The Farmers Mart Dec-Jan 2020 - Issue 66 | Page 38

38 ANGRAM GRANGE
DEC/JAN 2020 • farmers-mart.co.uk
GENERATION GAME SEES STEPH TAKE ON
SHOW REINS FROM HER GRANDFATHER
Chris Berry talks with Philip and Steph Hughes at Angram Grange.
I’VE known Philip Hughes ever since I
started writing about farming and going
to agricultural shows 29 years ago. He is
one of the nicest men you will meet and
always appears to have a smile on his
face.
Philip followed on from his father
Reginald’s success in the show pens and
show rings and now his granddaughter
Steph is carrying on the family tradition.
Steph, having recently completed her
studies at Askham Bryan College is keen
on working alongside her father Nigel,
Philip’s son, running the farm operation
that is based at two sites of Angram
Grange Farm where Philip lives with his
wife Shirley and Town Farm in Askham
Bryan where Steph grew up with her
brother Nick and their parents Nigel and
Edwina.
‘I used to drive Steph to the shows,’
says her proud grandfather. ‘But she’s
since passed her driving test and also has
her trailer licence. My showing started
with my father who once had reserve
overall champion at Smithfield with a
Galloway X heifer. He would regularly go
to Smithfield and Birmingham.’
‘At the Great Yorkshire Show we’ve had
commercial beef champion, Highland
champion and a Texel champion. I’d had
a Highland cow given for my 21st and I’ve
always had a bit of interest in the breed. I
judged the Highlands at Arthington Show
in 2019 as the judge didn’t turn up.’
‘Nigel is in charge across both the
farms. Angram Grange Farm is tenanted
from the Hutton Wandesley Estate owned
by Christopher Yorke and runs to 280
acres. My father married and came here
in 1939. We own Town Farm and its 60
acres as my father purchased it in the
1960s. My grandfather Arthur farmed
at Skirpenbeck off the Stamford Brdge
road.’
The farming operation currently runs to
a commercial flock of 330 North Country
Cheviot Mule X Texels that are then put to
the Beltex tup to produce fat lambs; two
small pedigree flocks of 20 Texel ewes
and 15 Blue Texels to breed tups; a suckler
herd of around 75 Limousin X cows with
a Charolais X and a Limousin bull; wheat
and barley is grown across 90 acres with
the rest down to grass.
‘We used to fatten all the cattle but in the
past year we have been selling them as
stores at around 15-18 months as we have
been getting as good a price for stores as
we would getting them fat. We go mainly to
Selby livestock market with our stock but
also some to Wharfedale in Otley.’
Philip, who is now 75, has always lived
at Angram Grange Farm and recalls the
times when he was much younger when
the farm employed six men and had a
dairy herd.
‘When I left school I remember we had
16-20 dairy cows, Friesians, but by the
time I was 19 they had disappeared. We
had one man who did nothing but work
with the dairy cows. Harvest time was all
about everybody working hands-on. It
was hard work.’
Today’s farm is run purely by Nigel but
Steph has visions of joining her dad.
‘I’ve just finished at Askham Bryan
College after two years and now have an
extended diploma in agriculture. I’d like to
take on the farm. My brother Nick has an
engineering and fabricating business in
agricultural equipment and is a lecturer at
Askham Bryan. I currently have a part-
time waitressing job at The Victoria pub
in Cattal. I’m hoping we can increase our
sheep numbers so I can get a wage.’
Steph’s showing prowess has grown
in recent years. She has become more
selective over which classes to enter and
it has paid off.
‘2019 was the first year I didn’t take
my Blue Texels to the Great Yorkshire
Show. Instead I took commercials and
crossbreds. I was very pleased with how
we did. We had three third places in the
regular live classes and for the first time in
a while we put in a carcase lamb and got
a first. I’ll probably go again with cross-
breds at Harrogate this year.’
‘Competing with Blue Texels at the big
shows is difficult if you don’t have the
same money. Because there are so many
entries at the Great Yorkshire you need
something extreme to stand a chance. I
still take them to the more local shows and
in 2019 I had reserve champion with a ewe
at Nidderdale Show and with a shear-
ling ram at Masham Sheep Fair.’
‘In 2018 I had a ewe that was
champion at three or four shows
including Masham and Tockwith.
One of three lambs we sold to a
farm shop near Halifax that wanted
to show them was one of that
winning ewe’s. This lad showed them
in 2019 the winning ewe’s lamb won at
every show he entered it. The farm shop
owners are over the moon. Unfortunately
we found our winning ewe, who was
in-lamb with two more, stuck on her
back.’
Steph took over as chief sheep steward
at last year’s Tockwith Show, her local
show. She is presently social secretary
for her local Tadcaster & Wetherby YFC.
‘I’ve taken on a number of roles since I
started when I was 12. I enjoy all the com-
petitions and have been to a few county
stockjudging finals. I was champion
young handler at Westmorland Show in
2018 having already won at Aldborough
& Boroughbridge Show. I qualified for
the national finals in Peterborough
which included a 10 minute interview
by the judges. It was tough but a great
experience.