10 RAINSCAR FARM AUG / SEP 2022 • farmers-mart . co . uk
IT ’ S A BLUE WORLD IN THE SHADE OF PEN-Y-GHENT
Chris Berry talks with brothers Graham and Alan Coates of Rainscar Farm
BLUES and Limmies are the two breeds that , amongst the commercial cattle fraternity , seem to go together like Morecambe & Wise or fish & chips . Invariably , when I have interviewed commercial men over the past thirty years , the story is that ‘ we put Blues back to the Limmie or vice versa .
Back in 1982 the Belgian Blue was making its first impact on the UK market and Eric Coates and his wife Jane of Rainscar Farm near Stainforth in the Ribble Valley were hooked .
40 years on and the now British Blue is still going strong and so are Graham and Alan Coates with their mum Jane although Eric has sadly passed away . Their Greystone herd of pedigree Blues is now the oldest surviving herd in the country and is also probably the most respected , as well as being in one of the most unlikely of areas , close to Pen-y-Ghent .
“ We ’ ve carried on the tradition started by our father ,” says Graham . “ But it is far more than tradition . It has always been a business and it still is .
“ Dad had needed a new bull and had read an article about them being the coming thing and had gone to see Tom Ashton at Lawns Farm , Wigan who had just imported the first Blues from Belgium .
“ Prior to that he ’ d had a herd of Galloway suckler cows that he ’ d been putting to the Charolais bull but seeing Tom ’ s cattle changed everything . Dad put his name on a bull and a heifer from the next importation Tom was to make this time to sell to other farmers .
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We are pleased to be associated with Graham & Alan Coates , wishing them continued success for the future . riponfarmservices . com
Proud to support Graham & Alan Coates of Rainscar Farm , wishing them continued success .