MARR Grange Farm in Gilberdyke , near Brough East Yorkshire , is home to Stuart and Susan Hardcastle ’ s winning herd of Beef Shorthorns . Stuart and his wife Sue have been developing the herd since 2014 . However , the story begins back in 1985 when Stuart and Sue took on Marr Grange Farm . Although they are both from farming backgrounds , they chose different career paths before coming to Marr Grange .

Sue was a market gardener and Stuart was a time-served mechanic . When Stuart ’ s father asked him if he wanted to come into the family farm he said ‘ no ’; this was mainly due to his experience of working his six-week holiday for his grandfather and being paid the princely sum of £ 5 ! So , in 1973 he left school and became a self-employed mechanic . He had always bred fish as a hobby and supplied fishermen and garden centres as well as constructing ponds for people .

Stuart and Sue have two sons Greg and Matthew , both very different characters . Greg is a real technical expert , as a child he loved Airfix Kits and recently he built his own computer , the farming bug has passed him by , and he is now manager of the electrical department of a local tile works . Matthew is more the heavy hands-on type and is an accomplished fabricator and welder and he does enjoy helping on the farm with combining and sileage making .

When Sue and Stuart bought Marr Grange , Stuart gave up being a mechanic to concentrate on and develop the fishing business full-time . The farm was in a very poor state of repair , which meant a lot of early work restoring both the cottage and all the buildings , putting concrete down in the yard , replacing fencing and hedges , building all the fish tanks , as well as their own lakes . Both the fish breeding side and the pond construction side developed at a pace , selling fish to angling clubs and restocking lakes . In 1988 , they undertook the first of many high-profile projects , draining and removing the fish from Clumber Park Lake , which was sinking due to mining subsidence . The project was completed with a full restock of the lake .

They developed large stocks of ornamental fish such as Koi and goldfish , along with course fish such as carp and roach . Certain breeds were very profitable due to their rarity , such as Tench . Course fish supply in winter was a very busy time for them .

In 1989 , they opened a shop on the farm supplying pond products , pumps , pond liners etc , classic plants , aquatic plants and fish which really boosted both sales and profits . This meant that Marr Grange was a one-stop shop for new ponds and restocking of existing ponds .

Having cattle was always part of Stuart and Susan ’ s plans , using the fish side to fund the development of their herd . In 1987 , they started with commercial cattle , buying heifers and bull calves from Skipton market taking through to finishing weight . This system continued

till 1994 when other commitments took priority .

Marr Grange Farm comprises of 78 acres of land that they own , and 25 acres of rented land . 55 acres are cereals , with the rest to grass . This provides superb , lush grazing for the cattle , as well as quality haylage and sileage , some of which they sell on depending on the year ’ s yield .

In 1994 , they sold their final batch of commercial cattle . In 2014 they decided to go back to keeping cattle . After long deliberations pedigree shorthorns seemed to be the ideal breed , they are renowned for being docile , easy calving cattle producing premium beef . Sue ’ s family had always had shorthorns when they farmed in Holmfirth . Her father and grandfather moved in the 1960 ’ s to the village of Wrestle between Selby and Howden and brought the shorthorns with them . They eventually went onto Holsteins and Friesians .

Stuart and Susan initially bought three heifers from Gerald Turton of Upsall Castle Farm as a firm foundation . They