30 HALL FARM FEB / MAR 2021 • farmers-mart . co . uk
Behind the stumps , behind the YFC movement – and behind the tractor steering wheel
Chris Berry talks with John Craddock of Hall Farm , Kirklington .
WHEN John and Neil Craddock of Hall Farm , Kirklington near Bedale were nominated in last year ’ s Northern Farming Awards in the Family Run Farm section they could have been forgiven for taking a moment ’ s breath in memory of John ’ s father , Jonathan , who passed away in March 2016 .
‘ It has been down to me and my uncle Neil ever since ,’ says John . ‘ It wasn ’ t quite the succession plan dad had in mind .’
‘ Neil and I work together , but with me more on the arable side and Neil on the livestock . We farm across 360 acres , mostly tenanted . We try to have a good spread of arable crops so that not all of our eggs are in the same basket . Our soil type is typical Vale of York glacial alluvial that is mainly sand and gravel but with heavy clay in patches it can be a fair mix .’
‘ I handle all the ploughing and subsoiling . We do quite a bit of subsoiling to keep the air in the soil and minimise compaction . I ’ m a firm believer in looking after the soil and it has taken us many years to get it where it is today as nice soil that is free draining . You just have to try your best to match the right system for your own soil . The important thing is to keep it aerated . It ’ s horses for courses and I still see birds behind the plough , so there are definitely worms in the soil .’
‘ Ours is naturally dry land , but we have invested in irrigation on the farm which was once quarry land and that has helped .’
John min-tills the oilseed rape , but where greater investment would be required in specialist equipment he uses contractors , for such as combining , drilling , mowing , baling , silaging , hedge cutting and spraying .
This year ’ s cropping includes 55 acres of winter wheat varieties Lily and Gravity , having moved away from Graham .
‘ I ’ m a firm believer in looking after the
soil and it has taken us many years to get it where it is today as nice soil that is free draining ’
‘ We average between 3.5 to 4 tonnes per acre ,’ says John . ‘ And for barley we ’ re usually around 3 tonnes .’
John has 43 acres of winter barley variety Infinity and the same acreage of spring barley will be going in during March , the variety Diablo . They are both for feed . Oilseed rape variety is Alizze which will be grown across 35 acres . Spring beans variety Lynx will be across 24 acres this year ; and 25 acres of potato variety Royal for McCain Foods will go in during April .
‘ We also have 4 acres of oats to assist with Neil ’ s lambs finishing ; 39 acres of temporary grass , 70 acres of permanent grassland and 10 acres is in the countryside stewardship mid-tier scheme .’
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