CHRIS Berry talks with Josh Wright about a new farm shop , a new farm and sustainability at Methley .

These are whirlwind times for Josh Wright and his partner Luke Andrew . In little over two years Josh has swapped lifestyle from being a machine operator making feed at Wm Thompson ’ s feed mill in Murton to running his own farm at Willow Grove Farm in Methley . And the changes keep a-coming with gimmer lambs having arrived recently to add to what has been a pigs and arable farm up to now .

The couple now farm across 250 acres , far more than the 30 acres his grandfather Edward Wright farmed for 30 years until retiring after farming 50 years in 2018 ; they are looking at expanding the pig herd ; they are growing wheat , barley and beans ; farming the way in which Josh had always intended , environmentally friendly ; expanding their equine market for the sale of hay ; and have started a farm shop that is already a success and likely to become even bigger in the coming years .

‘ I spent most of my childhood down here and always knew I would do something in agriculture ,’ says Josh . ‘ I studied renewable energies and sustainable land management for my Hons Degree in Agriculture at Askham Bryan College . I was always interested in nature , growing things and such as bird watching and I ’ m passionate about environmentally friendly farming . It was my uncle David ( Butterfield ) who is an arborologist who set me on my way . He ’ d said I should go to Askham Bryan . I ’ d had no real plan up to then .’

‘ When Methley Estate approached me to take over from granddad I said I ’ d farm it , but that I needed more land to make it sustainable . I took on 100 acres of arable land and in 2019 I took another 20 acres that came available plus 110 acres of grassland on a flood plain . We now farm up to the confluence of the Aire and Calder , which floods every year and has already flooded twice in February this year , by 11 February .’

Today ’ s farming enterprise at Willow Grove Farm includes

a 50-sow pig herd ; arable crops of 46 acres of winter wheat variety Graham that averages around 4 tonnes per acre on sandy loam , easy working soil ; 11 acres of winter barley variety Orwell that comes in around 2.5 to 3 tonnes per acre ; 8 acres of spring barley variety Carat ; and spring beans that will be new this year . Grass is also grown , which is made into hay for the equine market . And gimmer lambs have now made an appearance in the early part of this year .

‘ We save a bit of the wheat and all of the winter barley for the pigs ,’ says Josh . ‘ Everything else is sold to Armstrong Richardson . We ’ re doing well with the hay , which we make into small square bales and sell to livery stables and horse owners . Last year we made 2000 bales , this year we will make four or five times as many . We also make the hay in kilo

bags for the small animal market .’

The pig herd remains a major part of the farm ’ s income at Willow Grove Farm and is set to become greater through the launch of the farm shop last year . Josh follows his grandfather ’ s words on how long he should keep his sows .

‘ My granddad always said if a sow was still productive , why get rid of her just because she has reached a certain age ? We tend to keep ours for eight or nine litters . We average twelve per litter . I handle all the AI work , that ’ s one thing I ’ ve changed . Granddad always used a boar , but in my opinion with AI you know that in

three servings you ’ re done . We get all of our AI from Rattlerow . They are excellent to deal with ’

Other changes Josh has made have been in the breed of sows , which he said has made for a far more enjoyable farming experience , and loose farrowing pens , one of the possible future directives for all pig producers .

‘ Grandad had Large White Landrace sows , which were difficult . We now have JSR sows that are really calm , docile animals with a lovely temperament . We moved to farrowing them loose and sow lameness has come down really well . It has improved sow welfare and they are fitter as a result . They have a wonderful motherly instinct and look out for their piglets .’