The Farmers Mart Apr-May 2019 - Issue 62 | Page 56
56 SWITHENS FARM
APR/MAY 2019 • farmers-mart.co.uk
FAMILY ATTRACTION IS THE NEW
FARMING BUSINESS IN ROTHWELL
Chris Berry talks with the Broadheads of Swithens Farm.
SOMETIMES it’s not the first idea you have
that proves the winner, but it can lead you on
to the one that turns the trick. At Swithens
Farm in Rothwell between Leeds and
Wakefield, the generations of the Broadhead
family have been through several reincarna-
tions before hitting their best current formula
as a farm visitor attraction.
Ian Broadhead’s parents Geoff and Jill
took the tenancy 58 years ago that became
the owned 150 acres Ian and Angela pur-
chased in two blocks of 60 acres 11 years
ago and the other 90 acres 7 years ago.
When his parents had the farm they had
dairy cows until the mid-70s before moving
into the growing of vegetables and rhubarb,
the area being part of the famed Rhubarb
Triangle. Beef cattle, often topping the
market at York, were fattened, but prevail-
ing winds from a local leadworks became
problematic and for years the farm became
wholly arable before turning to pigs and
arable producing 2500 pigs per year until
the early 1990s.
Ian’s mum started the on-farm livery that
Ian and Angela’s daughter Nicola runs today
with 90 horses in the stables from others
plus Nicola, Angela and their other daughter
Sam each having their own. Nicola and
Angela compete in dressage while Sam is a
show jumper.
‘How Ian and I first met was when I had
my horse in his mum’s stables. I was a
Rothwell townie and this was the nearest
place to keep my horse,’ says Angela. ‘We
married in 1984 and when we went out of
pigs Ian converted the pig pens into stables
building up the livery yard to 100. When we
reached that number I told him if he built
another I was divorcing him!’
When the couple started looking for
another source of income to make the farm
viable they took notice of their friends who
had set up Blacker Hall Farm Shop at Calder
Grove. Now one of the finest food and wine
farm shops in the country.
‘They said we should open one too,’ says
Angela. ‘So we put up a new building and
opened 8 years ago in 2011, but it never took
off. The butcher’s shop side has always
ticked over nicely but what we found was
the part we were allowing the public to
walk around for free, through the animals in
the cow shed, was our unique selling point.
People love looking at animals and learn-
ing about them. That’s when the penny
dropped.’
‘We still only charge £4 entry, which is
very cheap, and we have added so many
different breeds of animal from traditional
farm animals to meerkats, alpacas, llamas,
rabbits and guinea pigs. Sam took over
what is now the petting side 4 years ago
and it’s just going crazy. Last year we had
over 50,000 visitors.’
Ian, who works alongside son-in-law
John, aka Ernie, has felt a new lease of life
through the public being around the farm.
‘I like talking to everyone about the
animals,’ says Ian. ‘We were used to talking
with livery customers, but this is different
as people have a thirst for knowledge and
when you see the looks on some of the
faces of adults as much as the children
Tyres for Agricultural, Commercial, Plant & Cars
Proud suppliers to Swithens Farm, wishing them continued success.
One of the largest John Deere & agricultural machinery
dealers in the North of England, Yorkshire & Lincolnshire
Darrington
01977 795241 Stockton
01740 630254 Leyburn
01969 621369 Brigg
01652 650600
Keighley
01535 632661 Louth
01507 617588 Ottringham
01964 622351 Market Weighton
01430 872421
Ripon
01765 692255 Malton
01653 695094 Tadcaster
01937 835454 Retford
01777 704823
Mitas AC 65
Goodyear Super Traction
Radial Vintage Tyre
Trelleborg TH400
Goodyear Traction Sure
Grip Vintage Tractor Tyre
FITTING SERVICE COVERING THE NORTH OF ENGLAND - 24/7 CALL OUT SERVICE
01274 585427 | [email protected] | www.britishrubberco.co.uk
it is really special. We now have a herd
of 15 suckler cows that we are wanting
to build up to 30 and want to move to-
wards the Beef Shorthorn; we also have a
commercial flock of 140 Charollais X Texel
breeding ewes put to the Texel tup and 20
breeding sows that are largely Large Black
X Landrace with a couple of Tamworth and
Saddlebacks. We’re continually adding to
our rare sheep breeds with Oxford Down,
Jacob, Kerry Hill, Hebridean and Cameroon
from Africa. We supply our own meat for
the farm shop and sell any surplus pigs,
cattle and lambs as stores at Selby Mart.’
‘We now structure lambing, calving and
farrowing around the school holidays to
provide families with that really lovely ex-
S J Barker
Agricultural Contractors
Morley, West Yorkshire
Mowing, Baling and Wrapping
Autumn Cultivation Work
Haylage and Straw Supplies
Hedgecutting
Tractor and Tanker Hire
Any enquiries phone Steve on
07768 845776