The Farmers Mart Aug/Sep 2015 - Issue 41 | Page 48

Low Stonehills Farm ROBERT D WEBSTER LTD Contact us to discuss your needs... Kilham: 01262 420 226 New Sales • Used Sales • Parts & Service EAST YORKSHIRES HARVEST SPECIALIST Pleased to be associated with Geoff Riby of Low Stonehills Farm for over 20 years Robert D. Webster Ltd are the New Holland dealers in East Yorkshire ... we sell New Holland combines, telehandlers, tractors and balers FRANK HILL & SON CHARTERED SURVEYORS, AUCTIONEERS & VALUERS Ralph Ward FRICS FAAV, Charles Hill FNAEA SCV, Philip Mortimer BSc 18 MARKET PLACE, PATRINGTON, HULL TELEPHONE [phone] WEB: www.frankhillandson.co.uk | EMAIL: [email protected] ALSO AT HULL CATTLE MARKET, DUNSWELL THANK Geoff Riby of Low Stone Hills Farm FOR HIS CONTINUING SUPPORT 48 Aug/Sep 2015 www.farmers-mart.co.uk Keep calm – and work with the environment, not against it »»Ian Wilkinson headed for the East Yorkshire seaside to meet Geoff Riby of Low Stonehills Farm, Fraisthorpe, Bridlington, the East Yorkshire regional winner of the prestigious Yorkshire Agricultural Society Tye trophy. As is clear in this issue of The Farmers Mart, on our travels we have met several Tye Trophy winners all of whom share common themes - a genuine passion for farming, commitment to the environment and an understanding of the importance of diversity - and who certainly demonstrate an outwardly lack of the levels of stress which affects many people in this industry. My own view is that this apparent absence of stress stems from having a carefully thought out plan in place - and the confidence to make it happen. Geoff Riby is a good example of this: very calm and assured, he has farmed for many years, previously renting a farm at Hutton’s Ambo in North Yorkshire, in partnership with Norman Kirkwood, from whom he says he learned a great deal. This was particularly invaluable as when he was just 10 years old, Geoff sadly lost his father in an accident. Geoff and his family came to Low Stone Hills Farm, Fraisthorpe, just south of Bridlington, 24 years ago. The land here has been farmed for centuries. At Low Stone, Geoff has built up a diverse operation with a strong emphasis on the conservation of the countryside and wildlife, the reason he was nominated for the Tye Trophy award - although he says he still has no idea who nominated him!