The Farmers Mart Aug/Sep 2016 - Issue 47 | Page 46

Farm Name
Cottage
Farm

Going with the Grain
in Langthorpe
Chris Berry talks with Rob Henley of Cottage Farm
» WHEN ROB HENLEY SET
out on his farming career path,
he hadn’t intended running his
family’s 320-acre predominantly
arable, Cottage Farm near
Langthorpe so soon. But fate
took a hand when his father,
Chris tragically died from
cancer two years ago at only 48
years old.
“It had always been my
intention to come back home
in my thirties but here I am
now at 26 years of age,” Rob
explained. “I’d studied for my
National Diploma in Land Based
Technology and Engineering at
Bishop Burton College because
I had taken the view that I didn’t
just want to go and learn about
crops and animals. I’d made the
decision to go away and add
another string to my bow by
learning a trade. After college
I’d started with Spray Trac in
Marton-cum-Grafton and had

only just joined Amazone in
Doncaster when we found out
about dad. I came back home in
June 2012.
“I felt an immediate
responsibility. Things had to
be kept going and crops keep
growing. We couldn’t just shut
down everything for three
months. That’s not how farming
works. I’ve had an involvement
with the farm since I was 13
and dad always taught me
as he went along. He was a
well-respected farmer. The
office side has probably been
the steeper learning curve but
I have a lot of people I can call
on, both professionals and
family, and there’s a lot of help
out there if you look for it. Our
landlords Newby Hall have
been superb over everything.”
Rob’s cropping includes
wheat, barley, oilseed rape,
beans and fodder beet.

46 Aug/Sep 2016 www.farmers-mart.co.uk

“Half our acreage is winter
wheat and we’re growing
Revelation and Leeds, which
is new to us this year. We also
grow some spring wheat. Our
winter barley varieties are
Tower and Cassia and takes up
around a quarter of our arable
cropping. Ovation is an older
oilseed rape variety and we’re
still running with it as it has
done consistently well. Oilseed
rape, beans and fodder beet
are the break crops that mean
our rotation is two wheats,
barley and a break. We’re
also fortunate that our land is
higher than most around here
as many others suffered from
flooding last winter.
“Last year’s harvest was a
record year with both wheat
and barley producing just over
4.5 tonnes per acre and two
tonnes per acre with oilseed
rape. We’re on good Grade

2 land and I believe we have
the potential to improve yield
further especially on wheats.
I’d also like to improve the
quality of our grain as I feel we
have the ability to grow good
bread wheat. At the moment
everything is grown as feed
and goes to Ripon Select
Foods.
“With crops there is always
the desire to achieve more and
I’m no different. If you farm the
land right by using the correct
inputs then you can grow more
feed. I’m really interested in
that side of things. In today’s
terms this is a small arable
farm so the more I can do
with it in terms of greater
production is where I need to
go. I’m constantly working with
my agronomist and nutritionist,
attending trade shows and
crop demonstrations in order
to keep learning.”