The Farmers Mart Feb/Mar 2016 - Issue 44 | Page 54

Cliffe Farm

David Mitchell Equine
Cremation & disposal service

SIMPLE DISPOSAL • INDIVIDUAL CREMATION
Please contact us for more details and current prices
on call 7 days a week, 24 hours a day and operate a collection
service throughout Yorkshire & Lancashire.

happy to support John Ludbrook of Cliffe Farm
TEL: [phone] | Hirstfield Farm, Thornton, Bradford BD13 3RR

www.david-mitchell-equine.co.uk

54 Feb/Mar 2016 www.farmers-mart.co.uk

“We have 190 breeding
ewes and we’re now at 90 per
cent pure. We always aim to
get the traditional big-bodied
Texel and we start lambing
around 25 February. We’re now
keeping more shearlings as
replacements,with the others
that we don’t need sent as
stores to Gisburn. Our ram
lamb trade is now growing
and although we still obviously
send those we don’t think will
make it to the fat market we
have now started selling ram
lambs for breeding at Gisburn
and we’ve had a good trade, so
that’s where our future lies at
present.”
The pig trade is an area that
John has known well over the
years and he’s had his ups and
downs having tried various
breeds including Saddlebacks
and Berkshire, but in the past
three years there has been
a steady trade of pigs back
weekly at Wharfedale Farmers
Auction Mart in Otley. He and
others seem to have hit on a
formula.
“This year we will have
around 500 pigs born on the
farm from our 25 sows. We
had 10 sows but we’ve been
building up by keeping back
the best of our gilts. We have
Large Whites served by a
Pietrain boar that produces a
better shaped pig and what
the consumer wants, which is
something that is not too lean
of about 10-12mm backfat.
It’s all about eating quality. I’d
had a friend who was always
telling me what a difference
the Pietrain boar made and
when I saw Pietrain weaners
against others at Gisburn I
could see everything about
them was better so I switched
from Large White boars. They
make a huge difference to the
price you get. We try to get
our pigs done by about 20
weeks and definitely away by
22 weeks with weight around
90 kilos.”

John now sells regularly to
a number of butchers either
through selling at Wharfedale
Mart or direct. One of his main
customers is Silsden Butchers
run by Dawn, Terry and Tyler
Brightwell in Shipley.
“Wharfedale Mart is only
enough to sell a small number
of pigs a week but it is serving
us and the other producers
really well and there’s good
competition every week for the
top price.”
Everything is down to grass
across John’s acreage and
2,000 small bales are made
each year for their sheep and
calves, as well as 300 bales of
haylage. Complete pig food is
bought from Bannister’s at Colne
using Massey 19.5 % protein.
The sows are fed Breedsure; the
cattle receive brewers’ grains,
barley and a protein nut; the
sheep receive mineral buckets.
John and Dawn bought a skip
hire business in 1990 that is
still running today, but the main
focus is very much on farming
and the farm shop.
“Samuel loves the farm and
has studied agriculture and rural
mechanics at Craven College.
He’s also a sheep shearer and
drystone waller and I’m keen to
encourage him. I think farming
is all right providing you haven’t
the borrowing - otherwise it
would be incredibly difficult.
The farm shop will also help. I’d
like Oliver to train as a butcher,
but at the moment he’s thinking
baker. That’s no bad thing
because we could make some
right pies!”
Watch out for the opening of
Ludbrook’s Farm Shop this year
– it promises to deliver!
CONTACT:
LUDBROOK FARM SHOP
John Ludbrook
Cliffe Farm
Cottingley
Bradford
BD16 1UW
01274 584796