The Farmers Mart Jun-Jul 2020 - Issue 69 | Page 8

8 TANCRED FARM SHOP JUN/JUL 2020 • farmers-mart.co.uk Lincoln Red proves winning factor at Tancred Farm Shop Chris Berry talks with Dean Hullah at Whixley. EMBRACING a life of regular contact with the people from all walks of life isn’t something new for the farming community. Many have been doing it for decades, but the move into farm shops, holiday accommodation and tourism ventures continues unabated. It’s a life that’s not for everybody, but for the Hullah family of Tancred Field Farm and Tancred Farm Shop just off the Green Hammerton to Boroughbridge road near Whixley, it has worked. They started nearly nine years ago, and they don’t half put in the hours either on the farm; that includes a herd of pedigree Lincoln Red cattle, pigs on a bed and breakfast contract with Ian Mosey, sheep bought from local producers and at livestock markets, across the 150 acres at Tancred and a further 25 acres rented; or in the shop. Covid-19, coronavirus or lockdown, whichever you refer to it as being, sent sales way beyond what they would normally experience in their Tancred Farm Shop where Dean is a butcher alongside his long-standing butchers Alan and Chris. ‘At one time when lockdown hit we were selling twice as much as normal and we definitely saw a lot of people who I don’t recall ever seeing before,’ says Dean. ‘The great news is that once customers find us they keep coming back. We’ve had great comments about all of our meats and the produce from them such as the sausages. Customers keep telling us they are as good as they’ve ever had, and our beef mince the best they’ve ever used.’ ‘People certainly bought locally during those early months of lockdown far more than ever before. A lot of our regulars already came here because they like supporting local businesses, but we are now also retaining the new customers.’ Visiting Dean and Angela when they first started Tancred Farm Shop brought about my own personal experience of the couple, their family and their Lincoln Red cattle. I bought some of their Lincoln Red beef that day and when it came to tasting it a few days later I was amazed at its taste and quality. I have been an ardent supporter of the couple ever since and can honestly say that their Lincoln Red beef is the best beef I’ve ever tasted. Time and time again I’ve had their ribeye, rump or sirloin steaks and without question every single one has been succulent, juicy and flavoursome. Nearly everyone in the TV chef game seems to be extolling the virtues of Kobe or Wagyu beef these days, pointing to DEDICATED TO DELIVERING A FIRST CLASS SERVICE Specialists in Accounting, Auditing and Taxation Services Whatever your needs, we can help the barker partnership are proud to be associated with Dean Hullah and Tancred Farm Shop Bill Pearson Thirsk Office Tel: 01845 522045 Stephen Kay Ripon Office Tel: 01765 603501 Stuart Strike Pateley Bridge Office Tel: 01423 711748 David Thomas Harrogate Office Tel: 01423 525641 www.barkerpartnership.co.uk Fiona Wilkinson Leyburn Office Tel: 01969 623137