The Farmers Mart Dec-Jan 2020 - Issue 66 | Page 46

46 HILL TOP FARM DEC/JAN 2020 • farmers-mart.co.uk ‘Our agricultural contracting work is pretty much stubble-stubble including drilling, baling and silage work. There are around five of us involved in that.’ Caroline lived at White House Farm in Marton within Burton Constable woods. Her maiden name is Porter. She moved to East Carlton Farm just outside Aldbrough. Her dad worked with his brothers and they had arable land and pigs. ‘Mark and I lived five years in New Ellerby after we married,’ says Caroline, whose career has encompassed training as a nursery nurse at Beverley College, working at Withernsea School and then management roles at the Leapfrog day Nursery in Molescroft and at Hull University. ‘We bought Hill Top Farm as a derelict farm in 2000 and lived in a caravan originally. We wanted B&B pigs rather than breeding them as the previous farmer had so that we could create income and cashflow. The pigs had better accommodation than us.’ J K Senior & Sons Agronomy and Buying Group. Email: [email protected] THE OLD POST OFFICE, MAIN STREET, SEATON, HULL, HU11 5RA | Website: www.jksenior.co.uk Tel: [phone] J K Senior & Sons are pleased to be associated with Brian Basham and family. www.erfs.co.uk Suppliers of high quality animal health products & sundries ‘ Wishing the Basham family continued success ’ 01377 249249 | [email protected] ‘Running my own day nursery was always a dream and was the sensible thing to do when our children were school age as I then didn’t have to travel and would be at home for them. It was Mark who believed in me more than I did to make it succeed.’ ‘We had a sticky time when the reces- sion hit just as we were building up our numbers, but I wouldn’t change a thing now.’ Caroline now has a team of 17 that also now includes heads of sections in the nursery. Farmyard Friends has now overtaken the local garage as the village’s biggest employer. ‘More and more children now stay with us right up until starting school. We are open all year round, which is different to schools that have pre-school, which is shut during school holidays. Lots of our children’s parents are using the funding programme of 30 hours a week for working parents.’ Mark and Caroline also have a daughter Catherine (16) who is still at school in her final year. They can both see her joining the farm operation as Catherine is in her mum’s words ‘the best JCB driver we’ve got’ but there’s no pressure and they will back her whatever route she chooses. Both Robert is involved with Skirlaugh YFC where Carline and Mark were members. What Caroline and Mark have achieved in the past 13 years has been truly remarkable. I remember visiting when they were in the early stages of having started up Farmyard Friends in the modular buildings. It was a proud moment for the whole family when they picked up their award at the Pavilions of Harrogate – and richly deserved.