The Farmers Mart Oct/Nov 2013 - Issue 30 | Page 19

Phil Walmsley

is Thorner resident and party
planner Elaine Paddison
collecting her latest half
dozen).
“We get great comments
about our eggs and we have
one customer who buys 15
dozen every week,” Philip
said. “I buy the replacement
hens from Northern Pullet
Rearers in Huddersfield and
feed them on pellets from
Thompson’s at Murton.”
Diversification was always
in Philip’s mind from his precollege days and at Bishop
Burton he took things a step
further. It was to prove the
catalyst for the farm’s newest
business.
“I wrote my dissertation on
diversification and looked
further into areas such
as free-range production,
Christmas trees, strawberries
and worm farming. While I
was researching I found a
company in Manchester that

made a machine that could
rebale big bales of haylage
into small 20 kg bales - or
could chop up cardboard and
paper into horse bedding.
“All of my figures I included
in my dissertation were also
what I used in my business
plan, so it was very real.”
So real in fact, that Philip
received a Distinction and
was Student of the Year.
“At that time there was a
Rural Enterprise Scheme
running and I applied for the
grant. We were successful
and we started with the
animal bedding business
in October 2003 when we
had the machine installed.
We are specific about what
we use and are able to offer
customers a 100% guarantee
that there is no contamination
in our bedding because
we are using brand new
cardboard that has simply
failed quality control.

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FarmersMart Oct/Nov 2013

19