The Farmers Mart Dec/Jan 2016 - Issue 43 | Page 70

Scurf Dyke Farm

We grow 100 acres of barley
and 100 acres of maize. We
use five or six varieties but the
two main ones are Beethoven
and Asgard. It’s rocket fuel for
dairy cows and a lot more beef
farmers are also using it now;
it’s also good for blackgrass
control. We’re growing 100
acres of Fuego spring beans
this year and we’re also
considering oats.”
There are two other
businesses that are run
from the farm – agricultural

contracting and more recently,
a business in grain handling.
Contracting includes baling
and foraging for a number of
farmer customers and was
started in 2007 when the family
purchased a second-hand
forager. They had considered
the amount they were spending
on getting someone in and
realised they had enough
of their own resources
themselves. Since that time
they have been asked to work
for several other farms.

Supplying quality
nutrition and advice
to Pete Thompson
and family at
Scurf Dyke Farm
To contact us Tel: [phone]
harbro.co.uk

70 Dec/Jan 2016 www.farmers-mart.co.uk

Russ was with Barclays and
the Skipton Building Society
during a 10-year career in
banking and now handles
all of the farm accounts and
finances.
‘Investing in the future’
“What has happened to
the milk price over the last 21
months has made one heck of
a difference to our accounts
this year, but like most farms it
is having the better times that
keeps us right when things
get tight so we’re looking
forward to those better days
coming back soon,” he told
me. “We continually reinvest in
equipment to bring us up to date
when times are good and we
are always looking at ways of
farming more efficiently. Keeping
the cows inside already seems
to be working well.”
Russ has taken over
Thompson’s Engineering Ltd
that has been based on the farm
for the past five years. In spite of
the name it was unrelated to the
Thompson family.
“The company specialises in
grain handling and grain drying
installation,’ said Russ. “It was
owned by David Thompson
who has more than 30 years’
experience in the business and
it ties in nicely with our farming
operation. We can supply and
fit most brands of drying and
handling equipment such as
Kentra, Perry and Skandia.”
Other members of the
Thompson family not already
mentioned include Ian’s wife,

Lynne and their daughter, Holly;
Roy’s wife, Sue and their son,
Harvey who is training to be an
electrician, and their daughter
Millie; Peter’s wife, Tracey and
their two daughters, Rebecca
and Megan; and Keith’s fiancée,
Nikki. The next generation is
under way too as Russ and wife
Emma have three sons: Oliver,
Leo and Harry; Danny is married
to Claire and he has a stepson,
Aidan.
One person who deserves
a special mention is Val, wife
to Hubert and now not just
mum but grandmother and
great-grandmother to her everexpanding brood. Val looks after
Hubert, as she always has done
but with even more care now as
Hubert isn’t in the best of health
at present. Val – who has one
of the loveliest smiles around
- is renowned for her baking,
cooking and jam making! At
one time she was my resident
recipe star in a previous farming
magazine of which I was editor.
She’s also a keen tennis player
and is extremely proud of her
team’s success in the recent
past.
CONTACT DETAILS:
THOMPSONS FORAGE
CONTRACTING
THOMPSON’S ENGINEERING
Scurf Dyke Farm
Watton Carr
Cranswick
YO25 9RD
01377 270278
07753 134146
www.thompsonsengineering.com