The Farmers Mart Feb/Mar 2014 - Issue 32 | Page 43

NETHER SCALES FARM

Frame, Swift and Partners
The Veterinary Centre
Carleton
Penrith
Cumbria
CA11 8TZ

Chris Swift and
the Partners are
proud to be associated
with Alan and his
team and wish him
continued success

T: 01768 862454
F: 01768 867163

► State-of-the-art clinic for the care of Farm, Equine and Small
Animal patients operating theatre, covered examination area and paddocks
► Caring, friendly staff, on-call 24 hours a day
► RCVS General Practice for Farm, Equine and Small Animals
► We pride ourselves on going that extra mile to support our clients

reaction to it proved that
British agriculture is now
further up their menu than
it was five to 10 years ago.
Somebody told me in the past
few months that farming is
now benefiting from all of the
cookery programmes on TV.”
Alan’s father Thomas came
to North Netherscales Farm
at Hutton End, near Penrith in
1960.
“Dad had worked here five
to ten years before he came
back as a tenant. At that time
it was a 75-acre farm. Today
it runs to around 260 acres.
We milked cows up until 2001
when we were taken out by
foot and mouth. In hindsight
that provided us with an
opportunity in the middle of my
working life to take stock and
decide which way to go.’
“I had milked cows since I
was 15, we had 130 milkers
and once I stopped with them I

realised that I’d been there and
got the t-shirt. At the time of
them going I thought it would
be nice to have dairy cows
back but the investment that
would have been needed in
the dairy unit, placing it more
appropriately on the farm and
creating slurry storage did
not make financial sense,” he
said.

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Today’s farming operation
at North Netherscales and
two other blocks of land two
and six miles away, along with
some additional rented land,
sees Alan and his wife Anne
with 400 breeding Texel and
Mule ewes, 80 store cattle and
growing 90 acres of barley
(55) and wheat (35). Lambing
starts around 20 March and
are sold as they get fat. Cattle
are bought as yearling stores
from local livestock markets
and sold either as stores at
Penrith or fat at Carlisle. Two
other enterprises include
poultry and contracting work.
“We’ve had free-range
outdoor hens for the past
nine years but have recently
changed to an indoor system
and now run a breeder flock
of 17,000 producing fertile
eggs.
“Our other operation is
processing crushed barley. We

‘I had milked
cows since I was
15, we had 130
milkers and once
I stopped with
them I realised
that I’d b