56 COLEY WALKS FARM AUG / SEP 2020 • farmers-mart . co . uk
HEREFORDS IN THE PICTURESQUE CALDER VALLEY
The Calder Valley in West Yorkshire has not only a rich engineering heritage but is also home to many farms , smallholdings , striking Yorkshire stone houses and mansions .
I recently visited Coley Walks Farm in Norwood Green , not only is it home to the multi award-winning Coley Herefords , but also the stunning Grade II * listed Coley Hall . The Farm and Hall are owned by Heather Whittaker and her husband , Jeff Price .
Although Heather has always wanted to be a farmer , which stemmed primarily from the time she spent on a dairy farm as a child , back in the 60 ’ s and 70 ’ s unless you were from a farming family it was very difficult for girls to get into farming . Her early career was as a research scientist , she graduated from Birmingham University in geography and worked at the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology , now part of Natural England , where she studied amongst other things the effect of Chernobyl on soil and vegetation .
Jeff and Heather moved to Halifax over forty years ago following Jeff ’ s career as a consultant surgeon
‘ I wanted to work with a British native
breed . I chose the Hereford because of its good temperament , easy calving and quality of beef ’ specialising in breast cancer . He originally bought Coley Hall which would historically have had around twelve farms attached to it . Heather kept horses and was keen to buy a field from the neighbouring farmer for them . After about ten years of pestering , the farmer finally said that she had to buy the whole farm or nothing !
As Jeff was nearing retirement and realising that after such a busy career as a surgeon , he would need something to do and with Heather having always wanted to be a farmer , it was a no-brainer , so to speak . At the time the farm was rented out for grazing , but after a year the farmer who was renting it decided to retire . So , in 2003 , Heather became a farmer ! As she had always done Jeff ’ s accounts the business side came naturally . As for the farming side ? Read on .
Nowadays they have 70 acres which they own , together with another 35 acres rented , all under grass .
I asked Heather “ Why Herefords ?” “ Very simply , I wanted to work with a British native breed . I chose the Hereford because of its good temperament , easy calving and quality of beef .
The start of the Coley Herefords was with the help of a well renowned local breeder , Jack Henry . By chance , Jeff had happened to see Jack ’ s Herefords , liked them , so Jeff and Heather went to see him . In order to get some farming experience and pave the way for her to have her own herd , she helped Jack out by preparing his show cattle , both on the farm and at shows . As Heather is quite a shy person , getting in the show ring was quite a daunting thing . She is very used to it now and recognises what a great way it is for farmers to advertise the animals they produce .
In 2004 , Heather and Jeff bought twenty Herefords from a variety of high
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