58 SHORTWAITE FARM APR / MAY 2021 • farmers-mart . co . uk
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HIGH HEALTH DAIRY HERD IN THE ESK VALLEY
Chris Berry talks with Chris Foster of Lealholm .
THE Sunday Times recently described Lealholm as the prettiest village in Yorkshire . It has fantastic countryside all around and is nestled in the Esk Valley where the railway Middlesbrough- Whitby railway line adds to the picture .
This is where the Foster family has farmed for four generations since George Foster arrived at Shortwaite Farm , tenanted from the Mulgrave Estate , from a smallholding at Ugthorpe in 1927 .
Today it is Chris Foster who runs the farm in partnership with his dad Colin and mum Audrey . Last year the Fosters ’ dairy herd , which now runs to 220 pedigree Holsteins was runner-up in the Semex UK Healthiest Herd 2020 .
‘ We have always had dairy cows here ,’ said Chris . ‘ Originally there were just eight Northern Dairy Shorthorns , then we went to British Friesians before moving to Holsteins in the mid-80s . Dad took on the running of the farm in 1966 when he was 17 years old . It had previously been my granddad Ralph who had run it and before that he and his brother Bernard had farmed together .’
‘ Dad was keen and wanted to push it on . He took the numbers up from 16-100 . His brother Alan farmed in partnership with him at Coquet Nook Farm also on the estate at Coquet Nook Farm where he had sheep , beef and arable , but dad always had dairy .’
Following his studies in agriculture at Edinburgh University
Chris moved to Cheshire where he took up a role with the dairy consultancy firm Promar .
‘ I assisted other dairy farmers with compliance , cash flow , management , rationing , cow diets , analysis of silage and stayed in Cheshire seven years until coming back to Lealholm in 2010 .’
‘ At that time the farm was at 100 cows and the opportunity had come up to purchase 135 acres on a neighbouring farm just across the beck . It was good cropping land with 75 acres of good sandy loam that would grow continuous wheats plus 20 acres of woodland and 40 acres of banks . We sell some wheat and also crimp , putting it into the TMR ration in a BvL tub mixer .’
Continued on page 60
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