The Farmers Mart Dec/Jan 2014 - Issue 31 | Page 34

NUNCOTE NOOK FARM Never again, says Keith… (well, until show season!) Chris Berry meets Keith Stones of Nuncote Nook Farm in Swaledale. So far as Keith Stones was concerned, lambing time last year up at Nuncote Nook Farm high above Marrick - and standing 1000ft above sea level in Swaledale was the worst he’d ever experienced. Keith runs the 190 acre bleak north east-facing farm with his wife, Elaine. They have 400 pedigree ewes including North Country Cheviots, Texels and Suffolks and 90 suckler cows. The sheep are all kept pure and he sells tups and females privately throughout the north of England and south of Scotland, but last spring’s conditions very nearly made Brian Robinson Machinery are proud to be suppliers to Keith Stones The local Agricultural Engineers and Machinery Dealer for North Yorkshire and the North East since 1982. We offer good service, sound practical advice and a good deal at a fair price. Email: [email protected] Tel: [phone] or 07720967552 Fax: [phone] him rethink everything. “I vowed I would never lamb another sheep up here again, it was that bad,” he said. “We had snow when a lot of others didn’t - not that I would wish what we had on anyone. The road was blocked and you just couldn’t get feed out at all. It was an absolute nightmare. We had 14 months of bad weather from April 2012 to June 2013 and I know we weren’t the only ones. “We all moaned. Physically, we couldn’t have looked after the ewes and lambs any better, but the most demoralising side was that you were doing everything you could - and yet still some were falling by the wayside. “Baby lambs were soaked through and we lost a few because of that. The conditions were so harsh. Some of the females had three days under snow and we just couldn’t get to them, but they all came out alive. Getting the lambs out that had been born in the shed ‘Conditions were so harsh’ was impossible. “Everyone was involved Elaine, the rest of the family and students who come to help at lambing time. I recall vividly we had one poor lass East Cowton, Northallerton, North Yorkshire, DL7 0DX www.brmltd.co.uk DAVID TEWARD AGRICULTURAL & HAULAGE CONTRACTOR � ALL GRADES OF LIME AND GYPSUM � STEEL WORKS SLAG � FERTILISERS � ALL GRADES OF SAND AND ROAD STONES DELIVERED � LOW GROUND PRESSURE SPREADERS David is happy to be associated with Keith Stones TEL : [phone] 07711 435025 EAST NEW HOUSES, BARNARD CASTLE 34 Dec/Jan 2014 FarmersMart To read more, visit www.farmers-mart.co.uk