The Farmers Mart Dec/Jan 2014 - Issue 31 | Page 26

GREYSTONES FARM

NATIONAL RECOGNITION FOR THE
PEEL’S OF GREYSTONES FARM
Now one of the most respected Suffolk sheep
breeders in the north of England, Lester Peel
of is based at Greystone Farm, Over Silton,
near Thirsk on the western boundary of the
North York Moors; but there have been some
obstacles to surmount along the way.
When Lester was still a toddler, his
father - a master plumber - relocated
from Horsforth near Leeds to Pateley
Bridge in the Dales.
So Lester grew up to love the country
life and farming.
“Farming was definitely in my blood
from being very young and I was always a
country boy,” he said. “I went to school in
Pateley and Harrogate before becoming
a farm worker at Riggs Farm between
Bewerley and Greenhow. My mother used
to rear orphan lambs.
“But I left the farm for a job as a
machinist in a timber firm. Money was the
only reason. At the time I was earning
about £11 per week, but by moving away
from farm work I moved up to £80 per
week. I ended up with the joinery business
for around six to seven years, by which
time I was in my mid-20s, and then I went
to work at Morrell’s animal feeds business
in Nidd as a wagon driver.”
It was while working with Morrell’s that
Lester met his future wife, Sue, who was
a manageress at one of the pet shops
they owned. Sue’s parents farmed at
Greystone and Lester would help out on
the farm at weekends. They married and
rented a property in the village of Over
Silton.

‘What I’ve found is
that to achieve the
kind of quality I am
looking for, we have
to cull very hard’

26

Dec/Jan 2014 FarmersMart

BACK INTO FARMING
“I had always farmed sheep at Pateley
and eventually I bought some of my own
when we married. We took charge of
the farm about 27 years ago and when
the property we were living in became
available to purchase, Sue’s mother and
father bought it and we moved here.”
Greystone Farm only runs to some 67
acres and most of it is situated 800ft
above sea level. There is little room for
error in the area of farming in which they
work, and even then they still need to
provide income from elsewhere. Their
concentration is on producing quality
pedigree livestock in both Suffolk sheep
and Hereford cattle.
“What I’ve found is that to achieve the
kind of quality I am looking for, we have to
cull very hard,” Lester explained. “Foot and
Mouth Disease in 2001 took us out, so we
had to start again and we’re still building
up since re-stocking.
“We had pedigree Suffolks and
Herefords at the time and presently we
have around 35 breeding ewes. We
now have 27 cattle, all mainly Hereford
pedigrees but we are also crossing with
Simmentals and Limousins. It is a long
process achieving the quality we’re after.
“There has been a major swing back
to Suffolks in the past two years,” Lester
added, “and that’s down to good skins
and carcase. I’ve sold more Suffolks to
Texel men than we’ve ever done be