44 STOCKHELD GRANGE FARM DEC / JAN 2021 • farmers-mart . co . uk
LINCOLN REDS MAKING THEIR MARK THANKS TO HOLLY
Chris Berry talks with Holly Moscrop of Stockheld Grange Farm .
IN the village of Scholes , just a short distance out of Leeds where I have lived for the past 30-plus years , there is one farming family name that is known by nearly everyone . The Moscrops of Stockheld Grange Farm are farmers and agricultural contractors and I ’ ve known Roger nearly all of that time .
Roger is one of the hardest working men I know . He ’ s forever coming past me is I ’ m running or walking around the village or I see him as I ’ m driving to and from appointments whatever the time of day or night . And you can add his brother Chris too , as they operate the farm and contracting business together , but there ’ s a ‘ new kid on the block ’ making her presence felt on the farm right now .
The farming operation at Stockheld runs to 225 acres and includes arable crops winter wheat , winter oats and linseed , as well as cattle . They ’ ve had cattle for many years , but it is the influence of Roger ’ s daughter Holly that is changing some of the farming dynamic . Lincoln Reds are now a growing influence on the commercial herd . ‘ The decision to go with a different breed in the herd came about when I started recording weight gains of our calves , which were largely Limousin X until then ,’ says Holly . ‘ Ours is a commercial suckler herd that leads us to selling the cattle as stores at around 12 months , so weight gain is a vital part of the enterprise to make sure they reach the right target weight . I told dad that we needed to look at a different breed to our traditional Limousin X cows .’
Holly could see from her records that the weight gain might be better if they shifted emphasis and she shortlisted possible breeds she had in mind for her dad to investigate further with a trip to the Great Yorkshire Show .
‘ We chose Lincoln Reds ,’ says Holly . ‘ We had Beef Shorthorns and South Devons on the list , but it was their maternal traits that sold them to me . Good milk , great shape and their ease of calving were the things that stood out , and of course better growth rate . Dad visited Richard Pearson near Catterick and sent me photos of the heifers he was thinking of buying .’
‘ Five years ago , dad bought three heifers on his first visit to Richard ’ s farm and within the week he was up there again to buy another five . They have proved every bit as good as we hoped they would be , and they have a great temperament .’
The Moscrops now have a herd of 15 Lincoln Reds within the suckler herd of around 35 cows . More recently Holly , now having analysed bull performance , decided that a different breed to a Limousin bull would also aide growth rates and better shape to the stock . Roger was once again delegated by his daughter , this time to find a suitable Bazadaise bull as this had been the breed Holly had identified .
‘ Basil , our Bazadaise bull , has proved an excellent acquisition ,’ says Holly . ‘ He has definitely benefited the herd . I now have ambitions that we could sell our own home-reared beef online in the future , as the Lincoln Red has great marbling and the Bazadaise a better meat to bone ratio . It is all about adding value to what we produce and I ’ d love to be in a position at some time
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