• AUG / SEP 2022
Philip is justifiably proud of his farm ’ s record of not suffering from blackgrass and using cover crops has been one of the ways of safeguarding from it since starting with them five years ago . He also has beans , grass and rents out land for potatoes as suitable breaks .
“ Our rotation is winter barley , oilseed rape , winter wheat , winter beans , winter wheat and then spring barley or grass or potatoes in the sixth and seventh years .
“ The cover crops we use tend to be a mix of oil radish , black oats , phacelia , vetch and clover . We ’ ve just entered into an agreement with a livestock farmer wanting to expand and so we are growing 11ha of grass to produce silage for his enterprise . I ’ m trying to make my rotation more diverse . That will be one of those things that has to work out beneficial to both of us .
Philip was diagnosed with MS in 2010 and was still hands-on on the farm until 2017-18 until becoming wheelchair-bound in 2019 . Unable to undertake the tasks he was once able to complete he tells of how he has refocused his own efforts .
“ I can get about with a variety of transportation including my electric wheelchair in the house and office ; mobility scooter around the yard ; and a Gator UTV and 4x4 pickup which have all been adapted to my needs ,
“ Not being 100 per cent hands on any longer has brought a different perspective ”
as well as a transporter van that Sara drives that has a wheelchair lift that transfers into a seat .
“ I can get on a tractor but if there was a problem I would have to ring for help , so I tend to avoid doing that . We have a cross country course that Sara runs and that needs topping from time to time and we compost a lot of muck that we apply . That ’ s about the closest
I get to any hands-on farming these days . If I do more than a couple of hours I ’ m so physically tired I ’ m good for nothing .
“ I tend to do the critical thinking and office work in the morning as I ’ m better at that time of day , with the less demanding jobs undertaken in the afternoon .
“ Not being 100 per cent hands on any longer has brought a different perspective and I now give a lot more time to the management side of the whole operation here . I started benchmarking with AHDB about eight years ago and that has driven the farm forward . I meet with a group of a dozen farmers from as far afield as Saltburn , Yarm and Thirsk . It works because of the transparency between us all and we all learn .
Philip has been involved in countryside stewardship for many years .
“ There are a lot of positives from it with increased birdlife , wildlife and insect activity all around the farm . We ’ ve certainly seen larger numbers of lapwings , skylarks and grey partridge . We ’ ve just had Natural England
FOXBERRY FARM 45
visit and they ’ re very happy with what we are doing here .
Sara has worked as a medical representative and as an NFU group secretary previously , as well as being mum to their now Leeds Becket University student Jasper , who is currently on placement with Claas .
Sara now runs the cross-country course that opened in 2003 after they had received a Rural Development Fund Grant that went towards it .
“ It ’ s one of our diversifications ,’ says Sara . “ We used areas that were too hilly and put in fences and water jumps . It is used for competitions and private hire . Lucinda Green has run clinics here . We also have some liveries , and we have a satellite office for Durham Equine . Phil ’ s friend Paul Bellas also has his business AgriSource agricultural machinery based here . Phil and Paul have been friends since their Young Farmer days . AgriSource serve the local farming community as well as supplying new and used machinery to customers throughout the North of England & beyond . russells . uk . com
HUNDREDS OF ITEMS IN STOCK , NEW & USED russells . uk . com
DEPOTS AT : YO17 | DL6 | YO51 | DN14 | DL8 | DE6 | NN14 | DE4 | NG22 | LE14
Suppliers and spreaders of all grades of lime and fertilisers . Sand and aggregates deliveries
Proud to be working with Philip Metcalfe and Foxberry Farm .