The Farmers Mart Jun-Jul 2019 - Issue 63 | Page 42

42 BLEAK BANK FARM Getting the balance of milk production and cow longevity is one of the areas John is keen to improve. ‘I like milking dairy cows and think we can throttle back a little on production and breed a cow that lasts longer and doesn’t need as much input feed or vet-wise. I’d like our cows to last another five years averaging an age of around 15-16 and still producing the same amount of 7500-8000 litres. We’ve just started dipping our little toe into Dairy Shorthorns this year.’ John’s famed humour comes through once again when talking Dalesbred sheep of which they have a flock of between 450-500 breed- ing ewes. ‘Dalesbred are like any other breed, only ever so slightly totally superior. We breed half of them pure to maintain the pedigree flock and cross the other half with the Teeswater tup to produce our cash crop the Masham with lambing taking place from the end of JUN/JUL 2019 • farmers-mart.co.uk March with a September market for the gim- mers and the boys sold in the autumn through to the new year at 42-44 kilos in Bentham Mart.’ ‘All roads lead to Bentham for any sheep or dairy cows and calves we sell. It’s a cracking livestock mart run by Stephen Dennis and I’m sure loads of others would love to be as busy. The gimmers are sold for breeding through- out the country as far as Norfolk, Cornwall, Cumbria and Wales and the boys as butchers lambs.’ After a decline in the commercial appeal of the Masham due to the rise of the Mule there have been encouraging signs in more recent times especially with fleece prices adding to their renaissance. ‘The Masham produces a good staple and crop of wool and in the past few years its wool has become more sought after with fleeces attracting around £15-£18 where at one time it was negligible. The Masham’s rep- ‘ The Masham produces a good staple and crop of wool and in the past few years its wool has become more sought after with fleeces attracting around £15-£18 ’ utation for being long living and hard working now adds to that fleece value and still does what it has to do as a butchers lamb perfectly well. There’s nothing wrong with the Mule and now the Dalesbred Mule, but we are now see- ing the Masham market starting to grow again after many years in the doldrums.’ Dalesbred sheep were of course closely associated with the Swaledale until the 1920s. William, who studied at Settle College, be- lieves the Dalesbred’s recent revival is down to the society providing a better animal. ‘It has changed a lot recently. It has become a lot taller with less wool about it and it is stronger. That has all been a conscious move by the Dalesbred society and it has come on a long way.’ William judged at this year’s Otley Show and at Gargrave last year. John has been chairman of the Masham and Teeswater breed societies and is a member of the Dalesbred committee. The cows and sheep at Bleak Bank can be traced back to the same bloodlines as the 1800s. John has featured lately in the TV pro- gramme The Yorkshire Dales and The Lakes but it is his family’s past that captures his heart more so than his media image. ‘I’ve written a book using the notes left by my dad and Uncle Bill about living and working on the farm from being lads in the 1930s to the 1960s. We really can’t complain