The Farmers Mart Aug/Sep 2015 - Issue 41 | Page 61

Peter Sharp & Sons

We are pleased to be associated with Peter Sharp and Sons and wish him continued success in the future.

of the farmhouse to give Jonty
space for his own family and
they went into the coach house
of this former gentleman’s
residence.
Peter has farmed alongside
Jonty and together they have
built the herd up to 125 Holstein
milkers plus followers and
replacements. Even at 80, Peter
still likes to keep his hand in.
The remainder of the 200 acre
farm is used for grass and silage.
They would like to extend the
herd more but much of the land
around is owned and it very
rarely comes up for sale.
CARE FOR THE
ENVIRONMENT, THE
COMMUNITY AND
THE CATTLE
Looking after the
environment is important to
them, walls are maintained,
horse-friendly gates installed,
wild flowers planted in the
nearby quarry (the site of the
Wellington crash), bridleways
maintained . People can and
do walk their dogs on the land,
although they had to close a
couple of the paths owing to
the high level of dog mess left
on the paths and sometimes in
the fields. Many of the public
who are dog owners are
unaware that parasites in dog
mess can cause Neosporosis

which is a major cause of
abortion in cattle - and once
infected is virtually possible to
eradicate.
When some paths were
fenced off, this met with a
certain amount of opposition
but when you consider that
over a period of years Jonty
worked out they lost more than
£260,000 in cattle which is very
serious for any dairy farmer
given today’s margins. Things
are much better now, however,
and local people still have
ample room to walk and enjoy
Oakworth’s countryside.
Jonty and Peter really have
embraced technology and
looked to future proof the farm
which has come not a moment
too soon as we have seen milk
prices fall to a pitiful 23p a litre,
though since my visit the recent
farming crisis summits have led
to some improvements in the
situation.
“Thank God we own our
land,” Jonty said.
DIVERSIFICATION &
TECHNOLOGY
Two areas of diversification
are proving to be absolutely
invaluable. Firstly, they allowed
a mobile phone mast to be
sited on the farm which brings
in valuable revenue. But by far
the best venture was three

• Cattle Slats
• Beams/Pillars
• Feed Troughs
• Slurry Channels
• Retaining Walls
• Portable Cubicles
Tel. [phone]
Fax. [phone]
www.wolfendenconcreteltd.co.uk
Eden Works, Colne Road, Kelbrook,
Lancashire, BB18 6SY
Proud to be associated with Peter Sharp & Son

The farmers supplier of choice
with 35 years of experience

www.farmers-mart.co.uk Aug/Sep 2015 61