Decoy Farm
Show success
but the farm
comes first
Chris Berry talks with Richard and
Jim Bloom at Scorborough.
» » SOME ARABLE FARMERS ARE
more widely known for their
success with the four-legged
world despite the importance
that crops play in their lives.
That’s very much the case for
the Bloom family at Decoy Farm
in Scorborough just a handful
of miles from Beverley in the
East Riding of Yorkshire where
Richard Bloom runs the farm
that his father Jim ran for many
years.
Richard enjoys showing Shire
horses as his hobby and is seen
all around the UK while Jim
made his mark with a pedigree
Limousin herd he still has today,
but crops play an important role
in the annual income from the
farm.
“We farm around 400 acres,”
says Richard. “370 acres are
tenanted from Hotham Estate
and include arable land,
grassland and woodland. We
grow wheat, barley, oilseed
rape and spring beans. Arable
cropping always was the main
earner and in a good year it still is
but at present the pigs we keep
on a bed and breakfast basis
contribute a little more.
“Our farm runs along a
narrow strip east to west and
is generally grade 3-4 land that
has clay tops running to black
lowland carr land. Nothing is free
draining so we are reliant on
the Environment Agency taking
care of the River Hull. We have
had land flooded several times.
Our wheat yields can average
4 tonnes/acre in a good season
but a regular year is around
3.75 tonnes. This year we’re
growing 100 acres of winter
wheat varieties Relay, Grafton
and Skyfall. We go for barn filling
feed varieties that are disease
resistant and although Skyfall
is a milling wheat it works well
for us. I use an independent
agronomist Andrew Beeney and
we try to put on as little chemical
as possible. Most of our produce
is sold through Mortimer’s in
Driffield.”
Blackgrass is one of the
cereal crop growing world’s
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Pleased to be
associated
with the
Bloom family
and wish them
continued
success
biggest problems right now and
Richard is no different to many
others in trying to find ways of
combatting it.
“I’ve stopped growing winter
barley and spring barley is about
the best crop for me to use in the
rotation with regard to blackgrass
control. It’s going to take time to
control it completely but we’re
trying what we can. This spring
I’m due to drill around 75-95
acres of spring barley variety
Propino. It’s a good bold variety
that can achieve malting quality
and for the past three years
we’ve had a percentage going
that way while also using some
for cattle feed, milling our own.
“Oilseed rape is getting
expensive to grow but we
don’t have many alternatives
at present and with current
oil shortages plus the pound
fluctuating due to Brexit the
price has recovered. It would
just be great if we had some to
sell right now but with cash flow
being what it is we sold it last
year.
“We also grow Fuego spring
beans fulfilling our greening
side. They provide a suitable
break crop.”
The Blooms moved to Decoy
Farm in 1956 when Jim was 22
years old. His father also Jim,
passed away just three years
later leaving him with decisions
to be made over the farm’s
future.
“I couldn’t make much out
of being purely an arable farm,
especially with poor summers
we had around that time, so I
went into pigs in 1960 and it
was the best thing I ever did.
We had a breeding sow herd
that grew to 300 but pigs went
sour in the 90s and I could
see no point in continuing to
lose money and couldn’t see
any prospect of things getting
better for a while, even though
pigs had been extremely good
to me in the 70s and 80s.”
We have one permanent
staff member Bob Suggitt who
started work on the farm at 15
and is still here 55 years later.
John and Harold Elvidge at Hull Show 1935