Meet A Farmer There is no such thing as a typical British farmer but here are a few to be going on with, starting off our own Peak District farmers Robert and Sarah Helliwell.
Name: Robert and Sarah Helliwell From: Upper Booth Farm,Hope Valley,Derbyshire Produces: 400 Swaledale Sheep and Belted Galloway cattle. Favourite Job: Checking the sheep while taking in the view. Least Favourite Job: Trimming feet. Best thing about farming: Being able to mix work & family. Worst thing about farming: The insecurity.
Name: Paul Temple Age: 42 From: Wold Farm,Driffield,Yorkshire Produces: Wheat for bread making and animal feed.Oilseeds for vegetable oil. Peas for canning. Favourite Job: Driving the combine. Least Favourite Job: Form filling. Best thing about farming: Working outdoors amongst nature through the different seasons. There is always something interesting to see from the tractor cab. Worst thing about farming: The rubbish you have to read in the papers about farmers not caring about the wildlife on their farms.
Name: Paul and John Richards Age: 44 and 46 From: Splattenridden Farm, Hayle, Cornwall Produces: Milking 150 cows; growing crops such as early potatoes and cauliflowers which suit the mild Cornish winters. Favourite Job: Paul – Bringing the cows in to milk at sunrise on a early summer morning. John – harvesting new potatoes while catching a good price. Least Favourite Job: Both – visiting the bank manager. Best thing about farming: The fact that the our farm is also the family home, where we grew up and where the next generation grows up. Worst thing about farming (both say): The time it takes my brother to realise I was right after all.
Name:David Wilkin Age: 45 From:Cooks Green Farm, Little Clacton, Essex. Produces: Finished pigs. Carries out owl conservation projects on many neighbouring farms. Favourite Job:I genuinely like looking after pigs. If you keep pigs happy then you keep them healthy. Least Favourite Job: Spreading pig muck on the land. Best thing about farming: Barn Owl conservation is one of my passions. Having farmers as friends and neighbours gives me the chance to carry out conservation on lots of farms. Worst thing about farming:The fact that consumers tend to ignore my high welfare pig meat and just buy the cheapest, usually from abroad.
Name: John Cresswell Age: 38 From: Belford,Northumberland Produces: Deer and Sheep. Favourite Job: Easy successful lambing on a warm spring day. Least Favourite Job: Difficult lambing during a cold, windy late winters day. Best thing about farming: Working outside in the beautiful Northumberland Hills. Worst thing about farming: Clearing up tourist litter. Produces: Milking 150 cows; growing crops such as early potatoes and cauliflowers which suit the mild Cornish winters. Favourite Job: Paul – Bringing the cows in to milk at sunrise on a early summer morning. John – harvesting new potatoes while catching a good price. Least Favourite Job: Both – visiting the bank manager. Best thing about farming: The fact that the our farm is also the family home, where we grew up and where the next generation grows up. Worst thing about farming (both say): The time it takes my brother to realise I was right after all.
Name:Hugh Broad Age: 37 From: Woodhead Farm, East Lothian,Scotland Produces: Malting barley for beer production and wheat for whisky distilling. Favourite Job: Ploughing, it’s a demanding job but rewarding when you get it spot on. Least Favourite Job: Any time you get barley dust down your neck, the itching can make a sane man go mad. Best thing about farming: After a long day driving the combine during harvest, relaxing with a wee dram or a beer and thinking “without farmers like me, this stuff wouldn’t exist”ý. Worst thing about farming: The idea that the only way to survive is to farm more and more acres. I enjoy having lots of farming neighbours. I don’t like the dog eat dog mentality.