GRANGE FARM 57
We are proud to support the Vickerton family of Grange Farm .
• JUN / JUL 2024
GRANGE FARM 57
me because I went off doing fencing contracting for a while , firstly with Mike Artley from Foston on the Wolds and then starting my own business .
“ It ’ s now all in together , the fencing contracting , the farm and the farm shop . We all work for each other . I know that dad would be so impressed with what we ’ ve done and that so many people now come to the farm and buy from us .
“ Ironically we ’ ve almost gone back to what it was like when I was younger , almost full circle , having tried to compete by having lots of acres of arable , we ’ ve found that we have some marginal land that is far better as grass ; having tried to compete with sheep numbers and cattle numbers in the end we ’ ve come back round to a traditional mixed farm . And we ’ re all enjoying it .
We are proud to support the Vickerton family of Grange Farm .
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Arable cropping still plays a major role in what the Vickertons are trying to achieve . They have 20 acres of spring beans and 90 acres spring barley which James says is doing consistently between 2 to 2.5 tonnes and he ’ s not having to give it a massive amount even though the land is particularly heavy in places .
‘ When people say they ’ ve got heavy land , we ’ ve got real heavy land ,” says James . “ We have some land that when Bishop Burton College came to do a survey they couldn ’ t categorise , but we do also have some really nice land , as well as very challenging land .
“ This year has been particularly challenging . We were waiting , like most , for it to stop raining and knew we only one chance at it . We got a little bit fraught and we left everything as stubble . We usually start ploughing for spring in
November / December but had no option but to sit tight . We were getting a bit fretty in February when it kept getting wet and I said to Pete , let ’ s just sit and wait see what happens .
“ We went for it at the beginning of March ploughing about 40 acres . We hit a windy week and as fast as we were ploughing it was dry . Elliott ’ s next to us helped with 20 acres of spring beans and we got 20 acres spring barley in that week . We turned around , drilled it and finally finished drilling the last 30 acres in May .
“ It ’ s all out now and the spring beans look really well although we ’ re a bit light on them . We ’ ll hold back 40-50 tonnes of barley for the cattle as we are not finishing them completely off grass but will give them as much grass as possible ; any surplus barley and surplus beans will go to Stuart Saunt , as we use beans for protein too .
Grange Farm is three years into an ELS scheme and incorporates 40 acres of wild bird seed in the margins and herbal leys . James says they are in the process of applying for the new SFI and are looking at things like clover over the next 2-3 years to stop reliance on bagged fertiliser .
James and Peter ’ s dad David passed away five years ago . The three of them had farmed in partnership together , as David had farmed in partnership with his dad Fred , and David had also farmed with his brother .
“ Dad and our uncle John farmed together for a lot of years ,” says James . “ John then moved away from the farm and my brother Pete and dad farmed for
a good few years . I worked off-farm from being 18-21 , then I set up a landscaping and fencing business which we ran together out of the farm . As dad retired , I took on his work on the farm . Peter and I are now equal partners since dad passed away .
“ I worked for Mike Artley for 4 years . We ’ d be on with contracting through the summer and then fencing for winter , but I was also still helping out at home . You don ’ t get away with not doing something when you have a bull escaping .
When I ask James whether he was always destined to be back on farm , his answer is straight .
“ I don ’ t think so . I was quite happy doing what I was doing , but as dad started to struggle a bit more it became apparent that Pete needed a hand , and I asked if I could help a bit more .
“ At one point we were running two separate businesses . Pete was helping me fencing and I was helping on the farm . We thought that was a bit daft and made it one business . I still go out fencing and did contracts on building sites for a lot of years , but packed that in last year . I ’ m now back to fencing for farmers , I do quite a lot for an animal park and a lot of domestic fencing . I try to average three days a week on the fencing job , then a couple of days at home and the weekend on the farm . Fencing puts a backbone in the farming business . Gemma also has her own job away from the farm . She ’ s an award-winning beauty therapist working in Hedon .
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