IF you ’ re up on the A66 travelling between Scotch Corner and Cumbria you ’ ll have passed Cross Lanes Organic Farm Shop and Café , but you ’ ll probably not have noticed the farm that supplies it with beef , lamb and pork .

Simon Hare runs the organic farming enterprise at Trees House Farm in Brignall where he has grown a herd of 110 Beef Shorthorn suckler cows and also has a dozen breeding sows and a flock of 150 breeding ewes across today ’ s farming operation of 360 acres , which includes the tenanted acreage at Trees House and 120 acres that his father bought at Dent House Farm around 40 years ago .

It ’ s all a lot different to just four years ago when it was a dairy farm milking 120 black and white cows .

‘ I changed it more for a better family and work balance rather than the milk price or for financial reasons ,’ said Simon . ‘ I found dairying so tying and as my father , who is now 82 , was quite understandably doing far less I could see that potentially I would need to take on somebody else . I had also reached the point where I wanted more out of life and my heart just wasn ’ t in it .’

‘ I ’ d already moved the farm to going organic and had started a Beef Shorthorn herd during 2009-10 , producing our own beef from grass . I ’ d been looking for cows that were easy to manage and was quite

lucky that there was someone just the other side of Barnard Castle who was selling at the time , as he was cutting back a little . I bought my starter herd in two lots , firstly a group of 10 in-calf heifers and shortly afterwards another 8 also in-calf heifers .’

Simon ’ s herd , as well as being organic , is now officially certified through Pasture for Life . He ’ s part of the Pasture for Life Forum .

‘ It is holistic grazing . We let the grass grow until it is almost going to seed before putting the cattle back on , allowing it to replenish its nutrients . The cattle move every day , while the young stock and fattening groups will move twice a day . We just take down the electric fence and they walk on to the next pasture .’

Using a rotational grazing system does not make life easy for those who use AI , but Simon has his herd on natural service and has three bulls .

‘ I prefer bulling for higher conception rate . I have the bulls running with the 110 cows from 1 July to the middle of September with spring calving from around April 10 over two months . I ’ ve built up the herd naturally and slowly over the past 11 years . I currently have a three-year old bull which I bought last

year and two four-year old bulls which will go after this year ’ s bulling season .’

Simon looks for the traditional type that are easy fleshing .

‘ We could run our cattle on the land throughout the year as they are a hardy breed and have the potential for staying out and improving the soil , but we bring them in usually at the end of November and they go out again during the middle to the end of March . It gives the grass a greater rest period .’

‘ My father ’ s way was to put fertiliser on the grass using sprays . His thoughts when I was going organic were ‘ how are you going to grow grass if you don ’ t put it on ?’ It was his way of keeping the farm tidy .’

Simon ’ s beef produced by his suckler herd goes at between 18-30 months , with one-third of what is produced going through Cross Lanes and the other twothirds on an organic beef contract with Dawn Meats .

‘ The cattle that grow better , quicker will go at 18 months , but most go between 24-30 months . We receive a premium from Dawn Meats and while we judge when they go largely by the eye , they are normally around 600 kilos liveweight , coming in at around 320 kilos deadweight .’