The Farmers Mart Apr-May 2018 - Issue 56 | Page 56
56 WALTON LODGE FARM
APR/MAY 2018 • farmers-mart.co.uk
MILK, BEEF AND
NOW SHEEP
LEAD THE WAY
AT WALTON
Chris Berry talks with the Danforths at Walton Lodge.
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PRIDE in producing great livestock and
being recognised for it among your peers
has brought on generations of farmers
and farming families whether standing
in line at agricultural shows or gaining
good prices and the Danforths of Walton
Lodge Farms near the historic Roman road
of Rudgate on the edge of Walton, near
Wetherby are no exception.
Success in dairy herd competitions for
milk production or with cows at the Great
Yorkshire Show; development of a new
suckler herd; and a passion for Charollais
sheep has seen Richard and sons Ben and
James make their mark in several ways in
recent years.
‘Our main core business is the dairy
cows,’ says Richard. ‘We farm across 553
acres with 526 owned and roughly half is
down to grass. We have 160 cows of which
130 are milking. One-third of the dairy herd
is Ayrshires and the rest are Holsteins with
a few Friesians. We’ve been building up
the Ayrshires as I feel they suit the farm
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ARE PLEASED TO BE ASSOCIATED
WITH THE DANFORTH FAMILY OF
WALTON LODGE FARM.
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Please visit our website:
www.barnardcastleauctionmart.co.uk
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Tel. 01833 638152
Auction Mart Office, Vere Road,
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better as they are more robust and give
less problems.’
‘We split record the Ayrshires and Hol-
steins so that I can enter the Ayrshire herd
competitions. The Holsteins give a better
average with 9000 litres per cow per year
but the Ayrshires at 8000 litres are more
productive overall because they will give
on average between 5-6 lactations where-
as the Holsteins only give around three
lactations. We’ve been working on them to
try for better conformation and longevity
and we might get closer to four lactations.
We are gradually moving forward with
both breeds. All our Ayrshires are AI’d us-
ing British and Canadian lines. We will run
our own stock bull every now and again
on the black and whites.’
‘We started showing the Ayrshires
about six years ago and we had Supreme
Ayrshire at Stokesley Show in 2015. We
have started this season well picking up
two third places at Dairy Expo in Carlisle.
All the top breeders go there, and we
also picked
up a reserve Premier Breed-
72126 - Brockhills Of Yorkshire - 16TH.pdf 1 24/04/2018
Brockhills of Yorkshire Ltd, Dalton Lane,
Dalton, Thirsk, North Yorkshire YO7 3HR.
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Proud suppliers to Richard Danforth of Walton Lodge Farm
Tel: 01845 577242 Fax: 01845 577122
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Email: [email protected] Web: www.brockhills.co.uk
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