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What Mark didn ’ t inherit was a love of cattle , that had been a mainstay of the farm right through from his grandfather Norman and to his dad John .
‘ We used to have a small suckler herd and still had 20 until five years ago , but I had never been particularly interested and didn ’ t enjoy having to be around for them 24 / 7 . It ’ s all arable and grass now .’
‘ Our haylage is all from a one-year ryegrass mix , which is then ploughed out and followed by spring barley , stubble turnips and mustard . We put in around 20 acres of new grass each year specifically for haylage . The number of cuts is weather dependent . Our most important criteria is providing a top quality product . We use a heavy duty bale covering to prevent bird damage .’
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Grass for hay and haylage makes up around 100 acres . Mark grows around 130 acres of cereals with 80 acres of spring barley and 50 acres of winter wheat planned this year . He is renting out 70 acres at Sprotbrough this year where 40 acres of sugar beet and 30 acres of potatoes will be grown .
‘ The land at Whincover is easy working , sandy loam while Sprotbrough is on a limestone ridge . I have Skyfall winter wheat in the ground again for the third year . It averages around 4 tonnes to the acre in a good year , but last year ’ s harvest was down on that by a long way because of the poor weather in establishing the crop in autumn 2019 . I ’ m toying with the idea of putting in more of it in the spring having seen the futures
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market and seeing how Covid is affecting beer sales , that will also then affect barley .’
‘ I ’ ve looked at spring wheat but I ’ m far from convinced about the variety Mulika , which we ’ ve tried . Fortunately , I ’ ve a great agronomist to put me right .’
‘ Malting barley variety is Laureate which will hopefully get to 3 tonnes an acre . We sell all our wheat and barley and buy all our fertiliser through Argrain . I handle all the combining at Wath using my 1986 Claas Dominator , which is in mint condition . After the spring barley we sow with stubble turnips and mustard seed for cover .’
Environmental stewardship also plays its part in Mark ’ s overall enterprise , which includes a shoot run across both farms .
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‘ We ’ ve put in scrapes , planted hedgerows , wild birdseed plots , pollen and nectar mixes and an otter halt on the River Dearne . It ’ s great for the wildlife and it also benefits the shoot .’
Farming was originally Mark ’ s Plan B after his hopes of a sporting career were dashed .
‘ I really wanted to be a professional cricketer and had trials with Yorkshire at the time when Michael Vaughan and Ryan Sidebottom were in the team , but it wasn ’ t to be . I did play semi-professionally for Sheffield United in the Yorkshire League and Wickersley in the South Yorkshire League .’
Mark ’ s parents John and Anne live at Whincover . Mark and his wife Nicki live close by with their daughters Annabel ( 5 ) and Lottie ( 2 ).
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