The Farmers Mart Apr/May 2015 - Issue 39 | Page 48

Tom Boothman

Going
native in
the Dales

Chris Berry meets Tom Boothman
at Linton in Craven, who is
committed to both his farming
life, native breeds and the future
of the glorious Yorkshire Dales.
»»There was a time when
farmers’ sons used to talk
of never having wanted to
do anything else but farm.
In today’s world though,
with greater pressures and
increased regulation, it seems
many are finding an easier life
can be had elsewhere.
Tom Boothman of Linton
Hall Farm, Linton in Craven just
off the Grassington-Burnsall
road is firmly sticking to his
roots. He has never wanted
to be anything but a farmer
and his life appears to mirror
that of the archetypal previous
generations of Dales farmers
when he tells of not having
taken a holiday in 20 years and
that when he’s not farming his
main hobby is sleeping! But this
does not mean Tom is some
form of agricultural recluse.
He is regularly seen at
Craven Cattle Mart trading

beef and sheep; he is involved
with projects in the Yorkshire
Dales National Park; he has
developed property in the
beautiful village where he lives
and he takes an active role in
the parish council. This is not
a farmer who purely tends his
flock and herd - although you
can see that he likes nothing
better than getting on his
quad bike to check on their
progress.
Tom has had tough times too.
When foot and mouth disease
was raging around the Craven
area in 2001 all of his livestock
were destroyed in a contiguous
cull. Tom recalls it as a very
hard time but also a time to
gather his thoughts and make
changes for the way ahead. Up
until 2001 he ran a substantial
flock of 600 Swaledale ewes
and a commercial herd of
continental suckler cows.

48 Apr/May 2015 www.farmers-mart.co.uk

He told me: “My goal after
foot and mouth was to provide
a sustainable future for Linton
Hall Farm and I worked with
a dedicated team of advisers
from David Hill’s in Skipton.
We succeeded in obtaining
planning permission to convert
several barns in the village
that no longer met agricultural
requirements, into dwellings.”
You might be thinking that
this was simply a case of Tom
cashing in on his assets and
perhaps not having anything
to do with the properties once
sold, but that is certainly not
the way Tom goes about his
business. He cares not just

for his village but also for the
people who live there.
“Foster Builders specialise in
conversions. It is a local company
which carried out the work
exceptionally well. We now let
out the properties to local people
who enrich our small Dales
community on full term lets.
That means the properties are
retained as part of the farm and
that we are just farming them in a
different way. We now have five
such properties,” he explained.
Livestock is still his first love
and Tom admits very real delight
at the work that has been carried
out just up the road from his
farmhouse.