The Farmers Mart Aug-Sep 2019 - Issue 64 | Page 13

FAR BARSEY FARM & FARM SHOP 13 • AUG/SEP 2019 And then they had a fight to restock for next day – so no sleep on that first night, just butchering, cooking, baking and making burgers. What an amazing start, all on the back of word of mouth and a little local advertising. Oh, I nearly forgot, John, already a master of many trades and at the humble age of 49 retrained as a butcher, would you believe. Ruth was already slightly ahead having trained as a chef many years before. In 2015 they refurbished the original shop to upgrade the butchery facilities: new fridges, better shelving and a fresh décor. You walk in today and it’s as if the refurb was completed yesterday, with mouth-watering displays of everything you would expect from a farm shop; fresh fruit and vegetables, cakes , handmade chocolates, delectable desserts, wide range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, even designer gins now, yoghurt, gifts, jams and chutneys, extensive range of cheese plus much more. Their range of ready prepared cook from frozen meals are of a high standard and deli- cious and even Ruth’s niece’s own ice cream brand, Just Jenny’s. Everything you would expect from today’s traditional/ modern farm shop. However, to thrive in a Yorkshire village you have to have those vital ingredients Quality and Good Prices - this Far Barsey has in spades. Katy and Rachae have been involved with the shop since day one and nowadays the two of them run the shop. Rachael looks after the accounts, finance and the ordering. Katy runs the shop, is front of house and manages all the staff, whilst juggling duties as a young mum although it’s now easier as they are both at school now. Both girls can turn their hand to anything. They have a dedicated band of part-time staff to help and advise customers. The shop is open Tuesday to Saturday from 9.30am to 5.30pm – closing at 4 pm on Saturday. So, with such an exacting side of the business as the farm shop how does the 150 acres of farm and 10 acres of woodland function? Surely John can’t do it all? The answer is yes, John does a lot of work on the farm as Ruth does - they both prefer being in the fresh air on the farm. John said to me he loves doing the fencing as you can really see what you have done. The lynch pin of the farm is Richard, John’s son-in-law, daughter Katy’s husband – now here is a man who takes hard work to another level and as John says “He is unique and invaluable” Richard already has a full-time job working for GENUS. What, I hear you say, yes, Richard is a real seven-day farming man. He looks after thousands of cattle across West Yorkshire. He takes absolute pride in knowing the herds and farmers personally, as if all the animals were his own. He often visits farms on his day off. He is always up around five before setting off on GENUS business. He is generally back at around 3.30 then he works back on the farm till late. He will always find time to see his children no matter what needs doing on the farm. He does know all of the home herd personally. ‘The Barkisland Herd’ supplies the high-quality beef for the shop. As I said before, thanks to Richard the cattle have a high health status and are annually tested to ensure the highest animal welfare. ‘ The high quality of the meat and succulent taste is in no small part due to the fact that from field to slaughter is only two hours ’ Early spring the animals are turned out to graze the farm’s lush pastures. In summer the grass is cut for sileage and hay. They plough and reseed around 8 to 10 acres a year to keep the pastures in great con- dition. In autumn the cattle are housed inside, sheltered from the elements and fed on the farm’s sileage. The high quality of the meat and suc- culent taste is in no small part due to the fact that from field to slaughter is only two hours and then hung for a week. John was telling me this is a key element in preserv- ing the taste and quality. Indeed, the herd has won prizes in both 2017 and 18. No surprises there. The only member of the family who doesn’t currently work in the business is Rachael’s partner George, he is a livestock buyer for Morrissons, but guess where he trained as a butcher- you guessed it Far Barsey. As I sat with John, Ruth and Richard I asked what the secret was to be achieving so much. As a family they clearly get on well. As John said, tongue in cheek:” Well, we must, the women are in the majority. We do have a few arguments but never go to bed on one.” This is a very hard working and highly organised team each looking after their own job at the time and you know what, you can tell they enjoy it! We talked about future. With competition from supermarkets, other farm shops and garden centres trying to become farm shops they know they have a very good business and just need to keep on doing what they do, always with a keen eye on quality, prices and range of products. From the farm they would like to sell more bulls for breeding. Far Barsey have had a number of open days which has been great publicity for the shop with tractor rides and farm walks. Katy has started breeding Blue Texel sheep which her son Robert loves she did have her own small flock when she was younger. I’m sure Far Barsey will no doubt have another award-winning herd soon. We wish this talented hard-working team many years of continued success. Far Barsey Farm Shop, Far Barsey Farm, Barkisland, West Yorkshire, HX4 0BG Tel: [phone] L Wood & Sons Proud suppliers to Far Barsey Farm Shop with a variety of Beef, Pork, Lamb & Venison. 01484 842 284 [email protected] Supportive insurance providers for the Dean family at Far Barsey Farm For insurance that gets up close and personal call 01423 325234 www.fandmgroup.co.uk