. ‘We’ve sold one (Oddacres Comander) at £7000 at Carlisle and another four at Skipton averaged £2500. We’ve had the occasional reserve champion

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Farmstock Office:- Skipton 01756 792375 Auctioneers: Jeremy Eaton (General Manager) 07747 780481 Ted Ogden (Farmstock Sales) 07855 958211 Diane (Field Officer) 07834 050193

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bluefaced leicesters
The ‘Sire of The UK Mule’
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Carrs Billington would like to wish John & Claire Mason continued success
FarmersMart Summer 2009 4

MARKet gARDen

FROM WhEElBaRROW TO FaRM shOP
ChRis BERRY Talks WiTh sUE & GORdOn BadhaM aT sOUTh CaVE
Many farmers have bemoaned the power of supermarkets over the years, forcing producer prices ever lower. But it’s not just the sheep, cattle and pigs sectors that have suffered. Both east and west of Hull there are a number of the UK’s salad growers and one of them is now building a business based upon selling direct to the consumer rather than supplying the supermarkets. Gordon and Sue Badham run The Market Garden at South Cave, just a handful of miles west of Hull. Some will know it as Sands Lane Nurseries but their business now comprises a plant nursery, full of gorgeous flowers; a fabulous array of fruit and vegetables; a farm shop and now a café/tearoom which looks for all the world more like a restaurant or bistro. ‘Gordon built the 2.5 acre nursery initially to grow cucumbers for the supermarkets,’ says Sue. ‘But 5 years ago it became financially unviable for us to do that anymore. The prices from the supermarkets dropped dramatically and with fuel costs rising we decided that if things carried on the way they were going we would soon be out of business. That’s when we opted to diversify. Our first venture was PYO strawberries and we decided to grow them as commercial growers do, up high at chest level and all under glass. That way our customers don’t have to bend down in order to pick them. They just come into the greenhouses and pick them fresh, straight off the plant and in a decent climate.’ The strawberries proved so successful that the following year they expanded into the growing of raspberries, blueberries, loganberries and tayberries. But they didn’t stop there. They also now grow asparagus, rhubarb, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, aubergines and they even grow potatoes inside. ‘Everything is grown under glass except the rhubarb and asparagus. But we also grow different kinds of vegetables like kohlrabi.’ Gordon has always grown bedding plants in the summer but at the time of the onset into strawberries he and Sue also decided to grow bedding plants throughout the season, with winter as well as summer plants. This has also now progressed further into perennials, hanging baskets and shrubs. ‘The farm shop actually started life as just a wheelbarrow 5 years ago. We found that some people didn’t want to come along to do PYO they just wanted ready-picked, so I had a tiny wheelbarrow with a few punnets of strawberries on it. The whole thing has grown from that really.’ Sue’s eye for exploiting market

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44 FarmersMart Summer 2009

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We are pleased to be associated with Sands Lane and the Old Mill and wish them continued success for the future.

MARKet gARDen
opportunities is pretty sharp. When the supermarkets wouldn’t take bent cucumbers she simply sold them at 25p each, and sold the lot. ‘When they’re cut up it doesn’t make a difference whether they are straight or bent. They went very well!’ Two and a half years ago they put in planning permission to convert an old agricultural packing shed, where they had stored the cucumbers, into a farm shop and coffee shop. Sue tells of the nightmare they had in getting it all passed, but eventually they did and now they have both up and running. They coffee shop really does look more like a restaurant and looks far classier than what you might expect from a farm shop/ market garden enterprise. They have taken great care in its décor and the food looks fabulous too. They are keen to expand even further. They are building an area where pigs will be on display too. Presently they have one Vietnamese pot-bellied pig called Jack, but they have some Kune Kune pigs on their way shortly. There are also a number of guinea pigs, chickens, ducks and rabbits too, which you get the feeling are there for the children to look at whilst mum and dad sort the food. Ice cream is also on sale.

C.M.W. HORTICULTURE LTD. Suppliers of

Sue , who is originally from Haworth, near Keighley; and Gordon, who comes from Kidderminster, have the bit firmly between their teeth and are a classic example of how you can succeed without the need to supply supermarkets any longer. ‘This is a 7 day a week 24/7 operation, but it’s also our passion. Gordon is a brilliant grower. Everything on the nursery is controlled by computer. That’s why the strawberries have such a good flavour. Each individual plant has a trickle into it, so it is watered, fed, everything. Carbon dioxide is piped into them and they don’t have poor atmospheric conditions to deal with so they are much better than an outdoor crop.’

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gorDon & SUe BaDHaM the Market garden Sands Lane Farm Shop/coffee Shop & nursery South cave, nr Hull east riding of Yorkshire HU15 2JQ tel: 01430 423131 www.themarketgardensandslane.co.uk cMW HorticULtUre LtD Stonepit road South cave, Brough east riding of Yorkshire tel: 01430 422222

FarmersMart Summer 2009

45

HAWoRtH

sallY’s sUCCEss BEaTs OFF dFOB BlUEs
ChRis BERRY Talks WiTh ThE hOWaRThs OF WilTOn
in many ways June was a horrendous month for the Howarths of Hollies Farm, Wilton near Pickering. Sam and his wife Wendy run a 200strong dairy herd and were selling their milk to Dairy Farmers of Britain, or at least they thought they were! in common with every other member of the failed co-operative they received no money for the milk they provided throughout May, and for which Sam would have been expecting a £20,000 cheque. However, despite all of the pressures that this has brought about to Sam and Wendy, and many other dairy farming families throughout the UK, the Howarths have been celebrating. The reason is down to their daughter Sally’s historic success at Bishop Burton College recently. Sally has joined an elite group of girls who have won the college’s unique and prestigious Stockmanship of the Year title, beating off over 70 boys and girls to the championship, and even helping many of them to compete too! ‘There are classes for stockmanship in equine, sheep, dairy, beef - and for the first time this year there was also a calf class. After that there is the overall Stockman of the Year title, and that’s what I won,’ says Sally, who has just finished the first year of her two year NDA qualification. Her win will come as no surprise to some in the showing world as 17 year old Sally is already very experienced. She started when she was just 8 years old – showing a calf at The Howarths - Jack, Sam, Rosie and Sally

Thornton le Dale Show. ‘I was the smallest person there that day and it was quite a strong class. There were a lot of older people competing. I still have that cow now. My second show was at Rosedale and that day she sat down in the ring!’ Since those early days Sally has not only learned the art of showing, she has also blossomed into a beautiful young woman, which makes for a striking combination when showing quality stock too.

When I ask what she felt made all the difference in her winning at Bishop Burton she shrugs her shoulders and passes it off lightly. ‘My smiley face?’ she offers and then gets a little more serious. ‘Really, I was like ‘Wow!’ that’s great. I had put a lot into it. We had to clip them, wash them, halter them, and I had a really stubborn massive cow to start with. Again I was one of the smaller competitors, but they gave me a big heifer. Some of the arable guys have never had anything to do

with animals so I helped them. They didn’t know things like how to walk them backwards or they kept getting their halters on the wrong way.’ Sally has been around cows all her life and Wendy says that’s how she learned to count. ‘She used to sit in her pushchair and watch them come in, counting them into the parlour with freeze brands,’ says Wendy. The showing scene is where Sally seems destined to pursue her career. She has shown at all of the local

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4

FarmersMart Summer 2009

HAWoRtH
shows including Ryedale, Rosedale, Egton and Danby and this season she has joined the renowned Butterfield dairy cow show team from Bentham and will be appearing with them at the Royal Highland and Great Yorkshire. She is also a keen member of the Holstein Young Breeders Club. ‘The Butterfields have one of the top Holstein herds in the country and Sally has been lucky to get the opportunity to go with them,’ says Sam. Sally’s news has been a very bright spot on what has been a fairly dark time for Sam and Wendy following the news of Dairy Farmers of Britain’s demise. Ironically they had only recently moved to DFoB. ‘We had signed an agreement for organic milk supplies into the Whitby bottling plant. It seemed a good local move and DFoB were the only company in Yorkshire taking organic milk, but within a month we’d had a 2ppl price cut which became 5ppl.’ The farming operation at Hollies Farm is Wendy’s dad’s (Ernest) and the Lunn family have lived here since 1961. Sam came to the farm when they married in 1988. Initially he was a milk roundsman. They began processing milk, something which they undertook from 1988 to 1996, utilising a bottling plant and producing skimmed, semi skimmed and cream. ‘There were 600 cows in the village across 5 farms with all of the milk coming into here, but we suffered at the hands of some very ruthless marketing techniques by other dairies, so we decided to sell the processing side and concentrate on farming.’ The cows were still having to walk through the village in those days, which wasn’t condusive to a happy environment for anyone, especially as Sam leads the way

the farm is situated on the increasingly busy Pickering-Scarborough road. ‘We bought another farm, Leas Farm, in Pickering and a few years later we moved the cows there expanding the herd from 80 to 200. Across the two farms we now have 450 acres.’ The DFoB collapse was certainly a shock to the Howarth’ system, and whilst Sam is still optimistic over their long-term future it will cause serious problems this year. ‘We certainly never expected to lose a month’s milk cheque. With the reduction in milk price we had already lost about £3000 a month since October, then we lost £20,000 due to no payment at all in May. It’s really stuffed us, but we’ll try to work through it. We go fully organic on 1 August and that’s when we will see a premium on our price. We’re now going to be with OMSCO (Organic Milk Supplies Co-operative) who are currently offering a price of 30.3ppl.’ Wendy has lived in Wilton all of her life, except for two years in Thornton le Dale, and suffers from MS. ‘I started with it nearly 15 years ago and I’ve been in a wheelchair for the past 4 years. I used to do everything on the farm, now I’m landed with the telephone and the paperwork. Dad started milking cows when he came here in 1961 and there are quite a few Lunns in the village today, 15 in

all, plus me. The Lunn family moved here in 1945 and granddad Lunn had 6 children. The 3 Lunn brothers all stayed in the village so that’s maybe the reason there are so many now.’ Ernest still farms and has around 80 beef cattle on the farm, but gave up with sheep last year. As well as Sally, the Howarths also have two other children – Jack and Rosie, who have also taken to showing too. Both are sporty. Jack plays rugby for Malton & Norton and the East Yorkshire Development Team, whilst Rosie has already been successful in the showjumping world at local events. She is a member of Friars Hill Pony Club and the North Ryedale Riding Club. It may be a tough time for the Howarths financially but Sally’s recent success has given them the fillip they needed. Watch out for her with the Butterfield’s show team this Summer!

Sally Howarth - Bishop Burton Stockmanship Champion

SaM & WenDY HoWartH Hollies Farm, Wilton Pickering, north Yorkshire Yo18 7JY tel: 01751 474263 Mob: 07885 487178 email: [email protected]

We are pleased to be associated with The Howarth Family and wish them continued success for the future Testing, servicing, installation & 24hr breakdown service. James: 07792 981018 Bill: 07936 407690 Office: 01904 744582
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We are happy to support the Howarth Family and if you think we could help your business please call us for a free consulation.

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FarmersMart Summer 2009 4

Askham Bryan College
There’s something for everyone at Askham Bryan College: beginners of all ages...school leavers...career changers...businesses and the self-employed...those looking for professional development...and, of course, Degrees and Higher Education!

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Centres at:
Bedale tel: 01677 422344 • Guisborough tel: 01287 633870 Harrogate tel: 01423 546199 • Thirsk tel: 01845 574928

bRocKHIlls

ThE all-nEW BROCkhills OF YORkshiRE
ChRis BERRY Talks WiTh PETER sWalEs aT ThiRsk
Sometimes things can look, on the surface, as though they are the same as they have always been, yet behind the scenes there has been great activity. Such is the case with a long-established north Yorkshire farm machinery business which has retained its name but is now under new ownership. Eddie Brockhill had built up a formidable reputation since he started out in 1967, but whilst his name lives on in the company title it is a different man who now owns and runs the business - farmer’s son Peter Swales, who learned his trade through another farm machinery company. Peter, who I caught up with recently at his very well attended open day at Thirsk Livestock Centre, is quick to pay tribute to two men of whom he has the utmost respect. ‘John Russell taught me so much about the business and that has Thirsk YFC in their newly sponsored tops allowed me to be brave enough to take on from where Eddie has left off. Eddie is quite simply a gentleman and as straight a man as you could ever wish to meet in business. I’ve known him all my life. My father and uncle purchased the second Fendt tractor Eddie ever sold and when I was at school I did work experience for him.’ Peter tells of how the opportunity to take over Eddie’s company came about: ‘I decided to take a bit of time out to gather my thoughts about what I wanted to do with my future in 2006. I was fortunate that I had the family farm at Bagby to possibly fall back on if I had needed it, but I started off trading a bit of secondhand machinery.’ Unbeknown to Peter at the time this was to be the catalyst for his future career: ‘I sold a second-hand combination drill to a Fendt user. I needed some belts and I knew Eddie always kept a good stock of them. Eddie asked me whether I was happy with what I was doing and as we talked he told me that he was intending to retire and asked whether I would like to take on the business.’ Peter was very interested and had no hang-ups about the way in which 50 FarmersMart Summer 2009 Eddie’s business had been run - however what he did want to get clear was the Fendt relationship. ‘I wanted a meeting with someone from Fendt to see what I thought about them, and what they felt about me. Because of the dealings I had with other big name manufacturers and other franchises I was a bit concerned about any dictatorial attitude. Some companies these days seem more bothered about the fact that you wear their company ties than what you actually do with the product. I was impressed by what they told me and actually felt it might be too good to be true, but Eddie confirmed everything they said.’ Following an agreement over paying for stock and the company itself Peter raised the necessary finances and took over at Dalton on 5 April 2007, but he kept the name Brockhill for trading. ‘I felt that my name wasn’t known for Fendt so I plumped for Brockhills of Yorkshire through advice from my good friend, Stuart Watson. For the first year I treaded water and we did 7 new tractors delivered out. We did 11 last year and we’ve already sold 10 this year.’ That’s not a bad start at all and Peter continues page 52

bRocKHIlls

has also added a number of other franchises - Strautmann diet feeders, Lemken, Triffitt Trailers, Guttler, Opico and Teagle, who were all present at the recent open day. ‘The Strautmann forage wagons are the only harvest related machine we deal in. Fendt tractors are a premium product as everyone knows and

to many they are as important an investment as a combine. So the last thing my Fendt farmers want is for me to be running around everywhere looking after combines and balers when I should be looking after them.’ Peter’s Fendt dealership area covers as far as Teesside, across to the

coast and just south of Scarborough towards Bridlington, then running across to Driffield and across to York, following the northern edge of the York ring road and just over the western side of the A1, but they service tractors from as far afield as Clitheroe, Alnwick and Rotherham. ‘Service is our backbone and one

of the reasons our business is so successful is the knowledge we have in our workshop. I’m very lucky to have retained Chris Hutchinson and Robert Reed, who worked with Eddie for many years. We also have an excellent senior apprentice and another good lad who is at college at present.’

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FarmersMart Summer 2009

bRocKHIlls
and www.fendtclothing.co.uk for the first time.’ Peter was also a member of Thirsk YFC when he was younger and at his open day he was able to present the current club with Fendt and Thirsk YFC branded clothing to wear when they go to events. ‘I was in Thirsk YFC but because of work commitments I dropped out a little earlier than I would have wanted. The Young Farmers Clubs are still very much the future of farming and I had been approached to go on their advisory committee. I asked whether there was anything tangible I could do to help and support and they asked whether I could sponsor some type of clothing. Between Fendt and myself we came up with the tops they are wearing here.’ Farmers Mart congratulates Peter on his impressive start to life as a fully fledged farm machinery enterprise owner - as well as his recently expanded family! BrocKHiLLS oF YorKSHire Dalton Lane, Dalton, thirsk north Yorkshire Yo7 3Hr tel: 01845 577242 Fax: 01845 577122 email: [email protected] Web: www.brockhills.co.uk

Peter Swales (centre) with Fendt colleagues And Peter isn’t about to forget the part that his wife has played in what has happened over the last three years. In fact they’ve not only grown their company, they’ve also grown their family too! ‘If it wasn’t for Nicky’s support I wouldn’t have been able to do any of this. Nicky has not just supported, she has also done some of the paperwork as well. And now we also have a beautiful daughter, Sophia Grace, who is ten months old.’ Eddie still keeps an involvement with the business and pops in a couple of mornings a week, which Peter is grateful of. ‘The support I have had from everyone. The team in the workshop, Nicky, Eddie, all of the Fendt operation has been fantastic. I can’t thank everyone enough. We’re now developing a few new websites too. Nicky is on with those and in the Summer our customers should be able to visit www.fendttoys.co.uk

STOCKLIST New Equipment, available Ex Stock
Opico-Heva 3m CombiLift-Disc Roller ..............................................................................£12900.00 Opico-Heva 6.3m Folding Rolls, 24” Diameter Breaker Rings .........................................£8300.00 Optional Shatta-boards & locks...........................................................£3600.00 / Total £11900.00 Opico-Heva 3m, 5 Leg Subsoiler with packer.....................................................................£7500.00 Optional Vario-Cast Seeder .................................................................£6000.00 / Total £13500.00 Teagle Topper 8, 8’ Topper...................................................................................................£1700.00 Teagle Topper 510, 5’ 10” Topper`......................................................................................... £940.00 Twose 5’ 6”, 2 Drum mower.................................................................................................£1850.00 Tuchel Eco 230, Sweeper Collector, Hydraulic Drive, Front or Rear Mounted .................£1450.00 Sweepex Megabroom, SMB960 ........................................................................................... £950.00 New, 14.9R46 Rear & 14.9R30 Row Crop Wheels fitted with Alliance Tyres (Bolt in centres to fit Fendt Vario 718/820)............................................................................................................£4400.00

DEMONSTRATION Equipment Available for Demonstration
Fendt 415 Vario, 155hp, 4cyl turbo, 55Kph, Vario Transmission, Air Brakes, Suspension. Opico-Heva 3m, 5 Leg Subsoiler with packer & Vario-Cast Seeder, Guttler 3m Duplex Front Press, 2009, c/w 3 Rows of tines,

Brockhills of Yorkshire Ltd, Dalton Lane, Dalton, Thirsk, N.Yorks YO7 3HR Tel 01845 577242 Fax 01845 577122 Peter Swales 07792 510204

Used Tractors & Equipment, available Ex Stock
Fendt Farmer 309, 4wd, 7333hrs, Front Linkage, 1996, Excellent Condition .....................£P.O.A. All Prices quoted subject to 15% vat.

www.brockhills.co.uk www.fendtoys.co.uk www.fendtclothes.co.uk
FarmersMart Summer 2009 5

DH WADsWoRtH

10 YEaRs On all FOURs aT MalTOn
ChRis BERRY Talks WiTh RiChaRd WYliE OF dh WadsWORTh & sOns
Quads and atVs are now very much an integral part of farm life. indeed it is hard to imagine the time when farmers were without them. Richard Wylie of DH Wadsworth & Sons has been involved with these machines since they first launched in the UK nearly three decades ago. They have transformed the way in which farming is undertaken and show no sign of being usurped by any other new machine. ‘Right from the start you could see how useful they would be. Things like slug pelleting and low ground pressure spraying were two of the first uses when they originally came out as 3-wheelers. But when the 4-wheelers were introduced the potential was huge, and now the Kawasaki Mule machine has taken things on even further.’ This year Richard celebrates 10 years since he started the Malton branch of DH Wadsworth & Sons, whose initial site in Flockton also continues to go from strength to strength. Richard has recently also now become a

Richard Wylie director of the company. ‘In 10 years we have grown from nothing to being one of Kawasaki’s main outlets. From here at Malton we keep winning the North of England Mule award every year,

Service with a smile whilst at Flockton they always win the Kawasaki top ATV dealer in the country. Between the two branches we are probably now Kawasaki’s premier dealer in the UK.’ Richard believes that their success

Service is their key is not just down to the quality of the machines though. He has assembled a strong team and everyone at DH Wadsworth & Sons in Malton is totally committed to providing their customers with he best possible service.

Advanced engineering. To save you in the field.
RRP only £1,425
Eliminator 50L Tank Only £457
(The eliminator can only be run off an existing tank)

Eliminator
The C-DAX Eliminator is a 2.3m trailed weed wiper that enables you to treat large areas quickly without any spray drift-even in wind.

• Electronic controller allows you to adjust the chemical flow to suit the infestation level • Bruise bar to maximise chemical update • Unique chemical feed system supplies arms evenly on all terrain • Low volume so you can maintain your weed control programme with no spray drift on runoff • Compatible with all C-DAX 12 volt sprayers

MULTIBOOM QS
0.5-4.5m spray width

SR83 Tank only £555

only £405

80L capacity, 6.8L/min pump comes complete with 10m hose and hand lance as standard

C-DAX Systems (Europe) Ltd, Wymondham, Norfolk, NR18 9LR

Call D H Wadsworth
www.wadsworthquads.co.uk
54 FarmersMart Summer 2009

204 Barnsley Road, Flockton, Wakefield Tel: 01924 840319 28 Derwent Road, York Road Ind Estate, Malton Tel: 01653692244

DH WADsWoRtH
‘Darren Whitaker, Jamie Taylor, John Bean, Robert Dowson and Chris Marcroft all have important roles to play in this business. We pride ourselves on our service and backup, and we always do a good deal for our customers. In the store we have 1100 items for spare parts which gives us a 95% pick rate of being able to fulfil what our customers need straight away. I think people really appreciate that.’ The Malton branch looks after customers from the Humber to the Tees and Richard reckons they will have sold thousands of machines during the past decade. ‘I don’t think we have grown as far as we are going to get just yet. We have had a very good first six months of the year in which we have exceeded our year’s target already, but I still think there is room for us to do more.’ Two years ago DH Wadsworth & Sons took on Suzuki, in response to the loss of the Kawasaki 400. This has worked well, without them seeing any reduction in the numbers of Kawasaki machines they trade. ‘The Kawasaki 300 is still our most popular bike. It is a very good, robust, reliable machine and very economical. We also have a lot of customers who like the 650. Then of course there are the Mules. We’re selling plenty of the 4010 diesels at present. The Mule is quite simply the best utility vehicle on the market. There are others that are good, but this is easily the best whether for gamekeepers or farmers.’ DH Wadsworth & Sons at Malton also stock Logic ATV equipment, Swaledale Trailers, Wessex Trailers, Cedax, Enduramaxx and a huge range of accessories. But no matter what they stock Richard believes it is their service and the team he has behind him that counts most of all. ‘The Mules and Kawasaki 300s and 650s, and the Suzuki 400s, are the best machines on the market, but if you don’t back that up with a good service then it’s all pretty pointless. We’re here because of the service we give – and we fully intend being here for the next 10 years too.’ DH Wadsworth & Sons York road ind estate, Malton, north Yorkshire Yo17 6YB tel: 01653 692244 Fax: 01653 698500 email: [email protected] www.wadsworthquads.co.uk

FarmersMart Summer 2009

55

MAsseY FeRguson

ThE UniQUE OPTiRidE PlUs CaB sUsPEnsiOn sYsTEM On MassEY FERGUsOn’s OUTsTandinG MF 8600 sERiEs has BEEn aWaRdEd a GOld MEdal in ThE FREnCh, siMa 2009 shOW innOVaTiOn aWaRds. aCCORdinG TO ThE EXPERT JUdGEs ThE sYsTEM REPREsEnTs “a siGniFiCanT sTEP FORWaRd in dRiVER COMFORT.”
Massey Ferguson has now won five prestigious accolades in the past two months. This latest Gold Medal joins the MF 8690’s success in taking both the important ‘Tractor of the Year 2009’ and ‘Golden Tractor’ design awards at the EIMA Show in Bologna, Italy along with the MF 3655F receiving a finalist award in the specialist category. And, last month, the MF 7280 Centora combine harvester received a Silver Medal at the first AgroSalon exhibition in Moscow, Russia. The OptiRide Plus suspension system is one of only three innovations out of 154 entries to receive the prestigious Gold Medal at SIMA. The Awards were judged by a panel of 15 experts from six different countries. “This Gold Medal is the result of Massey Ferguson’s sustained investment in developing advanced designs,” says Laurent Pernin, MF General Marketing Manager Mid and High HP Tractors. “It also confirms Massey Ferguson’s position as the leader in advanced cab technology. Indeed, this award builds on the success of the MF 8600 Series’ forebears, which also won Medals at a previous SIMA show as well as at FIMA in Spain.” The judges said the advanced OptiRide Plus dynamic suspension system, which is fitted as standard to all Excellence specification models in the MF 8600 Series, “represents a significant step forward in terms of driver comfort.” Key to the OptiRide Plus dynamic system, the judges added, is its four hydraulic dampers and accumulators that are attached to each corner of the cab. These are equipped with four levelling sensors – fitted to each of the hydraulic dampers. These provide information to the controller, which also receives information about, for example, forward speed, acceleration, and braking. This SIMA Gold Medal, along with other recent awards again confirms Massey Ferguson’s world-leading position as a manufacturer of advanced technology. For more information visit www.masseyferguson.com

MORE MEdal sUCCEss FOR MF 8600

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FarmersMart Summer 2009

Russells

CUsTOMER REsPOnsE BRinGs BaCk REXiUs TWin 330

COMBinEs aVailaBlE On dEMO

In response to customer feedback we are delighted that Vaderstad has reintroduced the Rexius Twin 330. The machine was very well received when it was first introduced with a reputation based on build quality and regarded as the heaviest 3m press on the market. It offers great cultivation and levelling quality and is a very powerful piece of equipment. It suits 110hp+ tractors. Simon Dunn of BHE Agricultural Contractors was

delighted when he heard the news too: ‘I have run the 3m Rexius Twin for five seasons and it is a fantastic tool, built for the job with its robust design. It is a high speed machine in the right conditions, which leaves a well-prepared seed bed.’ Russells will have a demonstration machine available this back end for all of those who have not caught up with it yet.

We will have both the CR9080 with 30ft Varifeed header and the CX8060 conventional straw walker available for demos this harvest season. Don’t miss out on

a real opportunity to see how these combines can perform for you. Please contact your local depot to book your demonstration..

haRVEsT hOURs
Here’s a note of our Summer opening hours

Monday – Friday
8am – 6.30pm (now to 18 September)

GREaT YORkshiRE shOW

Saturday
8am – 4pm (now to 19 September)

Sunday
9am – 4pm (19 July to 20 September) Parts & Service also open on Summer Bank Holiday Monday 31 August Harvest cover will be extended to match the season.

Eden Works, Old Malton, Malton, North Yorkshire YO17 6RD

Malton - 01653 698000

Darlington Road, Northallerton, North Yorkshire DL6 2NH

northallerton - 01609 771727

Milby Road, Boroughbridge, York YO51 9BL

Boroughbridge - 01423 324848 Selby - 01977 663353

Selby Road, Eggborough DN14 0JT

www.russells.uk.com

Once again we will be exhibiting at the Great Yorkshire Show, as well as several others in the summer calendar. Please come along and have a brew. We will have plenty

of new equipment available for you to take a look at including the all new NH T7000 Auto Command tractor and the reintroduced Rexius Twin 330.

FarmersMart Summer 2009

5

pHIlIp WAtKIns

BEsPOkE TillaGE kEEPs GETTinG BiGGER
ChRis BERRY Talks WiTh PhiliP WaTkins aT sTainTOn
every farm is different and every farmer wants that something that fits for his needs. not every agricultural machinery company can match that kind of unique manufacturing ability, but that is where South Yorkshire-based Philip Watkins has made his name over the past 12 years. Philip is a farmer’s son from Stainton, a small village situated between Rotherham and Doncaster, where his father Ivor and his father’s two brothers, Michael and Richard have farmed since Philip’s grandfather Thomas Edward moved up from Herefordshire over 40 years ago. Philip worked on the farm too, but has now grown his business so much that all of his time is devoted to the world of machinery manufacture. ‘I took the plunge in December Philip Watkins 1996, packed in my job on the farm and went self-employed. I always used to do repairs on the farm and realised that I enjoyed the workshop side more than being on tractor. I started out with small things like front linkages and front presses. They were what I could do on my own. I built a workshop which I have since expanded every year.’ Today Philip employs 8 people and has developed a niche market in cultivation with his QUAD-TILL and TRI-TILL machines. He buys in some of the components but all of the steelwork is fabricated on-site. ‘We find that our bespoke service is definitely something our customers like. Even if we have a customer who comes in and sees one of our standard machines he still enjoys the fact that we will tinker with it a bit to get it right for his needs.’ Philip’s range of cultivation machines includes a 6-metre quad tillage cultivation machine, an 8metre trailed press, right down to the smaller 3-metre machines. ‘We now have a very wide range of customers from the south coast right up to the north of Scotland. We have built up steadily through word of mouth and have sold a lot of

The Harold Woolgar Insurance Team
We are pleased to provide a specialist Insurance service to the Farming Industry

35 High Street, Epworth, N. Lincs., Tel: 01427 873388/873888

58

FarmersMart Summer 2009

pHIlIp WAtKIns

Quad till

“i alWaYs UsEd TO dO REPaiRs On ThE FaRM and REalisEd ThaT i EnJOYEd ThE WORkshOP sidE MORE Than BEinG On TRaCTOR...”
machines locally. We are constantly trying to improve no matter what, even on minor details.’ And Philip hasn’t stopped yet – not by a long way. ‘I’m happy staying here on the farm and that’s where I’d like to stay if that’s possible. We have grown substantially from my original one man business and now occupy 5,000 sq ft of manufacturing space – and at present that is not enough. We have constantly added to our workshop capacity and have other plans to further develop our line of bespoke machines. It’s fair to say that so far we have focused more on the tillage side for farms from 200-300 acres to the massive machines that will run on 600hp

tractors, but we also manufacture trailed presses, sub-soilers, loaders, rollers and trailers.’ The Philip Watkins order book is pretty near full for this year too. ‘We started getting orders in very quickly in January and we’re now at our limit for the larger machines this year, although we still have a small amount of capacity for the smaller machines.’ Philip is a regular at LAMMA and finds it exactly right for his business calendar-wise. ‘The summer agricultural shows come at a time when it is a bit late

for placing orders for the current season, but it’s also too early for customers to be thinking about committing for the following year. LAMMA fits in perfectly as it comes along when everyone has generally finished their season’s planting. It’s the ideal show for us.’ PHiLiP WatKinS Hall Farm, Stainton, rotherham South Yorkshire S66 7QY tel/Fax: 01709 790752 Mob: 07778 751598 email: [email protected] www.philipwatkins.co.uk

J. H. Milnes Ltd.
Your Solution to Tractor & Trailer Braking
We are pleased to be associated with Phillip Watkins and wish him continued success for the future Tel: +44 (0)1226 766251 Fax: +44 (0)1226 370651
New Chapel Farm, Chapel Lane, Penistone, Sheffield, S36 6AQ

greentoilet company ltd
portable toilets • short term hire • long term lease We wish Philip Watkins continued success Rochester House Ridgewood Farm Braithwell, Rotherham S66 7AU Tel: 01709819695 Fax: 01709769778

www.thegreentoiletcompany.co.uk
FarmersMart Summer 2009 5

noRtHFIelD

nORThFiEld’s BiG Bi-annUal shOW
ChRis BERRY hEads OUT TO halshaM in ThE EasT RidinG
Deep down in Holderness is a farm machinery business that has earned a formidable reputation over the years since it was started back in 1976. Halsham is the home of Northfield Agricultural Services Ltd, run by George and Richard Cross, and whilst the pub down the road may no longer be the place to be (The Halsham Arms, as it is closed) there was only one venue that mattered one pleasant Spring afternoon and evening this year. The Northfield Agricultural Services Open Day is held every other year and is a massive event with what always seems like the whole of the Holderness farming community turning out. Certainly the hog roasts, which had moved on swiftly from the third to the fourth hog in the time I was there, were evidence of just how many attend. Mike Evison and his team, HOT TROTTERS, from Moat Farm, Fitling were kept well and truly busy throughout in serving up

George Cross of Northfield their delicious delights.Thanks Must Also go to Matthew Hodgson & his team at Great Newsome Brewery for supporting us with a wide range of brews from their local brewery ‘This is a real Northfield family event,’ says George Cross. ‘It’s a way of thanking our customers for their support and also showing them everything that we have. We are very grateful to all of our manufacturers who go out of their way to make sure all of the latest machines are here.’ George tells of little in the way of any recession hang-ups amongst the farming community of Holderness at present. ‘We sell the brands we sell and make a good job of looking after people. As long as you do that you’re alright. We don’t worry to much about competition. We’ve always run off about a 25 to 30% market share in tractors and that’s good enough for us. The manufacturers are improving their products all the time and we have already sold two combines this year & with a larger model in the pipeline hopefully this will continue to increase. We stick to what we know.’ continues pg 62

Hot Trotters kept everyone well fed 0 FarmersMart Summer 2009

noRtHFIelD

FarmersMart Summer 2009

1

noRtHFIelD

Richard Cross of Northfield

Scrapart Guru Charlie Hillkept everyone well fed Hot Trotters tucks in at Northfield our newest franchise McHale who have just launched a new variable chamber round baler. Farmers around here have ploughed a lot of money into their replacement policy for farm machinery and largely stick to their plans. In the last few years we’re finding that we are selling less units but bigger machines.’ Northfield Agricultural Services prides itself on the words in the company title, particularly the services aspect. They look after their customers whether that be serving them drinks and hog roasts, or making sure their machines are kept on the move no matter what the time of year. A crowd of well over 800 attended Northfield’s Open Day - and no doubt everyone will be eagerly anticipating the next big social occasion in 2011.

Whilst George has been at the helm for many years he tells of Richard now having taken much more of a lead role. It is Richard who tells me about the new equipment on display at the Open Day. ‘We have the new Väderstad Seedhawk 6 metre grain & fertiliser no till drill, two new MF Centora Combines, a new 7270 JCB Fastrac, and new machines also from McConnel and Lemken, Along with

nortHFieLD agricULtUraL SerViceS Halsham, Hull, east riding of Yorkshire HU12 0Bt tel: 01964 614233 Fax: 01964 613227 email: richardcross@ northfieldagric.com www.northfieldagric.com

2

FarmersMart Summer 2009

IAe

dOWn TO EaRTh aPPROaCh ThE kEY TO ManUFaCTURinG sUCCEss
ChRis BERRY Talks WiTh RiChaRd haRPER OF iaE
Forty years ago ‘that Pole’ started what has today become one of the UK’s leading fencing, agricultural and equestrian equipment manufacturers. that’s when Frank Klucznik set up under his own name. The world has changed inexorably since Frank came to England as part of the armed forces during the second World War, and drove out with his Bedford truck liveried out with the slogan ‘It’s that Pole from Leek’, in response to the many customers who couldn’t remember or pronounce his name. Today his son David heads up the company which has become known for trading purposes more simply as IAE and runs a whole fleet of lorries. ‘David has really taken us forward since he took over in 1990,’ says Richard Harper, one of the sevenstrong team of directors, who has been with the company for over 20 years. ‘The commitment the company has made to the galvanising plant and many other developments, particularly by bringing the manufacturing down to just two sites, has built on the solid foundations laid down by Frank back in 1969.’ Until three years ago IAE was operating from five sites all within a radius of 15 miles, but the purchase of the Longton site, near Stoke on Trent, ten years ago has formed the catalyst for what is now taking shape. The manufacturing site has recently been extended and a new office complex is planned. But this isn’t a company that believes in overstretching itself and thereby creating future problems. Whilst today’s world sees tremendous business challenges and as competitive a market place as there has ever been IAE still believes in taking things one step at a time. ‘We have always had a policy of learning not to run before we can walk, so when this site was purchased we did nothing with it for the first two years. That was for two reasons. Firstly, this site was previously Coal Board land and there was a pit here. The pit needed to be filled in before we could build. Then, following the purchase, we

wanted to make sure that we were still providing the necessary income to be able to invest in the plant and machinery necessary.’ Having achieved their goals, with the considerable help of a very committed workforce, IAE’s progression has duly included the galvanising plant and sheet metal works. They have also added the latest in robotic and laser technology, including even more recently investment in a new flat bed laser machine, all of which the company believes will help keep costs down and quality up, and in so doing pass on those benefits to their customers. Four robotic machines are in use at the present and there is an on-going policy of ensuring the company’s techniques and systems are the best in the business. That’s because they believe in moving forward rather than standing still. They are arguably now the largest manufacturer of steel railings and

mesh fencing systems in the UK, as well as the leading agricultural livestock handling equipment manufacturers, but they also understand all about complacency. They purchased Centrewire in 2006 which makes a comprehensive range of products from kissing gates to all manner of access gates, all with the intention of providing easy access to rights of way. There is an additional sector within Centrewire that manufactures benches and tables from recycled plastic and it runs as a separate entity within IAE. But IAE is in no way getting ahead of itself. The 450-strong team that makes up the company carries the same down to earth spirit that Frank Klucznik started with 40 years ago when he started using the slogan that originally made his name. Richard reckons that is what keeps their feet firmly on the ground no matter how large the company grows.

‘We are down to earth people. All of the directors and everybody in the company are just people who want to get on with the job, and provide quality products. I believe that over the next decade we will be manufacturing many more products from here. We are looking at new markets all the time - cycle shelters are our latest range and our policy is never to say never about anything we might make in the future.’ FarmersMart congratulates IAE on its 40th anniversary and wishes the company every success in the future. For more information contact iae tel: 01538 399200 Fax: 01538 373005 email: [email protected] www.iae.co.uk

FarmersMart Summer 2009



scRutons

MaChinERY dEalERs EXPand aT RiCCall
ChRis BERRY VisiTs ThE WilFREd sCRUTOn lTd OPEn daY
High up in the Yorkshire Wolds the name Scruton has long been associated with farm machinery and agricultural equipment. Back in 1896 the company that is known today as Wilfred Scruton Ltd made its mark casting plough shares and repairing cart wheels. The Providence Foundry Works at Foxholes is as busy today as it ever has been, but Wilfred Scruton Ltd is no longer limited to the same area the company has served for well over a century. Six years ago the East Yorkshirebased business spread its wings with the opening of a second branch just off the A19 between York and Selby. It was a bold move and one that certainly appears to have paid off as they have recently expanded their premises at King Rudding Lane, near Riccall. Ian Scruton heads up the modern day Wilfred Scruton Ltd business operation, maintaining the family link with brother Guy, and was on hand for the open day held at King Rudding this Spring to celebrate the official opening of the new premises. ‘It was a big decision coming here but it’s working out well and we are growing the business year on year. When we started in 2003 we had a team of just 4, now that has gone up to 17. In people like Richard Bower, Scott Shirley, Charlie Walmsley and the rest of the team we have tremendous dedication towards helping our customers and that’s what not only gets you the business but keeps it strong.’ When you have been used to only having one branch for so long it can sometimes be difficult to establish a new area. Scruton’s have always been seen as a Wolds dealer, so how Ian Scruton of Wilfred Scruton & Co tricky was it for Ian and his staff to make their mark? ‘I think when we came people were ready for somebody new to deal with. Sometimes a new broom can sweep clean, although I’d say we’re now well out of the honeymoon period that people talk about. All we wanted was for people to give us a try so that we could show what we could do, now we have built up to over 600 customer accounts ranging from as far afield as Huddersfield to the west and to the bottom of Garrowby Hill, which is effectively the border between the two branches. With JCB we had a good start because it really is a first class product. It’s desirable and people want to buy it, so we were halfway there already. Days like this are really an opportunity for us to thank our customers for the business they have given us, because without them we wouldn’t have a business at all.’ Richard Bower has been at the helm of the Riccall-based Wilfred Scruton Ltd operation throughout the past six years and has been involved in the farm machinery sector for many years. He believes there is no substitute for hard work. ‘Our trade has been very good ever since we started. We have become firmly established here and although 4 FarmersMart Summer 2009 it could have been tricky with us being new I think that if you work hard and put in the effort the customers warm to that and respect you more. We’ve pretty much got the same staff we started with as well as having grown substantially. When we first started here we only had the JCB franchise. Now we have Valtra, He-Va, Twose, Triffitt Trailers and a number of others. The horsepower range covered by both Valtra and JCB fits very well for our customers, which include both grassland and grain farms. The demand around here is largely in the 150-250hp band.’ For those visitors who couldn’t make it to the Riccall branch open day – and there were over 500 that did – the new premises don’t take much finding if you’ve been there before as they have just moved next door! WiLFreD ScrUton LtD Maxwell House King rudding Lane riccall grange riccall, York Yo19 6QL tel: 01757 249799 roger Bower 07815 817205 Scott Shirley 07816 766236 email: sales.york @wilfredscruton.co.uk www.wilfredscruton.co.uk

Young FARMeRs

sOUThERn disTRiCT CUMBRia YOUnG FiEld daY 2009 FaRMERs’ FiEld daY
drawing which was won by Alice Batty of Crook, the girls wheel changing was won by Steph Sykes and Cathy Edmondson of Lowick and the worm charming by Robert Hetherington of Lyvennet. The Tug-of-War was fiercely fought with Lowick women pulling the Sedbergh team over the line, Sedbergh men beating Crook and Kent Estuary Juniors winning over Lowick juniors. The 19 Pre-Field Day Craft classes were won overall by Grayrigg YFC as was the Industrial Section. Kent Estuary won many of the Stockjudging classes and triumphed at the end of the day, winning the Cock of the North Trophy with 9994 points with Grayrigg 2nd on 9509 points, Pennine 3rd on 8712 points and Lowick 4th on 8401. Mr Gary Mason, Field Day Chairman, thanked his secretary and sister Lisa for all her hard work and the hosts, judges and stewards who had helped make the day such a success. Hundreds of competitors and spectators braved the weather and had a hugely entertaining time at cumbria Young Farmers’ northern District Field Day at tarn rigg Moor Farm, oulton by kind permission of Mr. and Mrs. Wright. The theme this year was “Climate Change” which was very appropriate for the day! The imaginative interpretations of the theme in the flower arranging and the cookery – both won by Caldbeck - were fascinating to see. The “design and build an eco house “ competition winners, Stuart Armstrong ,James Bendle and Charles Ackerley from Kirklinton YFC designed a house worthy of Grand Designs and Stuart Hind from Caldbeck made good use of recycled plastic bottles in his Climate Change model. The spectators enjoyed more traditional competitions too with James Hodgson of Kirklinton winning the hand sheep shearing and Phillip Hewetson of Greysouthen winning the machine shearing. Drigg were the

Hundreds of competitors and spectators gathered at Low Foulshaw Farm, Levens for the annual Young Farmers’ Southern District Field Day by kind permission of Mr & Mrs John geldard. There were over 80 competitions on the day with tough competition between the 10 Clubs. Highlights of the day were the Song and Dance Routine won by Grayrigg, the boys hair styling won by David Wright and Naomi Boorman from Kent Estuary and the Sports Day Race with space hoppers and a sack race won by Kent Estuary. Local M.P., Tim Farron, posed for the caricature

Club gaining the most points in the Industrial Section and Caldbeck were the winning Stockjudging team. After tough competition, Brampton pulled the hardest in the men’s tug of war and Penrith in the women’s tug of war. Karen Watson, Field Day Chairman thanked her secretary, Anita Jackson and congratulated Caldbeck YFC for winning the day. The final results were 1st caldbeck 1085 points, 2nd raughton Head 979 points, 3rd carlisle 850 points, 4th Wigton 848 points.

FarmersMart Summer 2009

5

RIcHARDsons

haTs OFF TO WinninG TEXEl FaMilY
there are many reasons why people get involved in the world of showing. For Steve and Sherry richardson of Mount Pleasant Farm, great Houghton, near Barnsley in South Yorkshire it was all down to a new lane they put in to their farm! ‘We only had one track to the farm at the time and I wanted another which would mean that the children didn’t have to worry about tractors, trucks and trailers coming by them as they were playing outside. As a result the inner of the two tracks then formed a paddock in front of the house.’ It was to be the catalyst that led Steve and Sherry, who met at Doncaster YFC, into being Texel breeders. They farm 350 acres with 300 arable, growing wheat, barley and oil seed rape. The cereals are grown for feed for the pigs using mill and mix. Their pig operation is high health status with 190 breeding sows and they have three different outlet streams. They multiply for Rattlerow, F1 gilts which are Landrace X Duroc, marketed as Landroc for outdoor production predominantly in the south of England. All boars are sold as heavy as possible, averaging Sherry Richardson with a selection of her hats

around 83-84 kilos deadweight and go to Cranswick at Preston, near Hull. Their surplus gilts go to retailers and farm shops around the Barnsley area where they have found there is a thriving market for the succulent pork that the 50% Duroc brings about. Steve is currently finding that all of the

muck and slurry the pigs produced used to be a bit of a bind but it is now proving a very good asset given the price of fertiliser. He has two men, Craig and Barry and tells of the farm only ever being as good as its staff and respects them both immensely. ‘We started the sheep as a hobby. We

had a few pet lambs and then had a go at one or two different breeds before settling on the Texel. We then started the Stonebridge flock in 1991 and both of our children, Hannah and Adam have grown up with it. As Adam grew up he became particularly keen and even now at 28

We are pleased to be associated with the Richardson family and wish them continued success for the future
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FarmersMart Summer 2009

RIcHARDsons
and sold for 6000 guineas, then in 2003, I was holding Stonebridge Jet Set who was stood first whilst Adam was showing Stonebridge Jasper who was second. In 2004 we took 2 lambs up to Lanark and sold Stonebridge Kes for 8500 gns and Stonebridge Kudos for 3500 gns. The Great Yorkshire Show this year will have the biggest show of Texel sheep in Europe. I was perhaps a little lucky last year because I achieved another first – as Texel Champion with a gimmer lamb and we were also placed first at the Northern Area Breeders Sale at Skipton, but there were a lot of farmers who couldn’t compete because of the BlueTongue restrictions.’ Steve Richardson checks out one of his Texel flock and with his own demanding career he will arrange his holidays around sheep shows and sales. We now run about 40 ewes and sell shearling tups. Our target market is to produce good commercial shearling tups for commercial sheep farmers for their X breeding. Last year we sold 4 tups to fellow Yorkshire Texel breeders, which was a great honour.’ Steve is currently the North East region director of the Texel Sheep Society and has travelled as far as Rumania to expand the breed. Over the years success has come Steve’s way in the show and sale rings. ‘The pinnacle for me was to win the ram lamb class at the Great Yorkshire Show. I have been fortunate to do it twice. In 1999 with Stonebridge Fantastic which we then took to Lanark Steve gets on well with the Scotsmen and those from the north of England who couldn’t take part last year. ‘We are good friends with many of them and they have now adopted the Great Yorkshire as opposed to the Royal.’ Sherry has developed a diversification interest on the farm in recent years. She is now a professional milliner and makes hats to order, as well as having one or two in stock, for brides, brides ‘ mothers, grooms’ mothers and basically anyone who wants to feel special either at a wedding, or even the races. She has also added to this with her own design handbags too. ‘It was something I felt I wanted to do creatively. My mum was an art teacher and my grandma was very handy too and so I took a course in Huddersfield, the only college in the north of England that ran a milliner’s course at the time and I started up HATS BY SHERRY. I now have my own website and I’m finding that more and more people are finding me by using it. Brides’ mums frequently go on to it now, whereas at one time it was only the brides who were looking. There’s been a bit of a change in more generations now using the internet.’ Sherry’s hats are fantastic creations and one of her tiaras has even been purchased by the Tower of London – you can ask her about this when you see her at the Great Yorkshire Show! SteVe & SHerrY ricHarDSon incl: HatS BY SHerrY Mount Pleasant Farm great Houghton Barnsley S72 0BX tel: 01226 752359 Mob: 07764 223230 email: enquiries@ hatsbysherry.co.uk www.hatsbysherry.co.uk

FarmersMart Summer 2009



MAcHIneRY

a TaYlOR MadE OPEn daY
there’s one very good way of celebrating 150 years in business. Have a giant gathering! That’s exactly what Robert Taylor & Sons of Bentham on the Yorkshire/ Lancashire/Cumbria borders did with their first ever open day held in April and it went with a swing! Over 900 local people and customers headed over to the company’s HQ on the edge of this scenic village sandwiched between the Yorkshire Dales and Forest of Bowland and the long trail of cars parked up on adjacent lanes told its own story. “We had a very successful day,” exclaimed Paul Taylor, the sixth generation of the Taylor family to be involved in the business. “We were lucky with the weather and were overwhelmed by the turn out of customers with some coming from as far away as Ireland, Wales and the Midlands! “We would like to thank our customers, both old and new, for attending and making the day the success it was. We have received some lovely thank you cards.

“Another big thank you to our manufacturers who brought some seriously big tackle along. “It is good for customers to see what some of these people actually do manufacture for worldwide sale and it really is seriously big kit that would certainly widen a few gate holes in these parts. “Again it’s good that customers can associate with the brands that they purchase from us and along with the manufacturer area staff we felt very pleased to see several manufacturer UK bosses in attendance.

“I guess one of the ‘stars of the show’ was the Case IH STX 500 Horse Power “Quadtrac” ---mega. What a machine ad the size and price of a house. “The Special commemorative 150 year silver special JXU 105 also attracted a lot of interest along with many people wishing they could win the special Robert Taylor and Sons black Honda ATV. The lucky winner will be drawn at Nidderdale Show later this year. “We would like to thank our staff also for their efforts on and before the event and a special mention to

Bowland Outdoor Reared Pork whose hog roast went down very well! “The free prize draw had nearly 50 winners claiming all sorts of things from a drum of oil to a weekend break.” added Paul. On the day the banter and conversations were great and all-inall it’s not looking at all bad for the future in farming. The next significant milestone in these parts could well be another Taylor made event. For more information visit www.roberttaylorandsons.co.uk

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8 FarmersMart Summer 2009

WOOLRIDGE FARM, GLOUCESTER ROAD HARTPURY, GLOUCESTERSHIRE, GL19 3BG e-mail: [email protected] fax: 01386 750772 www.protechmachinery.co.uk

MAcHIneRY

P V dOBsOn & sOns OPEn daY

the rain may have fallen but it did little to dampen spirits at P V Dobson & Sons’ second bi-annual open Day held in late april. The event, located in a field close to the firm’s Levens HQ in Cumbria, attracted several hundred visitors through the day who wandered around a wide array of machinery as

well as viewing live demonstrations of the hardware in action. Many of the major agricultural brands were in attendance including Massey Ferguson, Fendt, Vicon, McHale, Thomas and Teagle. Andrew Dobson commented: “We had a successful Open Day a couple of years ago when the weather was

a lot better but we still saw a good turn out and a lot of interested farmers turn up. “These events take a lot of planning but the benefits are obvious. Existing and potential customers are able to view the equipment close up and chat with the various staff on hand. “One of the big advantages of holding

the event where we do is the ability to show the machinery in action and we had everything from bailing machines to grass cutters in action with plenty of interested onlookers,” added Andrew. For more information visit www.pvdobson.com

FarmersMart Summer 2009



YoRKsHIRe steel buIlDIngs

YsB CElEBRaTE 50Th nEW BUildinG
ChRis BERRY Talks WiTh JOnaThOn JEssOP OF YORkshiRE sTEEl BUildinGs
it is one of the success stories of the past two and a half years. Yorkshire Steel Buildings, run by Jonathon Jessop and nick Shepherd, has already built up a fantastic reputation for its agricultural buildings work and recently they completed their 50th new building, a 120ft x 75ft sheep housing and management building in Southport, cheshire. ‘It houses an indoor handling system, lambing pens and bedded yards all under one roof,’ says Jonathon. ‘The customer had very specific requirements for this building including ventilation doors, timber colour, lighting and foundations. Like all our buildings it was specifically designed for the farmer concerned. We believe in listening to what the customer wants, designing the building to suit these needs and then delivering it on time and in a professional manner. That’s why we’re getting the orders and I would like to think it’s why our order book is looking so healthy’ As regular readers will be aware whilst Yorkshire Steel Buildings

is a relatively new company their experience and knowledge of the agricultural buildings market encompasses many years and they have well-respected figures in the industry working for them. Jonathon is delighted with the way in which Yorkshire Steel Buildings work has grown in such a short time and he is looking forward to celebrating putting

up their 100th farm building. Judging by the Testimonials from satisfied customers on the YSB website, (www.yorkshiresteelbuildings.co.uk), that milestone might not be too far off either. ‘We take great pride in doing a good job for our Customer and believe that having a new building constructed on the farm should be a pain-free, exciting experience, not one filled with worry and hassle. All our team know that our Customers come first and hopefully the Customers feel that too.’ ‘At the moment I have to say we seem to be avoiding the worst of the recession. We are consistently quoting for and winning new farm building construction work. This encompasses the full range of farm buildings from dairy housing, including milking parlours and calf buildings, to grain stores, insulated warehouses & workshops, farm machinery sheds & sheep buildings. It’s certainly keeping us on our toes.’ Last year Yorkshire Steel Buildings designed, supplied & erected a brand

new building for the auction mart at Pateley Bridge and since then they have received enquiries from other marts around the UK. ‘I think one of our main selling points and strengths is the Quality of our Buildings & Workmanship. We employ a very skilled team who have been involved with all aspects of agricultural buildings for many years and we have not yet come across a job that is too much for us to cope with.’ If you would like to know more about what Jonathon, Nick and their team can offer why not give them a call today. Yorkshire Steel Buildings aiskew Bank Farm aiskew, Bedale north Yorkshire DL8 1aU tel: 07718 984010 (Jonathon) tel: 07734 246245 (nick) www.yorkshiresteelbuildings.co.uk email: info@ yorkshiresteelbuildings.co.uk

Nick Shepher and Jonathon Jessop 0 FarmersMart Summer 2009

tHIRsK AuctIonMARt

WORld OF a diFFEREnCE aT ThiRsk
ChRis BERRY Talks WiTh TOnY ThOMPsOn
Back in 1920 the thirsk Farmers auction Mart company purchased the purpose-built mart on Station road which they had leased from the turton family until then. at that time it was regarded as a top-of-therange market because it had two rings, when in those days most had only one. Today the Thirsk Rural Business Centre which houses the Thirsk Auction Mart just outside of the town and just off the A19 and A168, is also regarded in just the same light – top of the range. It was completed in 2006 and is situated on a massive 20 acre site that also includes Askham Bryan College satellite premises, leading animal health company Green Farm Health, chartered surveyors Bell Ingram and a number of other companies related to agriculture. It is also the home of Thirsk YFC. Tony Thompson is the man at the helm in the sale rings and he is delighted with the progress the mart has made in its 3 years since moving to their fantastic new home. ‘It has made the world of a difference to those who come here. We are now regarded as one of the most forward-thinking auction marts in the country and where we are situated is ideal for road transport. We are probably amongst the best located of any auction mart in the UK – and tribute must go to our directors and in particular our chairman Mr Hary Woodhead who had the vision and foresight to see just what a difference it would make to our business both in terms of throughput and quality.’ It is now also not just a rural centre for farmers buying and selling cattle and sheep, it is fast becoming a meeting place for all rural businesses. ‘And although we are doing very well at present in the sale rings we don’t just have to rely solely on them for our income any longer. We run established furniture and antique sales, fur and feather, and collective sales, farmers markets and car boot sales. But the mart really is doing very well too. With the prices of sheep and cattle having been good for much of the past year

Tony Thompson there has been a very real trend of farmers coming back to the livestock marketing system. Prices may have dipped a little as they always do at this time of the year but they are all still well ahead of last year and ahead of many deadweight prices too.’ Thirsk Auction Mart is already gearing up for its autumn sales programme, which looks all set to be another cracker, and amongst its regular sales will be a special show of Alpacas on 24 October. ‘We are starting to get a number of requests from breed societies who want to bring their show and sale events here because they have heard about our venue. Our facilities here are excellent and anyone who is interested in bringing whatever event here should always get in touch.’ Thirsk Rural Centre is a very clear example of what can be achieved with just a little forethought, a great amount of commitment and considerate backing from people who care. thirsk rural Business centre, Blakey Lane, thirsk, north Yorkshire Yo7 3aB tel: 01845 523165 Fax:01845 526604 e-mail:thirskauction@ btconnect.com www.thirskmarket.com

MART OFFICE: Thirsk Farmers Auction Mart Thirsk Rural Business Centre, Blakey Lane Thirsk, North Yorkshire, YO7 3AB Tel: 01845 523165 Fax: 01845 526604

e-mail: [email protected]

www.thirskmarket.com

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Specialists in Accounting, Auditing and Taxation Services Whatever your needs, we can help • • • • • • • • • Bookkeeping and VAT Payroll and PAYE Management accounts and information Budgets, Business Plans and Forecasts Business Start Up Self Assessment Capital Gains Tax and Inheritance Tax Planning Company Formations and Secretarial Services Accounting Systems and IT For further information please contact: Bill Pearson Thirsk Office Tel: 01845 522045 Charles Gill Ripon Office Tel: 01765 603501 John Morton Leyburn Office Tel: 01969 623137

EVERY THURSDAY WEEKLY DEDICATED SLAUGHTER SALE
300 prime pigs & cast sows @ 9.00am / 1500 prime sheep & cast ewes @ 9.30am 550 prime cattle & young bulls @ 12 noon / (preceded by OTM cattle & cows) All stock must be CLEAN & TAGGED

EVERY OTHER TUESDAY OF THE MONTH FORTNIGHTLY SALE OF STORE STOCK
SALE OF STORE & BREEDING SHEEP as forward @ 1.30pm TOGETHER WITH FORTNIGHTLY SALE OF 150/200 HOMEBRED BREEDING AND STORE CATTLE @ 2pm Usual selection of Cast Cows, Young Bulls & Store cattle including many local consignments. See website for dates.

MONTHLY COLLECTIVE SALE OF MACHINERY, FUR & FEATHER
3 Auctioneers sale starts @ 10am Fur & Feather, Plants & Garden tools, small tools. 11am outside lots, vehicles, machinery etc, Timber, plants, shrubs, garden tools and equipment, power tools, agricultural & horticultural equipment, building materials, scaffolding boards, motor and agricultural vehicles, rabbit hutches, dog kennels, chicken huts

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ENTRIES 10AM – 5PM FRIDAY BEFORE SALE ONLY
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ENTRIES SATURDAY 7-9AM ONLY See website for dates

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FORTNIGHTLY (ALTERNATE TUESDAYS TO STORE STOCK SALES) SALE OF FURNITURE, ANTIQUES & COLLECTABLES
Box lots at 4.30pm Followed by Electrical goods,then 2 auctioneers starting at 6.00 pm with both furniture & collectables in the Foyer. Inc large quantity of oak furniture, modern & antique furnishings, brassware, glassware, pottery, pine effects, collectables. Over 1200 lots of quality goods

ENTRIES MONDAY BEFORE THE SALE 12AM TO 5PM ONLY
Veiwing from 12 NOON on day of sale. Other dates by prior arrangement,

Or visit our website at www.barkerpartnership.co.uk

Full and partial house clearances. Collection can be arranged. Please contact mart office on 01845 523165. See website for dates.

FarmersMart Summer 2009

1

DouglAs

PURE-BREd shEEP PaY ThEiR WaY aT CaTslaCkBURn
JEnniFER MaCkEnziE Talks WiTh ThE dOUGlas FaMilY in ThE YaRROW VallEY
Six different types of pure bred sheep making up a flock of 2,600 ewes have to pay their way at catslackburn in the Yarrow Valley, near Selkirk in the Scottish Borders. Norman Douglas, now in partnership with his son David, is the third generation of his family to farm Catslackburn which is part of the Buccleuch Estate. While Catslackburn has always been a traditional South Country Cheviot farm and the flock goes back more than 100 years to when the family first took on the tenancy, with expansion of the enterprise to take on more acreage on the estate, Scotch Blackfaces and Lairg type Cheviots, Texels and Suffolks have also been added to the sheep business. All the sheep are bred pure but are run very much on commercial lines, breeding tups for commercial

David, Irene and Norman producers and finishing almost 7,000 home bred and bought-in lambs a year. Norman, his wife Irene and David along with full time men Alan Wilson, Gavin McKinley and Eric Simpson farm 2,500 acres at Catslackburn and the neighbouring Whitefield and part of Faldonside. Norman and Irene’s daughter Suzanne has recently left university and is working with a local firm of accountants. The farm runs from 650ft above sea level to 1,650ft with only 300 acres of enclosed land, the remainder being hill. As well as the sheep enterprise, there are also 260 suckler cows, mostly black Limousin crosses. Norman was one of the earlier hill farmers to finish their lambs going back 30 years. “Because of that I have always been very conscious of size and shape – kilos are king,” said Norman. “I have always bred with a very commercial aspect. Over the years it has paid off. I have bred all the sheep from the Cheviots to the Texels and Suffolks with this in mind.” The 1,000 ewe South Country Cheviot flock’s bloodlines goes back to Norman’s grandfather’s days when then they were also winning prizes. A Catslackburn ram was the first of the breed to make five figures when it sold in Lockerbie in 1996 for £10,000 and the following year a son of the ram broke the record again at £11,000. A group of three sold at Lockerbie in 2008 averaged £4,000 included in the 15 sold to average£1,814. Norman was also one of the first to break with tradition and sell shearling rams 25 years ago because he felt selling them as two shears was keeping them too long for the sake of breed improvement. Now more than half of Cheviots sold by breeders are shearlings.

2

FarmersMart Summer 2009

DouglAs

The family is happy to invest in stock rams and four years ago paid £11,000 for a ram from Hislop. “We never get carried away when buying tups. We try to make the enterprise pay every year. If we have a good year and breed tups that make a lot of money we can spend a bit more,” said Norman. “I always try to put a value on a tup before it goes into the ring. If you

think they are too expensive - they are! Our bread and butter is supplying good tups to the commercial men and, hopefully, they will pay good commercial money for them. “It costs a lot of money to bring these tups out and I am heartened with the buyers who are prepared to invest when things have not been easy over the last few years. Of the hill sheep, the Yarrow

Blackface flock was taken on with the farm 25 years ago and rams are sold commercially as shearlings at Lanark and Stirling. And the Lairg type of Cheviot flock was taken on in ?? with another farm and Norman is keen to further improve on the flock and its productivity which has a 135 per cent lambing and traditionally those not kept for breeding sheep were sold store.

The Suffolk flock was founded by a ewe with a pair of ewe lambs bought at a Jedburgh farm dispersal and all the ewes go back to those three females. The flock is bred pure but not registered with the aim of selling between 25 and 30 shearlings at Kelso with a few going to the NSA sale in Builth Wells. continues page 74

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FarmersMart Summer 2009



DouglAs
The current stock ram is Solwaybank bred and he is doing well for the flock. Norman has had a long interest in Texel sheep and founded a commercial flock 20 years ago now numbering 100 breeding ewes and, as with the Suffolks he has sold rams at the annual Kelso sale where 75 rams last year averaged £470 a head, as well as at Builth Wells and Lanark with the Texels. When David became involved with the farm he was keen to set up a pedigree Texel flock with bought in females six years ago which now runs to 70 ewes. Texels from the Yarrow flock as well as the commercial shearlings are sold in two rings at Kelso. Pedigrees are also sold at Lanark. Two pedigree Texel ram lambs bought last year at Lanark, one for 5,500gns from Didcot, Orkney and the other from the Millars of Northern Ireland for 5,000gns have left their mark with this year’s lambs. Finished lambs were sold every week last winter from October through to March through St Boswells and Longtown marts with Cheviots selling to £96 a head. Between 300 and 400 are sold each week, irrespective of the price, but when the lambs are ready to be sold.

The lambs are costed in the spring to see how they have fared. They are finished off grass then green crop later in the season and eventually on concentrate fed in hoppers. Lambing starts at the beginning of February with the Texels and Suffolks with a break in March before the hill

sheep start in April. The in lamb ewes start off on feed blocks and are fed concentrates from six weeks before lambing. Grazing ground is fertilised as early as possible to allow the ewes to be taken off concentrate feed. The cows are wintered in the Kelso area on three adjacent arable farms Easter Softlaw, Wooden and Windy Walls where the Douglases also finish lambs. The herd is split between spring and autumn calving. The majority of the spring born calves are sold off their mothers in the autumn after being creep fed through the summer. Last winter the calves made up to £700 through UA in Stirling. Heifers are put to the Limousin with the remainder to the Charolais and British Blue bull and, more recently, the Simmental. Cows are hand picked to go to the Simmental and heifers calves are being kept as replacements. There are a few pedigree Charolais cows.

“We find it difficult to get good three quarter beef cows to eliminate the Holstein so we are looking to breed more of our own replacements. We want easy calving cows and to minimise disease risks,” said Norman. “The cows summer well on the hills and they get plenty of exercise which I think is the key to easy autumn calving as they are not too fat. The cattle have also played a huge part in eradicating ticks because they have taken off a lot of the roughage on the hills and the sheep are doing better for it,” he added. The cows are taken off the hill by the end of October and do not return until May so that they are not competing with the sheep over the winter months. Wn DoUgLaS catslackburn, Yarrow Selkirk tD7 5ne tel: 01750 82206

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4 FarmersMart Summer 2009

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Hope

dEdiCaTEd TO ThE nORTh OF EnGland MUlE
JEnniFER MaCkEnziE Talks WiTh ThE hOPEs OF CanOnBiE
David and Marion Hope of albierigg Farm, canonbie are passionate about north of england Mule sheep, and Marion has recently taken on the role of secretary of the association. Dorothy Bell retired after 20 years and now Marion is running the association for its 1,200 members as well as working alongside David and looking after their sons Thomas, 9 and Harry, 7. They took on the 15 year tenancy of the 610 acre Buccleugh Estate farm in October 2006 moving from Hexham. The larger unit enabled them to more than double their ewe numbers to 700 and establish a suckler herd of 80 Limousin and British Blue crosses so the farm could support both of them – both Marion and David have HGV licences and previously supplemented their income driving livestock lorries. Of the flock, 450 are Northumberland type Blackface ewes, 150 of which are bred pure and remainder are crossed with home bred crossing type Bluefaced Leicester rams to maintain the 200 North of England Mules. There are a few Beltex and continental ewes for breeding commercial show sheep for the boys who have each won the Longtown Mart young handlers class with three quarter Beltex lambs. ‘The Mule is the best crossbred sheep for breeding prime lambs,’ says David. ‘She will finish two lambs naturally within 12 to 14 weeks. She’s a great breeder – consistent and very prolific with the ability to easily rear two lambs.’ The Hopes usually sell around 175 Mule ewe lambs each year, retaining

David and Marion 60 to cross predominantly with the Suffolk and some with the Texel. The Mules lamb mainly to the Suffolk from mid March onwards and by early August only a handful of the finishing lambs are still to sell finished. The Blackfaces lamb from April 1. Lambs are not fed creep because of their horns. They are weaned in mid August and run on grass with feed introduced to get them off the farm by November-December selling through Longtown Mart which also handles the cast ewes. A small flock of 12 Bluefaced Leicesters are kept mainly for breeding rams for use at home. Ewes carrying singles and triplets are lambed in a 125 x 30ft polytunnel covered with wind resistant material, as are the Mules and Bluefaced Leicesters. The plan is to put up a second 150 x 30ft polytunnel for which they hope to receive a 50 per cent grant from the SRDP under a five year land management programme. Depending on the weather, they are turned out within 36 hours of lambing. The flock is closed to minimise disease risks with only Blackface and the odd Bluefaced Leicester rams being bought in. All the sheep are vaccinated against enzootic abortion and toxoplasmosis as a precaution. At the summer shows the Hopes won the overall championship at Newcastleon with a Mule against other pure breds and the boys won the young handlers class with a three quarter Beltex. They also won the Mule class at the 2008 Borderway Agri Expo in Carlisle and they have collected the championship at Hexham for the last two years’ NEMSA shows. The Hopes believe in investing in their stock rams. A ram bought last year from John Snaith at Clennell Hall for £700 has produced sharp, clean Blackface lambs. All the replacements for the suckler herd are bought in through Harrison & Hetherington, generally in one batch off one farm to minimise disease risks. The heifers are either bulling, in calf or with their first calf. They are all calved to the Limousin bull with some calving in March and April and the remainder in September and October. One of the regular buyers is near neighbour David Dickinson at Brockwoodlees, Canonbie, who sells finished cattle to Cranstons butchers. Since the suckler herd was started, pedigree Limousin bulls have been bought privately from Michael Davidson, of Latterford, Wark, which have proven to be very easy calving. The farm’s only other livestock is David’s thoroughbred brood mare and two Gloucester Old Spot piglets, Chops and Pepper, which were Harry’s latest birthday present. The NEMSA website is being redesigned and it will be regularly updated with news and events. Marion has started a forum on Facebook - called Bonny Ewe Lamb Mule Rules -which has almost 50 members to chat about Mules and put up photos. DaViD HoPe albierigg Farm, canonbie DumfriesshireDg14 0rY tel: 01387 371677

bluefaced leicesters
The ‘Sire of The UK Mule’
For further breed details or information contact the secretary or visit our website at www.blueleicester.co.uk The Bluefaced Leicester Sheepbreeders’ Association Tel 01228 598022 Email: [email protected]

LIVESTOCK AUCTIONEERS & VALUERS MARKETING PRIME & BREEDING SHEEP THROUGHOUT NORTHERN ENGLAND & THE SCOTTISH BORDERS We wish David, Marion & Family continued success with their NEMSA Mule Ewe Lambs bred at Albierigg. Good Luck to Marion in her new role as NEMSA Secretary. Mart Offices, Hexham, Northumberland, NE46 3SG. Tel 01434 605444 e-mail [email protected] website www.hexhammart.co.uk FarmersMart Summer 2009 5

toDD oF eAst toRRIngton

sUPERsOniC CaTTlE & FasT hORsEs
ChRis BERRY Talks WiTh daVid TOdd in EasT TORRinGTOn
He’s a familiar face in the livestock markets right across the north of england. He’s bred thoroughbreds for horse racing. and he has run his 1670 acre farming operation across 3 farms in and around east torrington in Lincolnshire for many years. David todd is what you might call a busy man. Now, at 72, he terms himself partly retired, and it is one of his three daughters, Louise, who has taken over the day-to-day running of the farm. ‘Louise has been involved for a lot of years and she thoroughly understands the buying and selling of cattle.’ As well she might, given her father’s experience in this field. At any one time they have around 900 cattle, with most of them at Manor Farm. ‘We buy store cattle from several livestock markets in the north including Hexham, Penrith, Barnard Castle, Leyburn, Wigton and Darlington, and we have a man in Buckinghamshire who buys in the

David Todd of East Torrington south of England. All of the cattle come back here and are either sold to Morrisons, Dawn Meats at Carnaby or through Newark Mart. We also have a strong following of local butchers.’ They have a quick ‘in and out’ system where David explains they feed them up into supersonic cattle. ‘I’m always looking for the top end of the market. We try and buy older cattle, certainly nothing less than 15 months old and we go for a quick turnover of 3-4 months. They’re on rocket fuel diet-wise with ad-lib maize silage which we do ourselves. It takes us a fortnight to get them on the diet we use which is half barley, mix ad-lib, protein pellets and other stuff.’ The Todds have an 80-strong herd of suckler cows, which are Limousin X South Devons. ‘I know the South Devons may not be fashionable but they suit our job. They have a placid nature, they’re built well and easy to handle. Crossed with the Limousin you really do get supersonic cattle. They’re not scatty, they’re easy calvers with very creamy milk. I think they are the most underestimated suckler cow in the country.’

www.newarklivestocksales.com

We specialise in all Pedigree and Commercial Livestock Sales both in mart and on farm
All deadstock sales undertaken Weekly sales of Primestock, OTMS, Young Bulls, Clean Cattle and Sheep All stock paid for within seconds of sale Weekly Market Report available. We would be delighted to visit your farm to discuss your marketing requirements Visit our website: www.newarklivestocksales.com Contact us anytime PAUL GENTRY: MOBILE: 07801 032846 KEITH MILLER: MOBILE: 07801 032847

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Newark Livestock Market Ltd Great North Road, Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG24 1BY Telephone 01636 676741 Fax 01636 611190 www.newarklivestocksales.com Email: [email protected]
 FarmersMart Summer 2009

Proud to support David Todd & Family in all of his farming activities.

toDD oF eAst toRRIngton
The arable operation runs to 800 acres of wheat, growing Humber and Oakley, 250 acres of barley growing Tipple and Pearl, along with 180 acres of oil seed rape, 100 acres of sugar beet, 50 acres of beans and 45 acres of maize. David has seen tremendous changes in farming during his lifetime and remembers the days when the farm had 15 men rather than the 5 employed today. ‘We had 20 carthorses coming out of these stables every morning. I don’t particularly miss those days though because it was hard work.’ David is a third generation farmer. It was his grandfather – James Smithson Todd – who came here in the 1920s, with David taking over from his father David William. The involvement with horses was no surprise given his grandfather’s background. ‘He was a horse dealer and used to buy and sell horses all over the country. I have bred my own thoroughbreds for many years and have horses in training with Malcolm Jefferson in Malton. I’ve bred 38 winners in my lifetime.’ David’s best horse was Abersing, but it was with King’s Lure that he had more success. ‘King’s Lure came second in the Great Yorkshire Chase and third in the Whitbread Gold Cup and was trained by Bobby Hall from Heddon on the Wall in Northumberland. We bought it ‘sold unsound’ and my father gave about 200 guineas. When Bobby got it he rang me immediately and said this was a proper thing. It ended up winning me over £40,000. Abersing didn’t win as many races as King’s Lure because he had a bad accident at Leicester.’ All of David’s horses have been jumpers and he tells of them still being a hobby. ‘We have 10 at the moment. I had most success at Wetherby so that was my favourite course but the ground isn’t right there now. Hexham is a wonderful course. I had my first win with King’s Lure there.’ But horses aren’t the only sport David has been involved with. He likes all country sports and played cricket for Hainton, Woodall Spa and Lincolnshire Gentlemen as a cultured opening bat He is chairman of Wragby YFC with whom he was once a member and although he says he’s part retired he is still very much involved in the farm. He has two other daughters – Rachel, who lives in Gloucestershire, and Julia who married a neighbouring farmer. ‘They’re all in partnership with me but is Louise who is the farming one and who takes an active part.’ So active in fact that Julia was showing at the East of England Show in Peterborough when I visited.

“ThEY’RE On ROCkET FUEl diET-WisE...”
daVid TOdd
Daughter - Louise Todd

DaViD toDD Manor Farm, east torrington Market rasen, Lincolnshire Ln8 5Se tel: 01673 858242 email: [email protected]

HOPES of Wigton
LIVESTOCK AUCTIONEERS & VALUERS MARKETING OVER 28,000 SUCKLER BRED STORE CATTLE & SUCKLED CALVES EACH YEAR AT OUR WEEKLY SALE AT OUR MODERN HEXHAM AUCTION MART COMPLEX. We wish David & Louise Todd continued success feeding the best of cattle purchased from Hexham Auction Mart. Mart Offices, Hexham, Northumberland, NE46 3SG. Tel 01434 605444 e-mail [email protected] website www.hexhammart.co.uk
Hopes Auction Co. Ltd 93 High Street, Wigton CA7 9PG Telephone 016973 42202 / Fax 016973 45001 E-Mail: [email protected] Web Site: www.hopesofwigton.co.uk Commercial Livestock Auctioneers & Valuers Wishing continued success to David Todd & Family EVERY TUESDAY - throughout the year Sale of Prime Cattle (Young Bulls & Clean Cattle) and Prime Sheep THURSDAYS FORTNIGHTLY – Sale of Store, Beef Breeding & Dairy Cattle, Over Thirty Months Cattle & Calves Also Special Sales as advertised All types of agricultural sales & valuations undertaken

We are pleased to supply the todd Family with Animal health Products, Equipment and Feed. We wish them continued success for the future. Achurch roAd, Boston roAd IndustrIAl EstAtE horncAstlE, lIncolnshIrE ln9 6As tEl: 01507 523281/527486 FAx: 01507 527437 www.phillips-animal-health-ltd.co.uk
FarmersMart Summer 2009 

HepWoRtH

BRanChinG OUT WiTh a WinninG FORMUla
a farm that’s home to the rolston herd of British Saddlebacks in east Yorkshire has won the first royal Forestry Society (rFS) excellence in Forestry Farm Woodlands award. Woodbottom Farm at Stainburn near Otley, primarily a pasture farm, took second place. The awards, which were supported by the Forestry Commission, will be presented at the Great Yorkshire Show on July 15. Winning the award was John Hepworth, owner of Braemar Farm at Rolston, Hornsea, in East Yorkshire. John had started to plant woodlands in 1989 with the help of a Woodland Grant Scheme, filling in an area between a public footpath and a public bridleway. He has now expanded the woodlands to cover around 30 hectares, or about half the farm, establishing a number of different woodland types. These include the Hornsea Community Woodland which has public access, flowering shrubs and a mix of trees designed to attract birds; 11 hectares of Swedish willow destined for biofuels and a stand of eucalyptus which was planted in 2003 and which he is now harvesting through thinnings. Judges Roderick Leslie and Rodney Helliwell said: “The awards recognise the importance that woodlands bring to farms, both in terms of an added income stream, but also in promoting biodiversity. “John Hepworth simply bubbles with enthusiasm, for his trees ranging from native broadleaves to Willow and Eucalyptus energy crops, and for the wide range of people he welcomes to his new woods in one of the least wooded parts of the north east. The farm now has much greater interest, both to the owner and the public, as well as increasing the biodiversity of the area.” John said: “I am growing wood not just as an amenity, but as a future income. It is a delight to see all sorts of people enjoying those woodlands where there is public access, including a group of 120 children brought to site by Teaching Trees. “I like to understand how woodlands

Braemar Farm Rodney Helliwell and John Hepworth should grow and develop, and I have taken on several of the points the judges made. The RFS was the first to point out the income potential of thinning the Eucalyptus when the Yorkshire Division visited in 2008, and their suggestions have brought in some welcome additional income.“ Second placed Woodbottom Farm also originally established its 5.57 ha woodland with the aid of a Woodland Grant Scheme. Judges commented: “This was a

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8

FarmersMart Summer 2009

joHnsons
beautifully designed and executed farm woodland, with a well thought out range of native species growing well and a ride and glade network which made the wood a pleasure to visit.” Owner Justin Arnold explained: “The woodland is on an area that was formerly pasture land. It has brought a wider range of native habitats to the farm, and, while it was primarily introduced as part of our commitment to conservation, we are also expecting to grow some valuable timber through appropriate pruning and thinning. “The award is recognition of the efforts of all involved and the sound establishment and management practices employed by Keith Rawling as forestry adviser.” Trees on site include oak, ash, small leafed lime, native broadleaves such as wild cherry, field maple and crab apple and woody shrubs. Although there is no public access to the land, visits have been arranged for local residents and for a group from the nearby Nidderdale AONB and the woodland was the venue of a two day training course for Yorwoods. The RFS Excellence in Forestry Awards were being piloted during 2009 by The Royal Forestry Society in Yorkshire and the North East during 2009. Crispin Thorn, Forestry Commission Regional Director Yorkshire and the Humber, said: “We were delighted to sponsor the RFS awards in their first year and I was impressed by the interest in the competition. I hope the success spreads across the country in the future. Woodlands can help the local economy in many ways from timber and woodfuel businesses, to leisure, recreation and tourism. I believe these awards also show how trees, woods and forestry are important in other ways from education and learning outdoors, bringing communities together and keeping vital forestry skills alive.” RFS Chief Executive Dr John Jackson said: “This has been a highly successful pilot and it looks likely that the competition will now roll out across the country starting in London and South East next year. “ to find out more about the excellence in Forestry awards, or the rFS, visit website www.rfs.org.uk or call 01442 822028 or write to the rFS at 102 High Street, tring, Hertfordshire, HP23 4aF.

aWaRd-WinninG & PEOPlE FRiEndlY
environmentally-friendly is a cliché that farming has adopted in varying amounts throughout the UK, but in south-east Leicestershire the Johnsons have probably embraced the term more than many. indeed such has been their commitment to the cause that they received a Most Beautiful Farm award in 2007 for their work on public access, diversification and conservation. Phil Johnson lives at Rectory Farm with his wife Sue. They have three daughters – Kirstie, Abigail and Fay. Kirstie is a schoolteacher, Abigail a mobile farm secretary and Fay are involved both with the farm and their diversification business Eyebrook Wild Bird Feeds. ‘My late father Tom Johnson took the tenancy here in 1936 when the farm ran to just 183 acres and had dairy, beef, sheep, pigs and poultry,’ says Phil. ‘He was ambitious and the farm grew to more than 1000 acres, with the majority of the tenancy being owned by the Church Commissioners. The land is to the north and east of Great Easton and is half in Leicestershire and half in Rutland.’ Today’s farming operation is currently 930 acres of which 850 are arable cropping. Phil also has a 200 ewe flock of north country mules. ‘Our crops are a typical rotation for around here of wheat, beans, wheat, barley and oil seed rape. We went into the 10 year DEFRA Countryside Stewardship Scheme 7 years ago with the aim of improving the beauty and diversity of the countryside around us and I am very pleased with what has been achieved. We now have conservation margins around most of the arable fields, we have put in a mile of new hedgerows and have been particularly keen on public access whether through rights of way, permissive paths or farm walks. We are members of LEAF too and I am a firm believer in maximum output for minimum inputs.’ Rectory Farm is now so busy with the general public that in May and June they hosted 19 farm walks. ‘The effect of what we do to the land is something that concerns me and I am always keen on farming in the most environmentally friendly way possible. I’m also keen on encouraging young people to farm too, and each

Fay, Abigail and father Phil year we take on a student from the village to assist us at harvest time. I don’t grumble about farming either. It’s no good grousing when you visually appear to have such a lot.’ Fay tells of the family having won another award recently, for conservation on a commercial farm, and their Eyebrook Wild Bird Feeds business is going well too. ‘We produce wild bird seed and we are dedicated to producing high quality bird seed mixes using as many home-grown ingredients as possible,’ says Fay. As well as these we also sell black sunflower seeds, sunflower hearts, premium peanuts, wheat and niger seed, fat balls, feeders and other accessories. Many of our visitors also take in a walk around the farm, Eyebrook Reservoir or Rutland Water when they come here. Eyebrook Wild Bird Feeds is launching its online store in August this year which is the next step in progressing the business’ The farm has also had a bird species list put together by ‘RSPB Volunteer and Farmer Alliance’, which showed there were a good number of each of the 33 bird species including everything from red kites to yellowhammers. The RSPB are set to return again this year to conduct another bird count. ‘We will hopefully go into the HLS scheme once the CSS finishes in 2012,’ says Phil. ‘I’m always optimistic about the future and I’m a great believer in farming going through 7 good years then 7 bad.’ ‘I am sure there is a great future for Fay and Abigail to carry on farming at Rectory Farm.’ PHiL JoHnSon & eYeBrooK WiLD BirD FeeDS rectory Farm, great easton Market Harborough Leicestershire Le16 8Sn tel: 01536 770771 email: rectoryfarm@ eyebrookwildbirdfeeds.co.uk Web: www. eyebrookwildbirdfeeds.co.uk

C.N. Spencer Ltd.
Timber Merchants
Are pleased to be suppliers of all Timber Materials and Gates to the Johnson Family and we wish them continued success for the future.

Tel: 01536 373 234 Fax: 01536 373 053
Sudborough Road, Brigstock, Kettering, Northants, NN14 3HP

FarmersMart Summer 2009



DAvID sHAW

ChRis BERRY Talks WiTh YORk EasT COUnTY nFU ViCE-ChaiRMan daVid shaW
When you’re losing money year on year there comes a time when something has to give. that’s what it was like for David Shaw of grey Leys Farm, elvington, near York, five years ago when he decided to pull out of growing cereals. ‘We’d lost money all the time and I just felt I would be better off concentrating on dairy, so everything now is for the cows.’ Given the increased grain price in the past couple of harvests and a recent downturn in milk price David could be forgiven for thinking that things maybe haven’t gone totally his way. But not a bit of it. He has one of the best respected Jersey herds in the north of England, running to some 330 cows, with 270 followers, and the price he receives for supplying Longley Farm stands up well in anyone’s league table. ‘The price I get has stood up well. We can get up around 35ppl and we’re running somewhere around 33ppl at the moment. For other dairy farmers the previous 18 months, up until autumn of last year were very good. Prices had improved to the point where most were starting to make a margin once more. They had gradual increases last year but then the price started to deteriorate.’ The demise of Dairy Farmers of Britain has caused considerable consternation in the dairy world and David has helped as much as he can, wearing both his new hat of vice chairman of the York East County NFU and his vice chairman’s role of the NFU north east dairy board. He is also a director of the Jersey Cattle Society. ‘DFoB’s problems were really shown to have started when they had to rationalise their dairies. I think most dairy farmers were feeling a bit more confident about their lot up until the second half of last year. But when prices started to drop people Jerseys at Elvington maybe felt this was as good as it was going to get. Once you take away confidence then dairying is pretty fragile. Every dairy farmer really needs to be earning around 30% of the price of a litre of milk to be viable in the future.’ David went down the value added route for his milk many years ago, as part of the QMP (Quality Milk Producers) group. He was chairman for 7 years. ‘QMP is all about developing brands and sales of the milk from the 400 channel island producers. It makes political representations, has its own gold top brand and has maintained its market share. It is very much a value added market and my milk is used in Jersey cream, Jersey butter and crème freche by Longley Farm in Huddersfield.’ David’s NFU county area has never traditionally been one that is host to many dairy farms and in the past two years alone even that number has reduced from 48 to 37. He does believe there is a future in dairying though.

niChE MaRkET Milk aT ElVinGTOn

David Shaw

For all your machinery needs
We are pleased to be associated with The Shaw Family and wish them continued success for the future

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Wilfred Scruton Ltd 1-3 The Barley Store King Rudding Lane Riccall, York YO19 6QL Tel: 01757 249799 Fax: 01757 249700 Wilfred Scruton Ltd Providence Foundry Foxholes, Driffield East Riding of Yorkshire YO25 3QQ Tel: 01262 470221 Fax: 01262 470335

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80 FarmersMart Summer 2009

DAvID sHAW
‘The next generation of dairy farmers will be those who want their own lives, as well as dairying. Many of them are well-educated, welltravelled and know that the world is a much bigger place than just a farm full of cows. They want to see it as well, and they’re not about to work for nothing. It is good to see young dairy farmers like Sam Middleton and Tony Wake’s son having a go. Robot milking is definitely the future. There’s certainly no point in having more and more cows, flogging themselves to death just to satisfy the customer who wants a cheap product. That’s what needs sorting out. We need everyone to realise that food is a valuable and important commodity and we should all be doing what we can to preserve our dairy industry.’ David is married to Anne, and they have a daughter Helen, who is a buyer for the Co-op and based in Manchester, and a son Robert who is in his last year of his PhD at Cambridge. David Shaw, grey Leys Farm, elvington, York Yo41 4aX tel: 01904 608278 Mob: 07715 923472 email: david_shaw1@ btconnect.com

PRiEsTlEY liMOUsin RUlEs sUPREME aT skiPTOn

and wish them continued success for the future Testing, servicing, installation & 24hr breakdown service. James: 07792 981018 Bill: 07936 407690 Office: 01904 744582
Limousin Champ West Yorkshire Limousin breeder Steven Priestley added to his trophy cabinet with the supreme champion at Skipton auction Mart’s annual show and sale of pedigree Limousin breeding cattle recently. Steven runs his multi awardwinning Brontemoor herd from Hill Top Farm, Denholme, Bradford, and stepped up on his reserve championship success at last year’s popular Skipton fixture by sending out the 2009 victor, shown by 19-year-old son Richard. The August, 2007-born pedigree bull Brontemoor Carmen is a product of Procters Subaru, bred locally by Procter Farms in Slaidburn, until being bought and successfully used as a sire by the Priestleys for nine years, having produced bulls to 12,000 guineas. He was sold on just a fortnight before the show to farmer J M Mackley, of Folkton, Scarborough, for further pedigree breeding. Out of the home-bred Brontemoor Uhu, the victor sold for the show’s top price of 4,200 guineas to brothers David and Richard Sandham, who run Bradford Waste Traders in Yeadon. The Priestleys were also responsible for the first prize winner in the class for pedigree bulls born in the latter part of 2007. Brontemoor Custer, a son of Sultan out of the home-bred Brontemoor Rolypoly, secured the day’s second highest price of 3,300 guineas when acquired by David Preston, Sannat Hall, Stainforth. Local breeders John and Claire Mason, of Oddacres Farm, Embsay, had a successful day, presenting the reserve champion bull, Oddacres Cavalier, an April, 2007-born son of the renowned French sire Titan. The runner-up was knocked down for 2,450 guineas to A & RA Middleton, Cowan Bridge. Show judge was well-known Limousin breeder David Hill, who Rayson Hall pedigree herd is based at Great Asby, Appleby. Sponsors were Pfizer Animal Health, represented by territory manager James Porritt, and Farmers Mart Magazine, represented by sales manager Ben Walton. The show formed part of Skipton’s annual “Red Pedigree Event” and was followed later in the day by the Northern Limousin Extravaganza – the opening two fixtures in the mart’s prestigious 2009 pedigree beef season. For more information contact the Limousin cattle Society www.limousin.co.uk

We are pleased to be associated with The Shaw Family

ABC Limited have helped David Shaw to reduce cost through Partnership Sourcing
the Agricultural Brokerage Company Ltd has been formed with the intention of supplying it’s members with a full range of products and commodities at reduced market prices. Partnership sourcing allows these members to maximise their profitability and vastly reduce their time on sourcing products.

Core ProDuCtS
• AnimAL FeedstuFFs • FertiLisers • dAiry Hygiene & teAtCAre • siLAge inoCuLAnts • minerALs

NoN-Core ProDuCtS
AnimAL HeALtH / mediCines miLk repLACers proteCtive CLotHing pArLour spAres, miLking Liners equipment inCLuding CuBiCLes, mAts & mAttresses • identiFiCAtion – eAr tAgs, etC • grAss Leys & ForAge seeds • insurAnCe • • • • •

Congratulations to David Shaw. We wish him continued success.
18 Camp Hill Close, Ripon, North Yorkshire HG4 1QY Tel: 01765 608 522 Fax: 01765 608 040 Contact: Maurice Howie

Agricultural Brokerage Company Ltd

FarmersMart Summer 2009

81

HYslop

nORThUMBERland PaRTnERshiP GOEs FOR ORGaniC GROWTh WiTh nEW Mill
JEnniFER MaCkEnziE Talks WiTh sTUaRT hYslOP nEaR BElFORd
the northern counties’ first fully organic blending, milling and pelleting plant is ready to meet the demand for feed from the region’s organic cattle, sheep, pig and poultry farmers this winter and at the same time help to cut down on food miles. Stuart Hyslop and his wife Wendy have been building up a sizeable organic production unit within their diverse range of farming operations near Belford, in Northumberland predominantly producing organic lamb and beef, and through Dawn Meats, supplying Marks & Spencer and ASDA. Their £400,000 investment, whose nearest all-organic plant in the north is believed to be in Derbyshire, meets not only the increase in demand for organic feeds but also tighter regulations preventing organic beef and sheep producers and eventually all livestock and poultry farmers from using feeds which are not Stuart Hyslop totally organic. “Originally, my idea with blending and milling was to add value to our own production – we grow about 800 acres of arable crops, mainly wheat and beans,” says Stuart Hyslop, who is marketing the feed under Northumbrian Organic Feeds. “We need feed for our own livestock enterprise but I also felt there would be demand locally because of the number of livestock farmers converting to organic production.” “There is also more interest from arable farmers which has led to Coastal Grains investing in an organic store at Belford which I use. This all cuts down on food miles which are of

Berwick upon Tweed Tel: 01289 331 904 Fax: 01289 331 530
Alnwick: 01665 510999 Morpeth: 01670 505321 Ponteland: 01661 871570 Rothbury: 01669 620638 Wooler: 01668 281323

Kelso Tel: 01573 225 213 Fax: 01573 226 214

• Full range of Large Animal Veterinary Services • Experienced in Beef, Sheep and Dairy Health Planning to reduce costs of disease and increase farm profitability • Semen testing for bulls & tups • Bovine pregnancy diagnosis, manual and scanner • Roll-over crushes available for treatment of lame bulls and cows • On farm post mortem investigations carried out • Extensive equine facility at Alnwick

Main

Dealer

We have also major franchises for Sumo - Flexifarm - Fleming - Krone - PZ and many others

Wishing Stuart & Wendy Hyslop every success in the future!

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT THE RICKERBY SALES TEAM
East Coast Area Sales Manager: Colin Potts 07774 248867 Alnwick Agricultural Sales: Simon Curry 07785 267941 Hexham: Paul Scandle 07774 248862 Cornhill-on-Tweed: Neil Douglas 07785 921891 Ian Gray 07774 248866 Durham: Richard Eggleston 07734 856957

The AXOS from CLAAS

- Versatile around the farm - Whatever this tractor tackles, it does it right - A strong offering

Willowburn Trading Estate, Alnwick Tel 01665 603631
Rickerby
82 FarmersMart Summer 2009
since 1880

www.rickerby.net

Rickerby

since 1880

HYslop
of the farming operation was the financial benefits. “I’m totally ‘converted’ myself to the system now which is a return to much more traditional farming methods. The benefits are as much from the reduced working capital outlay and input costs, particularly on the arable side, to the premium you are receiving from the commodity,” he said. Depending on market fluctuations, Mr Hyslop says the retail mark-up on his arable crops before deducting production costs is between 20 and 30 per cent of commodity prices. “We began our organic conversion at Wrangham Farm, Lowick in 1999, following with Birchwood Hall, Newham Buildings and Doddington North Moor in 2000. In 2004 we bought Easington Farm and immediately entered it into organic conversion,” he said. “There has been a good margin between conventional and organic prices for livestock and arable crops so you can be making more money by producing a premium, added-value product which is still in a growing market. “We haven’t encountered any major disease in our livestock or disease and weed problems in our arable crops. In fact, we have found our arable crops are less prone to changes in the weather and seasons and are naturally more resilient. “The arable cropping with clover breaks is ideally suited to the type of mixed livestock systems we have in Northumberland.” Another benefit in conversion for the Hyslops was that Easington suited Higher Level Stewardship as there are rare Whinsill grasslands - a primary target for DEFRA. The Whinsill is a primary feature and through grazing restrictions, the aim is to increase the biodiversity of the site and the grassland species. The area is also a tree sparrow hotspot and the rotational wild bird plots, grass margins and undersown spring crops will help provide habitats for these birds top thrive in. The Higher Level Stewardship scheme is helping fund the clearing of the scrub from the Whinsill and protect an ancient iron age settlement near the farm steading. Stuart and Wendy have also agreed to allow permissive access along the Whinsill so other people can benefit from this valuable landscape feature. tel: 01668 213400 www.organic-farm-feed.co.uk

course a current debate.” The new business has led to the employment of a full-time sales and administration man, Robin Scott, who has had 27 years’ experience in the livestock feed business. From an initial survey of organic producers in the North East Stuart found most were struggling to find reasonably priced organic feed in the area. With help from Alex Haywood of the Northumbria Organic Producers, Stuart sent out a survey to all the organic producers in the North East and some very positive responses came back. “Once we had these responses back, I knew that there was a demand for an organic mill in the area and Easington seemed the ideal location, he said.” Now extensive buildings formerly used as a potato store at Easington incorporate a milling and pelleting plant to complement crushing, mixing and weighing equipment producing the blends, all certified under Organic Farmers and Growers and UFAS. The investment attracted a 30 per cent Defra Processing and Marketing grant the application for which was put together by Louis Fell, of George F White, in Alnwick. The development of the second phase

of feed production, the pelleting plant was to meet the demand particularly from organic sheep producers. “There is a requirement from producers who feed sheep mechanically for rolls which can be fed on the ground with no waste so we have added a pelleted range to our current three blends. We can also produce specialised blends to order,” said Mr Hyslop. Feeds are also now being marketed in the region through John Naylor of Carrs Billington Agriculture. A further initiative being considered is the production of grass or lucerne nuts which will meet a local demand and also utilise the plant during the quieter summer months. Because feeds are primarily intended for local use – and raw ingredients are mainly sourced from within the area – retail prices are very competitive. Buyers have the opportunity to further contain costs by collecting feeds themselves instead of bulk or bagged delivery. This winter the aim is to sell over 2,000 tonnes of 100 pc organic blended and compound feeds for beef cattle and sheep from the Hyslops’ Easington Farm which along with their other holdings totals 3,500 acres. Stuart Hyslop admits that originally the attraction of organic conversion

Chathill

ABERDEEN ANGUS

2009 Highland Show Champion
We are pleased to be associated with the Hyslop Family and wish them continued success for the future.

Supply of stubble to stubble operations Supply of pedigree Aberdeen Angus bulls
Pip and Jane Robson Iacs Cottage, Chathill, Northumberland NE67 5EF Tel : (+44) 1665 589363 Mobile : (+44) 78898 74454 Email : [email protected] Website : www.chathillfarm.co.uk

FarmersMart Summer 2009

8

gAlloWAY

GallOWaY FaMilY in ThE Pink WiTh BlEUs
JEnniFER MaCkEnziE VisiTs FORT WilliaM
ian galloway has broken with tradition in his corner of south west Scotland near newton Stewart, with the Bleu du Maine having a strong commercial influence on his sheep enterprise for more than two decades. Ian and his wife Lorraine and his parents Robert and Lindsay farm 306 acres of marginal upland grazing at Clantibuies, Port William, near Newton Stewart. While within a few miles of the farm lies some of the region’s best dairying and agricultural land, Clantibuies has long, cold winters, running at up to 275ft above sea level. And the majority of sheep farmers in the area breed Mules out of Scotch Blackfaces, a tradition the Galloways began to move away from in 1985 when they bought their first ram of the French breed, Bleu du Maine. The sheep enterprise has evolved from pure bred Blackfaces to Mule ewe lamb production, then into Blackface Bleu crosses and now Blackface crossed with the Millennium Bleu. The original Bleu ram was crossed with half the flock and by the next year all the ewes were crossed with the Bleu. “We liked the hardiness of the lambs and we saw the lambing percentage increase. The tups were working as soon as they went out resulting in a more compact lambing with only a few left after 17 days, reducing the workload and producing a more even batch of lambs at sale time,” said Ian, who runs 400 ewes, 360 of which are commercial, plus hoggs. “We started keeping the female Blackface cross Bleu lambs and sold the wethers and we were getting a few pounds a head more for the lambs

Ian and Lorraine Galloway with one finisher in Hereford buying the lot. Then we a good few years of private sales with the females until these were retained as replacements. “To produce good Mules we were having to buy the best black faced ewes costing us £15 a head more than the lighter faced types which still produced us a really good lamb when crossed with the Bleu. Until recently all the ewes were bred on the farm but now Millennium Bleu cross Blackies are bought from Ian’s uncle, William Galloway and are crossed with the Texel and the Bleu is put to the gimmers to give the option of keeping replacements. “I don’t like buying in stock – that’s the reason we started breeding our own rams. We have 20 pedigree Texels and a small Bleu flock,” said Ian. “Although now I’m buying from my uncle, I know the health status of the flock and the breeding of the ram. He is crossing his draft ewes with the Millennium Bleu and more recently the Millennium Bleu. I also want sheep that are hardy.” The Galloways have also been breeding the Millennium Blue – the Beltex cross out of a Bleu ewe – with success selling to 600gns in Carlisle and 580gns at Kelso. Similarly, Texel rams sold commercially in Carlisle have made up to 500gns. All the lambs, with the exception of those retained as replacements, are finished off the farm, selling through Vivers Scotbeef at Annan. The first lambs, finished off grass with no creep, sold live in last July last year averaged 130p per kg. Lambs sold during 2008 averaged 18.9kg deadweight and, despite

Wishing continued success to Ian and Lorraine Galloway Livestock Auction Mart Whitefordhill Ayr KA6 5JW Tel. 01292 262241
84 FarmersMart Summer 2009

Auction Mart Queen Street Newton Stewart DG8 6LH Tel: 01671 402 051

sIMMentAl

Steaks from cattle consigned by Deeside and Buchan beef producers claimed the top four places in the annual Mcintosh Donald/tesco Scotch steak championships at the royal Highland Show. lambing starting in the second week of April, only a handful were left to finish by December 18. They made from 280p a kg to 292p. “I don’t have a big tail-end of lambs because I don’t want lambs competing with the ewes for grazing. There are added costs in keeping lambs that length of time.” The majority of the lambs are finished off grass with later finishers are fed concentrate from mid November as the grass quality declines. Last year the farm was particularly short of grass but still only three quarters of a tonne of concentrate was requirted. The commercial ewes are scanning at 175-180 per cent lambing with up to 165 to 170 per cent weaned with the ewes more than able to cope with twins. The concentrate feed bill last winter for the commercial ewes was £3.70 a head. Ewes are fed from three weeks before lambing, with those with twins being fed after lambing until the second week in May when the grass starts growing. “The Bleus suit our system and are hardy sheep. I think the breed was a victim of its own success in the early days. It is a versatile breed which can be used as a terminal sire but I find it very beneficial for breeding females. “When we had a grading system Bleus did well because they put on flesh without fat.” Other advantages Ian says are that the cast ewes are worth £2 to £3 a head more. “I’m now running more stock than 20 years ago and I would say the sheep enterprise is more profitable than if we were running it as we did originally. We would be running to stand still. As with the sheep, the Galloways have closed their 50-cow spring calving suckler herd. The original Angus and Limousin cross Friesians are now being put to the Simmental bull. Heifers calving at two years old will then be crossed back to the Limousin to prevent the cows becoming too big for the farm’s land. Forty of the herd to include the replacement heifers are housed at weaning time at the beginning of December with the remainder outwintered. All cows calve outside from April 5. Cows are fed silage and straw to manage the size of the calf. Calves not kept as replacements are sold either finished or store, depending on the season, through UA in Stirling, The Galloways have diversified into tourism with a holiday cottage. Honeysuckle Cottage has four bedrooms and can sleep eight. It has three bathrooms. For more details and bookings go to www.gallowayselfcatering.co.uk Two steaks from Simmental cross steers were placed first and second from an initial entry of 166 consigned by leading producers from all over Scotland. The 12 steaks in the final of the competition were described as “superb” by top chef, George McIvor, former chairman of Master Chefs of Great Britain., Scotch beef is recognised as the hallmark of quality beef and the 12 steaks in the final could grace the table of the finest restaurants anywhere in the world,” said Mr McIvor. The top steak came from a two year old Simmental cross steer from Ian

sTEaks FROM siMMEnTal ClaiM TOP TWO

Blackhall and his two sons, Alex and Rodney, of Milton of Durris, Banchory, Aberdeenshire. The 373.4kg steer was home-bred and graded –U for conformation and three for fat cover. The winning trophy and cheque for £1000 was presented to Alex and Rodney by Tesco commercial director, Colin Holmes, who announced that Scotch beef from McIntosh Donald was being introduced into a further 80 Tesco stores in England as from July 1. The Blackhall family have built up a suckler herd of 80 cows over the past four years and use Simmental bulls to breed their own replacements. The runner-up was also from a Simmental cross steer grading –U4L and consigned by Ian Buchan, Overton of Knaven, Maud, Peterhead, Aberdeenshire. This one weighed in at 364.4kg.

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We are pleased to be associated with The Galloway Family and wish them continued success for the future
FarmersMart Summer 2009 85

pRopeRtY

nORThERn land MaRkET REViEW
BY andREW BlaCk MRiCs FaaV
Savills research indicates that in the first 6 months of 2009, the volume of land publicly marketed in England was 6% lower than for the first 6 months of 2008. This hides regional variations including a 28% reduction in volume in the south west of England balanced by a 23% increase in the East Midlands. In the north of England volume was down 18%. In Yorkshire 3341 acres was marketed which was 30% less than in the previous year and less than half of the volume offered in 2007. In particular the south Yorkshire area has been very undersupplied in the last 2 years and public sales on the Yorkshire Wolds are almost non existent although there is more evidence of private transactions. County Durham is the only area where volumes have increased in the last year with 1064 acres marketed so far this year. Volumes are also down in Cumbria by 15% and in Northumberland, 2330 acres is 12% down on last year and almost 40% less than the year before. The overall picture is one of tight supply yet again and demand for equipped commercial farms is now truly national due to the shortage of properties. The bareland market is more variable depending on local demand and availability of finance with arable land selling for between £3,500 and £7,500 per acre.

Swainby grove Farm, Pickhill, thirsk Attractive and well situated residential and investment farm

Low crossett, Bilsdale, near Helmsley Traditional farm set in some of Yorkshires finest countryside

· · · ·

6 bedroom period farmhouse · Traditional farmbuildings 212 acres subject to Agricultural Holdings Act tenancy 30 acres subject to an annual FBT 95 acres of grassland

· · · ·

4 bedroom period house 1 bedroom cottage Coach House and large barn Set in grassland and woodland

About 347 acres (140 ha) guide £1.475 million Field House, Morpeth · · · · 509 acres arable land Central access road Potential for new steading 127 acres sporting rights

In all about 66 acres guide £950,000 Land at Stainsby Hall Farm, Middlesborough · · · · Productive arable land Amenity woodland Fronting onto the A174 / A19 Potential strategic development site

About 656 acres guide £1,850,000 chester le Street · About 127 acres arable land · About 8.7 acres arable land with potential pony paddockuse · 23 acres of grassland About 159 acres guide £650,000 carlton Miniott, thirsk · 35 acres Grade 2 arable land · 5 acre potential paddock on edge of the village Lot 1 guide - £210,000 Lot 2 guide - £50,000

About 230 acres Park Hall Farm,Spinkhill, Sheffield · · · · · 6 bed farmhouse Equine facilities with potential Ring fenced holding About 24 acres More land available

eddlethorpe grange,Malton · · · · · 5 Bed main house 1 Bed cottage Equestrian buildings Up to 72 acres In lots

For further information or a free no obligation appraisal of your property, please contact: andrew Black or Sarah Hinchliffe, Savills (L&P) Ltd, 13-15 MicklegateYork Yo1 6JH t: 01904 617800 F: 01904 617801 www.savills.com 8 FarmersMart Summer 2009

pRopeRtY

HarWooD DaLe, ScarBoroUgH – 17 acreS

LanD For SaLe 148 acreS, FiLeY, nortH YorKSHire
Productive Arable Land. SPS Included

BeaUtiFULLY SitUateD, iMMacULate SMaLLHoLDing - 17 acreS
• Grade II Listed, 6 Bedroom Farmhouse • Extensive Range of Traditional Stone Barns (8,000sq.ft) • Attractive Grounds and Courtyard Garden • 17 acres Grassland and Woodland.

guide Price: £630,000 (£4239/acre)

35.5 acreS, StaintonDaLe, nortH YorKSHire
Well Fenced and Productive Grassland

gUiDe Price: £800,000

guide Price: £150,000. cLoSing Date: 12pm, 31st July 2009

33.93 acreS, naFFerton, DriFFieLD
Productive Grassland/Arable, with 13,200 sq,ft Clear Span Buildings, Railed Paddocks and Menage.

LiLLing, near YorK - 232 acreS

ProDUctiVe araBLe FarM in tHe VaLe oF YorK – 232 acreS
• Traditional 4 Bedroom House, with Potential to Extend. • Range of Farm buildings. • Approx. 227 Acres of Productive Arable Land in a Ring Fence. • River frontage, Ponds and Amenity Woodland. • SFP Included. • Rural Location, yet close to York.

5.33 acreS anD BUiLDingS, great BarUgH, MaLton
Productive and Well Fenced Grassland with Range of Traditional Buildings and 6 Stables.

closing Date: 12pm, 17th JULY 2009. 12.5 acreS and 45’x 35’ g.P. BUiLDing, FLaXton, YorK
Productive Edge of Village Grassland and General Purpose Building.

For SaLe BY PriVate treatY aS a WHoLe or in 6 LotS

guide Price: £160,000 5.39 acreS, aMPLeFortH, YorK
Attractive Edge of Village Paddock.

guide Price: £25,000
near DriFFieLD, eaSt YorKSHire - 190 acreS

FULLY eQUiPPeD araBLe/ LiFeStYLe FarM WitH conVerteD BarnS ProViDing accoMMoDation FaciLitieS – 190 acreS
• South facing 4 Bedroom Farmhouse. • Courtyard of Traditional Barns amounting to over 7,000sq. ft that provide business and accommodation facilities. • Approx 165 Acres of Arable and Grassland. SFP Included. • Extensive Range of Modern Farm Buildings. • Equestrian Facilities: Stabling, Ménage, Post and Railed Paddocks. • 25 Acres Recently Planted Woodland and Trout Pond.

5 acreS, naWton, HeLMSLeY
Post and Rail Fenced Edge of Village Paddock Land.

guide Price: £40,000 aUction reSULt: 1.78 acreS – SLingSBY, MaLton guide Price: £15,000 SoLD For £35,500 (130% oVer gUiDe) View a full list of farms, smallholdings and land at: www.cundalls.co.uk

For SaLe aS a WHoLe or in tWo LotS

15 Market Place, Malton, North Yorkshire YO17 7LP t: 01653 697820 F: 01653 698305 e: [email protected] 40 Burgate, Pickering, North Yorkshire YO18 7AU t: 01751 472766 F: 01751 472992 e: [email protected] 10 Gillygate, York YO31 7EQ t: 01904 626705 F: 01904 673301 e: [email protected]

www.cundalls.co.uk
FarmersMart Summer 2009 8

coMpetItIon

kids CORnER
competition winners will receive a case iH Puma 210 and a new Holland t7060 tractor manufactured by Britain’s. For your chance to win complete the show inspired word search (to the right) and send to Christian Gallon, The Farmers Mart, Office 1, 40 Stockhill Road, Greengates, Bradford BD10 9AX Find the following names:

Y A F C D L E I F F I R D P P W

O Z G P Q Q G O A C O N O S E D

R O Y A L A Z G J J I Z D S N B

K F H Y L C L L F U L A T L R A

S M U X U F A D N B V M N M I K

H U O Q M O P X O N O A S P T E

I Z X E L A D E Y R G U O Q H W

R G C F F G S O L O L O S M O E

E S A T F A P A E F P O N Z M L

F A Z M X N N A G S X I N X S L

S N O N I D D E D A L E G A G O

A C F N F N S I F R R T W Y G L

N H A L I F A X I G E S M P I E

YORkshiRE dRiFFiEld RYEdalE haliFaX WEsTMORland niddERdalE PEnRiTh ROYal BakEWEll

£50 M&s VOUChER COMPETiTiOn
Well done to avril Mcgregor at Dalefoot, Leyburn. the answers to the last competition were: 1. 150 years 2. Driffield 3. Winn Family For a chance to win £50 M&S vouchers answer the following questions: 1. Who is Simone’s Nephew one of the young farmers model competition at the Yorkshire show? 2. How many years are IAE celebrating trading? 3. Who is the Show Director at Driffield Send all answers by 31st august 2009 to: the Farmers Mart competition Unit 1, 40 Stockhill road greengates, Bradford BD10 9aX or e-mail [email protected]

lasT issUE’s kid’s CORnER sOlUTiOn
Congratulations to James Sanderson of Lower Highfield Farm at Halton, Nr Lancaster who won last month’s Kids Corner
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Q U

2 3

B a a o
4 5

a W o o F i
6

M

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7

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FarmersMart Summer 2009

MAcHIneRY

WhY UsE a lOGiC WEEd WiPER?
Put simply: it works! Logic’s weed wiper, contact 2000, represents the very best in weed wiping technology and is a huge advance over old-style weed wipers which rely on wicks or carpet-style rollers. At the heart of the system is Logic’s unique cylindrical brush applicator. The specially chosen long fibres allow saturation levels to remain high while at the same time eliminating unwanted dripping. Approximately 2 - 2.5 litres of herbicide can be carried by a standard Contact 2000 brush before over-saturation occurs. The brush contra-rotates so that as it meets the tall weed, the chemical is ‘painted’ up the plant and on the underside of the leaf. The unique long fibre bristles on the Contact 2000 brush penetrate between the weed stems (particularly important where growth is dense) delivering a one-pass dose to the weed. This is an important benefit of the Contact 2000 - other systems often require wiping to be done in two directions to provide sufficient contact. The Contact 2000 thus maximises your work rate and minimises chemical use – and with no ‘drift’ even in breezy weather can be used right up

to boundaries with no over-spray. Every aspect of the Contact 2000 has been designed for a purpose: • the offsettable draw bar with ‘swan neck’ design minimises flattening of the plant (and thus shocking it) in advance of the wiper. this arrangement also allows easy working under trees and on slopes • the unique brush applicator gives unrivalled plant contact

allowing higher work rates and lower chemical concentration to be used for an effective kill • the herbicide tank can be mounted on an atV rack, or on the drawbar if the towing vehicle requires • the metering unit is accurate and provides a controllable method of keeping the brush system fully loaded with chemical • the spray tank is made from

high-impact, rotational-moulded plastic—strong and durable • Professional-quality pumps, spray lines and nozzles are used throughout – the positive pressure system prevents dripping and helps avoid over-saturation. See more at Logictoday.co.uk or contact Logic Manufacturing on 01434 606661 for more details.

FarmersMart Summer 2009

8

contractorS gUiDe SUMMER 2009
HESSTON SQUARE BALING “MINI”, “MIDI”, or “BIG” GRASS TEDDING AND RAKING
A L L M A I Z E O P E R AT I O N S F R O M S E E D TO C L A M P

Covering all areas of N o r t h & E a s t Yo r k s h i r e
TEL: 01347 811 140 07831 335 697

RICHARD BURNISTON & SON
AGRICULTURAL CONTRACTORS & ENGINEERS

Thomas Dirom
Agricultural Contractor
Bobcat Hire with Driver • Tractor & Dump Trailer Large Rear Discharge Muck Spreader • Ploughing, Combination Drilling Forage Wagon Silaging • 230hp Tractor Hire with Driver

• ROUND & SQUARE BALING & WRAPPING • SUGAR BEET DRILLING • 6 ROW HOLMER TANKER BEET HARVESTER • STUBBLE TO STUBBLE

TEL: 07595 070 834 OR 01904 738 245
DEUTZ FAHR TRACTORS & TELEHANDLERS RATIONAL BEET HARVESTERS & SPARES

Quality work guaranteed!

Tel: Tom on 07787 565298

KBA AGRICULTURAL CONTRACTORS
• SILAGE - WHOLE OR PART JOB • SLURRY TANKING & UMBILICAL SPREADING WITH INJECTORS • WHOLE CROP & MAIZE OR SPLASH PLATE • HARVESTING • TRACTOR HIRE - WITH OR • MUCK SPREADING WITHOUT DRIVER

Stalker Agricultural Contractors
Ratten Castle, Sowerby Row, Carlisle, Cumbria CA4 0QG Tel: 016974 762 83 / Mob: 07765 401 993 • Silage-Making • Grass Silage • Whole Crop & Maize Silage • Ploughing • Combination Drilling

TEL: 01524 762 467 | MOB: 07899 857 895

If you would like to be included in our Autumn 2009 Guide please contact Grahame Kraft on 01757 229 630
0 FarmersMart Summer 2009

ww

fo r w. more ed wa infor rd mat str ion

ail er visit s.c o.u k

Moor Lane, Full Sutton, York, YO41 1HX Tel: 01759 373062 / 01759 368563 (evening) Fax: 01759 372929 Web: www.edwardstrailers.co.uk