The Farmers Mart Dec/Jan 2015 - Issue 37 | Page 64

tHROSTLE NEST FARM ‘If you are all about the money, you’re not a real farmer’ www.russells.uk.com We are proud to be suppliers to Fraser Hugill For all your agricultural needs Malton 01653 698000 Boroughbridge 01423 324848 Call today to ask about our WINTER SERVICE PROM OTIONS PROMOTIONS Special offers available Northallerton 01609 771727 Selby 01977 663353 David Shaw Fencing & Forestry Ltd • Complete range of Fencing and supplies • All aspects of forestry work Proud to be suppliers to Fraser & wish him continued success Contact David anytime on 07980 027116 Lealholm, Whitby, North Yorkshire, YO21 2AQ 64 Dec/Jan 2015 FarmersMart barley and oilseed rape usually but have dropped oilseed rape for the coming year based on price and growing costs. My top performing crop recently has been beans. In 2012 when the weather was atrocious and it ruined our wheat we achieved 2.4 tonnes per acre at £300/ tonne. “Wheat varieties for this year include Evolution and Diego. We have moved away from Kielder which had problems and have moved towards cleaner varieties. We also grow about 20 acres of barley for feed.” Fraser is exceptionally busy at present, not just with running two farms (and at some stage rebuilding his house) but with another role that he says, tongue-in-cheek, keeps his farming business afloat. He is the regional organiser/coordinator for the Campaign for the Farmed Environment in Yorkshire and the North East. “Conservation has always been dear to my heart,” he told me. “If you are all about the money then you’re not a real farmer. Our lives are about where we live and I get a lot of pleasure in the wildlife I see on my farm. It is not just about the biggest heap of wheat. “I studied at Harper Adams where I trained in rural enterprise and land management. A lot of my friends ended up as land agents but I went down the conservation route. I worked for the North York Moors National Park, becoming their Head of Conservation Management, and spent my weekends and evenings back working on the farm. At the time I was delivering agrienvironment schemes. “Four years ago when dad retired and I took on the farming side, the Campaign for the Farmed Environment post came up; and realising that the CW Tate & Son Tel: [phone] E: [email protected] Freehouse Farm, Crathorne, Yarm We are pleased to be associated with Fraser and wish him continued success Farmers and contractors delivering a superior service • Round/square baling and wrapping • Spraying • hedge cutting • We also supply haylage and straw • Ploughing and drilling To read more, visit www.farmers-mart.co.uk