The Turnbulls
cattle showman, Chris Page
won at the Great Yorkshire
Show with a Fox Foot Hay Farm
homebred heifer that Peter had
sold him.
“It was a lovely moment to
see an animal that Peter had
bred winning at Harrogate - but
it did make us think that we
should have done it ourselves,”
Anne said. “After all, we had to
ask - why were we selling cattle
that were clearly good enough
to do very well?
“Bull hire has always been a
part of Peter’s farm enterprise
and we decided that we really
wanted to get an Angus bull
out in the rings. We have
a homebred bull, Foxfoot
Enchanted (we call him ‘Teddy’,
and initially we took him to
Harrogate as a yearling and
then for three years on the trot.
I am not saying he has won us a
great deal but he has definitely
helped us promote our cattle.
He’s such a good, quiet bull.
“We still show bulls that we
have bought in but winning is
not half as nice as when it’s your
own homebred bull. It’s become
a real passion with us now and
when your own stock wins it
is such a personal thing, and
sometimes you do get really
attached. You have known them
since they were born and you
see them turn into this greatlooking bull. I’ve seen people
in tears over it and had tears
myself,” Anne admitted. “We
had a homebred Charolais that
won his class at Birmingham five
years ago and was all set to be
sold at Leyburn. We were in the
ring selling him and I suddenly
had this strange feeling and
asked Peter to withdraw him.”
When I visited, the Turnbulls
had two young homebred bulls,
Danny and Elvis who they were
in the process of preparing
for the season. This is where
their secret weapon in show
preparation comes in.
“We go around, spend time,
stroke them and talk to them so
they get used to your voices but
it is Jean’s voice they respond
to most,” Anne told me. “She
spends more time talking to
them than the rest of us and
when they go to the show they
hear her familiar voice and just
relax. We now attend around 24
shows a year, starting with the
Nottinghamshire County Show at
Newark in May and ending with
the Birmingham Fatstock Show.
“We also have the wonderful
Lucy Corner who helps us and
is very much part of the team.
She has worked exceptionally
hard and won the Young
Handler competition at last
year’s Great Yorkshire Show
with one of our crossbreds.”
Peter took over the running of
Fox Foot Hay Farm in Coxwold
from his father, Charles Turnbull,
when he was 30 years of age.
The farm now runs to 330 acres
with 150 acres of arable cropping
and the rest down to grass. The
land is wet in the valley and Peter
describes it as Grade 3-4 black
warp in nature; nonetheless, the
Turnbulls still manage to get 3.5
tonnes of grain per acre.
“We came here from
Sinnington Mill in 1950 and
started with 270 acres. We
grow wheat, barley, naked
oats and beans,” Peter said.
“On the livestock side we
have 60 suckler cows that live
out most of the time and are
split between 40 Aberdeen
Angus pedigree cows and 20
crossbred cows. We calve over
three months of the year and
used to fatten Angus cattle in
the 50s and 60s, but in the
early 70s we got our first Angus
and we’ve bred up from there.
I’m 78 now and just do as I’m
told,” he added, but with a
definite twinkle in his eye!
“We have increased suckler
cow numbers and decreased on
the fattening side. We always
Come along & visit us at the
Great Yorkshire Show
also at : Malton Show,
Aldborough & Boroughbridge Show,
Driffield Show, Ryedale Show,
Egton Show, Wensleydale Show,
Stokesley Show & Nidderdale Show
We are proud to be suppliers to R C Turnbull & Son
& wish them continued success for the future
Malton:
01653 698000
Boroughbridge:
01423 324848
www.russells.uk.com
Northallerton:
01609 771727
Selby:
01977 663353
www.farmers-mart.co.uk Jun/Jul 2015 9