The Farmers Mart Dec-Jan 2020 - Issue 66 | Page 42

42 LINGHAW FARM
DEC/JAN 2020 • farmers-mart.co.uk
BEST YEAR EVER FOR THE
FARMER WHO FELL TO EARTH
Chris Berry talks with fall survivor and dairy farmers Robert and Elaine Butterfield of High Bentham.
WHEN you’ve fallen through a
roof, spent three and a half
weeks in a coma, bust your
pelvis in two places, cracked
nine ribs and suffered a col-
lapsed lung I suppose you’re
inclined to think one of two
things – firstly, how was I so
bloody stupid; and secondly,
how lucky am I that I’m still here
– admittedly only in this case
four weeks later.
It all happened eight years
ago – or coming up to nine
since you will be reading this
in January 2020. For the record
dairy farmer Robert Butterfield
was repairing his cow shed roof
at Linghaw Farm, High Bentham.
He ended up serving his time,
hospital-wise, at Lancaster and
then Leicester.
Spin forward eight years to
2019 and from very nearly losing
his life he and his wife Elaine
had, without question, the best
year of their lives in the show
ring. Their cow, fourth-cal-
ver Newbirks Jazz 1584 took
the ultimate dairy cow prize
when awarded champion at
the Holstein National Show in
Telford last September. She’d
won at the centenary of the
Royal Welsh Show in July – and
had been installed as favourite
but Robert was trying to keep
calm.
‘My nerves weren’t right good
that day,’ he says now with a
much more relaxed smile. ‘She’s
such a natural cow and loves
being shown. She just walks
out of the wagon when we take
her anywhere and gets herself
settled. It’s like she’s saying I
enjoy this.’
‘We’ve won titles at the Dairy
Event and at Agriscot and in
the past decade we’ve had
three amazing cows – Saxelby
Goldwyn Rose and Ards Duplex
O Ruth being the other two.
We’ve now won all the major
titles.’
2019 also signalled Robert’s
50th season showing dairy
cows and the start of his role
as president of the Yorkshire
Holstein Club that celebrated
its centenary having started as
the Yorkshire British Friesian
Breeders Club in 1919. It was the
first of the local breeders clubs
to be formed in the country
and subscriptions were 10s 6d.
Numbers soon grew and in
1920 Mr Richard Ford, the then
president and chairman, offered
a challenge cup valued at 30
guineas for the female classes at
the Great Yorkshire Show.
In 1921 as the club progressed
it became affiliated with the
British Friesian Cattle Society. It
was in 1998 that the two national
societies – Holstein Friesian
Society and British Holstein
Society came together and this
was mirrored in Yorkshire in
1999 when the Holstein Club and
Yorkshire Holstein Friesian Club
became the Yorkshire Holstein
Club. In 2004 Robert and Elaine
won the premier herd title and
also at the Royal Show.
Robert started showing while
with Lawkland YFC in 1970
before moving on to Burton YFC
after completing his studies at
Newton Rigg College. He went
to Burton YFC as he’d met and
was later to marry Elaine whose
parents, the Lunds, farmed at
Ingleton.
Robert joined the family
farming partnership with his
mum and dad Annie and Dick
in 1979. The partnership than
changed to just himself and Dick
in 1987 before it became Robert
and Elaine in 2003.
Choosing the right cow that
will do well is an art that many
try to get right in show and sale
rings up and down the country.
Robert tells of how the purchase
of Newbirks Jazz came about:
‘You have a good idea about
how a young heifer may do
from looking, if you know what
you’re looking for, when thinking
of buying. I bought Newbirks
Jazz from David, Claire and Suzy
Lawson of Mill Farm, Arthington
after seeing her at Otley Show.
In my head I just went ‘wow,
that’s a good heifer’ and thought
with a bit of luck she would
be good in the ring. She has
outstripped what I thought she
would become. I might go with
her again the year after next
as she isn’t back in calf yet,
but she’s done amazingly well
and was also second in Europe
representing Holstein UK.’